Christopher Hynes <div id="tabs-no-scroll"> <ul id="product-tabs"> <li><a href="#tab1"><span>Our Mission</span></a></li> <li><a href="#tab2"><span>Our Standards</span></a></li> <li><a href="#tab3"><span>Shipping</span></a></li> <li><a href="#tab4"><span>Returns</span></a></li> <li><a href="#tab5"><span>Your Privacy</span></a></li> </ul> <div id="tab1"> <p>There are a lot of stores selling green and environmentally-friendly products (usually with the word "green" or "eco" in their company name), so you might be asking why we're bothering. <p> For the past 10 years, we've spent an enormous amount of time educating ourselves, reading product labels for everything we buy, contacting manufacturers, learning about every ingredient contained in them, and trying hundreds of different products personally. <p> What we've discovered is that most of what you can buy out there, even in so-called 'green' stores is really only slightly better than what they intend to replace. This is especially true in health and beauty products. Go to your local eco-friendly retailer (if you're lucky enough to have one) at look at the product labels. Can you recognize and pronounce most of them? Do they sound like the ingredients you want to put in your body, on your body, or in your house? Sadly, there are billions of dollars to be made in marketing pseudo-green products and deceiving customers into thinking they are making a real difference with their purchase decisions. <p> In the same way that people are discovering what "real food" is by shopping at <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/" target="_blank">farmers markets</a>, we believe they will start and continue to discover that there are companies (mostly small companies at this point) that share the same values of providing products that meet the same standard of "real products". <p> If you have suggestions on products that you feel strongly about or have found products that exceed what you see here, we'd love to hear from you, so please <a href="/pages/contact-us">contact us</a>! We don't proclaim to be the world's experts on the best products for everyone and welcome the participation of our customers in the process of coming up with products that amaze and delight our customers while also being low-impact on the environment. <p> All the best, <p> Your friends at plucky tree </div> <div id="tab2"> <p>All of these criteria must be met to sell a product in the store: <UL> <LI>We've used the product personally or the product is from a company we trust and have used many of their other products <LI>We have a personal relationship with the company that makes the product and feel they treat their employees and customers with respect and dignity <LI>The product uses certified organic ingredients as much as possible <LI>The product, if it's not a consumable product, must be made to last, and when it's at the end of its life, be as biodegradeable as possible <LI>If the product contains imported ingredients, they must be as Fair Trade as possible <LI>The product must contain as little plastic as possible (and if it does, it must be from post-consumer recycled content) <LI>The product must not contain any artificial colors, fragrances, or flavors <LI>The product must not contain any ingredients derived from petroleum </UL> It's difficult to find the perfect product, but what I hope we've found is a hand-picked selection of products that, as you try them yourself, you will come to trust our judgment and support our endeavor. </div> <div id="tab3"> <p> Orders are shipped from Chicago, IL and Reno, NV. For domestic orders, we exclusively use ground shipping as it is the most environmentally-friendly form of package shipping. Shipping is flat-rate, regardless of weight or amount of the order. <p> Shipping rates: <UL> <LI>USA: $5-$10 <LI>Canada: $20-$25 <LI>Rest of World: $40-$45 </UL> If there is a lot of interest from customers in Canada and Europe, we may consider stocking items in locations in Canada and the UK so that we can provide inexpensive shipping options to those locations. </div> <div id="tab4"> <p>Products may be returned or exchanged within 30 days, no questions asked. You would only pay for return postage and we will refund the full cost of the returned products plus the applicable portion of the original shipping charges. If you receive a defective or damaged product, we will send a replacement at no cost to you. <p> For clothing, we can't accept returns or exchanges if the item has been washed. </div> <div id="tab5"> <p>We will not share your personal information with anyone. We have a mailing list that you can optionally join when you place an order. We plan to send out an email to the mailing list no more than once a month, primarily to let you know about new products we've added or interesting news about the products in the store and how they impact the world in which we live. <p> Your order is sent to our server using 128-bit SSL encryption to ensure that your data is safe while it is being transmitted to us. Credit card payments are processed by PayPal. </div> </div> 2008-05-31T11:24:35-07:00 about-us 304832 2008-05-31T17:44:58-07:00 143982 2009-10-20T15:50:22-07:00 <notextile> <div id="tabs-no-scroll"> <ul id="product-tabs"> <li><a href="#tab1"><span>Our Mission</span></a></li> <li><a href="#tab2"><span>Our Standards</span></a></li> <li><a href="#tab3"><span>Shipping</span></a></li> <li><a href="#tab4"><span>Returns</span></a></li> <li><a href="#tab5"><span>Your Privacy</span></a></li> </ul> <div id="tab1"> <p>There are a lot of stores selling green and environmentally-friendly products (usually with the word "green" or "eco" in their company name), so you might be asking why we're bothering. <p> For the past 10 years, we've spent an enormous amount of time educating ourselves, reading product labels for everything we buy, contacting manufacturers, learning about every ingredient contained in them, and trying hundreds of different products personally. <p> What we've discovered is that most of what you can buy out there, even in so-called 'green' stores is really only slightly better than what they intend to replace. This is especially true in health and beauty products. Go to your local eco-friendly retailer (if you're lucky enough to have one) at look at the product labels. Can you recognize and pronounce most of them? Do they sound like the ingredients you want to put in your body, on your body, or in your house? Sadly, there are billions of dollars to be made in marketing pseudo-green products and deceiving customers into thinking they are making a real difference with their purchase decisions. <p> In the same way that people are discovering what "real food" is by shopping at <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/" target="_blank">farmers markets</a>, we believe they will start and continue to discover that there are companies (mostly small companies at this point) that share the same values of providing products that meet the same standard of "real products". <p> If you have suggestions on products that you feel strongly about or have found products that exceed what you see here, we'd love to hear from you, so please <a href="/pages/contact-us">contact us</a>! We don't proclaim to be the world's experts on the best products for everyone and welcome the participation of our customers in the process of coming up with products that amaze and delight our customers while also being low-impact on the environment. <p> All the best, <p> Your friends at plucky tree </div> <div id="tab2"> <p>All of these criteria must be met to sell a product in the store: <UL> <LI>We've used the product personally or the product is from a company we trust and have used many of their other products <LI>We have a personal relationship with the company that makes the product and feel they treat their employees and customers with respect and dignity <LI>The product uses certified organic ingredients as much as possible <LI>The product, if it's not a consumable product, must be made to last, and when it's at the end of its life, be as biodegradeable as possible <LI>If the product contains imported ingredients, they must be as Fair Trade as possible <LI>The product must contain as little plastic as possible (and if it does, it must be from post-consumer recycled content) <LI>The product must not contain any artificial colors, fragrances, or flavors <LI>The product must not contain any ingredients derived from petroleum </UL> It's difficult to find the perfect product, but what I hope we've found is a hand-picked selection of products that, as you try them yourself, you will come to trust our judgment and support our endeavor. </div> <div id="tab3"> <p> Orders are shipped from Chicago, IL and Reno, NV. For domestic orders, we exclusively use ground shipping as it is the most environmentally-friendly form of package shipping. Shipping is flat-rate, regardless of weight or amount of the order. <p> Shipping rates: <UL> <LI>USA: $5-$10 <LI>Canada: $20-$25 <LI>Rest of World: $40-$45 </UL> If there is a lot of interest from customers in Canada and Europe, we may consider stocking items in locations in Canada and the UK so that we can provide inexpensive shipping options to those locations. </div> <div id="tab4"> <p>Products may be returned or exchanged within 30 days, no questions asked. You would only pay for return postage and we will refund the full cost of the returned products plus the applicable portion of the original shipping charges. If you receive a defective or damaged product, we will send a replacement at no cost to you. <p> For clothing, we can't accept returns or exchanges if the item has been washed. </div> <div id="tab5"> <p>We will not share your personal information with anyone. We have a mailing list that you can optionally join when you place an order. We plan to send out an email to the mailing list no more than once a month, primarily to let you know about new products we've added or interesting news about the products in the store and how they impact the world in which we live. <p> Your order is sent to our server using 128-bit SSL encryption to ensure that your data is safe while it is being transmitted to us. Credit card payments are processed by PayPal. </div> </div> </notextile>