If you own an eco-conscious business, getting your target audience’s attention is only part of the pathway to success. Keeping it takes time and dedication and know-how, says Shannon Dunn of Conscious Life Media Limited (CLM)-a company that helps green and eco-conscious businesses to maximize their potential and customer reach.

“Running a website and starting a Facebook fan page, hoping customers will find you, is unfortunately not going to take any business from a start-up to a super success,” she says. “It takes detailed knowledge and experience to connect with customers through various mediums.”

The media spotlight, Shannon says, is of course where every business wants to get noticed. However, in a world where first impressions count, ensuring your business is a tight-running, well-branded ship is the first port of call before trying to entice a journalist to sing your eco praises. Then, being able to deliver above and beyond what you promise is paramount.

After 15 years in the media and publicity industries, Shannon saw that eco conscious businesses needed professional support and a helping hand to promote their green services and wares.

“Running an eco-conscious business is no longer a lonely journey, but it also means the customer has thousands of options to choose from, whether it be which eco baby bottle to buy or what website to get their trusted information from,” Shannon says. “It’s learning how to stand out from the eco crowd that can mean the difference between green boom or bomb.”

A Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Business Award winner, Shannon launched CLM to support businesses who are contributing to ensure a better world, while bringing content with a conscience to the masses.

“We provide specialized editorial content, targeted publicity campaigns, copy editing, graphic design, magazine inserts, advertorials, corporate newsletter compilation, small business website and blog design as well as advertising and marketing solutions,” she says.

“We service a global client base, focusing on the Australasian, as well as the ever-popular US and UK markets.”

To find out more about how to give your eco-conscious businesses specialized exposure, head to www.consciouslifemedia.com or email info@conscioiuslifemedia.com

With our global emphasis on green and sustainable living, many people are actively doing their part to engage in “green acts”. Whether its recycling, toting reusable grocery bags, there are a number of ways to engage yourself in balanced living

Seeing Differently

Step one to realigning your lifestyle using eco-principles is to begin seeing differently. See your entire existence as emerged within eco-living, rather than you as an individual acting out green acts.

Stuart Haygarth would have taken this advice literally, inventing a sustainable eye glass chandelier that uses 620 pairs of discarded lenses to form a globe-like chandelier. For the designer, perhaps his living art is not only an example of using creativity to craft lifestyle choices, but also symbolic of what visionary work we can accomplish if we begin to see a little differently.

Turning a Domestic Green Leaf

Turning over a green leaf begins with ourselves, in how we think and then in how we carry out those thoughts. Once we have internal balance, our focus can shift smoothly to an external balance. And while you may not be able to go save the rain forest, you can begin by changing how you view your home.

View your home as an eco-habitat in itself, and once you perceive your home this way, youll treat it with more green care. The simplest way to begin thinking this way is to look at what toxic elements could be in your home – perhaps in your vacuum cleaner, carpet, paint, whether you have energy-efficient appliances, or even checking to see if the plastics you use to cook and eat with are made with toxic chemicals.

Real Estate mogul to the stars and green home guru, Ann Eysenring knows a thing or two about greening houses-and selling them.

With celebrity clients such as fashion photographer Herb Ritts, Louie Anderson, Russell Simmons and Sally Hershberger , she has built a solid reputation as a savvy agent in the know.

As owner of Ann World-Wide, Ann manages outrageous properties around the globe and has created a successful company resulting from 12 years in the industry. She is a real estate heavyweight in Hollywood-a position she uses to regularly promote green living.

Ann says in any house, people can do small things to make a big difference in the environment. Ann provides various ways for her clients to change a house into a green home, minimizing their carbon footprint.

Often spotted cruising around Malibu on vintage motorcycles, the estate agent has explored many corners of the world, from the US to Acapulco, Ireland, Belize, Bahamas, Germany and beyond.

The Green Dove caught up with the successful, adventure-seeking, international realtor, business owner, and devoted environmentalist to talk green-estate.

Did you find real estate or did real estate find you?
My mother has been a broker my whole life, so it was natural direction for me.

What’s the one question you can guarantee most people will ask you?
How much do I offer?

How did you get into green?
I had asthma as a child, so I have always been very sensitive to the environment and allergens. Green hasn’t been an option for me in my life, so integrating that into my business was a predictable route.

Is there a rise in interest of green/eco real estate?
Yes, there are many Led Certified homes that have been built and sold in the last couple years. I think that as people become more aware of the benefits to not only the environment but their overall health, green/eco real estate will gain even more popularity.

What tips would you give someone who wants to green their existing property?

Replace your carpeting with hemp and make sure the installers are using a low-emission adhesive. Also check for the “Green Label” seal of approval from The Carpet & Rug Institute.

Use Non-toxic paint. I get mine from Dunne Edwards.

Remove your shoes before entering your home leave the toxins and filth outside.

Open your windows and let the air circulate.

Use plants as natural air purifiers. NASA did a study about what plants are best.

Open you window treatments and let the sun warm the rooms.

Use only non-toxic cleaning products. I mostly use Shaklee and Meyers.

Are green properties easier to sell?
Not necessarily, It still comes down to pricing your property correctly.

What’s your greatest love/passion, real estate or motorbikes?
Actually, it’s surfing.

A gorgeously green home. Photos courtesy Ann Eysenring

Living green can be overwhelming. Where to start? From eco cars and planet-friendly cleaning products to organic wines and veganism, its little wonder many opt to do nothing for fear of not being able to do it all.

Yet its the little steps that add up to mean something big.

A great way to test the eco waters is at this years Go Green Expo, to be held at the LA Convention Center from January 22 to 24. Get the goss on natural personal care products, green gadgets, eco-celebrities, yoga classes, green industry and activists including Ed Begley Jr., Mariel Hemingway, John Picard and Eric Corey Freed.

With more than 300 exhibitors, the Go Green Expo is a favorite for those who are eco-curious or full immersed in all things environmental.

Food and wine lovers also mark the event on their calendars thanks to the local restaurant and wine tasting pavilion. Pet lovers can also help fido go green at the Pet Expo.

For 50 per cent off the online ticket price, check out the Go Green banner on The Green Dove home page for the exclusive code.

Find out more about the 2010 Go Green Expo at www.gogreenexpo.com

Go Green Expo Los Angeles is proudly sponsored by The Green Dove, CBS Television, The Los Angeles Business Journal, Natural Health Magazine, Natural Home Magazine, Spirituality & Health Magazine, Mother Earth News, Kiwi Magazine, Green Lifestyles Magazine, Whole Life Times, The Sierra Club and more.

I recently got my car detailed at a local place and then gasped at the chemical fumes when I got inside. Are there green detailers out there, or products that I could use myself to keep my vehicle clean and my family out of harms way? – David Berkowitz, Newton, MA

Traditionally, auto detailing has employed a range of not-so-green-friendly products such as ammonia, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nonphenolethoxolates (NPEs), abrasive detergents, and chemical-based leather, vinyl, fabric and carpet treatments. Inside the car, they can off-gas harsh airborne pollutants; when washed down storm drains they can wreak havoc on public water supplies.

Unfortunately, while environmental awareness is beginning to crop up among auto detailing services (online discussion boards are full of posts from professional detailers sharing their tips for greener, more effective products and formulations), finding a green detailing service isnt very easy just yet, so doing it yourself might be the only way to ensure that the environment and your health are spared chemical insult. There are green detailing products and kits out there, easily found through an Internet search.

Two leading suppliers are Laura Kleins Green Cleaning, and Mean Green. These companies, among others, specialize in degreasers, dashboard dressings, tire cleaners, spot removers and other products made with natural, biodegradable water- and plant-based substances (including coconut, palm, citrus, corn and soy), combined and concentrated to be as effective as or better than their chemical-laden counterparts.

Another way to be green and clean at the same time is to choose wash and wax products that dont contain harsh chemical surfactants-and as such dont require water-wasting, polluting rinses. No-Wet Waterless Concepts and Optimum Polymer Technologies are two leading manufacturers for such goods.

Do-it-yourselfers should be careful not to dump wastewater into nearby storm drains not intended to carry toxic run-off. Most reputable car wash businesses go to great lengths to make sure the water, soaps, oils and other dirt from your car doesnt end up polluting groundwater, rivers and streams, and so should you. If you clean your car in your own driveway or garage, try to collect any run-off and dispose of it into a drain or toilet that will send it through the sewage treatment system, not into the curbside storm run-off drain that may well lead directly to a local water body or shoreline.

While finding a green detailer may not be easy, you can start by asking those operators in your region if they currently use environmentally-friendly products and/or processes. If not, ask them if they would be amenable to greening up their operations for the sake of attracting customers like you.

Some detailers that have already taken the green plunge include: Ecodetail Services of Sacramento, CA; Car Wash Concepts of Aliso Viejo, CA; Gias Detailing of Long Island, NY; Scotts Mobile Auto Detailing of Tarrant County, TX; and Elite Detailing Service Inc. of Plainfield, IL. These providers share an interest in environmental protection, use minimal amounts of water and other resources, and dispose of run-off according to the stringent standards set forth under the federal Clean Water and Clean Air acts.

CONTACTS: Laura Kleins, www.laurakleinsgreencleaning.com; Mean Green, www.meangreen.com; No-Wet Waterless, www.nowet.com; Optimum Polymer Technologies, www.optimumcarcare.com.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com.

Though the benefits of working from your home include not having to deal with rigid schedules, polluting commutes and irritating co-workers, it can still have drawbacks. Those working from home have a set of challenges to deal with, including unwanted visitors, family intrusions and carving out a little niche that lets you separate your home life from your work life.

This is possibly where the biggest challenge comes in. If youre working from home and have a family, how do you set aside a personal space that help you focus and also set up clear boundaries for family members who often have a difficult time disassociating the work you from the home you.

Everyone is different; your environment and available resources are different. Depending on what you have to work with, and what your preferences are, there are likely quite a few good home office options to get you well on your way to a productive new year.

The Green (and Budget) Office

If youre main concern is cost to your wallet and the environment, then chances are youre also highly business minded and want quick effective steps to get you started on the bigger job at hand. For a green and budget office, begin with what you have. Look for a sturdy work table, a comfy chair, lighting and a quite nook.

If youre starting your office from scratch, then consider:

Buying used furniture - Many cities have liquidation, overstock.com, or warehouse sales, where the listed price is lower and you have the option of haggling with them for a lower price. You can also use Craigslists “free” section to see if anyone is giving away any furniture, requiring you to only go and pick it up.

Buy a refurbished laptop - Look around Craigslist, ask your local electronic dealer for this type of deal, or call up the manufacturer directly asking if they have a special offer for refurbished computers.

Purchase all-in-one – Instead of buying a separate scanner, printer, copier, and fax, try purchasing an all-in-one unit. It might be slightly pricier as a whole unit, but you will definitely be saving by not having to buy individual units, nor dealing with the cost of multiple ink cartridges. Youll also save a little on electricity since youll only be using one outlet rather than four different ones.

Budget office ideas are also great for those who have smaller spaces to work with, since theyre looking for quick space-saving economical choices – great for East Coast homes where space is often an issue.

The Kid-Friendly Office

If youve got little rug rats running around, then you have a whole different set of concerns when it comes to your home office.

Here are some ideas of how you should go about setting up your space:

Be Boring - Theres nothing kids of any age love more than to satisfy their curiosity, and theres nothing that interests them more than clutter, cuteness and lots of interesting colors and shapes. Keeping your workspace boring helps keeps them disinterested.

Setting up a Mini-Me Station - Kids love to be like you, so setting up a little work desk of their own in the same room as yours will give them a sense of pride and belonging. Plus theyll be too busy with their own desk to be puttering around yours. This little trick also helps you keep an eye on them while youre working.

The Shed Office

One of the biggest problems in setting up a home office is a lack of space. If this is your problem, then considering having an outdoor office. An outdoor office is a great alternative that lets you work from home but have a completely separate, private area in which to work out of.

The easiest way to set up an outdoor office is to follow these steps:

Unit - Purchase a outdoor shed from home improvement warehouses such as Home Depot or Lowes.

Insulation – Add dry wall and wood flooring to insulate it, this is particularly important if youre in a colder climate.

Cost – The total costs can run anywhere from two to six thousand, depending on the quality of the shed, the level of insulation, and wiring work. However, even the higher end cost is still far cheaper than building an addition, dealing with zoning/construction permits, or striving to maintain your sanity with a make shift in-house office.

Alternative to the outdoor office include setting up a garage office. If you do opt for this choice or even if youre in a shed, then you should likely think about the ozone air quality of your work area.

Photo: House to Home

How to Set up the Perfect Home Office is written by Shireen Qudosi. Follow her on Twitter @ShireenQ or email her at shireen.qudosi@hotmail.com

If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco, be sure to check out (or into) the Orchard Garden Hotel, one of California’s greenest.

As proud sister to the award-winning Orchard Hotel, the $25 million Orchard Garden, this boutique accommodation is a short stroll from Union Square shops and theatres, blocks away from the Financial District dealmakers and San Franciscos famous cable cars, and just steps from the Chinatown Gates.

As one of the State’s first hotels built to the specifications of the “Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design” (LEED

By Rhonda Lee

As a passionate raw foodist, I often teach workhops on this lifestyle that I love so much. One of these workshops is titled “Demystifying the Green Smoothie.” I love this one for many reasons. It’s fun and easy for people to realize how simple it is to incorporate healthy foods into their lifestyle with simple tools and techniques and very fast results!

1. You need a blender to make green smoothies. You dont have to go out and purchase a high dollar Vita-Mix or a Blendtec to get started. A basic blender will do. However, you can also use a personal blender, such as a Magic Bullet as well. These are really great if you travel a lot and want something small to take with you so that you can continue enjoying green smoothies wherever you are.

2. You need to have some type of liquid in your blend to start the blending process and keep your smoothie from being too thick. This can be anything from filtered/distilled water to juice to tea. Whatever you would like that you think would blend well. I typically used my own Roxtract filtered water, but will sometimes use juice depending on the kind of smoothie I want to make. I typically put about a cup of liquid in the blender first. Of course you can adapt this for a smaller or larger blender.

3. Assuming you will be making a sweet smoothie, you will need to have fruit of some sort for your smoothie. This can range anywhere from fresh organic apples to frozen organic fruits. I try to always make mine as organic as possible. I recommend using organic bananas for what I refer to as the “basic” green smoothie. Bananas just have the amazing ability to cancel out the taste of the greens if you are getting started so I strongly suggest using them for your first green smoothie. You want to use about two or three bananas. I always make the “basic” smoothie first in my classes just so individuals can experience a smoothie that is easy and tastes delicious. I am often told by my workshops participants that they would have never even tried the smoothie on their own once they knew they would be drinking kale or spinach. They cant believe that it tastes so good!

4. The most important part of the green smoothie is the GREEN! This is a great time to explore various types of fresh organic leafy greens. There are a variety of lettuces as well as kale, spinach, Swiss chard, parsley as well as collard greens and other hearty greens. Sticking with the basic smoothie recipe, I would recommend kale for its nutritional content as well as its ability to marry so well with banana. These two are just perfect together when starting out with green smoothies. Wash and place four or five kale leaves in your blender. Make sure that you de-stem them for a regular or personal blender as they are too fibrous for them to blend smoothly.

A new generation of eco-commerce is arising out of the dust of Amazon.com’s explosive growth – online shoppers, particularly parents, are more concerned than ever about product certification, safety and customer feedback. Enter Sproubaby.com, the brainchild of eco-preneur Jody Sherman. To cater to this more discerning market, his online baby products shop features only items vetted through expert, family and personal reviews.

In honor of busy parents everywhere, The Green Dove tracked down this businessman (pictured left) with a conscience to give us the lowdown on Sproutbaby’s mission, success to date and to also share some green words of wisdom.

How and when did sprout baby sprout?

The idea for Sproutbaby was conceived in my living room in may of 2008. We started building the site and testing in December of 2008 (which is why we are having our birthday celebration and giving away $2500 to one of our customers). The idea began as an exploration of how the social behavior of moms influenced purchasing behavior.

I started seeing moms talking to moms everywhere I went — once I started paying attention. I saw pregnant women talking to moms. I saw moms of all ages engaged in conversation with each other. And very often, what they were talking about was “What product do you use,” “When are you due?” “Who is your doctor?, “You should try this food,” and more. I began to see how much of a “club” these moms were a part of, and that they were in it for life. I started picking through their shopping carts and asking them questions about what they buy, why they buy it, how the do research, etc. And what I found was that the more eco-conscious they were, the more challenged they were in finding comprehensive resources where they could learn about products that were good to put in, on, and around their babies and families — and where to purchase them.

They went to a wide variety of sites, had “over the fence” discussions, read magazines, and networked with their mommy peers in the real world. So I thought “what if you could create a space where moms could locate, learn about, and purchase authentically great products that were good for their babies and good for the planet?” And thus sproutbaby was born.

What feedback have you received regarding the company’s mission and products?

Our customers love us. They tell us that our vision and promise matches to their concerns. They love our proactive approach to customer service. They are overwhelmingly positive about the products they have purchased from us. And this is both coming to me anecdotally, in the form of phone calls and emails, as well as quantifiably in the form of increased month over month sales and very high repeat customer purchases.

What do you say to people who use plastic disposable diapers, and are unaware of the detrimental effect these products have on the environment?

I say “you have to start somewhere”. I don’t think it is our place to preach to people about how they treat the planet. No one likes that approach, least of all me. And that approach is what has, for some people, made the idea of becoming “green” or “eco” seem daunting, exclusive, elusive, and expensive.

We know that some people are going to begin their approach to living with a smaller negative impact on the planet by feeding their babies an organic high-quality baby food. And on that front, I think we’ve nailed it by partnering with sprout baby food, an amazing new organic baby food, created by the food network’s Tyler Florence. It is organic and comes in environmentally-friendly non-bpa plastic pouches instead of glass or plastic jars. But most importantly, it tastes delicious.

For some people, they may not go any further than that, because of lifestyle, economic, or other choices that are unique to their situation. For others, adding high quality skin care products to their routine may be as far as they go. We can’t punish people for trying to do better. Naturally, we’d like to see our customers make the best and lowest impact choices possible, but it takes time, education, and advocacy. We try to influence this as much as possible by only offering what we believe are the best possible options in any category into which we enter.

We further try to educate and influence by providing helpful content to aid the decision making process, as well as sending what we hope our customers find to be useful emails that provide both information about and discounts on new products that help move new parents along in reducing their environmental footprint.

How optimistic are you about the world’s population achieving a sustainable future?

I am much more so than I was before I started Sproutbaby. I know that when I was growing up, my parents made what they thought were good choices and these choices were based on information that was state of the art at the time. As it turns out, with better information, we’ve learned that many of the decisions parents made had a detrimental impact that was previously not well understood.

Only with time and education did we come to learn that we have a finite set of resources on our planet. Every day we see a new customer come to our site and make a purchase for something that is a better option for their baby, family, and the planet, I feel more encouraged that the word is spreading. We don’t have the luxury to get it wrong with this generation and the next, and i think that message is loud and clear with new parents so I feel very positive that we will get it together.

Your favorite sprout baby product and why?

I have a few. When we launched, we started with just sprout baby food and I ate a lot of it. There were days that I was living on roasted banana and brown rice. As we’ve grown to add a wide variety of products, most of which are for moms and babies so they don’t have a use in my every day life, one product stands out and that is my Thinksport stainless steel water bottle. I love the way it feels in my hand. I like the design. I love that it keeps my water cold all day, and i love that it forces me to drink more water because I keep it with me all the time. I also like that it can take a beating. I’ve “bounce tested” it many times at the gym and it hasn’t taken more than just a scratch.

Any green words of wisdom you’d like to share?

The effort it “seems” to take to make your life more green is far more of an illusion than it is a reality. I used to think that it would take longer to sort my trash, turn off lights, make more mindful purchases, etc., turned out to be (for me) an excuse to not change my patterns. Once i made the commitment to change, and had a picture in my mind of for whom I was doing it (my nephews, who will be on this planet long after i’m gone) it became second nature. But I am also mindful that i am far from perfect in my stewardship of the planet. It is impractical for example, to ride a bike or walk everywhere, so I still have to use a car. I don’t have solar on my home. I try each day to do things that have less of an impact on the planet but I don’t beat myself up for being less than 100% because there are times when you just can’t be. I think that’s a long winded way of saying “commit to positive change one step at a time and feel good about that. once this new change becomes habit, add another, and so on.”

Dream of meeting Oprah? How about joining actor-extraordinaire Dustin Hoffman on set of his latest film? Thanks to Chartiybuzz’s sixth annual Chevy Chase Green Auction online, your wildest wishes could become oh-so-real. Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Dustin Hoffman, Stephen Colbert, Dave Mathews Band, and Regis Philbin have teamed up to bring once-in-a-lifetime items and opportunities to the auction block. Proceeds benefit The GREEN Community Schools, who strive to create model GREEN schools and promote sustainability.

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