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Showroom Finder makes it easy and fun to discover antique, consignment (fashion and furnishings), vintage and resale stores across the United State.

Unlike many websites that simply display a list of store names, phone numbers, and addresses, every store on Showroom Finder features a complete profile about what makes that store unique. In fact, most of our profiles are written in collaboration with the store owners themselves. Photos, store logos, and special announcements round out our store profiles, so you can get a taste of a store before visiting in person.

Unique to Showroom Finder are locally based showrooms featuring thousands of items for sales at our members’ stores, ready to take home. Instead of bidding for something you can’t see or touch, you can drive to one of our members’ stores and take it home the same day.

Showroom Finder is an industry leader. Since its founding in 2003, Showroom Finder has grown to become the leading online directory in the resale and consignment industry.

I’d like to welcome Kimberly Thomson and the team from The Ultimate Diet to our Eco Friendly Community.  If you don’t give a lot of thought to the food you’re feeding your pet, you may change your mind after seeing this video as seen on Pet Network TV’s, Pet Central, about the benefits of natural and organic raw pet food.  I’ll let Kimberly take it from here:

You and your pet are going to love our food. The Ultimate Diet is the most life-enhancing food available. It is also the best eaten. We developed these diets because most pet foods are of sub-standard ingredients, and are cooked at high temperatures—limiting or eliminating their nutritional benefits. We, instead, do it better. We’ve chosen ingredients of the highest nutritional value for a pet, and left them in their raw state to maximize their absorption. Why raw? Because our pets need live foods that truly nourish them. Only raw foods provide this. Cooking destroys nutrients—including enzymes, vitamins and minerals. We use only hormone and antibiotic-free meats, plus organic ingredients—which provide denser nutrient levels than factory farmed ingredients. Your pets will love our formulas, and you will see observable signs of their improved health within the first month of use. This is our dedication, and our promise. Sincerely,

Solarwyse Ltd. is a Canadian Company started in 2005, based in the colder climates of Northern Alberta. There was a distinct need to prove that alternative power solutions were not only viable in cooler climates, but also a more economical solution. The biggest argument that we hear against solar energy is that you have to give up so many modern conveniences.

Solarwyse has gained the experience on how to maintain a fully modern energy independent rural home, living totally off grid. Buying a solar power system from Solarwyse comes with more than just the components, we are here to supply the knowledge and education to assist you in selecting the right choices from appliance selection, to heating options. We firmly believe that an educated consumer is our most valuable asset.

What do you need to give up? Nothing but the monthly payment to your local utility company. Until your willing to spend less than $1000 a year for heat, water and electricity, then Solarwyse does not have a solution for you. If your interested give us a call, better yet ask for a tour of our off grid home, see for yourself firsthand.

Over the last few years there has been an increasing awareness of where our food comes from. There are now many more organic food suppliers and a lot of people buy food which is locally produced. If you are planning to maintain such a lifestyle whilst on holiday, Organic Places to Stay offers you all the information you need. The website is a directory of places around the world which offer produce which is certified according to local organic food standards. Most of the listed holiday locations are small and family run businesses which care about farming in tune with nature and biodiversity. The money spent in these places will stay in the local communities. Around two thirds of the places listed offer meals, usually breakfast, but lunches and evening meals are often available as well. Many of these places have their own small restaurant, a few of which are certified organic, and others may have a certified organic kitchen garden, orchard or vineyard. Meals are prepared using local organic produce whenever possible. On average this will be at least 50% organic, but many of the places offer a much higher percentage, up to 100% organic. Quite a few of them grow their own produce, some use wild or natural foods, and most will aim to use fresh local produce rather than imported food. The rest of the places are self-catering on organic farms or smallholdings. At these places you will find information about the availability of organic food - for example whether you can buy the farm’s own organic produce, have an organic vegetable box delivered, or find organic produce in the local area. Fresh produce, local specialities, slow food, home baking, homemade products such as jam, juice, ice cream, yogurt, cheese, pasta, pasta sauce, olive oil, wine - you will find all of these and more. http://www.organicholidays.co.uk/

I’d like to welcome Mark Wallace and the team at nosymbolrequired.co.uk.  nosymbolrequired describes itself as the organic clothing company for wakeboarders, skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders.  This is a great site to find an affordable and comfortable shirt with an original design, quote, saying or even just a picture, drawing or sketch of something funny and often very clever.  If you’re looking to stock up on cool organic t-shirts and clothing for the upcoming spring and summer seasons, look no further than nosymbolrequired.

I am excited to welcome Dr Barbara Olioso and Forest Secrets Skin Care to our Eco Friendly Community.  Dr Olioso is the founder of Forest Secrets Skincare, a professional chemist, and she has worked only with natural and organic cosmetics since 1999.

Dr Olioso recently wrote an article about natural and organic skin care, and what you really need to know before you buy.  Forest Secrets Skin Care also has a great blog about green skin care news and eco friendly people and organizations that is worth checking out, Click here

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I’d like to welcome Eric and the team from Eco Friendly Tourist.  ecofriendlytourist.com describes itself as ‘the user friendly guide to green holidays’ and provides details of green vacations in the UK – where to go, how to get there and things to do while you’re away. Set up in 2006 its content is based on journalistic research. It doesn’t nag and or preach: the aim is inspire visitors to the site and help them plan and enjoy guilt free vacations.

The website features an independent guide to eco-friendly places to stay in the UK, featuring hotels, hostels, guest houses, self-catering and bed and breakfast accommodation – plus some other unusual places – throughout the country and across all price ranges.

Each comprehensive listing is divided into two parts with details of its eco-friendly credentials plus a descriptive overview of what the place is really like. It is easy to use and every listing is no more than two clicks away from the Home page.

The guide also includes a guide to hotel chains and what they are doing to go green, a camping and caravanning guide, and the lowdown on eco friendly short breaks in the UK, from cheap short breaks to luxury short breaks, romantic breaks to family breaks, activity breaks to spa breaks, outdoor breaks to heritage breaks. There is information about public transport across the UK, by road, sea and rail, but not by air.

The site is packed with jargon free information about green holidays: how to choose  where to stay, carbon offsetting, the pitfalls of “greenwashing”, and more. Plus there’s a 10 step guide on how to be an eco friendly tourist. The Travel Essentials section has information and links to help you plan a stress-free holiday - passports and visas, safety, travel insurance, travel money and holiday weather.

For further information visit www.ecofriendlytourist.com or contact webmaster@ecofriendlytourist.com

I’m pleased to welcome the Zoe Onlus Association to our Eco Friendly Community.  I am inspired after learning more about what this non-profit organization is doing to help the people of southern Tunisia, especially those living at the margins.  I’ll let the association’s President, Paolo Buccieri, take it from here:

The United Nations Organization defines desertification as one of
most alarming processes of environmental degradation.
In arid areas of northern Africa, the poorest part of the population,
living on subsistence farming, is paying the higher price .

Zoe non-profit organization, through the Solar Water Project, wants
help to improve the living conditions of families in southern Tunisia through the installation of pumps powered by solar panels.  The immersion solar pumps are produced in Italy and already tested in several countries in the world with excellent results. The most powerful model Tetraflux, is a submersible pump DC stainless steel, low power and high efficiency.

The pumps restore the function of abandoned water wells because of high costs of extraction previously practiced with diesel engines.

The intervention helps to improve the socio-economic conditions of marginal populations, introducing the use and know-how of renewable energy systems, and allows the families of rural villages to irrigate fields
at no cost, limiting the damage of desertification process in the area.

http://www.zoeonlus.it/acqua_solare_m.htm (only in italian but you can pick up pictures and videos)

You can also find some info on our Bio-Design activities at: http://www.zoeonlus.it/INGLESE/EN_biodesign.htm
(this page is in english)

Paolo Buccieri
President of Zoe Onlus Association

I’d like to welcome Kristen and Keep it Organic to our Eco Friendly Community.  Keep it Organic is helping to ensure the organic foods we consume stay organic all the way up to the point we consume them.  I’ll let them speak for themselves:

KeepItOrganic.org is a resource for people interested in organic foods and beverages. Our primary focus is on selection of the right packaging materials for organic products. Packaging can influence the foods and beverages it contains as well as the environment.

Keep It Organic is dedicated to providing the organic shopper with information about the right packaging choices for keeping your organic foods, organic. Many packaging choices may contain synthetic chemicals that migrate into foods and beverages, thus altering the natural organic integrity of your foods. In contrast, glass containers have been in use for 200 generations and are composed of naturally occurring substances and do not contain synthetic chemicals.

Hornet Mountain Natural Products (http://www.hornetmountain.com ) is an online store that specializes in chemical-free therapeutic skin care, natural makeup and beautiful eco-clothing in organic cotton and hemp. Founded by  Astrid Kihl, a stay-at-home mom and self described “natural health freak”, Hornet Mountain began as a response to her search to find a remedy for her toddler’s chronic eczema. “I  became really intense about my research. I learned so much about natural products during that time”. she says: “Just because a product is ‘naturally marketed’, does not mean the product is natural at all. I discovered that the personal care industry is fraught with deceptive tricks to make the consumer feel comfortable about using toxic chemicals on their skin. I could go on and on about this, but the bottom line is to educate yourself. The Environmental Working Group website ( http://www.ewg.org) is a great place to start .”

“We carry Keys skin care products because they use pharmaceutical-grade essential oils in therapeutic proportions. This means that the healing ingredients are of the highest quality and offer the best performance. Every batch of essential oil purchased by the manufacturer is tested to their ultra high standard for the active ingredient , as well as  for microbiology, to insure that there is no contamination present (hardly anyone in the industry does this!). The list of ingredients (organic  or wild crafted) on every product is under 10. The formulas are based on ancient healing remedies from various sources, like the Lakota Sioux and  Ayurvedic medicine, among others.”

“We got into natural cosmetics because the cosmetics industry is even more toxic than skin care. While in an ideal society, women would feel no need to wear makeup, that is clearly not our current reality, plus it is an ancient tradition. What we are trying to do at Hornet Mountain is minimize harm. Women are becoming more educated, but still products are being deceptively marketed as ‘natural’, and there is more to it than that. MIneral makeup is a step in the right direction, however most brands use titanium as their main ingredient, which raises serious concern. Titanium in itself is not harmful, it is the dioxaine that is used to process it (titanium “dioxide”) that is a known carcinogen. Because titanium always makes a jagged particle, like fiberglass, whether on a macro or nano scale, dioxaine is leaching into your body. And that is not good”.  Hornet Mountain carries a titanium-free mineral makeup line that uses  wild crafted and organic arrowroot powder as its base.

“Because of my past career in apparel manufacturing for the outdoor recreation industry, I have seen an incredible amount of  chemical treatments and processes that are used to make performance fabrics (nylons and polyesters). It is really not sustainable at all, and is toxic to us and therefore, to the planet. Unfortunately, conventional cotton is no different, having the distinction of being the most highly sprayed crop in the world. Working with eco-clothing is such a soul-nourishing change for me.”

Hornet Mountain sells several eco-clothing lines, such as Indigenous Designs, Itsus Eco, Nomads and  Garden Kids. “I avoid wearing synthetic fabrics unless it is necessary, I also make that sure that my kids wear wear organic cotton pj’s to bed. I can’t imagine why anyone would let their kids sleep in sweaty synthetics, and/or fabric that has been treated with toxic flame retardant chemicals. If you are worried you kids’ pj’s will catch on fire, just make sure that they are snug fitting. That is just as effective, and, unlike the flame retardants, it won’t do them any harm. ”

Hornet Mountain can be found at : http://www.hornetmountain.com and on Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Hornet-Mountain-Natural-Products/196100952774?ref=ts