If it's "early to bed, early to rise" for most people, then it's "never to bed, always to rise" for new moms.

You may not have the little one sleeping through the night quite yet, but Canadian-made sleep sacks by Big Fat Hen will at least keep them comfy while they learn to doze for more than two hours at a time. Made with eco-friendly fabrics, these sleeveless sacks unzip easily for diaper changes and are soft inside and out. Made for babie 0-18 months, they come in three cute designs (yellow chicks, pink piggies and green owls) and hold up well in the wash.

And one day soon, the sun will rise before you. We promise. —MT

$79.90 at www.bigfathen.ca

There's no use crying over spilled cereal—unless it spills in your Prada.

Grab a pack of eco-friendly Wean Cubes ($25/4 pack) and you'll never have sweet pea puree at the bottom of your purse again. Designed for food storage, the containers are made of durable glass with an airtight silicone-sealed lid.

Safe and portable, these little wonders have measuring lines to monitor food intake, don't leach yucky toxins into food and can handle all the temps it takes to prepare baby food, from storing to freezing to serving.

Now if only there was a way to get spit up off your favourite Isabel Marant top.

At www.babybot.com

If grey skies aren’t going to clear up you’ll need a dandier umbrella to put on a happy face.

Pick up a peppy printed umbrella in a pouch by Possum. Designed in Vancouver and ethically manufactured elsewhere, they’re screen-printed by hand with motifs made to make you smile. Choose from a mini ($34.99) or classic auto-open ($39.99); both come in a zip-up that folds out into a shopping bag to help you tote your goods home in a downpour.

Now you’re singing in the rain.

Visit www.possumumbrella.com/stores

We can’t all rub elbows with French Vogue Carine Roitfeld at New York Fashion Week, but we can sip from a SIGG bottle co-designed by supermodel Gisele Bündchen while eco fashion takes a turn on the catwalk.

Next week marks the start of Eco Fashion Week Vancouver, and it’s anything but granola. Held inside the new, green-roofed Creekside Community Centre in the Olympic Village, event highlights include a showing of the spring ’11 collection from Canadian eco-design darling  Nicole Bridger and speakers model-activist Summer Rayne Oakes and 2007 Nobel Prize winner Dr. Andrew Weaver.

It’s haute to be green.

Eco Fashion Week Vancouver, September 27-30, 2010, tickets and info at www.ecofashion-week.com

In the early '90s grunge era “dirty beauty” meant nonchalance about hair care. In today’s green era, it means caring about toxins in our beauty products.

If 'ignorance is bliss' isn’t your motto, pick up No More Dirty Looks by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt. The former Montrealers and journalists dig into the dirtiest ingredients and their risk factors, recommend less toxic products they’ve tested and provide home recipes for hair, face and bod. They also offer up a slew of sidebar beauty tips, like doing your hair wash routine backwards for better results.

We appreciate that the authors don’t hold back on the bad stuff, but remain even keeled. For instance, while hair dye holds many horrors, they won’t forsake all honey-blonde highlights.

$14.40 at www.amazon.ca
www.nomoredirtylooks.com

We’ll admit that when searching for eco-friendly goods, sometimes we don’t know our head from our Aspen. (AspenClean, that is.)

Which is why we’re thrilled with AspenClean Grapefruit and Lavender All-in-One Concentrate ($19.50). Professional grade and made-in-Vancouver, this ECOCERT wonder can make up to 40 batches of all-purpose cleaner that’s suitable for most scrub jobs (tubs, toilets, floors and countertops included).

It doesn’t take a green genius to see how smart that is—but we’ll take the credit anyways.

At Whole Foods and other retailers, www.aspenclean.com

The organic silk dress you spilled wine on begs to be bathed in soft water and not noxious solvents, but who has the time for hand washing?

Let Helping Hand Cleaners give you a hand with that. Rather than harsh chemicals, the Certified Professional Wetcleaner uses water and biodegradable detergents to care for those “dry clean only” delicates and consequently, the earth. Take it one step further and buy the reusable, made-in-Vancouver UrbanSort garment bags they sell ($28.50)—and save the world from more plastic bags.

Now that's a cleaner cleaner.

Helping Hand Cleaners, 4050 Cambie St., Vancouver, 604-876-5399, www.helpinghandcleaners.com

We’ve all made sacrifices for the environment (like chipping our nails bringing out the recycling). Have a laid-back Earth Day with our editors' tips.  

Simple Shoes (you probably wore a pair in the early ’90s) are still kicking, but now the brand makes footwear that’s eco-friendly to the nth degree. This season they introduced their BIO-D collection, which will actually biodegrade after they hit the landfill. www.simpleshoes.com
Joy Pecknold, Vancouver editor

Make your own dryer sheets by adding a few drops of essential oil to a damp cloth. Toss in the dryer, and voila! You’ve beaten global warming and static cling in one fell swoop.
Marianne Wisenthal, Montreal editor

Now that carrying a plastic bag is an even bigger faux pas than toting a fake Louis, notable totables are a must. Pack your veggies in this set of three organic cotton drawstring produce bags ($23). www.lavishandlime.com
Maria Tallarico, Managing editor

Kim Mitchell’s “Patio Lanterns” may be a radio station deal breaker for some, but Ikea’s new outdoor Solig solar-powered lighting collection (from $9.99) has us wanting to spruce up the garden, make lemonade, and cue the 1986 hit.
Malwina Gudowska, Calgary editor

Why not opt for natural cleaning products straight from the pantry? Lemon juice makes a great copper polish and a decent bleach alternative, too. Vinegar removes mildew, cuts grease and removes coffee stains and wax build-up. Cornstarch is super on windows, carpets and rugs. A shot of vodka cures all ills, and it even cleans chrome and porcelain.
Athena Tsavliris, Toronto editor
 

So you gave up on the cloth diapers, forgot to ditch the PBA bottles and  didn’t splurge for the bamboo crib set.
 
Wait! There’s still a chance to reverse your eco-kid karma.
 
These cheerful Velcro-closure organic cotton snack sacks from Graze Organic are illustrated with water-based dyes and are machine washable, so they can be used again and again.
 
Now just make sure those veggies are local and the bread’s got ancient grains.

US$35 for set of 5. www.grazeorganic.com 

We profess to be lovers, not fighters, but for a canvas bag from Red Flag Design we’d battle it out.

Best known for using reclaimed sails, the company has branched out, fashioning its latest line out of recycled canvas, the most stunning cut from the marbled green cloth of retired military tents. Both the Shelter bag ($130) and over-the-shoulder Musette ($70) are just the right size for short treks through the urban jungle or day hikes into the wilderness.

Start canvassing your commander for one now.

www.redflagdesign.ca