Is it too early to be thinking summer when my thermometer is stuck at 37 degrees?  Not to worry, one peek at the 2009 swimsuit collection from Australia’s Emobi (French Polynesian for birth) will get you in a very beachy mood.

Made with water-based, earth-friendly dyes and UPF 50+ fabric, the fashion-forward prints are all created in-house.  (more…)

UPDATE:  It’s official – Congratulations to CONNIE W. of Ottawa!  Thanks to everyone for participating.  Didn’t win this one?  Don’t despair, check out our next Great Green Giveaway, in honor of Mother’s Day.

(original post follows…)

Continuing our springtime trend, this Great Green Giveaway is generously sponsored by LEHR, an innovator in eco friendly lawn care.  One lucky winner will be able to beautify their lawn by using this Detachable Curved Shaft:  Propane Powered Eco Trimmer.

Rather than spill gas on the lawn and spew toxic fumes around the neighborhood, a cleaner, easier to operate alternative is here — the LEHR Eco Trimmer…the world’s first propane-powered lawn and garden tool.  The Eco Trimmer has all the power and performance of a gasoline trimmer — minus the detrimental pollution and emissions associated with dirty gasoline engines.

It has zero ozone depleting potential, zero evaporative emissions, 96% fewer carcinogens and 97% fewer particulates than its gasoline counterpart, and already exceeds the EPA’s 2011 regulations for home and garden equipment.

Fueled by propane and its patented, “Twist ‘n’ Go” fueling system, this baby will run for about 2 hours on a single propane canister, requires very little maintenance and starts at the push of a button.  Empty canisters are 100% recyclable.  Learn more @ goLEHR.com.

If you don’t have a yard but know someone who does – this clean and green lawn and garden tool would make a great gift.

Prize value, $199 + (plus free shipping to USA or Canada)

To Enter this Random Drawing, simply:
Visit goLEHR.com. Then leave a comment on this post, telling us how this prize would make your lawn care endeavors greener.  (Winner must reside in USA or Canada.)
Add the following address to your email address book:
m at AlternativeConsumer.com. (*one entry per person)

One lucky winner will be selected in our Random Drawing, and notified by email on Thursday, April 30 at approximately 8p (ET). Winner has 24 hours to claim their prize, or offer is null and void. Winner’s name will also be included on this post.

*EXTRA CREDIT
If you have your own blog, you can post about the giveaway with a link back to this giveaway post. To make sure we know, you can come back and leave a comment with a link to your blog post.
If you Twitter, you can tweet about the giveaway, and leave a comment linking to the status.
The more ways you post about it, the more entries you receive.

Time’s ticking, so start clicking, and good luck!

We feature green news, reviews and giveaways all the time; feel free to subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch.

• I had a feeling…Rich Nations Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rose in 2007 – reuters
• Everything ‘new’ isn’t necessarily ‘better’…Patience in an Era of Buy, Buy, Buy! – cs monitor
• What if you’re both? Night Owls Stay Alert Longer Than Early Birds – natgeo
• This is about the other kind of green…Ford Loss is Smaller Than Estimates as Cash Use Drops – bloomberg
• Think about it. This is actually eco-friendly…Court Upholds Divorce by Text Message – aol news

Clear2Go, a company that makes replaceable water filter bottles, has gotten Americans to pledge to reduce their consumption of bottled water.  The company offers consumers a $5 coupon toward the purchase of their bottle for signing the pledge.  The three-week-old campaign has induced Americans to pledge to reduce their consumption of disposable water bottles by 1,000,000 million units. Check on the campaign’s progress or download their widget here.

The 24 oz. Clear2Go tap water filter bottle removes 99.9% of microbial cysts, reduces chlorine odor and taste, is BPA-free and filters a robust 100 gallons per filter; (cost $16.99).

Nice marketing idea.

Choosing the movie theater at which to see that new, Oscar-worthy, Ashton Kutcher opus formerly involved considerations like proximity, cushy seats, big screens and quality of the popcorn.  Now you’ll have a new variable to consider when shelling out your cinema-going cash, sustainability.  Livermore Cinemas in Livermore California has installed an 18,000 square foot solar array on the roof of its theater complex.  The new solar installation will potentially provide 35% of the theater’s energy needs and cut its electric bill by 45%.  The system will provide about 190,000 kilowatt hours of electricity over the course of a year.  The solar cells have already been operational for about two months.

I don’t believe the energy savings will effect the price of tickets.

photo credit: solyndra.com

Designer Gitta Gschwendtner created these stools using a classic paper shopping bag as the mold and filling it with a mixture of concrete and recycled wood chips to make it lighter and more eco-friendly.  The work, which was commissioned by the Design Museum of London and Time Out, was created to explore the theme of consumerism as it pertains to the city of London and design.  The stools are intended to induce one to ponder rather than purchase.

via: designboom

Fashion e-tailer YOOX.com stepped onto the green scene on Earth Day by launching an eco initiative, yooxYGEN — “a new dedicated area on yoox.com devoted entirely to ethically conscious products including fashion, design, jewelry, and books.

This eco-friendly gallery will also showcase several designers who will collaborate to offer customers limited-edition items….yoox.com will take its first step towards a multi-tiered eco-sustainable strategy that will be enhanced and developed as an ongoing company policy for the future. Planned for its launch is a new area on yoox.com featuring ethically conscious products and company improvement plans such as offsetting the carbon footprint of shipping and courier services.”

Though yoox.com is devoid of green, this offshoot, patch of green is a breath of fresh air; a good place for those with deep pockets to start becoming more socially responsible, ethically minded and eco friendly.  For vintage one of a kind, designer pieces, to Stella McCartney, Ali Hewson of EDUN, Katharine Hamnett and many others, they’ve got the eco fashionistas covered. Project LENY is a collaboration of designers who are donating net proceeds of their t shirts and totes to Al Gore’s The Climate Project. All of this is great.

I just wish the site were more transparent.  In creating an eco/ethical category, consumers need the manufacturing facts to be readily available, and this is not always the case.  It would be nice to know more details regarding Campus shoes (reasonably priced, but is the rubber, plant based?) and Momaboma bags (is the finish non-toxic? And what about the leather handle?)…the devil is in the details.  Each and every item in  “eco-mmerce” may be justified, but one would need to do a lot of digging to have peace of mind.  We’ll keep our eye on how this site evolves in their efforts to become more green.

Valentino Miss V size 6 skirt, ($225)

Bio Aperitif Set, (set of 4, $38)

the eco travel handbook ($25)

Venetian Bag Clutch ($500) Carmina Campus by Ilaria Venturini Fendi recycles aluminum from Venetian blinds

• Green Jobs at the Heart of Obama’s Earth Day Push on Energy – enn/nyt
• No, he’s not re-mixing “Beat It.”  The Green Picture: Michael Jackson Reuses and Recycles in Beverly Hills – ecorazzi
• These may not be the “biggest”…Four Biggest Green Marketing Scams – msnbc
• Mysterious Space Blob Discovered at Cosmic Dawn – sicencedaily
• I guess I’ve got to learn to love the veggie burger…Ban the Burger, Save the World – npr
• Nazi Cattle Invade England – ananova

Bright Automotive unveiled what they call “the world’s first purpose-built 100 MPG vehicle” at an event in Washington, DC yesterday.  The Idea is intended as a fuel-saving, lower emissions option for commercial and government fleets. The multi-use, hybrid vehicle falls into the light truck classification.  The company announced it plans to produce 50,000 vehicles annually by 2013, providing businesses and government agencies with a highly durable, cost-saving and eco-friendly vehicle, and potentially creating thousands of American jobs.  Bright Automotive showed a fully operating concept version of the vehicle to a crowd that included Members of Congress, White House Officials, media, customer and supplier representatives.

more @ brightautomotive.com

source: bright automotive press release