A Clever Parents reader tipped us off to this fabulous find: Fabkins, the brainchild of two friends and moms who wanted to offer kids a fun and easy way to be a part of saving the environment.

Joyce Raffo and Paige Rodgers had a hard time finding cloth napkins that weren’t too formal or too big for their childrens’ lunchboxes, so they created super cute cloth napkins with fun embroidered designs to make lunchboxes fun and paper-free!

Fabkins are adorable, reusable, washable and eco-friendly, they pass the “cute” and “cool” test, slip easily into lunchboxes and meet the goal of trashless lunches.

Available in an array of bright colors and playful designs, Fabkins come in themed packs of five – one for each day of the week. Choose from Garden Friends, Fruit Salad, Beach Bound, African Safari, Prima Ballerina and Sports Fan.

Learn more and buy at www.fabkins.com

Did you know that it takes approximately 1,000 years for a single plastic grocery bag to biodegrade in a landfill?

Here’s an easy way to help the environment and send a gentle message in the process. Pick up a few heavy duty canvas ‘Paper, Plastic or ME?’ re-useable bags and help do your part the next time you’re grocery shopping. The bags measure 16″ high by 18″ wide and hold approximately as much food items as three regular sized plastic grocery bags.

Ellen and Michael McNeil became interested in conservation when gasoline prices skyrocketed in mid 2006. “Rather than complain about it we decided to do some research on what impacts gas prices,” says Ellen. “We found the topics of energy, global warming, and conservation so compelling that we decided to take action. We created a website, www.NRGawareness.org, as our way of raising National, Regional, and Global (NRG) awareness of conservation issues.”

The duo went on to design an apparel line including sweatshirts, polo shirts, tee shirts, caps, and patches to help adults spread the word about NRG Awareness and conservation. And as ideas tend to spawn more ideas and action, the thought of teaching conservation habits at an early age – even before kindergarten – came to mind. “Our research showed that conservation is a topic of conversation on Earth Day or Arbor Day, but not many more,” says Ellen. “We believe that’s really not enough for the conservation message to get through.”

MyConservationBaby.com was born as a way to educate future conservationists to see the value of conservation and being eco-conscious. Find Paper, Plastic or ME? bags at My Conservation Baby along with a full line of onesie gift sets silk screened with conservation-inspired messages – available in regular and 100% organic cotton, of course.

There’s even a line of conservation wear for Fido, so be sure to check out all the goods at www.myconservationbaby.com

Watch the Clever Parents TV Vidcast Episode #34 featuring My Conservation Baby.

Meet Jordana Holovach, mother of Jacob and founder of Jacob’s Cure, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for Canavan Disease, a devastating genetic brain disorder. Learn about the disease and find out how you can help. Plus, is your baby a conservation baby?

Watch Vidcast #34 on Clever Parents TV.

• Visit Clever Parents to learn about Jacob’s Cure: Promoting Research & Raising Awareness for Canavan Disease
• Visit the Jacob’s Cure website at www.jacobscure.org
• Buy a Smiley Bag to benefit Jacob’s Cure to help fund research for Canavan’s Disease from Baby Dish
• Visit Clever Parents for the latest column by Ellen McNeil: The Ecospot: 10 Ways to Raise an Eco-Conscious Child
• Visit the My Conservation Baby website at www.MyConservationBaby.com

See Vidcast #34 on Clever Parents TV.

All of you work hard at instilling positive values in your children. Fairness, sharing and accountability are but a few. With everything on your plate, it is easy to overlook teaching environmentally friendly behaviors.

It is important to encourage these positive behaviors as early in life as possible. If you start instilling green values in your kids when they are young it will increase the likelihood that they will continue an environmentally friendly lifestyle into adulthood. Here are ten easy ways to get a toddler or child interested in conservation and preservation.

1. Teach her respect for animals. Take her to a petting zoo for a hands-on experience and discussion.

2. Have him turn off the water when he is brushing his teeth and explain why it is important to conserve water.

3. Have her put bottles, aluminum cans, etc. in the household recycle bins to get into the habit of sorting and depositing items to recycle.

4. Tell him to turn off lights when they are not in use.

5. Encourage her to watch nature and discovery shows instead of cartoons.

6. Go to a nature store and purchase items that will help him learn about the environment.

7. Take him to a botanical garden to teach him to appreciate plants and trees. Buy him a plant that doesn’t need much water and have him take care of it and watch it grow.

8. Help her choose books on wildlife and nature at the library.

9. Encourage him to play outside with friends to learn to appreciate the great outdoors. (If you are concerned about your child’s safety stay outside with him and enjoy some quality time.)

10. Try to tie a conservation message to all activities that you do with your toddler.
When teaching eco-friendly behaviors, I’ve found that it can be overwhelming for a parent (and a toddler) to teach or learn all of these lessons simultaneously. That’s why you should start with something easy (like shutting off the water when brushing teeth) and work from there.

Conservation and protection of the environment for our little ones begins with families. Share conservation values with all of your family members and with others important to you. It will make a world of difference to future generations.

Environmental activist Laurie David says it best: “It’s not a matter of doing everything. It’s a matter of doing something.” You don’t have to go totally green to make a difference.