Archive for December, 2008

We provided some eco-friendly gift ideas that were cost efficient too in our blog post on Friday. We thought we would give you some more ideas as we fast approach the last few days of holiday shopping.

One relatively inexpensive gift is eco-chic note cards. You can generally order 25 cards and envelopes for around $36.00. These cards are printed with soy based inks, using bio-degradable packaging and purchased only with recycled tissue paper. You can find stationery with an eco emphasis at sites such as American Stationery.

Another interesting concept is purchasing jewelry and vases that are made from most unusual items –trinkets that are from recycled products. Some sites focus on providing unique items that are not harmful to the environment and socially responsible. You can buy necklaces made from records, glass reed diffusers made from recycled glass, tote bags made from recycled newspapers (using the Arts and Leisure section). One site that offers a wide variety of interesting gifts is Uncommon Goods.

Even in the toy arena you can purchase non plastic items. It seems hard at first but it is possible! And with today’s scares of toxic substances being in children’s toys it is nice to know that some toy companies are calling out their chemical free products. FAO Schwarz has earth friendly toys - they use a symbol to identify which of their toys are constructed using organic or sustainable raw materials; natural or non-toxic paints and dyes and low or no chemical processing. Even if you don’t purchase sustainable wooden toys you can find recycled plastic toys.

If you are still strapped for a gift for the person you don’t know very well or that someone that seems to have everything, hopefully some of these ideas and the post we made on Friday will help you. Best of luck!

There are so many little gifts one can buy especially at the cashier checkout that are great stocking stuffers. But are they really fun/useful/necessary – and aren’t most of them plastic and non bio-degradable? How about resisting that temptation and plan to give a few more eco-centric gifts as opposed to large chain store plastic wonders?

Some ideas that come to mind that don’t cost a lot of money are these:

Heifer International – Heifer has been in business since 1944 bringing help, healing and hope to millions of impoverished families worldwide. You can purchase shares in livestock or purchase bees, ducks, chicks, baskets and many other wonderful gifts. You can do it all online and email a customized message to your friends. It’s easy, fulfilling and everyone will feel good about helping others around the world.

You can also to the green plant route (no pun intended) by purchasing seeds, plants and herbs. There are biodegradable gifts that can be found in gardening stores or online at companies such as Wishing Fish based in Los Angeles. You can simply search for organic plants for gifts and many options will come up in the results. These become most personal and special as your friends enjoy watching the plans grow as they nurture your gift.

And don’t forget candles for others and yourself. Regular candles are made with paraffin which is made from petroleum. However, there are candles that are made with natural oils that are so fragrant and better for you. Companies like, Qcandles – specializing in organic candles including soy candles can mail you a lovely selection that will delight your friends with aromatic scents.

We wish you a special holiday this season and we’ll continue coming up with other eco-centric gift giving ideas.

Despite the tough economic times Europe encountered over the decades it always brought joy to my heart to see museums like the Musee D’Orsay; the Tate; The Uffizi and other such venerable institutions brimming with eager students, baby boomers and retirees appreciating the extraordinary art and artifacts on display. There is something to be said for just getting out and enjoying the beauty of art whether it is modern or traditional, paintings or sculpture.  Whatever appeals to you and your family. And it does not take a lot of money.

While dragging the kids along can be a bit of a chore, if you do these trips in bite-size-segments it can provide a memory for a lifetime. Find the Picassos and have a laugh with your kids trying to figure out …well, the figures. Once I dragged a bunch of young boys to the Brooklyn Museum of Art and took them to the sculpture wing. They complained ad nauseam until they realized that sculpture included a vast array of scantily clad Greek and Roman goddesses. We then went on to the Star Wars exhibit and a good time was had by all. And a memory that I for one will never forget.

I read once that children’s’ most prominent memories are sitting at the dinner table together having discussions, vacations with the family  and the outdoor trips. Doing things outside are, not surprisingly, more memorable than sitting in front of a computer or flat screen playing Halo or Call of Duty 5. While the latter is worthy of appreciation it will not create an indelible memory in your child’s brain in years to come.

So wrap up, get into the car, or better yet some form of public transportation and enjoy the wonders of what your cities have to offer. There is something for everyone and it doesn’t have to cost a lot.

Today Prosper filed a Form S-1 Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While this Registration Statement is processed, we are still in a quiet period.

We posted an announcement regarding our quiet period on October 16th, 2008. An extract of that announcement is below:

Prosper has started a process to register, with the appropriate securities authorities, promissory notes that may be offered and sold to lenders through our site in the future. A successful registration can take several months, but we assure you we will do our best to move forward as quickly as possible. Until this process is complete, we’re required to be in a quiet period and will be unable to respond to press, blogger or other inquiries about Prosper or the registration filing until it becomes effective.

As we continue to work closely with the securities authorities, we will be unable to respond to your questions and posts until our registration becomes effective.

It would seem that even Google is not immune from the market downturn. Online search has diminished as people reduce their searches for items to research and purchase. If you have limited funds to spend, why bother searching for new products? Many thought Google would be less affected by this trend, but it seems that cutting back and bargain hunting does affect the search engine.

Even the luxury goods market is having to – dare I say it…”discount”. This is most unusual, but these are most unusual times. If you are in the market for an item that has heretofore been out of your price range, take a look at Chloe, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and the like. The fashion houses are not going to drop their prices enormously because this would damage their brand image. It’s a delicate balance between moving product while maintaining the mystique and cache of those items. Additionally, most of these fashion houses have vast margins so they can ride out this pesky dry spell. And most of the luxury shoes and clothing hail from Europe: both labor and materials are paid for in Euros. The dollar has recently been on the rise, which is actually helping and enabling the fashion houses to pass on savings in the range of 10% - 15% on to their American customers, as they had already budgeted for a weaker dollar.

While we would not want to encourage anyone to go out and spend, spend, spend, if you have the means and always wanted that little black dress, well perhaps now is the time to realize that dream.