Stocking stuffer alert! It’s re-usable, washable, compact and packable, and it helps save our planet’s resources. It’s simple and it works – both at home and on the road. I’m talking about ChicoBag – an awesome little gift for your earth-roaming, or just planet-conscious, friends.

Never again will you need to feel the crush of guilt when you are caught bag-less…“paper or plastic?” ChicoBag’s ChicoBag Sling rePETe is super-compact and tucks easily into your purse or daybag. Yet, once unfurled, the Sling has an amazingly generous carrying capacity. Keep one of these on-hand and you’ll always be ready for the spontaneous market find. Going tropical for the holidays? Tuck it away in your carry-on when traveling between warm and chilly climes for an easy way to carry your extra clothing layers.

Whether hitting up your neighborhood farmers market on the weekend, or checking out the local vendors when traveling, market life brings you right into the heart of a community. Cool thing is – no matter what’s in season, ChicoBag’s ChicoBag Produce Stand Starter Kit has you covered.

The set consists of 3 different reusable produce bags:

- a rePETe bag that blocks airflow and keeps things like squash and carrots moist,

- a rePETe Mesh bag that allows ethylene gas to escape for things like apples and onions,

- and a 70% Hemp – 30% Cotton blend bag that absorbs excess moisture and is great for bulk grains and nuts.

Between the Sling and the Produce Stand Set (both available on Amazon
), I haven’t needed to take a plastic bag for anything in a very long time. And that’s a good thing!

There’s a mind-boggling array of Kindle cover options out there, but naturally I wanted to find one that was eco-friendly. The kind folks at Marware thought their Marware Eco-Vue Kindle 2 Cover would fit the bill so they sent me one to try out.

The Eco-Vue Kindle 2 Cover arrived in a simple 100% recycled paper bag, printed with a message (in soy-base inks) explaining their sustainability philosophy and noting that Marware donates a minimum of 2% of its annual profits to community and environmental orgs. When I pulled out the slim and stylish cover, I could have mistaken it for leather on first view. But it’s actually made of an “eco-fabric” which is made from cornstarch polymers and recycled PET, with recycled cardboard inserts. They use vegetable or soy-based dyes and somehow magically recreate the look and feel of leather.

It’s quite handsome, but don’t be fooled – this thing is burly too! Even with a slim profile, it offers a bear-hug of protection around my Kindle. Besides daily use when I’m at home, the Eco-Vue Cover has traveled with me and my Kindle on trips to Italy and Mexico, and it has performed like a super-champ! I’ve unwittingly run it through a few klutz tests; it has hit the deck a few times, and errant splashes of espresso and salsa have found it. The Eco-Vue case has done its job, proving eco-fashion doesn’t override form.

I also like the simple but functional design. No extra buckles, snaps or ties here – just an elastic strap to keep it open or closed. A hand-strap on the back is a clever idea, though I found it a bit too constricting for my hand after awhile. It fits around the Kindle 2 like a glove, with access to all the buttons and outlets where you need them.

The Eco-Vue Kindle 2 Cover is available on Amazon in black, brown, fuchsia, teal, purple or red.

I knew the first time it hit the concrete floor in a Bangkok hotel room that my precious iPhone needed a good, protective case. Enter Grove, a small and very local business out of Portland, Oregon (woot for my alma mater!) hand-making artistic, sustainable magic out of bamboo.

When my Grove iPhone 4 Case arrived in the mail, packaged in the bamboo frame from whence it was born, (and I was encouraged to “upcycle” it and show off on their Facebook page) it did not fail to impress. Grove’s iPhone 4 cases feature original artwork that is laser engraved into the back. Not to be out-Portlandia’d, they ‘put a bird on it’… mine features the delightful “Birdland” by Sven Palmowski. It’s one of many awesome designs they offer; you can also get your own creation custom-engraved on a case by Grove, if you are so artistically inclined. For extra sweet geekiness, I downloaded the matching wallpaper.

The Grove case slid easily on to my iPhone 4 in two pieces, and once it was on, it’s really just a fine sight to behold. It takes this slick, futuristic mini-machine and transforms it into a soft-edged, organic wooden framed piece of art. The fit is snug and streamlined, and personally I find it easier to grip when I’m talking then when the phone’s bare. It has a hand rubbed natural oil finish, and whatever kind of oil that is, combined I suppose with the laser’s ghostly ephemera, it smelled of smoked salmon for the first several weeks I held it up to my face. (In my world, that’s not a bad thing, though it can make me feel suddenly snackish.) The smell is fading now, and judging by my experience with other bamboo products, the case itself will wear slowly and evenly over time.

Bamboo is a super-sustainable and easily-renewable medium to work with, and being that all their products are designed and made in-house, it’s as local as you get, to boot. In their words—“no anonymous sweat shops!”

In short, the Grove case is the real deal. It’s high quality, sustainable, beautiful, functional and made by real people who live just down the road from me. I wish all products could satisfy me on so many levels. And did I mention that I my phone is now far sexier than yours?