Some see Twitter as a rather narcissistic, self-centered app, others as a new techy way of organizing for good. And those in the latter group are bringing Tweeters together this season for a new global event: TweetsGiving.**

According to the website, TweetsGiving is “a global celebration that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude” organized by nonprofit Epic Change.** More practically, TweetsGiving is a whole bunch of events happening all over the world during a 48-hour period between November 24 – 26, 2009. Each event’s a bit different, but the basic goal is this: Bring local do-good tweeters together for a fun event that raises money for social good.

Where does the money go? Well, last year’s first ever TweetsGiving celebration raised over $10,000 to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania. This year, some of the money will go to that school again for a technology lab and other needed items like solar panels for green electricity — while the rest will go towards funding new projects:

TweetsGiving 2009 seeks to fund new Epic Change partners and fellows in other parts of the world. Beginning in 2010, we’ll be looking for change makers and social entrepreneurs … who are transforming their own communities in remarkable ways, who could benefit from substantive investment and enhanced visibility to expand their efforts, and who have inspirational stories of hope that have the power to change our preconceptions of what is possible.

Ready to get tweeting this Thanksgiving? Find an event near you through the TweetsGiving site. New Yorkers will be partying with Mama Lucy** — the social entrepreneur who got the Tanzania school started, while Angelenos will be drinking for a cause in downtown LA.** Tickets, generally sold at tiered prices, are quite affordable. The cheapest L.A. ticket’s just $5, for example.

I plan to be at the L.A. event — which I plan to get to via bus to keep the trip green — and hope to see you there! Attending a different TweetsGiving event? Tweet me @greenlagirl** — and @FilterForGood — about how it goes. If there’s no event near you, you can still spread gratitude by hosting a TweetsGiving house party,** tweeting about TweetsGiving (use hashtag #tweetsgiving), and collecting donations or donating your own funds to Epic Change.**

And for your personal Thanksgiving celebrations, remember to check out Sarah’s tips for a greener Thanksgiving.

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For the same reasons I like the foods on Foodzie,** I prefer buying handmade accessories, clothing and housewares on Etsy.** I really enjoy wearing items that are one-of-a-kind, but I find when asked about my source, many people shrug and say that they don’t have the time to weed through the enormous supply of handmade goods on Etsy.

Trust me, I get it. When I entered “eco-friendly clothes” as a search term on Etsy, I received 6,117 results. A little daunting, yes? However! If you just hone down your search by being a little more specific, you can find some wonderful handmade gems made by talented artists all over the world.

Here are are few items that currently have me smitten.

Oh boy, am I a fan of the wrap top! You can wear this style in so many ways, and it’s the perfect look for moms-to-be. (Just keep loosening that tie as your belly grows!) This top, by Econica,** is made from a very soft and stretchy blend of organic cotton and bamboo, and comes in tons of colors.**

Also by Econica, this dress** could last for years and years. The style is timeless, and the cotton/bamboo blend looks so soft and comfy. If brown isn’t your thing, choose from several other colors.**

For the Starbucks junkies out there, how cute is this reusable coffee sleeve? Forget all those paper sleeves, just keep this one in your purse and you’re good to go. By joyfulstar,** this 100% cotton sleeve also comes in several prints.**

Last, but certainly not least, these reusable snack bags by evelynfields** could completely cut down your plastic baggie usage. No synthetic or plastic liners, just natural unbleached cotton fabric next to your food. Sounds like a win-win to me!

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Hello, FilterForGoodians! I’ve discovered something extraordinary, and I couldn’t wait to get to my computer to tell you all about it! As you know, we’re all about filtering our own water on this site; no more bottled water here. We’ve made a commitment to stop buying bottled water, but the sad truth is that even if the world stopped tomorrow, the tons and tons of plastic used so far would be with us for eternity. At least that’s been the story up until now. Envion** has developed a process to turn plastic back into crude oil.

The Envion process is easy to get off the ground with simple installation and operation. It’s highly efficienct, and, most importantly, doesn’t cause more pollution in the process. Did you know that plastic production uses 8% of the world’s oil production, with 4% used as feedstock and 4% providing the energy required for plastic production? It’s easy to forget about the amount of effort and energy that goes into making all those plastic bottles, but what Envion makes us realize is that there is still energy in that plastic. Lots of it.

Here’s a great quote from the Envion site:

Envion focuses on reclaiming the valuable energy stored in plastic by converting it back into oil. Since plastic is a derivative of petroleum, plastic possesses a commensurately high level of stored energy content. The energy density of polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polypropylene (PP) is comparable to that of gasoline and is approximately 51% higher than that of coal. Unfortunately, this high level of energy literally “goes to waste” when plastic waste products are discarded. In 2007 the United States produced 58 million tons of plastic, from which 48 million tons of plastic waste entered the nation’s waste stream.

Until now, we could only recycle, throw away, burn or dump plastic bottles. None of those options are very good for the planet. Even recycling is expensive and inefficient. The miracle of Envion’s technology is that it’s a cleaner, more efficient and cost-effective option that is both sensitive to environmental concerns and has the added value of recapturing energy that would otherwise be lost.

It’s hard to deny that plastic has revolutionized our lives. It keeps us safe, clean and just makes life easy. But, we can be smarter than we’ve been. Envion is a uniquely American company that will undoubtedly change the world for the better. I can’t wait.

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Is it possible to have a green holiday season without buying anything? Or does spending no green turn you into a green grinch? I’ve got no problem with giving thoughtful, useful, eco-friendly gifts or buying yummy local, organic food, but I think many of us long for a less consumerist, more wallet-friendly season. And that’s why I definitely won’t be buying any wrapping paper or ribbons for the holidays!

Mind you — My presents will still be prettily wrapped. Above’s a gift I gave last year, encased in a clean potato chip bag and tied up with pre-loved ribbons! I’m happy to say I have all the info and know-how at this point to eco-wrap, reducing wasted resources — and wasted money. A few tutorials to help:

>> Just about every creative eco-wrapping method’s covered in this short video by Rachel Avalon,** the winner of the recent Project Green Search** contest for the next green model. Got old silk pajamas you don’t wear anymore? Magazines you never read? Old bags from Whole Foods from that one time you forgot to take your own reusable bag? I hope you saved them, because Rachel goes over how any of those objects can be recycled into chic wrapping materials.

>> Karina at Tiny Choices has tips for fancy eco-wrapping,** whether by using furoshiki or old maps! The tips aren’t just for the wrapping paper — Karina’s got a link for making gorgeous gift bows** out of magazine paper too. I recommend selecting pages with a theme that somehow reminds you of the recipient to make the gift extra personal.

>> Easiest way to eco-wrap? Save what you got last year!** Consider these decorative outer materials like gifts that were intended for regifting, and reuse wrapping paper and ribbons for the gifts you give throughout 2010. I actually have 2 shoe boxes under my bed for just this purpose — one labeled ribbons, one labeled wrapping paper. Extra bonus: You’re never left scrambling to go to the store right before a friend’s birthday party to find last-minute wrapping paper for your thoughtful gift.

Already celebrate the holidays with cost-free eco-wrapping for all your gifts? Then maybe you’re ready to go the next step and make your holiday card-free** too or your tree light-free.** To be honest, I still buy cards myself, since I do think paper cards still make people happier than e-cards and I unfortunately don’t have the crafty skills to make my own DIY cards pretty enough to give to anyone but my mother, if her. But I do opt for recycled and upcycled cards!**

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In early October, I spent an amazing weekend in Sonoma County with a slew of lovely ladies. Besides the great conversations, chilly fall weather and wine tastings in beautiful vineyards, I learned about some great new companies and websites that I hadn’t heard of before. My #1 new favorite? Foodzie.com.**

First off, I should probably tell you how much I love handmade, unique foods and gifts. I’m a total sucker for jam jars filled with fresh strawberry preserves and treats made with love. In fact, to this day, I dream of this wonderful horseradish cheese sauce and ancho chile chutney that was purchased near my grandparents’ home in Palm Springs. When we visit Palm Springs this winter, you can be assured I’ll get my hands on those two products again.

Well, this is the place** where you can find wonderful non-mass produced foods from all over America. In a nutshell, Foodzie** is an online marketplace where you can discover and buy food directly from small passionate food producers and growers. (Oh! But it’s so much more!) In fact, I challenge you to spend LESS than 5 minutes on the website. It is totally addictive. Cookies, coffees, jams, preserves, ethnic foods, cured meat, candies, you name it. (I’ve got my eye on the Bacon Potato Chips** and this Alfajores Sampler Box.)** Foodzie has it all, and the greatest part is that all of the wonderful food is produced by small producers and growers. You won’t be browsing through any bulk-wrapped “made in China” goods, if you know what I mean.

I highly recommend checking out this online marketplace, if not for the mouthwatering foods, but for the lovely guides Foodzie creates to help educate about products. This month’s guide about tasting tea** is full of tidbits on how to better understand the world of teas. If you are a tea enthusiast, I highly recommend taking a look!

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Hello, FilterForGoodians. The holidays are right around the corner. I know that’s true because the radio is already playing holiday music, and the drug store’s already got a holiday aisle. It’s only natural that, like the rest of the country, I skip right over Thanksgiving, and go for the main event. Here are five ways you can have a Green Christmas.

#1. LED Christmas Lights

Did you know that LEDs are over 100 times more efficient than standard lights? More than that, they’re more durable, safer and cooler. To make these twinklers even more eco-friendly, put them on a timer so they’ll turn off during the day and very late at night (after everyone’s fast asleep). LEDs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and in every color you can imagine.

#2. Give Green Gifts

Search for “green gift ideas” in Google, and you’ll get a flood of options. Here are some ideas I came across:

• Green Gifts for the Home**
• Recycled Holiday Cards**
• Green Gift for the Cook**
• Tons of Green Gifts**
• Check out Treehugger’s 2009 Green Gift Guide**

#3. Wrap Those Gifts, Greenly

I actually find it charming to wrap gifts in newspaper. There’s something a little Depression-era about it, but in these economic times, it sort of fits. Ok, so if newspaper isn’t your thing, you can actually find a plethora of recycled wrapping paper vendors online. Finding paper like the one above is just a Google search away.

#4. Cook and Eat Local, Organic and Sustainable

If you’re like the rest of us, you always eat the same thing every holiday. There’s probably a big, roasted bird involved. A few casseroles here, some bowls gravy there. Same ole, same ole. Why not go green with this year’s feast? Start at your local farmer’s market for the produce, and build the meal around that. Buy an organic turkey, and if you eat on paper plates, by chance, maybe this year you can spring for real plates. Find a farmer’s market near you.**

#5. “Make” It green

Perhaps the best and easiest way to go green is to do something that doesn’t require a drive to the mall. Make your gifts out of things you already have. Turn old, soft sweaters into cute pillows. Give plants as gifts. Draw a picture, make a video of you singing a song or write the recipient a poem. Remember, it really is the thought that counts.

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Can we all stop for a second and ponder the fact that it’s NOVEMBER? We are officially in holiday season, and to be honest, it makes me a little twitchy. Wasn’t it just summer like, two days ago? Maybe it’s the fact that my local weather is still hitting the 80-degree mark, but I can’t live in denial any longer. Thanksgiving is upon us, folks. I found a great article (and overall website) this past week at greenyour.com.** A fantastic green living online mecca, this website will certainly help you green your this and green your that.

Today, it’s all about greening your Thanksgiving. Check out the following great tips on making your Thanksgiving festivities a little more earth-friendly.

1. Serve local and organic food for Thanksgiving dinner - Local and organic foods reduce pollution and global warming emissions, as well as keep chemicals out of the environment.

2. Cook a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal - One word. Tofurky! Okay, for those of you who don’t find that option appetizing, how about a Thanksgiving full of sides? Mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, dinner rolls, green bean casserole…that’s really the best part, right?

3. Decorate an eco-friendly Thanksgiving dinner table - Create your own eco-friendly decorations instead of buying new products for just a weekend’s use.

4. Choose eco-friendly dinnerware over paper plates and plastic cups - Use reusable plates and cups, as well as cloth napkins, this holiday.

5. Compost your kitchen scraps - If you can’t convince family members to take extras home in reusable containers, compost them! This keeps those food scraps out of the landfill and converts them into rich, organic fertilizer right in your kitchen or backyard.

6. Reduce your Thanksgiving travel carbon footprint - Instead of traveling halfway across the country over the holiday weekend, stay home like my family! Come on, you’ll probably see them in December anyway.

7. Go green on Black Friday - Take notice of the items you buy. Are they organic? Where we they produced? Also, instead of driving all over town, buy online. Some might call it lazy, I call it SMART and ECO-FRIENDLY.

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Don’t have a reusable bag to go with your reusable FilterForGood bottle yet? Then get some of the greenest reusable totes — FREE — from Green Bag Lady!**

You may have already heard of Green Bag Lady, a.k.a. Teresa VH-Granath, who makes bags from upcycled and sustainable fabrics then gives them away FREE to people who pledge to use her bag instead of disposable paper or plastic ones. Her generous work’s been featured on CNN and many other news outlets — and lots of blogs, since many happy bag recipients blog about their unexpected eco-gift.

Shelly at Vegetarian Foodie,** for example, got bag #879, and blogged “Green Bag Lady I celebrate your creativity and generosity!” And I too have seen Green Bag Lady’s generosity at work — when she donated 20 bags for the Blogger Beach Cleanup** a couple weeks ago. Many volunteers got to go home with a free, unique reusable tote — including my co-event planner Sara Bayles of The Daily Ocean,** who’s showing off her totes in the photo.

Green Bag Lady’s also inspired many eco-thinking DIYers to make their own bags too! Many crafters have been inspired to become green bag ladies themselves, creating not just bags for personal use but to give out to others in their community:

>> Andrea Pender** sent out an email asking for fabric remnants — and got a lot of responses! Now, she’s creating bags out of that fabric to give to her clients.

>> Melissa of Melissa’s Ramblings** got an old sewing machine out to create her green lady bags. Says she after creating a tote: “It was pretty simple even for someone who hasn’t sewn in ages.”

Want your own Green Lady Bag? You can enter the frequent drawings on Green Bag Lady’s site to win one — or make one yourself by using this pattern** and watching this instructional video.** Upcycling whatever unused fabric you’ve got on hand — whether it’s old curtains or a skirt you no longer wear — will keep perfectly good cloth out of the landfills while reducing disposable trash too.

Image via The Daily Ocean

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Hello, FilterForGoodians. We all know that home is where the heart is, but what makes a house a home (Wow, now that’s what I call a sentence)? A house would be nothing without walls, and for over 100 years, we’ve been building our walls the same way, with the same materials. EcoRock** is about to change the game, and it’s the planet who wins.

I’m addicted to TED** Talks. Seen them? TED is basically this conference where the world’s smartest people come together to talk about things. Lucky for us, they record the speeches, and post them online for free. It was while I was watching the latest batch of talks, that I came across the following video of Kevin Surace, EcoRock CEO, where he talks about inventing eco-friendly drywall.

(Please pull video embed code here)**

Traditionally, drywall’s been made of gypsum, and gypsum takes a lot of energy (and a lot of chemicals) to make. EcoRock is different because it uses 80% less energy to produce, mostly because instead of being cooked in an oven, EcoRock cures and dries naturally. It’s also made from 80% recycled materials.

The coolest part, however, is that the material is made with the end in mind. EcoRock can be used as a pH additive for soils, or can be used to make more EcoRock and other building materials. The bottom line is that EcoRock is landfill safe.

Living in New Orleans, we know a thing or two about mold. Following Katrina, most of the drywall in New Orleans homes turned black from the mold that grew in the warm, wet air. Too bad we didn’t all use EcoRock. It’s the most mold-resistant drywall by outperforming all other mold resistant drywall by 50%. As if this stuff isn’t good enough, EcoRock drastically reduces the quantity of indoor air contaminants over any other drywall, and generates 60% less dust.

Normally, I would ask you if you’ve used this product in your home, but I don’t think it’s going to be ready for widespread use until 2010. I have a feeling it’s going to change the game. Who knows, maybe after another 100 years, all our houses with made of this stellar stuff.

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Let’s see. You buy organic foods. You recycle. You’ve completely decreased your paper towel usage. (I’m still working on that one. Ahem. ) Maybe you even compost? What are some other steps you can take to become more eco-friendly in the one room many of us spend a decent chunk of time in? I found some really easy ways to decrease your “dietary footprint” in the kitchen on thedailygreen.com.**

Ditch the Bottles - Well, DUH. This is the FilterForGood website, isn’t it? Use what comes out of your tap and get a good filter to boost its purity.

Buy Local - Reduce unnecessary food shipments by purchasing products from surrounding areas. Check out my post** about localharvest.org for local purchasing options.

Dispose of Disposables - Use actual dishware instead of single-use containers. I know it’s not as easy, but the resources saved will really add up!

Get a Green Thumb - Add some plants around your kitchen. They can help rid the air of toxins that might be created by cooking.

Eat Less Meat - Modern meat is energy- and resource-intensive, and factory farms are huge polluters. Eating lower on the food chain reduces those problems.

Use Your Appliances Wisely - Unplug unused kitchen devices and get an energy audit on your appliances.

Cook! - Plan meals ahead of time so you aren’t scrambling to pick up something convenient, which is likely to be less healthy and wrapped in more packaging.

What are some of your tips for going green in the kitchen? The easier, the better!

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What did you do on Oct. 24, the International Day of Climate Action?** I was at the Blogger Beach Cleanup** on Santa Monica beach in Calif. — an event I organized with fellow eco-activist Sara Bayles, who writes The Daily Ocean.**

25 of the more than 100 volunteers who showed up got free FilterForGood reusable bottles — which many used at the event itself. Why spend money on disposable plastic water bottles that are bad for the environment, when we’ve got free water fountains right on the beach?

The trash we picked up really showed why we must use reusables. In just 20 minutes, the volunteers picked up almost 40 pounds of trash on the beach — and a lot of the stuff were disposable containers — including plastic bottles and Styrofoam cups!

Most FilterForGood blog readers have already taken the pledge to banish disposable plastic bottled water from their lives — which is why I wanted to talk a bit about Styrofoam — a.k.a. polystyrene. The cost of recycling Styrofoam / polystytrene is so high — and the logistics so difficult — that most cities don’t offer a recycling option for these containers. Instead, a number of cities have simply banned the blight that’s Styrofoam to prevent the tough-to-recycle trash from collecting in the first place.

Santa Monica, in fact, is one of the cities that has successfully banned Styrofoam. After all, because it’s a beach city, Santa Monica has even more to lose by letting Styrofoam into its borders. Besides overfilling landfills, Styrofoam makes its way onto the beaches and into the ocean — shredding into little pieces and creating an eyesore — which isn’t good for attracting tourists. Even grosser are the birds and other marine life that die and sometimes wash up on the beach because they’ve ingested too much plastic — which then prevents the animals from ingesting anything actually digestible.

But a ban on Styrofoam in Santa Monica alone won’t solve the Styrofoam pollution problem — not even on our own beach. Styrofoam’s still legal in Los Angeles and other surrounding cities — which means that every time it rains, Styrofoam gets washed down the gutters straight out onto the beach and into the ocean. We can’t stop the problem as a city alone because our environment connects all of us.

A bill to ban Styrofoam throughout California** was unfortunately pulled from consideration earlier this year, but the fight to keep banning the stuff in more cities and counties pushes on. What’s your city’s stance on Styrofoam? Get involved with local environmental organizations fighting against Styrofoam (in the L.A.-area, one nonprofit to join’s Heal the Bay)!** And while we wait for policy changes, we can all ban Styrofoam from our individual lives! Expand your FilterForGood pledge to reduce not just disposable bottled water waste but Styrofoam waste too!

Photos by Bryan Koch

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Hello, FilterForGoodians. The weather’s getting cooler here in New Orleans which means that I’m starting to run again. I hit the road last Sunday, and I was surprised that I could still run about five miles without stopping (I’m not very fast though. It took me about an hour.). The shirt I wore on my first jaunt back was made entirely out of garbage.

I discovered this company called, Atayne** (pronounced “attain”), that makes outdoor and athletic gear out of garbage, or recycled materials. Their reasons are simple. It’s better for people, the planet and performance. I contacted them, and asked if they would send me a shirt to run in. They did. Here’s what I thought:

The Shirt Review

The first thing I noticed when I got the shirt was that it felt just like the other athletic shirts in my closet. It felt a little rubbery and stretchy. It didn’t feel as light or silky as my other shirts, but it wasn’t heavy or bulky. On the run, I didn’t really feel any difference. It breathed nicely, and wicked moisture away from my skin pleasantly. All in all, I didn’t notice enough of a difference to prefer my other, non-trash shirts. In fact, because these shirts are made from recycled materials, I’m more inclined to go “trashy”. Check out their gear for men** and women.** Prices start at $24.

Wait! There’s More.

As if creating workout shirts out of garbage weren’t doing enough for the planet, they throw in some make-you-think eco collaterals just for kicks. First, a tag that spreads more of their company culture and philosophy. On one side, a question, “Why do all your tops have sayings, statements, and symbols?” On the other side, the answer, “We stand for more than performance. We stand for performance with a point of view. And we believe what Abraham Lincoln believed: ‘To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men’.” But, that’s not what I love about this tag. It’s cool because I can plant it, water it and watch wildflowers grow. How cool is that?

The other card in the package listed 10 tips to become a greener athlete. I’m sure they won’t mind if I share a few notables here:

1. Recycling two aluminum cans saves the energy equivalent of a gallon of gas.
2. Drop bottled water. Invest in reusable bottles and a water filter. (Honestly, it says that!)
3. Recycle your old running shoes at www.recycledrunners.com,** or www.soles4souls.org.**
4. Don’t wash your apparel after every workout. Rinse it in the shower, and hang to dry.

Do you own any Atayne gear? Comment below and tell us about it.

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