Love dogs, hemp and eco-conscious products with a socially conscious mission? Meet Better Buddies, a new line of pet beds — comfy bedrolls, donut beds and pillow beds in attractive styles and different sizes.

Designed by two-time Emmy winning, Julie Marie Berman, (currently starring in ABC’s General Hospital), the line of eco-friendly pet beds is created from an array of sustainable materials: hemp, organic cotton and recycled PET (recycled plastic bottles).

They’re also on a mission to create a world free of homeless pets. Berman is an ambassador for the Best Friends Animal Society and donates 10% of Better Buddies’ profits to support their cause. Find more details and prices @ betterbuddies.com.

(photo above: better buddies on lawn and below: close-up of Leaves in Loft bed donut).

More about Glendale, California’s efforts to ban the sale of commercially bred dogs, cats and other pets … lifted from Better Buddies’ blog:

The City Council of Glendale, CA. voted to draft a proposal on June 14th to ban sales of cats and dogs in the city and on August 24th voted unanimously to make that proposal reality. The stores have 30 days to comply. (more…)

Honeydrop Beverages is a healthy line of teas and juices powered by honey. The Brooklyn, NY-based company is a leading producer of natural teas and juices made with a spoonful of pure wildflower honey, domestically sourced from regional beekeepers across the U.S..

Honeydrop recently announced their “Buy a Bottle – Save a Bee” initiative where a percentage of the profits from each bottle sold are donated to local beekeepers throughout the country to help battle Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), an epidemic threatening the global bee population. (more…)

From the Source creates their delicious-looking, handmade modern furniture in its Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY design studio utilizing only the most sustainable raw materials. Their work utilizes reclaimed, salvaged, repurposed and sustainably harvested wood, timber and slabs in the creation of a cool eco-friendly designer and custom furnishings.

Related: more eco-friendly furniture and related items

Although I personally haven’t ever tried or needed a professional hair straightening treatment, I know that they are considered to be expensive, time consuming and not always 100 percent effective. Not to mention that the ingredients can be noxious to both your body and mother earth. But for those who really want to straighten those curly or wavy locks, help may be on the way. (more…)

• Salmon runs to be restored…Largest Dam Removal in US History Gets Started – msnbc
• Tens of thousands protest…Nuclear Power Protests in Japan (photos) – huffingtonpost
• Deep Oceans Can Put Global Warming on Temporary Hiatus – livescience
• Clean energy manufacturer has dirty plant…China: Villagers Protest at Zhejiang Solar Panel Plant – bbc
• Automaker skeptical about batteries and infrastructure…Hyundai Not Planning All-Electric Cars – reuters
• They are close to the subject…Why Eating Organic is the Single Greenest Thing You Can Do – organicconsumers.org
• Hives Bigger, Killer Bees Meaner This Year, Say Experts After Attacks – cnn

Here’s a great way to save a few bucks, dress casually and on-trend, go easy on mama earth and be a socially responsible consumer. Snag the entire look for $125 through Sunday (TODAY), (more…)

• Going to the beach or park? Relax and enjoy your day but also take a bag along and collect some trash.
• Get outside and do some gardening. Start a container garden, plant some drought resistant perennials, install a rain barrel to reduce your water use and build a compost bin to process your organic kitchen waste.
• Organize your basement, garage, closets or attic. Box-up the unwanted items you find and donate them to a worthy local organization, have a yard sale, or list the useful unwanted stuff on a site like Freecycle, or Craig’s List.
• Take the day off. Don’t drive anywhere or use your emissions-creating lawnmower or gas-powered yard tools. Power-up at night (9 or 10pm when electric rates drop) to run that dishwasher or washing machine. Air dry clothes by simply putting clothes and hangers & placing them across the shower bar in the bathroom.
• Walk or bike to do your errands. In addition to cutting your carbon footprint you’ll save a little ‘green’ and burn some calories. Don’t forget your reusable bags.

These sock pairings would make cute, practical and affordable gifts for upcoming birthdays or (omg) the holidays — Fair Trade and organic cotton blends from Maggie’s Organics. Take your pick of organic sock and scarf gift sets or nightshirt & sock gift sets for adults or kids in 5 cute patterns/colors (all made with water-based ink). sock & scarf sets only $19.99 … nightshirt & sock sets $28 & $30.

Over the past few years, I’ve been wearing Maggie’s loungewear, wraps and yoga pants and love them. They’re all well made, totally comfy and seem to last forever. Start socking ‘em away…

Soft drink juggernaut Coca-Cola introduced their new PlantBottle in the UK this week. The PlantBottle is made of 22.5% renewable plant-based materials and up to 25% recycled plastic. The new design was initially unveiled during the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen and it has been slowly growing in distribution and popularity ever since. Currently, Coca-Cola produces around five billion PlantBottle packs in twenty countries.

Compared to Coca-Cola’s previous bottling versions the PlantBottle is more eco-friendly and fully recyclable. It is part of an attempt to lessen the brand’s reliance on fossil fuels. Given that worldwide consumers of Coca-Cola products guzzle 1.5 billion drinks per day, this initiative is beneficial from both an environmental and economic standpoint. (more…)