Green Products for a Green Kitchen - Eco Friendly, That Is!

It’s the next big thing! Actually, going green has been a big thing for several years now. It does; however, seem to be catching on more and more recently. With Earth Day 2012 (April 22) around the corner, take this opportunity to lessen your carbon footprint on the earth and go green. If you’re not able - or willing - to go all out, then one small step can help, too. Every little bit helps.

Check out the products featured here; they are all earth friendly and you can feel good about yourself for taking a step in the direction of making every day Earth Day. Amazon has a huge selection of terrific green products from baby products to cleaning products, toys, personal care items, lighting, and, featured here, kitchen and dining products…

Bamboo is a great way to go green and have beautiful things at the same time.  Bamboo is actually a grass that can grow to 60 feet high within 3 to 5 years.  Its root system continually develops new shoots, so when it’s harvested,  replanting is not necessary, thus making bamboo one of the greatest self-renewing resources. 

This parquet bamboo cutting board is made from, well, bamboo – a very renewable, earth-friendly resource. Even better, this type of bamboo is not the type used by pandas for food or their habitat. The color of this cutting board is completely natural; no dyes were used at all and it was manufactured using glue that’s food-safe and formaldehyde free.

This bamboo double salt box is not only earth-friendly, but it’s also a beautiful piece that would look great on any kitchen countertop.  Use it to conveniently store sea salt, pepper or other spices.  The beautiful color of this box is completely natural and permanent; they use a special heating process that actually carmelizes the sugar in the bamboo to get the color – is that cool, or what?! 

This is one of the nicest knife block I’ve seen; I just love the look of bamboo. This block has 22 knife slots, as well as slots for a sharpening steel and shears. Another lovely addition to your kitchen countertop. 

Another way to go green is to buy products that are made using recycled materials, which helps to save our landfills…

This set of recycled melamine bowls are not only terrific functionally, they are fun to look at. They are BPA-, PVC-, phthalate-, and lead-safe. This set includes a lid and they stack into each other for easy storage.

This set of three nested mixing bowls is made from 100% recycled plastic. All three bowls have a comfortable grip for easy mixing and pouring easily. They also have non-slip bottoms which makes stirring even easier and they’re made in the USA.

These beautiful plates by Bormioli Rocco of Italy are made using 30% recycled glass, and the entire plate is recyclable. The pebbled glass pattern of these dishes adds just the right touch to make them a beautiful addition to any table setting.

When you purchase these, they are packaged in recycled paper packaging. As you can see to the right, you can also get dessert plates and soup plates to match, but one of the best things about these is that they will go very well with other dishes, so can just buy one style to add a nice accent to your usual table setting – or, of course, buy all three styles and have yourself a beautiful table still. 

My favorite color is green, so I am immediately attracted to these beautiful, completely handmade glasses made from recycled glass.  They have a great rustic look to them.  The set of tumblers are also made from 100% recycled materials and are equally gorgeous. 

This cookware set from Farberware is made with non-stick aluminum set in terra cotta, and they have silicone handles, so they are oven safe (to 600°). The non-stick coating is what makes these earth-friendly; it’s made from sand that’s used to make products like glass bakeware. The non stick coating doesn’t have PTFE or PFOA, key ingredients and agents in Teflon which have raised many health concerns in recent years.

This great fry pan is made with a ceramic powder that’s 100% from a natural source and it is laid on top of 99% recycled aluminum. It also has an eco-friendly bamboo handle to boot. This pan is a great addition to any kitchen. 

This flower trivet is made from trees that are harvested under the North American Sustainable Forestry Standards guidelines.  The unique shape allows for the release of excess heat and moisture and it has silicone “bottons” for non slip on the countertop and for the pan sitting on top of it.