eco friendly Archives | Cool Mom Picks

15 easy recycled Mother’s Day gifts your kids can make from stuff you have right at home | Mother’s Day Gift Guide

by Christina Refford | DIY, Mother's Day Gifts

On Mother’s Day for the past few years, I’ve always loved my kids’ homemade gifts and cards most of all. But, this year, I don’t want my family to worry about shopping for craft supplies to make, or to have to go anywhere to buy me something....

10 ways to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day with kids, safely at home.

by Christina Refford | DIY, Doing Good

Readers have asked us for ways to celebrate Earth Day with the kids while we’re all sheltering in place right now and I have to be honest — with all of the days starting to run together while we’re in quarantine, the holiday kind of snuck up on me...

We’ve got 5 eco-friendly paper towel alternatives to help you make the switch at the perfect time.

by Caroline Siegrist | Kitchen + Dining, Tips + Tricks

I’ve been meaning to wean our family off paper towels for years, and this quarantine is finally giving the push that I need. Thanks, empty paper towel shelves at Kroger! So I’ve been chatting with eco-conscious friends and colleagues about favorite paper...

We tried The Earthling Co.’s bar shampoo. Here’s what we thought. | Damn you, Facebook Ads series

by Kate Etue | Beauty + Cosmetics

Last year I tried Hairstory’s New Wash Shampoo after seeing some Facebook ads for it, and whoa, our review really resonated with our readers! So when I saw ads for The Earthling Co.‘s bar shampoo, I knew I wanted to buy it and give it a try too. The...

Resell your used Ergobaby carriers with this cool new program that keeps more baby gear out of landfills

by Kate Etue | Doing Good, Gear

When I read that you can now resell your Ergobaby carrier through Ergobaby’s new baby carrier buyback program, I got excited. I’ve tried to be more intentional about making environmentally conscious purchasing decisions lately, whether I’m reducing...

Greta Thunberg and youth climate activism: Editors Best of the Year

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Editors Best of the Year, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing

When we first started this site in 2006, eco-friendly was one of our most popular tags. Parents were concerned about where their products were made, what ingredients were in them, and how they impacted the planet. Then the recession hit. Suddenly no one wanted to pay...

Yes, real Christmas trees are better for the environment than artificial trees. Here are the facts.

by Liz Gumbinner | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Thinking : Parent, Tips + Tricks

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of well-meaning posts from people around my social networks, with comments like, “well I want to protect the environment….that’s why we’re getting a fake Christmas tree this year.” Suddenly I was like crap,...

On acting, activism, and taking action: A conversation with Alysia Reiner

by Cool Mom Staff | Doing Good, Podcast

Considering we’re pretty passionate about activism and binge watching, it’s probably no surprise that we’re a big fan of Alysia Reiner, known best for her role as Natalie “Fig” Figueroa in Orange is the New Black, a show that might have...

These 8 single-use products are going away in our lifetimes. Here are alternatives that make switching easy.

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Living

I love that increasingly, so many of us are trying to be more mindful with our product purchases, opting for eco-friendly reusable products instead of wasteful single-use alternatives. It doesn’t just make good earth sense, it makes good budget sense. Besides,...

So we don’t normally get excited about toothbrushes, but…

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Kids

Is some new toothbrush a thing to get all pumped about? Generally…no. I mean I am a recent devotee of Quip and Quip Kids after reading Kristen’s raving reviews, but now I’ve found a low-tech toothbrush that gets me just as excited about dental...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, more meaningful, and more fun for parents of all kinds.

Trivia: It was called Cool Mom Sh*t for the first two days. (Yeah, we rethought that.)

We had no idea our site would grow to become a major lifestyle network, that we'd end up sharing our finds with the TODAY Show and Martha Stewart, that we'd be able to make a real difference for so many small businesses and women-run companies, or that we'd end up with an incredible community of the coolest readers on the planet. (If we do say so ourselves).