Saturday, April 22 is Earth Day! Heather Smith with theHAUTEbar shares some Colorado companies changing the way products are made, from conventional to sustainable, as well as some eco-conscious initiatives these brands are activating to make Colorado a greener state! Earth Day is all about realizing things you can do for our environment now and for future generations — while still living fabulous and having fun doing it, of course!
Living EcoLuxe in your home.
Pangea Organics [Boulder] Canadian Pine + White Sage candles smell sublime and are made with the finest essential oils, 100% vegetable-based wax, and completely free of synthetics, preservatives, toxins or dyes. Pangea’s entire bath + body line is created with powerful plant ingredients, and perfect to pamper with for an at home eco-spa day.
For Earth Day tomorrow, Pangea and One Tree Planted have joined forces to re-forest 100 acres of the 4 Mile burn area in Boulder – one of the most devastating fires in Colorado history – by planting over 20,000 trees and bringing an entire mountain back to life.
For the kitchen + entertaining the intrepid designer David Rasmussen [Carbondale] has created gorgeously green wine glasses and serving trays from sustainable walnut wood. Everything from salad niçoise to linguine bolognese will look exquisite when nestled into this Chroma Wood Café Racer tray. These wine glasses get better with age! The wood insulates, and keeps your wine at its optimal temperature longer than a normal wine glass.
Love your outdoors – more!
AKER [Denver] has engineered a beautiful line of beehives and garden kits to transform your urban home into your very own farm of veggies, leafy greens, and herbs; as well as create havens for wildlife like honeybees and butterflies. Save the bees! Each product snaps together without tools, and everything in manufactured in Colorado using high-grade, ethically sourced FSC-certified woods.
This Colorado Top Bar Bee Hive design increases the hive space and allow the bees to build a “natural” or “free” comb limiting their exposure to foreign substances. The Hexagon Wall Planter mounts to your fence or wall in a grid pattern, creating a lovely vertical garden, and I have it filled with organic lavender from Heritage Lavender Gardens [Berthoud] who grow over 30 different varieties of lavender.
Plant something yourself on Earth Day! This is the perfect time of year to sow some seeds into your garden or create one! My Colorado favorite is Lake Valley Seeds [Boulder] who sell packaged flower, herb and vegetable seeds that are all non-GMO, and they have a full line of organic garden seeds and sprouting seeds that are USDA Certified Organic.
Now have a seat and enjoy your backyard or any outdoor space, park or mountain side! Big Agnes [Steamboat Springs] Chair Zero is not only the lightest four-legged camp chair, it is made with an ecoconscious and innovative Green Anodizing™ process {which keeps the aluminium frame in tip top condition} that has taken out the hazardous chemicals in traditional metal working and significantly reduces waste water by recycling water used throughout the rinsing process.
And while you are enjoying Mother Nature’s Majesty, feel free to reach for a cold beverage out of this Green Guru [Boulder] Kickstand Cooler bag made with upcycled banners — it also easily mounts on a rear bike rack so you can reduce your carbon footprint and roll sans gas guzzling vehicle! The Green Guru brand has diverted over 500,000 pounds of trash from landfills! We have this one full of some thirst quenching Colorado bevies from Pressery, Alta Palla and of course Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale — their 6-pack ring is made from a photodegradable material so it breaks down in the sun — and you can rest assure, knowing you’re imparting less trash and keeping our sea animals safely swimming without the fear of them getting stuck in these traditionally plastic hazards!
No cycle, no worries. Grab a KOTA longboard [Denver] where they hand make every skate board locally using all Forestry Stewardship Council certified Hard Rock Maple and use a water-based glue vs. epoxy for construction. Sling on a super stylie Alchemy Goods [Boulder] upcycled backpack constructed with used bicycle tubes! Their Brooklyn bag is a sleek yet spacious backpack featuring a padded laptop sleeve compartment, a number of internal organization dividers and a pair of easy-access outside pockets. Padded straps made for a comfortable carry, even for heavier loads. Stylish, durable, recycled and highly water resistant!
Adventure lovers can love their Rocky Mountain playground right back!
Folsom Skis [Denver] hand crafts the highest quality, longest lifespan custom skis through a clean and lean construction process that bucks the conventionally toxic ski-making conventions. Their skis are made with California-grown bamboo along with other blends of North American grown woodcores (vs. foam or composite cores which rely on more petroleum and complex manufacturing). Their epoxy is as low impact as possible at 99% non-toxic. Folsom recycles all plastics possible and their manufacturing process is honed to produce as little waste as possible. All Folsom skis are made without lacquers, topcoats, and silkscreen inks because of their harsh composition. They will also take your Folsom skis back when you are finished many-a-season-of-riding to create outdoor furniture, sleds, truck lighting fixtures, art and whatever else they can think of. Ski hard, but tread lightly.
Crescent Moon Snowshoes [Boulder] have constructed the Eva-all-foam snowshoe which is 100% vegan. No animal products or derivatives are used in the manufacturing of this #newkindofsnowshoe. For over 20 years, Crescent Moon has been looking for ways to reduce its environmental footprint in the making its aluminum framed snowshoes too by using aluminum which is nearly 80% recycled. All of the “spent” aluminum, from remnants to rivets, used in production are also recycled. Crescent Moon also uses 100% wind powered energy in its facility!