You all have such great ways you plan on spending the remainder of the summer. Congrats to

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Yummy and fair!

Cadbury Canada just announced that Cadbury Dairy Milk is receiving fair trade certification in Canada. This is big news for one of the largest candy companies in our country, and for its cocoa farmers in Ghana who will be receiving a fair wage for their delicious crop. Hopefully Cadbury's announcement will trigger other companies to do the same.

Next summer (Cadbury's Fair Trade Dairy Milk bars will be available Summer 2010), when you head to the convenience store for your afternoon pick-me-up, you'll be able to make a conscience choice that will positively effect the lives of Ghana's cocoa farmers.

Speaking of chocolate and afternoon pick-me-ups, I think I'll head out on a break to find some fair trade chocolate to wake me up!

If I were going back to school in a couple of weeks, there would be a few things on my list I'd have to have.

Here are the necessities:

• A reusable cotton drawstring lunch bag. A lunch bag is a necessity to keep your goodies together. What I love most about this on is that it's made of unbleached cotton, and, of course, it's washable! Available at grassrootsstore.com.

• An artful agenda. A planner to keep all tests and social dates in order is a must, and one made for 1oo per cent post -consumer recycled paper is a double must! This agenda sure is cuter than the one your school offers, and I'm almost certain non of your friends will have the same one. Available at etsy.com.

• New digs. I'm not encouraging you to buy a whole new wardrobe, as that's probably unnecessary, but you just might deserve one little treat that will get you off on, um, the right foot. The soles from Zoe and Zac's eco shoes are made from recycled rubber, and the material is made from organic cotton. Not only are they super cute, they're also super affordable. Available at a Payless Shoes near you.

• Lined, 3-hole paper, made from recycled and post-consumer fibre. Available at grassrootsstore.com.

• Eco-friendly, refillable pens and pencils, like the new Paper Mate Biodegradable. Available in September at a stationary store near you!

What green gear are you sending your kids to school with this year?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway, I'm announcing a winner next week!

Be green AND clean!

I recently blogged about Attitude's cleaning products. I currently use their dish soap and love it!

I have great news for my subscribers: I have one Attitude prize pack to give away. In it is:

A large Attitude reusable shopping bag
Natural air purifier
All purpose disinfectant
Laundry detergent
Bathroom mold and mildew cleaner
Fabric softener
Dish soap
All purpose cleaner

All you have to do to win is be a subscriber to my blog, and leave an answer here to the following question: With back-to-school fliers and ads abound, I'm sure we're all dreading the end of summer. What are you going to do over the next few weeks to make this summer last as long as possible?

I will announce the winner here on Monday, August 31.

Don't forget to subscribe!

Reusable? Check! Durable? Check! Stylish? Double check!

We certainly aren't short of reusable bags these days. Sold at every check-out counter, anyone can have a bag with their grocery store's logo on it. Though we all want to be eco-conscious, for some of us it's important to look stylish at the same time.

I recently discovered b.b. begonia's reusable shopping bags and am delighted by them. Not only are they eco-friendly, they're also fun, pretty and super convenient. My favourite feature is that you can roll them up into a small package (a little smaller than the palm of your hand) when you're not using them, so they fit perfectly into small spaces (like a purse!). If you put one in all your hand bags, you'll never be caught at the farmer's market without a reusable bag again.

Want to know my other favourite thing about these bags? b.b. begonia is a Canadian-based company.

Aside from buying individual bags, you can also purchase a pack of five, which I think makes a beautiful and useful gift.

b.b. begonia bags are available in many retail stores.

Could you cut back on your waste if you really tried?

I live in Toronto and recently endured the now infamous garbage strike. I refrained from blogging about it while it was going on, as, quite frankly, I was sick of the whole darn thing. I weathered the strike just find and dandy. I figured out how to deal with my waste: what should be frozen to avoid getting smelly, what could stay in the house, where to store my waste. And, granted I'm all alone for the summer (and I don't produce much waste on my own), I managed just fine. No trips to the garbage drop-off sites and no strange smells coming from undetectable places - just a GIANT pile of recycling in the corner of my house.

I wonder if people took the opportunity during the strike to consider how much waste one person produces. Did they put something back on the grocery-store shelf because it was wrapped in too much packaging? Did they consider using every morsel of food, instead of thoughtlessly tossing, say, an overripe banana into the bin?

What is your philosophy when it comes to waste? Did you live through the strike? How did/would you manage?

Biodegradable pens! Who knew?

Do we have to scrutinize everything we use, and question if it's harmful to the environment? Yes, even though it can be a challenge at times, I strongly believe we do. And wherever it's possible to make changes, we should. A coworker of mine recently turned my attention to Paper Mate's new biodegradable pen and mechanical pencil. I admit, before this I never gave much thought to my writing utensils, but now that I know we can even make small changes in that department, it's something I'll think about every time I pick up a pen or pencil.

Paper Mate's new products will decompose in your soil or home compost within a year. They're made from a product called "Mirel", a bioplastic derived from corn sugar. The other thing that's great is both the pen and pencil can be refilled. Paper Mate Biodegradable will be available this September.

Looking for more good news? The pens will run for about $1.50, and the pencils for $3.15. Pretty reasonable in my opinion!

There are also plenty of pens and pencils on the market that are made of sustainable wood and the same bioplastic material - they're cute and make a great gift.

Next time you write down that grocery list, think about what your pen is made of.

Give yourself the perfect pout!

We're all on a quest to find eco-friendly - or at least safe - beauty products. And if you've had the same experiences I've had, you know it can be a chore. I was recently sent samples of J.R. Watkins Natural Apothecary Lip Tints, and was very impressed with the product.

It's a typical beeswax lip balm with a hint of colour - nothing too overbearing. I found the Lip Tints moisturize while sprucing up my lips for a night out. An added bonus: they contain Shea butter, which is a natural ultraviolet sun protector.

They're available in four different shades (Tickled Pink, Strike-a-Rose, Simply Mauve-lous and Berry Charming). You can find them at Shopper's Drug Mart, Zellers and Keil's for $5.99 each. They also make a perfect gift.

What I love about J.R. Watkins is their commitment to using natural ingredients in all their products. The company also boasts environmentally friendly ingredients from renewable resources, and the avoidance of the use of chemical offenders such as parabens, sulfates and phthalates.

Is being eco-friendly on your mind when shopping for beauty products? Which brands would you recommend?