Happiest Holidays!

We wish you all the happiest holidays this season 

and an absolutely good, green new year!

Check with us in 2009 for more sustainable living 

tips, products, and in-store workshops!

from All Shades of Green in Silver Lake

3400 Phinney Chocolates

With all this genuine wintry weather, indoor gatherings, and merrying, it gets an Angeleno in the mood for rich, sweet treats.  Plus, there are always stockings to stuff with something other than just, well, stuff.

Edible and delectable and made from Fair Trade, organic chocolate, Theo's line of 3400 Phinney chocolates come in all sorts of exotic, surprising flavors that are sure to satisfy any seasonal craving.

Vanilla? Hazelnut? Coconut Curry? Fig, Fennel, Almond? 

Come on in to see what you and yours might have a hankering for.

Shains: for Kids, Teens, Big Kids, and Everyone in Between

We've got shains (state how action is a necessary solution) 

in the store and they're always a big hit.

Even better they're made of completely recycled and recyclable materials, were born right here in Los Angeles and are ever-evolving.  With the letter and icon add-ons, you can spell out any message you want, whenever you want.  So, if you've got a message, an action, a solution to share--you can let it be known with what you wear.

Happy Farmer Composter!

Food waste often doubles around the holidays.  Doubles!  (And the average American gains one pound from what does make it to mouths as well.)

One way to tackle the mounds of food when leftovers and giving it to friends and neighbors won't cut it is composting it.

The Happy Farmer Composter makes it pretty simple.

Made from 70% recycled plastic and suitable for indoor/under the kitchen sink use, it utilizes bokashi, a combination of bran and sawdust and microorganisms, to ferment and break down your food scraps in only about ten to fourteen days.  After a couple of weeks, you've got nutrient-rich liquid plant food for your garden or growing veggies.  Meat and dairy are even acceptable with this kind of system (perfect for sour cream and turkey!).

Our savvy staff can fill you in on all the details in the store so you can become a happy farmer or make someone else one this holiday.

Photo courtesy of kaboodle.

Buddha Nose

Those of us who have sampled our new aromatic balms from Buddha Nose can attest to their decadent, exuberant scents and effects.

The booster salve does just what it says--boosts your immunity and your spirits.  My post-booster salve bike ride was exuberant indeed.

And the bodhi balm is a surefire way to destress and peace out, way out.

Made with healing in mind from organic essential oils, Buddha Nose products are zen or zippy, depending on your mood.  We've got them in the store for 20.00.

Chelsea Green Guides

Yes, we've got em.  Perfect for stuffing the stockings and stocking the stuffings of folks who are any shade of green, the set of six Chelsea Green Guides includes the A to Z of basic sustainable living: biking to work, greening your office, water, composting, recycling and energy.

Read more about the famous green guides here.

GOOD December

One of our favorite local magazines is GOOD.  No really, GOOD.

And GOOD's office on Melrose has turned into a community meeting place all month for GOOD December.

There are plenty of events still to come, and plenty of green ones, too like this weekend's TreePeople fieldtrip and Sowing the Seeds with Silver Lake Farms Monday the 15th.

Check out the calendar here.

And see how things have been going so far here.

Decorating and Wrapping Creatively and Consciously

We've got some tools at ASOG to help you 

make your parcels and parties pretty while treading lightly:

*Fair Trade, recycled ornaments from the Spiral Foundation.

*Incense of frankincense and myrrh for a merry, holiday fragrance.

*Bambu ornaments.

*Ecotwist ribbon--biodegradable, colored with natural veggie dyes paper ribbons that create leaf-shapes when its end is unfurled.

*Fishlips recycled wrapping paper made from 100% recycled paper and soy inks right here in the U.S.

Happy merrymaking!

FREE How to Have a Green Holiday Workshop this Sunday!

How to Have a Green Holiday!

Sunday, December 14th

10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 

@ All Shades of Green

FREE!

Come hear how our Sustainability Coach, Deborah, has been mixing things up to be festive, creative, and green during holidays past and how you can, too.

Water Conservation Ordinance

The LADWP is getting serious about saving water these days.  If you didn't already know, we want to share with you that there is a new conservation ordinance in effect.

It's great to know about because, well, it helps save our city's precious resource.  It's also good to know about because fines are in effect for certain water no-no's.

Here's a rundown of the H2O DON'TS:

*Don't use water to wash down hard surfaces like driveways.  (Brooms will do the job and provide a workout at the same time.)

*Don't serve water to restaurant customers unless they ask for it.

*Don't water your yard during the rain.

And DO's:

*Fix leaky faucets to save 20 gallons of water drip, drip, dripping down your drain.

*Adjust your sprinklers (if you have them) so there's no water wasted on the pavement--that'll save 500 gallons a month and prevent runoff.

*Run only full loads of laundry.

You can read the whole list here.

And if you own your own washing machine, you can get a $250 LADWP rebate for a new, high-efficiency model that can save 50% of the water you use in a year on the most water-heavy task inside the house.  Find out how.

Nonprofit of the Month: Baby2Baby

We like to feature at least one not for profit every month from our Los Angeles area community.

This month, Baby2Baby has our attention.

With shelters in more need than ever this year, Baby2Baby gets clothes and other kids' gear to those who need it most. Started by three friends, this little organization makes it easy to do good in our own backyards.

Here's how it works: every month, 12 local organizations put in their donation requests for baby and kid stuff of all kinds.  And you can help pass it along!

There are opportunities to donate gently used items for ages one to four (here are the drop-off spots), organize a baby shower to collect gifts or put on a toy/clothes drive.

You can also volunteer yourself or your youngins to help package everything up.

Or you can donate to the cause (a great way to participate in the season of giving as a group).

It feels good to give to a good cause.

Green Must-Haves/Dos for the Holidays

We at All Shades want to wish you the happiest of holiday seasons in 08!

Nobody wants to take the fun out of the holidays, including us.  There are loads of ways to load up on holiday fun and meaning while being conscious of our impact on the environment at the same time.

Here are a few to consider:

By switching to LED-powered holiday lights you'll save up to 80% of the electricity conventional incandescent string lights eat up.  They'll even last you 20 years!

For no-waste gifts, choose those with less packaging (we've all spent mornings trying to cut plastic and undo twist-ties) and wrap your gifts in found objects around the house like reused packing paper, old stationary you don't plan on using, newspapers, or beautiful bits of fabric you may have lying around.

Speaking of gifts, make sure to get ones that will be good for the world and good for the getter.  90% of everything manufactured ends up in a landfill within a year in the U.S.  Pretty shocking.  So make sure to be mindful of the kinds of things you're getting your loved ones so that they'll stay on or in their drawers, kitchen, walls, desks, and closets for years and years to come.

Consider getting a rosemary bush or indoor plant for your Christmas tree.  If you want a big one, go for the real deal as the artificial ones are plastic-heavy and can't be mulched in January. Find out more about recycling your live holiday tree from the L.A. Bureau of Sanitation.

We'll be sharing many more less-impact holiday ideas at our FREE workshop, How to Have a Green Holiday on Sunday, December 14th at 10:00 a.m.! Hope to see you there.

Clean Your Space/Trash Free Street Clean-Up

This Saturday you can help the Surfrider Foundation clean up Silver Lake along Sunset Boulevard as part of its "Clean Your Space" campaign.

The importance of cleaning up the streets (and parking spaces and driveways and rain gutters) is this: everything on the street gets washed into the catch basins and into the L.A. River and out to sea when it rains.  So, all the stuff like candy wrappers, cigarette butts, car oil, and contaminants like pesticides and chemical cleaners catch a wave out to the Pacific.  

And those contaminants contained in storm water or runoff aren't good for marine animals, the aquatic habitat, or humans who like swimming either.  Never fear though--we can all pitch in to help!

If you're a Silver Laker or other Angeleno who wants to clean up the beach in your own backyard, join Surfrider at:

Clean Your Space

Saturday, December 6th

9:30 a.m. to 12: 30 p.m. 

On Sunset between Matlman and Manzanita

Check-in at Sunset Junction

Find out more about the event here.

And read our earlier post on urban storm water runoff in Los Angeles here.

Eco-Home Tour

We're proud to be part of an:

Exclusive Green Home Tour

of an AlterEco home from Planet Green this Thursday evening.

This beautiful Spanish-style home by Byrd Eco Luxury Homes will be open by special invitation to showcase green building materials and ideas, and you're invited!

In addition to the tour, you can expect to enjoy:

reusable bags with green gifts provided by US, All Shades of Green 

and

tips on going green from the consultants at Eco|Consulting LA

Come for the tour, come for the drinks, and come to meet the AlterEco hosts!

Tickets are $45 (all proceeds will go to charity)

Thursday, December 4th

 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

in  Los Feliz

(address provided with ticket purchase)

To purchase tickets, use the code GREENHIVE at Hiving.net

Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Baskets

We believe that gift-giving can be a joyous and celebratory act that not only brings together families and friends, but also helps create happier and healthier communities and a better environment around the world.

Sound like a tall order? 

By selecting gifts that are FAIR TRADE, LOCAL, ORGANIC, NON-TOXIC, RECYCLED, RECLAIMED, BIODEGRADABLE, AND REUSABLE, you are helping to do just that.

We've taken out the guesswork and carefully selected items in the holiday gift baskets we're offering that fit the bill to help you enjoy giving beautiful gifts this season that also demonstrate your values.

Some of the compilation baskets from which to choose:

The Eco-Gourmet

The Natural Baby

The Lover's Basket

The Coffee and Chocolate Swirl

and 

The Dinner Party

among others, like the Hands and Feet Therapy Basket, The Lavender Bath, and the Go Green Starter Kit baskets.  These are collections everyone on your list will enjoy.

Or, you can design your own!

Come on by, give us a call, or e-mail us to find out more and order yours.

All Shades of Green

3038 Rowena Avenue

Los Angeles/Silver Lake 90039

(323) 665 -7454

info@allshadesofgreen.net

*Starting at 45.00.*