One of our favorites, and a great gift for Oakland-lovers, this guide is perfect for people who want to travel sustainably, and those who love to explore the true soul of cities, not just the typical tourist spots. The first in the sustainable travel series by GrassRoutes Travel. Available for $16.95 on the Oakland Pride store and in lots of local stores around the city.

We announced Fwrap as one of our newest marketplace members last week, and we can’t let a holiday gift list go by without another mention of these clever eco-friendly gift wrap ideas. Save trees and time by tucking gifts into this beautiful fabric wrap instead of paper! Available on the Fwrap website!

This gorgeous asymmetrical Jade Branch necklace is just one of many playful and compelling original designs at Ear to Ear Jewelry. Each design is unique, made from a variety of materials including precious stones, antique and found charms, leather, silver, and more. Available for $75 on the Ear to Ear Jewelry website.

Want your environmental values to follow you on vacation? Local travel writer and entrepreneur Serena Bartlett, author of Oakland: the Soul of the City, will share tips on low-impact travel and ways to support the communities you visit.  Wed., December 12, 2007. 6 - 7:30 p.m. Oakland Public Library, Main Branch. 125 – 14th Street. 1st Floor. AMHL Reading Room.

 Sound familiar? We featured this fabulous Oakland company last year and are proud to announce that they have joined Oakland Unwrapped Marketplace.

Make your gift giving eco-conscious. Fwrap offers an alternative to buying gift wrap that your gift recipient just ends up throwing away. Instead, these clever and beautifully-designed wraps are meant to be re-used for other gifts and storage. These elegant wraps also make wrapping much easier - no more cutting and taping! They come in several sizes and colors and each one includes a gift tag. Also check out their book covers and notebook covers. Fwraps have been featured in SF Chronicle (yesterday!) and Oakland Magazine, and they are all the rage with Sierra Clubbers. Buy them online at fwraps.com.

Join us and NovoMetro at Esteban Sabar Gallery for a community holiday shopping party on Friday. In conjunction with the First Fridays Oakland Art Murmur, NovoMetro will be launching their new print magazine: Oakbook, and Oakland Unwrapped! vendors will be selling their products in the flesh!

Products include Oakland books and t-shirts, jewelry, cards, artwork, housewares, and more. So come on out, check out the art, pickup a NovoMetro OakBook, drink some Lost Canyon wine, and see some great Oakland-made goods! For more info about this event, check out the chatter on Yelp! This Friday, December 7 from 7-10 pm. Outside next to 480 23rd Street (at Telegraph Ave.)

Oakland Unwrapped! is very proud to sell the new EcoMetro Guide. It’s a special East Bay green coupon book, business directory, and source of inspiration. Topics and products include:

- Local, seasonal, organic food and restaurants
- Green home building and remodeling products
- Bikes, transit, hybrid cars and biofuels
- Eco fashion and Fair Trade gifts
- Recycling and buying recycled products

You’ll save hundreds of dollars while exploring local businesses with a community or environmental benefit. Find coupons for B Restaurant and Bar, the Food Mill, Chabot Space and Science Center, the Oakland Museum, Amtrak, California Canoe and Kayak, Montano Velo, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Oakland, and many more!

Nomad Café (65th & Shattuck) is an Alameda County certified Green Business that serves Fair Trade coffees and teas as well as organic wines and beer. They are “zero waste over the counter,” divert 95% of their waste from landfills, and owner Christopher Waters is a local leader in sustainability policy. Nomad Café received the Greenie Award at the 2007 Oakland Indie Awards.

In addition to delicious drinks and food, Nomad is a happy community hub. They have trivia night on Mondays, tons of live performances, and are always hosting creative and thoughtful events. You definitely need to check this place out the next time you are in North Oakland. For more info, check out the (soon to be changing) Nomad website and their reviews on Yelp!

We are excited to announce that Oakland Unwrapped! has been selected to receive a 2007 Pacific Gas and Electric Company Local Economic Development Grant. The grant is in support of a sustainable local shopping program we are launching in conjunction with the Oakland Merchant Leadership Forum and the City’s Shop Oakland campaign. We will use the funds to recruit additional green businesses to the Oakland Unwrapped! Online Marketplace. This will make it even easier for you to be green on the web!

We are seeking Oakland green businesses and artists to sell on our site, so if you are a certified green business, interested in becoming one, or incorporate sustainable practices into your trade, please contact us!

This adorable blanket is just one of many new items for sale on the Mariposa Baby website, part of the Oakland Unwrapped! Markeplace.

After having two sweet babies of her own to dress as well as shopping for countless baby showers of stylish friends and family members, Oakland’s Elizabeth Falkner decided that the market needed better options for truly special baby gifts. She knew there must be shoppers like her that did not want to give baby clothes that had boring, clichéd motifs like trains and ducks, or quirky graphics that were clever or cool, but unsuitable for a special gift. Fortunately for all us, she started Mariposa Baby.

Elizabeth designs all of the blankets, bibs, and outfits herself and has it all produced right here in the Bay Area. Gifts come in a free gift box that is made from 100% recycled materials and features a screen-printed butterfly on the top. Available on www.mariposababy.com

Make your gift giving eco-conscious! Fwrap, a new Oakland company, offers an alternative to buying gift wrap that someone just ends up throwing away. Instead, these clever wraps are meant to be re-used for other gifts and storage. These elegant wraps also make wrapping much easier - no more cutting and taping! They come in several sizes and colors and each one includes a gift tag. Ideal for CDs, books and other small items. Buy them online at fwraps.com

OUT: Styrofoam & Plastic
IN: Corn?

Oakland Councilwoman Jean Quan is proposing an ordinance that will (finally!) ban styrofoam disposable food service ware and require that all disposable service ware is biodegradable, when it’s affordable. You can find out more and get involved by checking out her website: http://www.jeanquan.org.

In the meantime, we thought you might be interested in seeing a water bottle biodegrade. One company that uses corn to make water bottles, Biota, has a video of the biodegradation process. According to their site, it takes 75-80 days for these to completely biodegrade — a plastic bottle will NEVER biodegrade! Very cool technology. Click here for the movie.

Saturday, May 13
Fair Trade Day
Music, food samples, cooking lessons, film and more!
Alter Eco/ Justin Herman Plaza - San Francisco
8am - 4pm

Thursday, May 18, 2006
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights “Solutions Salon”
6pm - 9pm
James Irvine Conference Center
Solution Salons will bring together grassroots human rights activists, socially responsible business leaders, government officials, formerly incarcerated people and dyed-in-the-wool environmentalists to find solutions for our community. Includes speakers such as Paul Hawkins.

“Check the Ingredients.”

Important advice from Ruth Villasenor, who owns and operates Paws and Claws - A Natural Pet Food Store and Bathhouse with partner Diane Pfile. The store, which opened in 2004, was inspired by Ruth and Diane’s long educational search for information about natural, homeopathic treatments and diets for their dog Angel, who was diagnosed with cancer. (Three years later Angel is doing well, hanging out in the store with her family! See her pic here.)

Products - Their store has an amazing variety of healthy pet products, including organic foods and treats, raw food items, natural shampoos and lotions, eco-friendly kitty litter, biodegradable “Number 2″ baggies, and much more. The prices are great, and as one customer mentioned, their goods are often cheaper than what you’d pay at a chain store. Check out our photo gallery of the store & products.

Community Activities - A short conversation with Ruth reveals the owners’ commitment to social justice, community revitalization, and the arts. The store has become an institution in the Dimond neighborhood, and attracts clients from throughout the city and the Bay Area. On a given night, you might find the store’s enclosed back patio full of people and pets singing karaoke while raising money for local rescue operations or the orphaned pets of Katrina. When they’re not enjoying the night air and the sounds of Sausal Creek, Diane and Ruth are probably out running educational programs on pet safety, helping out a fellow store owner, or hosting an art opening inside their store. In fact, stop by tomorrow, March 10, between 6 and 8 pm to see the delightful custom pet portraits of local artist Amy Jo Karn and meet her in person.

Special thanks to the Oakland Unwrapped! reader who suggested we profile Paws and Claws. We are so inspired by this dynamic duo. They truly embody the best of what locally-owned stores are all about. Active in the community, responsive to customer needs, passionate and knowledgable about their work, and sensitive to our health and environment. When Ruth tells her customers to check the scary ingredients on some of the pet food labels they have at home, it’s because she cares. And she can help you find healthier alternatives.

Read customer reviews on Yelp!

2023 MacArthur Blvd., 510.336.0105, info@pawsnclawsoakland.com, http://www.pawsnclawsoakland.com

Hours: Tues-Thurs 10am-7pm, Fri & Sat 9am - 6pm, Sunday 12pm - 5pm, (Closed Monday)

Numi Teas and Teasans of Oakland offers an incredible variety of teas and herbal drinks to soothe your body and soul, but their signature Flowering Teas are show stoppers. Flowering Teas are beautiful hand-sewn blends of teas, herbs, and flowers that open in front of your eyes as they steep. Like all of their teas and herbs, they are organic.

While we aren’t the first to sing their praises (see the myriad awards and news articles about them), we couldn’t resist. Their products are resplendant, delicious, healthy, and organic; they use recycled and recyclable materials; they support several charities; and they only work with tea and herb producers who provide fair wages and do not over-work their employees. We are proud to say that Numi has called Oakland home since its inception in 1999.

Numi offers a variety of gift baskets, teas, ice teas, herbal drinks and teaware.

Order online at: http://www.numitea.com, or find their products at one of these Oakland stores:

Food Mill, 3033 Macarthur Blvd.
Lakeshore Natural Foods, 3321 Lakeshore Avenue
Piedmont Grocery, 4038 Piedmont Ave.
Rockridge Health Foods, 5116 Broadway
Village Market, 5885 Broadway Terrace

Email: customerservice@numitea.com