All hands on deck! If you’re a sailor, recreational fisher, or just someone who loves boats, you should be even more concerned than most about keeping our oceans clean and healthy. Next time you’re shopping for cleaning products that’ll spruce up your boat, pick up a bottle of brand new Ecover Boat Wash & Wax or Ecover Heavy Duty Boat Wash. Made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients like coconut, carnauba wax, and citric acid, the new line of products is entirely phosphate-free—so although your new wax and suds will get rid of dirt, oil, and grease, they won’t hurt the fishies or long-suffering coral reefs. World Champion Yachtsman Mike Golding has already backed eco-cleaning product manufacturer Ecover in their new, nautical venture, and so should you. The wax goes for $7.00, and the wash for $8.50. What is that—one millionth of what you spent on your yacht? We’re guessing it’s not going to break the bank.

Posted by Tobin Hack on Jul 30, 2008 at 2:35 PM
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Being an eco-conscious consumer can sometimes feel like traveling up river without a paddle. Lucky for us, Echo Paddles are helping customers make earth-friendly choices. The Canadian-based company handcrafts elegant wooden paddles to individual specifications using sustainably harvested local wood certified by the Managed Forest Program. The paddles are guaranteed to last at least two years, setting them apart from flimsier versions that get tossed like so many other single-serve items. The company even provides a tune-up service for normal wear and tear. But the best part about Echo Paddles is the company itself: An off grid, passive solar workshop powers the woodworking equipment with solar panels and a back-up veggie oil powered diesel generator for cloudy Canadian days.

Posted by Jessica A. Knoblauch on Jul 18, 2008 at 12:10 PM
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Frisbees are the perfect summer accessory: They’re light, relatively easy to tote around, and don’t require months of starvation to fit into. And they work in virtually any setting, from the park to the beach—even the highly frowned-upon (yet oh so tempting) living room toss-fest. So how could anyone possibly improve upon the Frisbee, you ask? By making it from recycled materials, of course. The Reflyer from Discovering the World contains 60 percent recycled polyethylene, resulting in a heathery-hypercolor appearance that’s awesome in an 80s kind of way. The cost for such coolness: only $4.     

Posted by Jessica Tzerman on Jul 16, 2008 at 4:17 PM
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There are some things you'll never know, like how your father really met your mother, what the "secret ingredient" is in your best friend's addictive brownies, or the amount of waste American consumers create with each purchase. Fortunately, on that last one, Patagonia's got your back. With its online Footprint Chronicle, you can track, from design to delivery, your carbon footprint on certain products, ranging from a fierce strappy dress to a go-to polo shirt. While the product line is limited, the site literally gives you the good, the bad, and an overall eco-evaluation. Superimposed over a map, this info is definitely the eco-411.

Posted by Nicole Zerillo on Jul 4, 2008 at 2:10 PM
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