With Father's Day just around the corner, the idea to get something handmade and if possible, eco-friendly is really sounding good to us these days. Wanting something unique and not mass produced for someone as special as a father is really important to us. So if we can contributie to the good of the earth in our small way when purchasing handmade goods, it's an added bonus and something we are trying to be more aware of.

There's some amazing papergoods that are printed on recycled papers that use vegetable or soy inks these days, so we always look for that when buying handmade cards. There's some amazing crocheting going on as well and we love it when we can find artists that recycle rags and cloth remnants to make cool things, as the men's slippers we found from Frills and Furbelow's (they totally look so cozy made from recycled flannel). We also think one can never go wrong buying anyone a journal. Even if the person isn't artistic, or not really into writing, it's just a handy item to have around to write down random notes or plans and we found these really fun repurposed ones from Sparrow Tracks. Another great resource for eco finds is teamecoetsy, a team of Etsyians dedicated to "reduce, reuse and recyle" in their items and packaging. Here's a few Father's Day picks from us, most of them are eco-friendly, but then being handmade alone, should count as green.

1) Mustache handkerchief (above), by Avril Lorreti. Heat transfer printed handkerchief on gingham, inspired by the classic handlebar moustache.



2) Custom tiny text bowl by Paloma's Nest. Hand-stamped with the word(s) of your choice, great for a dresser or desk to catch change, keys or jewelry. Each piece is made of white clay.



3) Happy Father's Day Card by Two Guitars. Gocco screen-printed with an argyle pattern, printed on 100% recycled material.



4) green vinyl cellphone pouch, Tenth street. This sytlish little pouch can hold a cellphone ,money, credit cards, and a chap stick!



5) Viva El Papa greeting card, by Sinnickel press. The illustration depicts a young girl spray painting "viva el papa" in tribute to fathers everywhere.



6) Crochet rag slippers, by Frills and Furbelow's shop. Crocheted out of strips of flannel so that they are both durable and comfy at the same time.



7) Hand-embroidered large mouth bass handkerchief by Cornflower Creations. Perfect for the fisherman, comes prewashed, ironed, starched and gift boxed.



8) Mexico repurposed journal and, (including a few original pages and trading cards), from Sparrowtracks. Turn into a travel journal, sketch book or writing journal.



9) Letterpress card, Sweetbeets; Eco-friendly {vegetable-based ink, 100% post-consumer recycled cardstock, 30% post-consumer recycled envelope.



10) Black LEGO Brick Silver Cufflinks, from Cufflinks. A fun way to dress up dad. These would look awesome on a white shirt.




11) Golly Gee Father's Day Card, by Earmark Invitations. A fun retro-influenced card. printed on heavyweight white felt recycled paper.



12) Fused glass money clip, Pennyglass girl. Another great green "colour of money" piece. Love the three millefiori glass stars on this one.