Rooster Home and Hardware in Dallas sells Roma Boots, which are made by an eco-friendly Dallas company with a mission. For every pair of boots sold, a new pair is donated to a child in need.

Dec. 13, 2016

Keep the environment in mind this holiday season when you are ticking off the items on your Christmas list and think not only about shopping green, but Dolphin Blue organic pet bedsalso locally for the perfect sustainable gift. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a variety of green retailers that will make you feel good about your holiday shopping.

For Kiddos and Fur Babies

The Dallas-based online store Dolphin Blue sells everything from home and garden items to pet supplies and children's toys. A Dolphin Blue staple includes the Organic Bumper Dog and Cat Bed with removable organic cotton cover ranging from $99 to $229 along with the nontoxic BPA-free Toppl Treat Dog Toy, a steal starting at $14.95.

Pet treat dishesOrganic Bumper Dog and Cat Bed and BPA-free Toppl Treat Dog Toy from Dolphin Blue.

For the kiddos, Dolphin Blue's Yellow Submarine, made in the USA from 100 percent recycled plastic milk jugs for $17.49 is an excellent children’s gift as is the Play Toy Tea Set for Children at $30.99.

Dolphin Blue Yellow SubmarineThe Yellow Submarine kid's toy from Dolphin Blue is made from recycled plastic milk jugs.

For the avid pet lover Green Pet in the Bishop Arts District will give you a variety of selections for your four-legged friend. Owner Leslie McKay suggests a local product from Oak Cliff, the Cowboy Bath dog cloths, $12.95, a 20-pack of dog wash cloths designed to clean dogs without needing soap or water. 

Green Pet Cowboy Bath“The wash clothes are perfect for people that camp, hunt or travel with their dogs and don’t want to track dirt into the car, tent or RV at the end of the day,” said McKay. 

Cowboy Bath dog cloths from Green Pet. Below, Piney and Tiny dog toys are available at both Green Pet and Dolphin Blue.

Green Pet Tiny & Piney dog toysThe Piney and Tiny Piney are pine-tree shaped dog toys, hand-crafted in Montana from super soft, rose fabric and are machine washable and dryer safe with a squeaker inside starting at $12.95. The fill is made from a clean, safe, re-engineered PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) polymer material. 

“Your pooch will pine for Piney and Tiny Piney,” said McKay.  

For the pet owner the Kin + Kind candles are $11.95 and made with all-natural zinc citrate and essential oils and are excellent to use as deodorizers to neutralize odors in the home.  

Fair Trade

Fair & Square Kantha throwsMcKinney’s Fair and Square Imports have been offering a variety of handmade fair trade items for years from jewelry and accessories to ornaments and cards. Standout items suggested by owners Andrew and Kate Jones this year include the Kantha Throws, which are recycled saris. They are double-layered and embellished with hand-stitched kantha embroidery. Soft and lightweight, each throw is a unique patchwork of pattern. 

Throws made from recycled saris from Fair and Square Imports.

Also available at the website is the Alaffia EveryDay Lotion, $16.50, 100 percent natural and free of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, synthetic fragrance, animal testing, refined oil, parabens and gluten. The domestically sourced packaging is both Pthalate and BPA free.

Fair & Square salt cupThe Olive Wood Salt Cup with Spoon for $13.95 is carved from reclaimed olive wood stumps dug up in field preparation and includes a small bowl with a spoon hand carved in Central Kenya by the workers in the field for extra income.

The salt cup from Fair and Square Imports is made from reclaimed stumps.

Fair & Square Imports Bicycle bottle openerBicycle Chain items are worth a look and include frames, $13.95 and bottle openers for $11 or in-store you can also find ornaments made from recycled bicycle chains.

This bottle opener with cat-snake head from Fair & Square Imports is made from recycled bicycle chain. 

The recycled newspaper and magazine items for gifting include a recycled Newspaper Journal or a recycled Magazine Squirrel Ornament. Prices vary.

Cool Stuff

Kim Young, owner of Pretty Things & Cool Stuff, a Dallas-based eco-friendly online business, has a selection of gifts for the holidays from jewelry to scarves to journals.

Pretty Things and Cool Stuff shard necklaceThe Window to the Past necklaces, for $45, are designed and handcrafted by New York-based artist Dolhathai Srijamcharoen. They feature a shard of pottery or dishes that she discovered while working on historical excavation sites around New York, New Jersey and Baltimore. The pieces are well-made and one-of-a-kind and Young describes the jewelry as “wearable art that celebrate recycling and history.”

This handcrafted necklace from Pretty Things & Cool Stuff features a shard of pottery from an excavation sites.

Pretty Things & Cool Stuff Ikat scarfA selection of artist designed and handmade scarves from a master weaver of beautiful Ikat scarves from Uzbekistan also make lovely gifts. Ikat is the Malay-Indonesian word used for the process of textile patterning by tying and resist dyeing threads. Pretty Things & Cool Stuff also features hand-woven silk and hand-felted wool ethereal scarves from the UNESCO-recognized and very talented 7 Sisters from Kygyrsktan.

Ikat handmade scarf from Pretty Things & Cool Stuff. 

Pretty Things & Cool Stuff journalsAlso available a set of two journals with covers that were designed and hand-carved block cut and hand printed by Vermont artist Katherine Watson, $16.

Journals with block cut and handprinted covers from Pretty Things & Cool Stuff.

From the Planet + People Collection there is a multi-use market tote, $44.95 from an Austin-based company, which provides education for one year for children in Central America with every purchase.

Pretty Things and Cool Stuff offers a $5 shipping rate for Dallas-Fort Worth area customers via USPS standard shipping. 

Downhome

Rooster rain barrelsFormer Gecko Hardware in Dallas is now renamed Rooster Home & Hardware, having been purchased by Half-Price Books owner Sharon Anderson Wright this fall. The store's founder Andrea Ridout, who is helping transition the business, recommends a variety of green holiday gift items, including the Epoch Recycled Rain Barrels for $119.99 and available in two sizes and styles. The barrels, made by repurposing high-quality food-grade container drums, are made in Stephenville, Texas by workers with physical and mental disabilities, helping them maximize their independence, earnings potential and social skills. 

Epoch rain barrels from Rooster Home & Hardware are made from repurposed food grade containers.

Rooster Home and Hardware has also added Green Toys this year. All the toys are made from 100 percent recycled materials with no BPA or phthalates and manufactured in California from recycled plastic milk bottles and other environmentally friendly materials.

Rooster Green Toys“The best thing about Green Toys is they are just plain fun,” Ridout said. “We stock several including the Orange Tractor, Pink and Blue Tea Set, Watering Can, Construction Trio and the Submarine and Eco Saucer Flying Disc.”

Green Toy brand tractor from Rooster Home & Hardware.

Each toy is brightly-colored, heavy-duty, plus indoor safe and outdoor tough with prices starting under $6.

If you're looking for a great gift for the gardener, Rideout suggests an Olla passive irrigation pot. The pots are made utilizing an ancient firing technique that allows the pot to stay porous, letting water seep through the hardened clay into the surrounding soil. Once in place, the Olla only requires refilling once or twice per week and the pots are $39.99.

Rooster White Rock CandleWhite Rock Soap Gallery Candles are on sale for $9.99 through Dec. 31 when you mention you read about the candle in this article. A favorite holiday scent is "Joy," infused with hints of bayberry, cinnamon and spices. Handmade locally by White Rock Soap Gallery in reusable glass tumbler, the candles are soy-based for a cleaner burn with a touch of beeswax and coconut burning approximately 50 hours.

Roma Boots are also for purchase at Rooster Home & Hardware. The Dallas-based boot company's Rooster Roma Bootsmission is to bring impoverished children throughout the world hope, love, and lasting change through aid and education. For every pair of boots sold, a new pair is donated to a child in need. Additionally, 10 percent of all proceeds funds educational initiatives around the world. The rain boots are made from 100 percent natural rubber, which is considered to be a renewable resource. They are made in a fair trade factory and packaged in boxes made of recycled material. The boots, which feature a cotton lining, contain no PVC, are vegan and cruelty free. 

For coffee lovers on the list, Kevin and Marta Sprague put a little love into each bag of locally-roasted Noble Coyote Coffee. Ethical and Fair Trade certified, their beans brew is the perfect gift for the java connoisseur for $13.99 per 12 oz. bag and several varieties from which to choose.

For the urban farmer in your life, Rooster Home & Hardware carries everything you need for a chicken coop and you can purchase the chicks there too starting at $4.99.

“One way to eat sustainably is to raise your own flock of chickens. Since they eat your kitchen scraps, you can control what goes into the eggs that they produce, thereby insuring your family's food supply.” 

The store carries several styles of coops starting under $100. 

Garden Goodies

Consider shopping at North Texas Farmers Markets, with excellent offerings at Grand Prairie or Bedford Farmers Market or check out Eden’s Organic Garden Center in Balch Springs for the perfect gift for the veggie grower in your life. Eden’s offers gifts ranging from certified organic seed potatoes to fish and seaweed spray, compost tea, horticultural corn meal or liquid and dry molasses.

Krista Gabbert at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden pointed out a few items folks can find at the gift shop, suggesting the 100 percent soy wax Earth Glo Candles for $32.98 as a perfect holiday gift. The Totally Bamboo Texas-shaped wood cutting board with Dallas Arboretum engraved on it is only $26.98. Other items she suggests include the Rosy Rings, hand poured from California with no toxic/harmful chemicals for $47.98 or the Dallas Arboretum Rosy Ringszipper pouches made from recycled paper and newspaper materials, starting at $15.98 to $32.90.

There is also a gift shop at the Texas Discovery Gardens. The shop sells the perfect nature-themed gift for a loved one this season - from butterfly and insect accessories to books, games, toys, apparel, jewelry, lotions, stationery.

Butterfly mug from Texas Discovery Gardens.

Texas Discovery Gardens mugThe Nature Store at Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center in Cedar Hill carries items created by local artisans like nature gifts, souvenirs and toys.

Old School

Brooke Best, botanist and editor at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth, said don’t forget about books for an ideal holiday gift. The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas, by George M. Diggs, Jr. & Barney L. Lipscomb for $29.95 is a look at the 127 native ferns and lycophytes in Texas, the most of any state in the continental U.S.A. 

BRIT NTX floraRange Plants of North Central Texas, by Ricky J. Linex, $25 is another selection for folks interested in North Texas plants. It offers a look at the 324 plants (160 forbs, 59 grasses, and 105 woodies) with emphasis on leaves, flowers, fruits, and other details to aid in identification. 

Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas, by George M. Diggs, Jr., Barney L. Lipscomb, Robert J. O'Kennon, $89.95, is the first fully illustrated flora for any region of Texas or adjacent states. It is the most comprehensive guide to a large portion of the diverse plant life of Texas and covers all the native and naturalized vascular plants known to occur in North Central Texas.

Texas Landscape Project environmental atlasBest said the books are available for purchase either in person at BRIT or through the online gift shop.

Available through Texas A&M University Press, The Texas Landscape Project: Nature and Peoplepublished in June, appeals to environmentalists, Texas history buffs and geography lovers alike. The richly illustrated 500-page environmental history atlas, includes more than 300 maps and 100 other figures to illustrate major environmental events and conservation work in the state. 

Other Green Source DFW Favorites

Lone Chimney Mercantile Dallas PegasusIf you happen to find yourself at Dallas Farmers Market, stop in at Lone Chimney Mercantile where owner Annie Holland stocks local vendor items. Vintage prints share space in the shop with distressed handmade furniture or succulents in Maxwell House tins. There is also a wood worker artist building Texas wood cutouts and no matter the selection each item is a one-of-a-kind gift. 

A Dallas icon is framed with reclaimed wood at Lone Chimney Mercantile at the Dallas Farmers Market. 

For candle lovers Essentially Naked Candle Company in Tyler creates all-natural and biodegradable soy candles as well as handcrafted artisan soaps using natural, wholesome organic ingredients.

Cosmic Crow bagWhole Earth Provisions on Mockingbird Lane in Dallas is a specialty retailer offering a large line of products for holiday shopping and the store’s mission is to preserve and enjoy the planet.

Hasom brand bags made from upcycled material are available at Cosmic Crow Collective.

In Tarrant County, check out the Cosmic Crow Collective in Arlington for an eclectic mix of eco-friendly items such as vintage album cover notebooks and Hasom bags, made from upcycled fabric with 25 percent of proceeds going to charity.

Cruelty Free

Love Graffiti bag from Cykochik vegan custom bags.  

Cykochik handbagTwo Dallas entrepreneurs decided you don't have to be cruel to be stylish. Cykochik Custom Bags is a Dallas-based company started by Nikki Duong Koenig that sells custom vegan handbags. In addition, the company has started to use recycled material in some of their products.

Kick Butt BootsMeanwhile, Kick Butt Boots, founded by Dallas native Kat Mendenhall, is a company which specializes in Texas-style vegan boots.

Faux leather boots from Kitt Butt Boots come in a variety of styles.


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