SALTVERK
A luxe upgrade to any home chef’s pantry, SALTVERK hand-harvested sea salt from Iceland beautifully accents various meat, seafood, and side dishes, and even elevates margaritas and martinis. The line includes a pure flaky sea salt and five flavored blends: Lava (infused with activated charcoal), Birch Smoked, Arctic Thyme, Seaweed, and Licorice. Saltverk’s 18th century production process uses only pristine seawater from Iceland’s remote Westfjords, while 100% geothermal energy is used to produce the sea salt, leaving behind a zero carbonfootprint and resulting in a sustainable product. This unique production process allows SALTVERK to retain all of its natural minerals which give the salts an unmatched umami flavor. If you’re not quite sure how to incorporate these fancy flavor bombs into your everyday cooking, the company’s website provides a plethora of unique and approachable recipes (along with gorgeous photos) to spark your creativity. As an added bonus, the mineral salts left over from SALTVERK’s production process are utilized by founder Björn Jónsson’s wife, Iris Laxdal, for her sustainable skincare line, Angan. www.saltverk.com
Navitas Organics Organic Cacao Powder
Give yourself or a loved one the gift of better health this holiday season with Fairtrade certified cacao from Navitas Organics. Cacao has been used as medicine for centuries by the Aztec and Mayan peoples and is revered for its energy and mood-boosting properties, thanks to it being a rich source of magnesium and theobromine. It’s also majorly high in antioxidants (over 40 times that of blueberries) and is the highest plant-based source of iron known to man. Add it to a cup of plant-based milk in the morning or for a comforting night cap orswap it one-for-one in place of unsweetened cocoa for a more nutritious take on your favorite recipes. In addition to being Fairtrade, we like Navitas Organics cacao powder because it’s B Corp certified, Regenerative Organic Certified (Silver level), non-GMO, and, of course, organic. For the ultimate combination of superfood stress reduction, check out the brand’s all-organic Stress Reducer Bundle, composed of Cacao Powder, Maca Powder, Turmeric Powder, and Superfood + Adaptogen Blend. www.navitasorganics.com
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights
Install your holiday lighting in a snap with Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights. Cuttable, customizable lights install across eaves and overhangs in seconds with a combination of clips and VHB (Very High Bond) adhesive. We love the Pro model, which allows you to control each light individually with the Govee Home App that integrates with Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls. Users can customize each bulb with one of 16 million colors and 75 pre-set modes. When the holiday season has come to an end, lights can be programmed for the accent or daily lighting scheme that works best for your home. https://us.govee.com
Peppermint Jim Essential Oils
A company founded on simple farming practices, owner James A. Crosby, better known as Peppermint Jim, is a fourth-generation descendant of mint farmers that began in 1912 in St. Johns, Mich. With a need to have a fully operational farm year–round, Peppermint Jim expanded his family’s operations to Tucson, Ariz., in 2011. Despite the arid desert climate, Jim and his team have developed multiple methods of sustainable production to grow three varieties of true, oil-producing mint: Black Mitchum Peppermint, Murray Peppermint, and Native Spearmint. As is tradition in his family, Jim is involved in every step of the distillation process, beginning when the mint is harvested. Extracted through steam distillation, the 100% pure medicinal oils are sold at various farmers markets, expos, and online. While Peppermint Jim’s essential oils are world-class, a variety of body care essentials, candles, and bundles of fresh mint can be purchased, as well. www.peppermintjim.com
Dazzle Dry
When it comes to nail products, finding polishes that are good for your nails can be a tricky business. If you’re someone who likes to keep their fingers and toes freshly painted, polishes that are free of formaldehyde, toluene, camphor, dibutyl phthalate, and formaldehyde resin are a must, since these ingredients can be absorbed into our bodies directly through our nail beds. Dazzle Dry is not only free of the five worst nail polish ingredient offenders, but also of nitrocellulose, which is what can turn your nails yellow after multiple applications. It’s also cruelty-free, hypoallergenic, and vegan. The bonus? This stuff lasts (our editor managed to keep hers on for nearly three weeks with minimal chipping). It also dries in just five minutes and sets without a UV lamp, making it a much healthier alternative for your skin than gel nails. The Arizona-based company offers a starter kit with a variety of lacquer colors to create the perfect manicure at home: Nail Prep, Base Coat, Nail Lacquer, Top Coat, and Revive — a thinning agent to restore the consistency of lacquers that may thicken over time. Don’t want to do your nails at home? Dazzle Dry is also carried in several upscale salons and spas throughout Arizona, including The Arizona Biltmore, Civana Wellness Resort & Spa, and Pampr’d Soul in Scottsdale, which is certified in the Dazzle Dry application process. www.dazzledry.com
Rocketbook’s Reusable Notebooks
Upgrade your notebooks with a reusable Rocketbook. Instead of paper, the sheets are similar to a whiteboard. Using Pilot Frixion pens, markers, or highlighters in a fun array of colors, jot down ideas on any of the ready-made pages, including lined and dotted pages, a calendar page, to-do lists, and other organizational formats. Use the app to take a picture of the page and upload it to your favorite cloud accounts or save it on the Rocketbook app. The app can also transcribe handwritten notes into a typed document. Finally, easily wipe the pages clean and start anew. Rocketbook offers notebooks, planners, loose-leaf binder sheets, graphing books, and more. The product got its start on Shark Tank from Massachusetts-based founder Joe Lemay and his friend, engineer Jake Epstein. Though their original goal was merging technology and traditional note taking, the sustainability aspect couldn’t be ignored. Rocketbooks are made from partially recycled materials, and every piece of a Rocketbook is recyclable. The company is constantly working to improve its sustainability goals, such as offering better packaging and finding a way to refill pens without buying new ones. www.getrocketbook.com
Lumineux Teeth Whitening System
Start the New Year off right with a whiter smile courtesy of Lumineux, one of the first certified non-toxic oral care product lines on the market. Over 60 studies — all independent, double-blind, and mostly university-led — have been done on the efficacy and non-toxicity of the company’s products. Using ingredients like Dead Sea salt and essential oils, the products are Microbiome Safe — including everything in Lumineux’s Whitening Kit. The four-piece set includes a bamboo toothbrush, whitening toothpaste and mouthwash, and the company’s coveted Whitening Strips, known for creating brighter, whiter teeth without the usual sensitivity. www.lumineuxhealth.com
True Tea
A celebration of the rich traditions and medicinal benefits of tea, True Tea is on a mission to educate others about the superiority of loose leaf tea, advocating for a major transition from traditional tea bags to loose leaf tea for a more sustainable approach, helping to eliminate harmful microplastics from our bodies and the environment. The company prioritizes working with farms that empower women and cultivate equitable visions of agriculture, in addition to promoting sustainable farming practices. Through their personal relationships with small-scale producers, True Tea establishes a direct and sustainable path to a true farm-to-cup sipping experience. We like the Luscious Herbal set containing four caffeine-free teas: the Renew Blend, True Tea’s potent-yet-delicious medicinal herbal tea intended to rejuvenate and nourish with spearmint and Ashwaganda; Indigo Dream, a perfectly delicate blend of blueberry, lemon, lavender, and blue vervain to calm the nervous system and diminish stress; Tulsi, made with organic lemon balm and holy basil to reduce inflammation; and Hibiscus, composed of rose petal, anise hyssop, and hibiscus to relieve cold symptoms. www.trueteapdx.com
PackIt Freezable Lunch Boxes
Forgot the ice pack for your lunch box? Not anymore with freezable, reusable lunch boxes from PackIt. These lunch boxes are collapsible and fit in the smallest corners of your freezer. Simply let the built-in ice pack freeze overnight, then unfold it in the morning, pack your food, and let the lunch box keep it fresh all day. PackIt eliminates the need for ice packs that only last a few hours outside of the freezer, as well as the need for single-use lunch bags, making it more sustainable. PackIt also carries foldable, freezable lunch bags, bento boxes, baby bottle cooler bags, and can cooler bags that are all BPA free. www.packit.com
Shiki Wrap
Skip the scissors, lose the tape, and ditch the traditional wrapping paper for a gift wrap that’s sustainable and reusable year after year. Shiki Wrap is made from recyclable plastic fibers sourced in North Carolina, woven into beautiful designs perfect for any occasion. The manufacturing process is less water-intensive and uses no harmful chemicals. The concept comes from Japan, where wrapping gifts with textiles dates to the eighth century. Wraps come in three sizes: 18-, 28-, and 36-inch squares. Shiki Wrap is also developing reusable gift bags, handles to transform wraps into bags, clips for tags, and other accessories. With normal use, a single wrap will last at least 100 times longer than normal wrapping paper or even eco-conscious wrapping paper, and the wraps are machine washable. If you’re not sure how best to use them, the company provides helpful videos on how to wrap your gifts using their product. www.shikiwrap.com
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