Your local CVS just got a little greener.  With its new Earth Essentials line, CVS is joining the growing wave of retailers who are creating their own eco-friendly product lines.  The pharmacy and retail chain is launching a new line of eco-friendly plates and bowls made entirely from natural and renewable sugarcane. The products are designed to completely biodegrade within one to three months, making it a greener choice for travel, picnics and parties.

The downside to landfill-bound disposable plastic plates and cookware is well known.  Earth Essentials provides a greener option for those times when it’s just not practical to use and transport your best dishes and cloth towels.

Earth Essentials bowls and plates are:  microwave and freezer safe, fully compostable, able to handle hot liquids up to 200° F, sterilized and sanitized, strong, and available in unbleached bagasse.

In addition to the line of plates and bowls, the Earth Essentials line also includes paper products recently endorsed by Greenpeace.  The selection of paper products made with recycled fiber includes napkins, toilet tissue and paper towels. The line is available at your local CVS and on-line @ cvs.com

A Tried and True, Green Product Review:   Last weekend, I tried Arm & Hammer’s new Essentials Liquid Laundry Detergent 2X Concentrated, (Mountain Rain).  It blew my dirty socks off.

Into the wash went everything from sheets and towels to jeans, tees, socks, undies and yoga wear.  Folding four loads of wash, I had ample opportunity to get up close and personal with these freshly cleaned threads.  The smooth, silky texture was phenomenal, and everything smelled amazing.

Eco perks:  made with renewable, biodegradable plant-based soaps; no dyes, no phosphates or bleaches, no petroleum-based cleaners, safe for septic systems. Less packaging: 50 fluid ounces = 26 loads.  Because it’s 2x concentrated, you use half the usual amount, save water and less raw materials are needed to manufacture each jug (#2, HDPE plastic).  The smaller container is, of course, easier to carry, and takes up less storage space. (more…)

A Tried and True, Green Product Review:

Sure, DIY concoctions (distilled vinegar, baking soda, table salt and lemon) can work wonders, but sometimes, due to time constraints, it’s more convenient to grab an off the shelf green spray to fight household grime.

I recently had the good fortune to try Eco Mist, a line developed and manufactured in Canada using colloidal chemistry.  Founder Ted Fagan decided to utilize this scientific approach whereby plant-based, renewable ingredients (in this case — corn, tree sap, processed coconut extract, sugarcane, grass, grains and potatoes) are heated up at various temps to create billions of tiny cleaning agents.  These tiny agents clean grease and grime at a molecular depth — unsurpassed by petro-based cleaning agents found in traditional cleaners.

Extra eco perks:  all of the products are unscented, non-toxic non-carcinogenic, non-allergenic, biodegradable and Eco Options approved. With Household and Professional lines available, we tried the Kitchen Plus household spray and put it to the test on our daily spills and mess. (more…)

UDATE: July 28, 2009 - Here’s a Marcal small steps store locator (original post, follows…)

Marcal Paper Products is not really a newcomer to the eco movement; as the company states, they’ve been “saving trees since 1950.”

Last month they began to roll-out Small Steps, a new eco friendly line of bath tissue, paper towels, napkins and facial tissue; and they asked us if we’d like to check it out. We said, sure. (more…)

Next time you’re shopping for laundry detergent, don’t be duped by cuddly talking bears or watercolor drawings of sunny, verdant valleys. There’s something dirty hiding in commercial laundry detergents, fabric softeners and dryer sheets.

Common grocery store brands are loaded with questionable chemicals like phosphates and phenols that leave toxic residues behind, which are then absorbed through our skin and leached into the environment. Mountain Green All Natural Laundry & Cleaning Products are a great alternative.

The company started in Colorado in the ’80s, providing gentle but effective products for people with sensitive skin. They left out petroleum-based ingredients, using only renewable, biodegradable ingredients that are better for our clothes, for people, and for the planet. Mountain Green recently gave their bottles a new look and debuted in chain grocery stores like Ingles, Kroger, Giant Eagle Hannaford, and Sweetbay. You can also order them at http://mountaingreen.biz.

CONTEST UPDATE (9.19.08, 3p, ET)

It’s official — today’s 3 Lucky Winners are — Kimberly Cook, Terra Heck and Cindy Ellis.  Congratulations! And hey, everyone can be a winner by using CleanWell.   Thanks to all for participating.  Our next contest begins later today, so check it out.

I love using CleanWell’s sensational hand wash and hand sanitizers — they’re effective, eco-friendly, body-friendly and great smelling!

3 lucky winners will each receive 3 of the newly introduced Spearmint Lime Soap Starter Packs from CleanWell.  CleanWell’s products are all-natural, non-toxic and made from rapidly renewable botanical sources.  Besides kill 99.9% of germs, these green goods are also alcohol-free, Triclosan-free and certified cruelty-free.

Each prize is valued at approximately $30 plus (free) shipping.

Entering our random drawing for our Great Green Giveaway is as easy as 1-2-3:

Visit cleanwelltoday.com. Then Comment on this post, telling us which CleanWell scent is your favorite, (free prize will still be Spearmint Lime Soap Starter Pack).  For prize notification, be sure to add the following address to your email address book: m at AlternativeConsumer.com.

Three Winners will be selected in our Random Drawing, and notified by email on Thursday, 9/18 at approximately 10pm (ET). Each winner has 24 hours to claim their prize, or their offer is null and void. The 3 winners’ names will also be included on this post.

Thanks for reading The Alternative Consumer — start clicking and good luck! (one entry per person, of course.)

Let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat, I have not personally tested this paper-saving toilet seat that is designed to help spritz away dooty.  I realize that this device is certainly not for everyone.

The brand new Swash Ecoseat 250 is projected to save up to 75% of the toilet paper used in a normal potty-throne transactions.  The Swash is described as “a more comfortable, refreshing and hygienic bathroom experience.”  The seat is said to reduce resources wasted on toilet paper, like water, trees and paper, while making conservation an enjoyable habit.

The unit’s hydro-powered nozzles use no electricity, it has retractable front and rear, self-cleaning “cleansing wands”, a comfy seat with slow-close lid, an intelligent body sensor, push button controls and an anti-microbial finish.   Fits 98% of toilets and installs in minutes without a plumber.

Add some recycled TP to the mix and rechargeable batteries to the control panel and you may actually make reading the morning paper in your “library” a wee-bit greener.  Goes for around $400.

more info on the Swash Ecoseat 250 @ brondell.com

Our consumption crazed society creates a lot of garbage, much of which ends up in trash bags headed for the landfill. One easy step in support of a greener planet is to utilize Perf Go Green’s new line of biodegradable trash bags. Perf Go Green’s bags offer an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastic trash bags, which can take hundreds of years to decompose.

The folks at Perf use recycled plastics and a proprietary process to produce their new line of biodegradable plastic products.  The products begin to breakdown in a landfill environment in 12-24 months leaving no residue or harmful toxins. Perf Go Green’s first products are the 13 Gallon Tall Kitchen Trash Bags and 30 Gallon Lawn & Leaf Bags.  The bags have a unique dispensing system that goes in the bottom of your trash can so they pop-up like tissues.

When discarded in soil and exposed to the presence of microorganisms, moisture and oxygen, Perf Go Green products biodegrade, decomposing into simple materials found in nature.

Perf Go Green’s 13 Gallon Tall Kitchen Trash Bags and 30 Gallon Lawn & Leaf Bags are available online at drugstore.com and amazon.com and in national retailers, including Walgreens, beginning mid-September. Find out more @ perfgogreen.com

What I like about online shop, Let’s Go Green is the fact that you can garner a lot of green for your home with one quick visit.  You’ll find quality items for your kitchen, bath, office and garden — all reasonably priced.  Recycled paper goods, trash can liners that degrade and compost in 12-24 months, CFL lightbulbs, low-flow shower-heads and garden hose nozzles, non-toxic and fragrance-free laundry detergent, and many more useful products to help you go green and save green.

I’ve tried a number of their products — the Ecosafe Kitchen trash can liners, toilet paper made from recycled paper, sponges made from walnuts, tank bank & 5-minute Shower Coach for water conservation, and reusable canvas shopping tote.  I’m impressed with not only the quality of their products, but also their commitment to the environment.  If you know you should use eco-friendly water and energy-saving items around your home but can’t seem to find them in your local shops, try their sampler kits  — a great way to start going green.

Special 25% off for all Alternative Consumers — just enter “Friend” code at check-out.  Check it all out @ LetsGoGreen.biz

I have to admit I have a fixation with doing my ‘business,’ making this type of product very appealing to moi. A flushable doggie doo bag, perfecto.

These Flushadoo’s are made from a special water soluble material (I’ll find out more). They’re said to be strong and flexible yet odorless and non-toxic. The bags are easy to carry, safe to flush, biodegradable and don’t leak. They go into the municipal septic system just like the human doo.

Now back to ‘business.’ Which neighbor’s yard gets today’s steaming poop-a-gram?

30 bags for $9.75 @ flushadoo.com