About Greenheart

Hello sweet darlings! We're seriously excited to celebrate World Fair Trade Day this Saturday, May 11th!

 

 

As you probably know, Greenheart follows the guiding principles of "Fair Trade". Fair Trade ensures that the artisans making our products are paid fair living wages, and  "eco" signifies that our products are made using the most sustainable materials and methods whenever possible. At Greenheart, we are both "Fair to producers, and good to the Earth".

 

 

But did you know there's literally hundreds of events going on in the US (& across the globe in over 70 countries) all week to celebrate Fair Trade's fight against poverty & climate change, and to fight for economic & human rights?

 

In our hometown of Chicago (ahem, the largest fair trade city in North America), Greenheart will be at Daley Plaza this Tuesday, May 7th and Wednesday, May 8th to celebrate the World Fair Trade Day Festival!!  Join us, and 20 other fair trade vendors selling products that protect the environment and pay producers a living wage. Plus Emanuel Kuntzelman, Greenheart's President, will be the Emcee at noon on Wednesday to chat about sustainability & fair trade! Perfect lunchtime food for thought!

 

 

Not to mention that we're also hosting free, interactive trivia games about fair trade! Eat your heart out Alex Trebek.

 

 

-Tuesday May 7^th from 11am to Noon: Test your knowledge with our “What is Fair Trade?” game. Get ready to crush the competition with general fair trade knowledge.

-Wednesday, May 8^th from 11am to Noon: Our “Where in the World is Fair Trade?” game, aka, “Where in the World is ‘Fair TraDiego?’” Test your might against others on world trivia.

-Wednesday, May 8^th from 1pm to 2pm:  “Trash to Treasures“, a hands on trivia activity using recycled materials. Crafting & upcycling? Yes please!

Check out the full schedule here via Chicago Fair Trade! Can't wait to see all your faces this week! ♥

While our mission here at Greenheart is to empower people around the world, we also do our best to find a way to give back to our local community! With that in mind, we found Zealous Good - an organization that makes it easy to connect people with items they'd like to donate to local charities in their area. Smart!

 

 

So yes, Zealous Good matches items to another organization's needs, but at the same time they reduce the cost and effort of getting goods to charities. They even have an iPhone app to make giving even easier!

We met with Brittany Martin Graunke (the founder and CEO) to brainstorm our partnership, and set up an easy way for you to pop into the shop to donate art supplies, clothing, toiletries, canned foods, school supplies and linens to different organizations each month. And (spoiler alert) we've devised a year's worth of monthly drives to support those in need. All you have to do is stop in and donate! (and get a percentage off of fair trade and eco-friendly items at the same time!)

 

 

This month's fabulous organization is New Moms, Inc. - the non-profit behind Bright Endeavors. And yes, Bright Endeavors candles and bath teas are proudly sold here! New Moms offers a loving space that provides safety and stability to youth that really need it, while also helping them learn career-readiness, parenting, life skills and literacy training. Their supportive housing program represents 78% of the beds in the City of Chicago for homeless pregnant and parenting adolescents. A-ma-zing!

 

 

Greenheart Shop couldn't be happier with our partnership and the local organizations we're supporting with our donation drives, and we hope you'll help join the fight! Here's to a 2013 filled with generous giving, warm love, and great finds! ♥

As of late, time seems to be whirring by here at Greenheart. With new ventures being undertaken (check out our shiny new wedding registry), conferences being attended, new products arriving, and a fairly large amount of fair trade chocolate being consumed, we have barely had time to catch our breath!

One of our rare moments of peace during this busy time came surprisingly during one of our hectic photo shoots. Between changing out products and artistically swirling scarfs (yes, this is an elevated art form)... I was able to capture a photo of or director of ecommerce, Kimberly, as she discovered the zen of steaming wrinkles.

 

 

Sometimes a small conscious act, whether is taking a deep breathe or steaming a dress, in the midst of craziness can work to ground you.

Click here to view kimberly's dress, and the rest of our new organic dresses.

In addition to discovering the zen art of dress steaming, we are pretty excited about the photo's we were able to get during the shoot. We are particularly anxious to get our eager fair trade friendly hands on the dress and jewelry pairings using our new spring and summer inventory! Although biased (and having not yet seen the finished product), we are pretty sure the photo's are going to be pretty spectacular.

Author: Sarah Griffis

Ahhh, Spring. You bring a sigh of relief and a warm fuzzy feeling to our very being.

Here in Chicago, spring has been making itself known. The tulips are in bloom and the sun has been shining, all inspiring us here at Greenheart to celebrate (given, we are a rather joyous bunch)

Having recently purchased some very adorable recycled sundresses as well as some spring themed home goods, we thought a brunch party was they way to go!

Check out some images of our delicious spread below:

Our tasty brunch from milk and honey, in our franjipani spring enamel ware. That blur in the background is our director of ecommerce, Kimberly.

Tin filled with some fragrant Cinnamon sticks... perfect for soaking in chai! (checkout our recipe below)

Kimberly sporting her new recycled fair trade sundress and  pouring from our fancy lead free hand painted jug

Laura, our operations manager and resident rain man..she is a whiz at numbers. She also looks pretty awesome wearing our Andean Collection necklace.

Greenhearts from scratch hot chai  recipe:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup Half & Half (or non dairy alternative)

1 full teaspoon black tea

1 pod cardamom

2 pea sized pieces of fresh ginger (mulched)

1-2 big size whole black pepper

1/8  cinnamon stick

Instructions:

On a hard piece of paper or cutting board, crush all of the spices together. You can do this in advance and store in an airtight tin or container... although I prefer to make fresh and soak in my milk/water mixture in advance.

Add spices & tea and bring milk and water to a boil for approximately 15 minutes, stirring consistently.

Strain and serve, add honey to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

Author & Photos: Sarah Griffis

Gracefully hand painted by fair trade artisans in Kashmir, on CAT 65 certified aluminum with lead free paint, our jugs are something we take great pride in.

They gleam and they glow, they come in an array of floral design, and hey, they just look darn cute in our kitchens. (Mine is shown below)

Use them as a vase for flowers, or as a Sangria pitcher for those balmy summer shindigs.

Above: Fleur Hand Painted Jug

Check out our colorful assortments HERE

Author: Sarah Griffis

Here at Greenheart, we love fair trade. More than love it- we eat, wear, and sleep fair trade. Needless to say, supporting safe working conditions, education, and paying a living wage is something we deeply believe in and support.

But you know what is even better than fair trade? More fair trade... the kind that uses 100% recycled materials, gives 10% back to women's education in developing nations, and has killer creative style.

The above perfectly describes our new vendor - Liz Alig. We are head over heels for her 1950's vintage designs and innovative uses of recycled materials.

One on my personal favorites is her open back, pleated sundress (with pockets) made from recycled Ghana flour sacks. The dresses are hand dyed in (using only natural sources) in a lovely light sage or rose color.

From the colorful mismatched buttons, to the breezy, heat absorbing up-cycled materials - this dress was love at first sight.

Shown above in sage.

Author: Sarah Griffis

The sun is shinning, a cool breeze blows, and seagulls croon in the distance.

How wonderful it would be if this was all happening on a tropical beach paradise and not the city streets of Chicago.

If only the shining sun meant warm sand, not steamy sidewalks, the breeze brought tropical scents, not empty chip bags, and the seagulls were not not the trash heap circling fiends we have here.

However, do not despair my similarly  land locked friends!

The daffodils are peeping their way through the soil, and spring is nudging it's way into our hearts. Even in the city, the season tells us is time for the age old, much loved tradition of dusting of our sandals and making our way out of hibernation to purchase a new deliciously cool cotton sundress.

Preferably one with pockets.

Below are a few of my favorites from Mata Traders...

All of the above are 100% woven fair-trade cotton, use natural dyes, and have hand block printed and/or hand stitched details.

Shop these and more here

Author: Sarah Griffis.

It is no secret that most women wish their homes (and closets) could be pulled directly from the pages of an Anthropologie catalog.

I shamelessly admit that I have harbored the desire since I first stumbled in as a teenager... greedily eying the ruffled pillowcases and dishes covered in screen printed rabbits.

Even now, with a tightening budget and growing conviction in production ethics, I sigh with longing when I receive their colorful emails.

Luckily, I have access to an equally awesome store where I have learned to find similar items that are both budget conscious and ethical.

Check out these jewelry trend comparisons:

Colorful Statement Necklaces:

Sunburst Necklaces:

Brass and Turquoise:

Shop these and other eclectic budget friendly looks here at Greenheart

Author: Sarah Griffis

Today, we got a surprise, and oh what a wonderful surprise it was.... our NEW hand painted floral enamelware from Kashmir arrived two weeks earlier than expected!!!

I use an over abundance of '!' just to emphasis how unbelievably excited we are to have these beauties in our possession. For months we have been drooling over them (and I have been plotting to fill my kitchen with spring flowers nestled in these brightly colored jugs)

Hope you are as in love as we are. Made with CAT 65 certified stainless steel, and toxin free paint.

Soulemama, one of our favorite blogs to follow, has featured our lovely hand painted eva cups and jugs!

Hand painted by Kashmiri crafts people through Nkuku, a fair trade company that creates contemporary products using age-old techniques, natural materials and sustainable methods.

Check out Soulemama's beautiful photographs!