The folks at technical surf and outdoor apparel maker, Finisterre, do a bunch of innovative things with sustainable merino wool – including going surfing with one of their favorite employees (see below):

Related: previously on altCon

• finisterre – evolutionary eco clothing design
• eco fashion friday finds – turn up the green

This week’s small, edited collection of finds is focused on eco stylish bags for the ladies.

(above) – Here’s a cute organic cotton Weekender from Pansy Maiden, whether meandering at the beach or on higher ground. 100% vegan, natural and machine washable; available in several color combos, ($128).

(above L to R) – Definitely not for the vegan set, but perfect for upcyclers – Uptown Redesigns pre-loved leather coats into eco stylish handbags, totes and clutches; loving the Gray leather exterior with upcycled silk scarf lining; ($90).  Also cool are their small bags & totes, as well as their Gone but not Forgotten styles that can be custom ordered.

(at R) From online eco boutique BTC Elements, Stewart + Brown’s roomy Clover Purse in surplus cotton and hemp blend; made in California.  (On sale, $73.50)

BTW, 20-70% off sale going on at BTC Elements, for tops, skirts, pant,  dresses, jackets, trenches and a few hoodies…all created in an eco conscious manner.

That’s it for now, have a great weekend, and remember to keep that carbon footprint small.

Summer essentials typically include swimsuit, sunscreen, beach towel and reusable water bottle.  But here are a few useful items to keep you more eco conscious while on the go, year-round:

Each item is available for only $15 thru May 5:

• To-Go Ware Food Carrier in stainless steel
• Bamboo Utensils – lightweight & reusable
• Eco Travel Mug – compostable & durable
• 100% organic cotton canvas totes

Find @ greenhome.com — tap into GreenHome.com‘s deal of the week by just signing up for their enewsletter.

Artist Christopher Paul definitely has a talent for making old junk into new art.  He repaints upcycled old plates to create new decorative pieces.  A great way to repurpose lonely single plates into attractive home decorations.

Find these and more upcycled finds at Christopher’s cpstudios etsy shop where his repainted plates range in price from $7 to $14.

Before there were computers and even typewriters, there were pencils — simple, low-tech writing utensils which may appear eco friendly, (no electricity required).  Yet, along with fun-inducing crayons, their manufacture has the unfortunate ability to adversely affect our environment.

Conventionally made pencils require trees and carbon, and traditional crayons require petroleum — what’s an eco minded individual need to do, to stay the course?

Look for eco friendly options like these, found at UltimateGreenStore.com

• Pencils (3 sets of 12 / 36 minimum order, $4.79 )
• Prang, soybean blend of biodegradable crayons ($2.45 for 24 or $5.49 for box of 64)

Just like people, some shoes are cooler than others.

IPATH has been creating hip eco sneaks for guys who board and bike since 1999.  Be the first cat on your block to kick back in stylish, durable hemp footwear now designed for everyday scenes — whether schoolyard, casual office or backyard.

Check out those stash pockets (under the tongue) for keeping tiny valuables safe.

(L to R, above) – Turtle Dove and Natural ($74.95); Black Hemp ($79.95) @ IPath.com

• It’s about time – I guess the Kennedy’s are going to have to bite the bullet and live with the view…Cape Wind, First U.S. Offshore Wind Farm, Approved – reuters
• Oil slick 5 times larger… America’s choice: do you want offshore wind turbines or deadly black goo? Louisiana Coast Under Threat as Oil Spill Worsens - yahoo! news
• Photo gallery: World’s Rarest Species – natgeo
• Remember Dutch Elm disease…Oak Disease “Threatens Landscape” – bbc
• A different kind of environmental hazard…WW2 Bomb Found Outside George Clooney’s Villa – orange.uk
• I hate to bring this up but…Melting Icebergs in Polar Oceans Causing Global Sea Level Rise - sciencedaily
• Consumer lesson on supply and demand…Gas Prices Jump to More Than $9 in Alaska Town – myway

W. Atlee Burpee & Co. is encouraging younger and novice gardeners to grow their own (fruits and veggies of course) with its children’s gardening publications, the Burpee Home Gardens® I Can Grow Guide.

The guide offers ideas for teachers, youth group leaders and volunteers on how to cultivate a successful youth garden program.  This resource is in addition to the Burpee Home Gardens Garden Fresh gardening guide that covers virtually every aspect of how to start and maintain a home garden for beginners.

Home gardening promotes growing and consuming local produce – an endeavor that fosters not only a healthy diet – but also helps the planet by reducing the shipment of produce from other regions.  Gardening also enhances self esteem, good work habits and a stronger bond with nature, and what one eats – all good stuff.  Needless to say, it’s also a great way to get kids away from the tv and computer — and into the world outside.

Since last August, we’ve been following the path of Nissan’s EV, the LEAF, promising to keep you updated on the latest breaking news.  It is, after all, slated to be the second full-electric vehicle to hit the market for the masses, not long after the highly publicized Chevy Volt rolls into dealership lots.  So what’s the big news?

Nissan has just announced that eco-friendly drivers nationwide can reserve a zero-emission LEAF beginning May 15th for either lease or purchase.  (If you signed up for e-news updates on the LEAF microsite, however, you should have already received an e-mail allowing early registration… a perk for your curiosity, indeed!)  Note:  photos of LEAF just above and below.

Available this December, the LEAF requires a refundable $99 deposit, limited at one per household. And with after-tax pricing coming in around $25,000, it’s not hard to believe that more than one person per household would want to book a set of the electric wheels. In addition to the $7,500 federal tax credit that knocks a chunk off of the nearly $33,000 MSRP, state and local incentives will likely become available, making the oblong hatchback a pleasantly practical choice.

For the naysayers who wouldn’t possibly invest in a first generation EV, Richard Canny of EV company THINK (photo, just above) promotes the environmental lifestyle by lessening consumer “range anxiety” – the fear that you’ll get too far from home without a charging station nearby. He says, “It’s just like charging a cell phone overnight. You plug it in, and in the morning it’s ready to go, fully charged.”

(photo above:  LEAF interior) According to Canny, EVs are the best solution because unlike plug-in hybrid vehicles, they don’t carry around the extra weight of two powertrains – engine and battery.  Says Canny, “As plug-in hybrids get bigger and heavier, they need more batteries and stronger gas- or diesel-powered generators or engines. It becomes a vicious circle of more cost and more weight.”

Some might say that settles it. According to a poll on AutoBlogGreen, 21 percent of readers said they’d reserved a LEAF, 23 percent were waiting to reserve one of GM’s Volts, while a whopping 56 percent said they’d wait for the market to mature. What do you think? Will you be plopping down some dough to be the first plugging in on your block?