Guffly is a one product per day online store and community featuring eco friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. We know that people aren't interested in ugly stuff, so you can bet Guffly's green products are stylish, fun and attractive - eco stylish if you will. Shop the Daily Guff at http://www.guffly.com
Linda is the founder and designer of Aster + Sage the fine company that brings us the Kristine Recycled Change Purse to feature on the Daily Guff. Linda has a degree in Industrial Design from RSID but as a child experimented with construction, paper, and scissors. She says that her childhood frugality with construction paper eventually sprung her passion for conserving and recycling materials. We like that kind of passion!
We appreciate that she creates her products with fabric made from reclaimed soda bottles and fabric scraps. Here is what she says, “Our philosophy is to design first and then find recycled materials to compliment our vision. We believe our ‘design first’ attitude promotes awareness of recycled fabrics in two ways: consumers are exposed to the possibilities of recycled materials, and our products’ popularity encourages fabric mills to manufacture material with recycled content.”
The Kristine Recycled Change Purse is made from these quality materials with crisp construction. It makes for a perfect way to increase your coin usage (who can say that isn’t a good idea in this economy) but, also supports a great company fighting the good fight. Get one for you or help out a friend on the Daily Guff: http://guffly.com/
Earthlust was started by Allison when her first child was born. She wanted safe products that are environmentally friendly. We appreciate this commitment and really love their Stainless Steel Water Bottles!
Earthlust’s stainless steel bottles ensure that your beverage is safe and minimize environmental waste. Each of these bottles are made from high quality materials (check the lab report) with their custom mold. These bottles are ethically made in China because to date no one has been able to produce stainless steel water bottles in the United States. Earthlust monitors their factory to ensure very high standards for their employees and their products.
We love these unique designs on these bottles and how cool is it that Allison does some of the designs herself?! EarthLust was part of the following celebrity gift bags this year: Sundance Film Festival, the GRAMMY®s, and the NAACP Awards honoring Al Gore. They were also included at an Oscars event and will be sent out as a part of the Earth Day in Hollywood bags going to stars.
Get yourself one of these celebrity quality, eco-friendly stainless steel bottles on the Daily Guff: http://guffly.com/
The nice people at Vers create these attractive, functional Bamboo iPhone and iPod Cases while considering the environmental impact of said items. We appreciate the careful consideration of the effect of mass production on our environment and the great steps that Vers has taken to make a difference for today’s Daily Guff.
Their mission states:
Without a doubt, the creation of any mass-produced product requires the use of resources and energy to manufacture, transport and manage throughout their useful lives – which resources, how much energy and the length of a ‘useful life’ are where big differences can be made to reduce the total impact that a product makes on the world. Could you craft a more beautiful, better sounding system with LESS impact to the environment at the same time? We thought so, and it’s been the driving passion behind Vers from day one – to be better in every way imaginable.
The company also partners with the Arbor Day Foundation to replant for each tree they take! Bamboo grows faster than any other species, reaches a harvestable height in as little as 3 months, and produces 35% more oxygen per acre than trees – amazing stuff! The bamboo grass for these awesome cases are harvested by hand so they require significantly less energy (energy = CO2). Believe it or not, bamboo is harder and more dimensionally stable that Oak, with strength characteristics equal to steel! There isn’t a better, more eco-friendly way for you to protect your precious iPhone.
We think this a great option for a iPod case that will protect it for sure! These make great gifts (especially for those hard to buy for guys). Get one for you iPhone, iTouch, iPod Classic, or iPod Nano on the Daily Guff: http://guffly.com
As some of you may have noticed, the blog is not updating on our main website under “The Latest at Guffly” and the RSS feed isn’t directing to the correct page. We know, we know…we’re sorry. Lots of great things are happening at Guffly! We can’t tell you all the haps just yet but, trust us you’re going to love the updates.
We’re working to troubleshoot and resolve this issue ASAP and we ask for your patience in the meantime. You can still check the blog by clicking on “Blog” in the main website navigation or visiting it directly at http://blog.guffly.com.
Technology…it’s really a love hate relationship! Stay tuned friends…
Anton Brandt discovered The People’s Shoe while in Shanghai working in public relations and we’re glad he did. The white and blue canvas sneakers are standard issue work wear in the country. Anton saw an opportunity to bring these eco-friendly shoes to the rest of the world and now they’re on the Daily Guff!
The company manufacturers in China (before you scream, keep reading…) and they spend a lot of time in the factory checking in on product quality and more importantly, workplace quality. They ensure that all workers get paid a living wage, the work conditions are fair and accommodating, and everyone is of age to be working in the factory. They also avoid the use of polybags during each step of their process and package their shoes in reusable totes instead of shoeboxes. We don’t doubt that this is a huge undertaking but it is a necessary one to be good to the planet and the people.
On top of all that, each pair purchased also contributes to LA Mission, and organization that fights homelessness and drug use in LA’s Skid Row. The People’s Shoe says, “We’re setting our sights high: donating money, sneakers, and planning an event to get the word out.” Right on.
Sport a pair of these incredibly stylish, eco-friendly, fair trade shoes and make people turn and look because they truly are unique. Get yours on the Daily Guff: http://guffly.com
Halloween is the one time a year when you can walk around in a ridiculous costume throwing around candy. It’s the start of the holiday season. It’s a great holiday for children as well as adults to participate in some fall frolicking together. Let your worries about the economy and the stress of everyday life fade for a night of ghoulish delight. Kick off your shoes and party in style or roam the streets with your favorite trick-or-treaters with these green tips in mind.
A Monster Bash: You can’t have a Halloween party without playing Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Skip the DJ and download that tune plus many others onto your iPod to blast at your party. Once you have the great music it’s all about the treats. Make your event homey with some homemade organic cookies shaped with Halloween themed cookie cutters. Use a pumpkin cake pan to make a cake shaped like a pumpkin. You can’t go wrong with organic cider brewed by local farmers. Eco-friendly Halloween candy has been under the radar for years and is finally coming to the main market. Organic lollipops made from real fruit, endangered species chocolate bars which proceeds go to helping endangered animals make you feel good while having a tasty snack. Give your party an extra boost by making it a “Give Back” theme. Ask your guests to bring toys or money for Toys for Tots or another worthy cause in your area. Do you have a group of friends or children who are Halloween ready with no party to go to? You might want to try calling your nearest children center, senior citizen or retirement community and ask if you can join in on activities.
Trick or Treat: It wouldn’t be Halloween without them. But instead of giving the usual candy and cavities why not try reverse trick-or-treating? Find a charity or cause you like that supports kids. When you’re on your trick or treat route tell each house that you would like them to give a penny, nickel, or quarter to donate to this charity. Many will be happy to oblige. At the end of the night you will walk away with a warm heart and a bag full of change for a good cause. It can get dark early and quickly this time of year so make sure your little one is carrying a LED flashlight when they leave the house. If you are going to be the one handing out the treats you might want some fair trade candy in your bucket of goodies. By buying fair trade candy you are making sure that the farmers who grow the cocoa beans and sugar canes are paid fair wages and the workers are in safe and healthy working conditions and not working in sweatshops for ten cents a day. Avoid eating candy that isn’t wrapped that you receive while trick-or-treating; in addition to the germs not everyone has good intentions when handing out Halloween candy.
Making a Shriek Shack: Nothing says Halloween more than a pumpkin on the front porch of a house with a scary carved face. Get your pumpkin from a local farmer. Use non-toxic paints to decorate your pumpkin; they’re safer to use around children and pets. Use solar powered orange, green, and white lights around the house to save energy and cash. Want to make some organic shrunken heads? Take an organic apple that has been peeled or a mini pumpkin that’s already gutted. Carve a scary face. Take one cup of lemon juice mixed with one tablespoon of salt and place your head in this solution for 5-7 days to complete your shrunken head. Beeswax and soy candles placed in an empty clean tin can poked with a nail to make holes create a scary ambiance. Old sheets stuffed with newspapers or old clothes and tied with a rubber band make ghosts; they can be placed in trees or around doorways.
A Ghoul costume: The idea of going as something green is starting to catch on. A mother nature or mother earth costume can easily be made with a peasant outfit with a few leaves and flowers attached; make sure your hair is messy and frizzy and place a twig wreath on your head to complete. Go to your Halloween party as Al Gore; put on a nice dark suit with a white shirt and a dark colored tie. Carry a trophy with a label that says Nobel Prize or a copy of An Inconvenient Truth and you’re good to go. If you don’t have much money to buy a costume making one out of things you already own or going to the thrift store for cheap deals is never out of the question. Create a costume from something that’s big in the news right now; it will make your costume one of the memorable ones. Be balloon boy by tying wire hangers together into the shape of the now infamous UFO and cover with aluminum foil not forgetting to leave three holes for your head and arms. Octomom or Kate Gosselin can be done by getting eight or more baby dolls and carrying them around.
Hey Amanda of The Andean Collection! Thanks for bringing us the Classic Tagua Bracelets to feature on the Daily Guff!
Amanda founded The Andean Collection in fall 2008 while she was in Ecuador researching rural women’s survival strategies when dealing with poverty as her master thesis. Determined to make more of a difference than a paper could – she stayed in Ecuador longer to find disadvantaged artisans, training them, and helping them fortify their supply chains. The company brings us fashion forward, eco-friendly, and fair trade jewelry and we LOVE it!
Here’s some info about this awesome company:
Fair Trade Fair trade in artisan products means ensuring that producers and everyone along the supply chain has good working conditions, a decent wage, and a realistic path out of poverty. Given the inherent low education level of poor producers, fair trade for us also means going beyond and helping artisans lead a better life. We do this through an annual survey of our producers in which we learn more about their lives, the problems they face on a daily basis, and taking action to help them combat these difficulties.
Tagua
The Tagua nut comes from the Ecuadorean Ivory Palm, whose scientific name is Phytelephas aequatorialis or “plant elephant”, and which flourishes in the lowlands of South America. The medium-sized palm, reaching up to 60 feet tall, grows quickly and easily in shady, humid places hidden below larger trees. The tagua nut is collected from large pods emerging from the palm’s trunk. These regenerative pods can be harvested by climbing the tree or collected later once they fall to the forest floor. Harvested early, tagua is a soft fruit resembling the inner fruit of a coconut and can be eaten. Harvested later, tagua is white and extremely hard, and has come to be known as “vegetable ivory” because of its amazing ability to be carved and polished. Tagua is a perfect natural material for making beads, buttons, and figurines; before the age of plastic, tagua was used to produce large quantities of buttons for world markets. Whether hand-dyed into a wide spectrum of colors or left in a more natural state, the versatility of this nut makes it a unique addition to any jewelry piece.
You may have heard news recently about The Andean Collection because people are loving the sophisticated style of this eco friendly jewelry – this isn’t the hippie stuff for sure! These make great accessories and gifts from the Daily Guff: http://guffly.com
Back by popular demand the Buckle Up Tote made reclaimed seatbelts from our wonderful supplier, Maggie Bags! We are proud to offer this stylish, eco-friendly recycled purse to you once again. Many of you already know but, for first-timers let’s go over the stats of this unique purse:
Material: Seatbelt webbing that has been rejected or left over from the auto industry. This material is diverted from landfills and made into these totes. 10 colors to choose from!
Lining: Maggie Bags signature plum satin lining – an elegant contrast to the durable exterior
Features: One zip pocket, two open pockets, and two pen holders. Plus this purse has feet on it to keep it standing up straight.
Why This Rocks: We have been hearing incredible things from our Buckle Up Tote carrying gals – people actually ask to try this purse on and even look inside! Most people don’t even realize what it’s made of until they’re told – it really just looks that good! On top of that, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more functional tote that’s not too big and not too small. Check out this video of Antonella and her Buckle Up Tote:
Get your Buckle Up Tote and be prepared for compliments (seriously this bag will grow your ego) on the Daily Guff: http://guffly.com/
The leaves are changing and the weather is getting cold. Your kids are dreading that horrible moment when they need to pick up a bucket and a rake. That’s right folks it’s time for fall cleaning. Some of you may be setting aside a weekend to do some fall cleaning. Others may just want to get into a more eco-friendly cleaning habit. Cleaning doesn’t have to be a brutal chore; you can make it fun and eco-friendly for your entire household.
Little Ones Love Cleaning: By making cleaning fun, you can find yourself with a handy cleaning partner. Little kids love to clean the house. This gives them a sense of responsibility and importance in the family. It is never too young to start. Have small chores at first such as checking for loose trash and scraps of paper or dumping all of the trash bins in the house. Then you can move onto things like recycling and sorting laundry. Although your house may not be as clean as quickly if the little one is still in their toddler years, as they get older the work will be done quicker and more efficiently. There are plenty of “play” vacuums or housekeeping sets sold at toy stores that work just like the real thing and can help your little one learn to clean. One of the main reasons kids hate chores is because they are looked at as a chore and not something that’s fun and benefits the entire household. Make cleaning time fun by turning it into a game. Take turns assigning someone the task of being the DJ and let them blast their favorite tunes during cleaning time. Set up a reward system to teach children that with hard work come rewards.
Dump it: Walk around your house with a notepad in hand. Look at everything and ask yourself; has anyone used this in the past year? If not it’s time to let it go. Don’t be a hoarder! That shirt that you haven’t worn in two years could really benefit someone else. Shelters are always in need of donations. Everything from appliances to clothes can be donated or sold on sites like Craigslist.com and Ebay.com for money. Just make sure the clothes don’t have any stains or rips. It’s also a great idea to go through the medicine cabinet. Many households have medicine that they no longer use or that humidity has ruined. Check for expired expiration dates and for prescriptions that are unused and no longer needed. Flush unused meds that you no longer need down the toilet and stock up on medicines for colds and the flu. All of this should be done twice a year.
Mr. Fix It: Are you sure your house is insulated? If not you could be wasting a lot of money on heating bills. Audit your home. You can hire a professional or do it the old-fashioned way yourself. Take a candle and go around to all of the windows; if the flame wavers, there is cold air coming through. You can use tape, or caulk to insulate (make sure you use a putty knife to remove old caulk). Or you can use your kitchen plastic wrap stretched across the area that needs to be insulated and stuck in place with the heat of a blow dryer. You don’t need to hire a professional to clean the gutters after all the leaves have fallen. Take a bucket, trowel, and gloves to protect your hands; just make sure someone is holding the bottom of the ladder at all times for safety. It’s a good idea to clean the bug screens that protect your windows and doors to make sure your home has clean air. You can use the dust brush attachment on your vacuum to get the dust off.
Products to Use: There are so many toxins in so many cleaning products that people use in their homes everyday that aren’t safe. Just because it makes your house clean doesn’t mean that it’s a good chemical to have in or around your body. Less than a quarter of the cleaning products on the market have been tested for safe use in the home. Keep your cleaning products in a shelf that is far from reach for the little ones and away from the heat of a stove or radiator. There are a few items that are safer for your home and clean just as well as the toxins. Believe it or not, you can use baking soda to clean everything from your teeth to the oven (a known a fact); just add water. Cornstarch is great for cleaning windows, polishing furniture, and shampooing carpets and rugs. Although the smell is, strong vinegar is one of the best eco-friendly cleaning products you can use. It cleans fast and cuts through tough stains and mildew. Just be sure to make your vinegar cleaning solution with water, lemon juice and half of the solution vinegar.
Guffly is a one product per day online store and community featuring eco friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. We know that people aren’t interested in ugly stuff, so you can bet Guffly’s green products are stylish, fun and attractive – eco stylish if you will. Shop the Daily Guff at http://www.guffly.com/
From Worthless to Priceless is Koru Street’s tagline and they’re the great supplier that brings us the Recycled Plastic Bag Wallet to feature on the Daily Guff! Their mission is, “To prove that eco-friendly can be fun, colorful and even silly sometimes. And can go beyond the environmental benefits to improve the lives of others all around the world.” Right on!
This particular fabulous wallet comes from Koru Street’s vendor CONSERVE, a creative non-profit organization that turns what was once an environmental hazard into a clean, fashionable material to create each wallet. In their efforts to help save the environment they also provide a fair-trade approved income for the urban poor of India. How about that – awesome wallet, awesome cause!
Get a wallet that is going to get you lots of attention and people won’t believe it’s made from recycled materials! Six colors to choose from on the Daily Guff: http://guffly.com/
Linda is the founder and designer of Aster + Sage the fine company that brings us the Kristine Recycled Change Purse to feature on the Daily Guff. Linda has a degree in Industrial Design from RSID but as a child experimented with construction, paper, and scissors. She says that her childhood frugality with construction paper eventually sprung her passion for conserving and recycling materials. We like that kind of passion!
Earthlust was started by Allison when her first child was born. She wanted safe products that are environmentally friendly. We appreciate this commitment and really love their Stainless Steel Water Bottles!
Their mission states:
As some of you may have noticed, the blog is not updating on our main website under “The Latest at Guffly” and the RSS feed isn’t directing to the correct page. We know, we know…we’re sorry. Lots of great things are happening at Guffly! We can’t tell you all the haps just yet but, trust us you’re going to love the updates.
Anton Brandt discovered The People’s Shoe while in Shanghai working in public relations and we’re glad he did. The white and blue canvas sneakers are standard issue work wear in the country. Anton saw an opportunity to bring these eco-friendly shoes to the rest of the world and now they’re on the Daily Guff!
Halloween is the one time a year when you can walk around in a ridiculous costume throwing around candy. It’s the start of the holiday season. It’s a great holiday for children as well as adults to participate in some fall frolicking together. Let your worries about the economy and the stress of everyday life fade for a night of ghoulish delight. Kick off your shoes and party in style or roam the streets with your favorite trick-or-treaters with these green tips in mind.
Hey Amanda of The Andean Collection! Thanks for bringing us the Classic Tagua Bracelets to feature on the Daily Guff!
Back by popular demand the Buckle Up Tote made reclaimed seatbelts from our wonderful supplier, Maggie Bags! We are proud to offer this stylish, eco-friendly recycled purse to you once again. Many of you already know but, for first-timers let’s go over the stats of this unique purse:
The leaves are changing and the weather is getting cold. Your kids are dreading that horrible moment when they need to pick up a bucket and a rake. That’s right folks it’s time for fall cleaning. Some of you may be setting aside a weekend to do some fall cleaning. Others may just want to get into a more eco-friendly cleaning habit. Cleaning doesn’t have to be a brutal chore; you can make it fun and eco-friendly for your entire household.
From Worthless to Priceless is Koru Street’s tagline and they’re the great supplier that brings us the Recycled Plastic Bag Wallet to feature on the Daily Guff! Their mission is, “To prove that eco-friendly can be fun, colorful and even silly sometimes. And can go beyond the environmental benefits to improve the lives of others all around the world.” Right on!