EARTH WEEK: 360 Vodka April 23, 2009

Okay, you might call it a stretch to include vodka in the Earth Week collection here at Shinypackages but the fact of the matter is that food and beverages are getting greener all the time.  Just look at the stats for this premium spirit.

-Distilled using state-of-the-art equipment that’s 99% more efficient than traditional pot-still methods

– 85% recycled glass bottle

-100% recycled paper label printed with water-based inks

-Each bottle comes with a swing-top closure designed for infinite reuse (a lot of people reuse the bottle for olive oil and vinegar).

– Swing top cap can be returned in a postage-paid (recycled paper) envelope
for reuse and $1 is donated to an environmental charity for each swing
top received.

To celebrate Earth Week, try this Earth Day cocktail called the EcoTEAni

1 oz 360 Vodka

2 oz sweetened green tea

garnish with a mint sprig or lime twist

360 Vodka is available across Canada for around $42 a bottle

EARTH WEEK: Thermos insulated shopping bag April 21, 2009

How many reusable grocery bags do you own? Any number is a good number. But if you have a handful of small, flimsy and ugly bags, it may be time for an upgrade. I haven’t seen anything more fashionable and functional than this model from Thermos.

The entire bag is insulated and leak proof. There’s also a removable, insulated bag inside that doubles as a lunch bag. It can also keep the ice-cream from perishing until you get home from the grocery store. There’s a panel on the outside that holds bottles and 1-litre milk cartons as well as a handy-dandy little cardholder pocket for your shopping list, debit card or gift cards.

TIP: Please donate those not-so-good-looking grocery bags to your nearest Value Village, school or Sally Ann.

Price: $39.99 at London Drugs and several other major retailers.

EARTH WEEK: RONA ECO lawn mower April 20, 2009

Remember the days before gym memberships? People didn’t need memberships because they got a workout by doing the chores—chopping wood, hauling water and mowing the lawn. So say goodbye to your elliptical machine and say hello to this manual lawn mower from RONA.

No stinky gas tank to refill and no worries about driving over your electrical cord (not that I have ever done that). That means it produces no greenhouse gases, just a little bit of sweat and heavy breathing.
Use the highest cutting level and let your lawn have a fighting chance against drought and parasites. The removable clipping basket to allow you to jump on the grasscycling bandwagon. That means you can spread the clipped over a wide area and let the nutrients return to the soil.

Earth Week Good News: The packaging made from 90% recycled material and it’s 100% recyclable.

RONA ECO lawn mower $139, cheaper than a gym membership!