Timberland Earthkeepers Hookset Chukka

In this ever-complicated day in age, a little simplicity goes a long way. That’s why we love the Timberland Earthkeepers® Hookset Handcrafted Collection. Just four simple materials (two of which are organic cotton and 100% natural rubber) crafted into the most eco-conscious shoe in Timberland’s history.

Sometimes, less really is more!

This Sunday, the world celebrates Earth Day, a time to renew our commitment to protecting our planet’s natural resources and the environment.

As an ode to Mother Nature, we want to share just some of our favorite Earth-friendly picks. Made of sustainable, recycled or organic materials, these products are a step in the right direction to being more environmentally conscious—and that’s always a beautiful thing!

1. Volcom V.Co Meadow Tank Dress, 2. Patagonia Summertime Dress, 3. The North Face Papenoo Woven Top, 4.Marmot Women's Pop Tee, 5. Patagonia Three Trees Shirt, 6. Keen BrooklynII Travel Bag, 7. NVEY Eco Lip Color , 8. Timberland Earthkeepers Katama Strappy Sandals , 8. Timberland Earthkeepers Hookset Chukka

Here at Zappos HQ, we have a group of eco-minded employees who banded together to form L.E.A.F (Leading Environmental Awareness for the Future) , a group committed to making Zappos a more environmentally-conscious company. To learn more about L.E.A.F. and their eco-focused efforts year round, click HERE.

With Earth Day being tomorrow and this entire week devoted to Earth Week, we think it’s important to remember that although there’s a specific week, day, and even hour dedicated to Mother Earth, we really ought to be celebrating our planet on a daily basis.

In honor of Earth Week, we thought we’d shine the spotlight (an eco-friendly compact fluorescent lightbulb spotlight, of course!) on some of our favorite earth-friendly products. They not only look good, they make you feel good about doing your part in supporting more eco-friendly manufacturing practices and materials.  

1.       Matt & Nat Stardust Elm tote

2.       Patagonia Men’s Live Simply™ Guitar T-Shirt

3.       Keen Coronado sneakers

4.       Simple Flipee Eco-Friendly Certified Nubuck

5.       Marmot Women’s Mandala Tee

6.       Horny Toad Cliff Shorts

7.       Simple Carport- Elastic sneakers

8.       NVEY Eco Cosmetics Advanced Care Lip Color

What little things do you do regularly to be kinder to the planet? Got any earth-friendly tips? Leave a comment below!

To check out even more eco-friendly clothes, shoes, beauty and accessories, go to the Zappos Eco-Friendly page.

A hippie party is truly a blast from the past, and one that tweens and teens will likely love to visit during a birthday celebration. With peace, love, and all things retro cool, a hippie party is an uber-cool party to plan with your tween or teen.

1. Send a Hippie Party invitation. Head to a vintage store and find peace sign and smiley face patches and purchase enough for your invitations. Use heavy card stock in bright colors and glue the patches on to the front of your party invitations. Inside, write all of your hippie party details.  Request that your guests come dressed as a hippie too.

2. Create cool hippie decorations using the signs of the times and creating your own and hanging them around the party area.

3. Make a peace sign banner to welcome your guests.

4.Play hippie music.

5. Tie dye shirts at the party.

6. Make love bead and hemp jewelry – these can serve as the party favors too.

7. Hippie trivia…who knows the era best?

8. Serve organic, healthy food just like the hippies would have enjoyed. Fruits, vegetables, tofu, and the like are all good choices.

9. Carrot cake for your birthday cake topped with a large peace sign drawn with icing.

10. Send the kids home with their tie-dye shirts and handmade jewelry for their party favors.

Sometimes it can be difficult to shop for green clothing. However, it is possible — even during this economy — to find reasonably priced green clothing. Here are some tips for buying inexpensive green clothing:

1. Have a shopping plan. The first thing you need to do is have a plan. Are there Web sites that sell green clothing? Do you know of stores in town that sell greener clothing? What is your budget? Make sure that you know your price range. Make a plan that reflects your budget and your shopping route.

2. Look to thrift stores. Interestingly, the greenest clothing is not the stuff made from bamboo or that organic cotton t-shirt . Used clothing is the greenest, because it does not require new processes to create and does not use up additional resources. And, of course, thrift stores represent a dramatic savings. Plan ahead and find out when the store puts out the new merchandise (i.e. new things may be put out every Tuesday morning). You can continue the cycle by donating the clothing you no longer wear to the thrift store and getting a tax advantage.

3. Avoid dry-clean-only clothes. Dry cleaning is a process that uses a great many chemicals and pollutes. When shopping, check the labels and try to avoid dry-clean-only clothes. Because dry-clean-only clothing often costs more, you will find that you are saving money by avoiding these clothes.

4. Look for organic clothing. If you prefer new clothing, look for organic clothes. Clothing made from hemp, bamboo and organic cotton are more environmentally friendly than other materials. However, you may have to pay a little bit more. Try looking online for Web stores that sell organic clothing at a discount.

It is possible to have clothing that is friendly to the earth and that does not cost a great deal. With some time and planning — and some shopping around — it is possible to green up your closet without breaking the bank.

My favorite ‘retailer to the masses’ is that red bull’s-eye logo behemoth, Target. I love the wide aisles, the clean, efficient design and the plethora of designers that bring an upscale creed to their offerings. But what I’m currently loving about Target is its new environmental approach. The retailer continues to roll-out their environmental ‘green’ concept with their newest store, the 137,000-square-foot store in Stafford Township on the Jersey Shore. The store, built on two former landfills, is situated in a new open air retail strip, which meets the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building rating system.

The unit features an 8-foot beauty section filled with eco-friendly lines like Bare Escentuals, Burt’s Bees and Dr. Bronner’s, recycled shopping carts, organic foods in an expanded market section and the expansion of bamboo items in their domestic section. Although Target’s competitors — Kmart and Wal-Mart — are nearby, there is no need for Target to be worried, the competitor stores are older store formats and lack the latest product offerings and the environmental friendly format that the new super Target offers. I’m all for saving the remaining ozone layer, helping Mother Nature and living green, but the landfill thing, not so much.