Holiday Gift Giving Guide–If You Care, Environmentally Friendly Products (Review and Giveaway)

Closed.  Congrats to Donna J.

If You Care is committed to protecting the environment by producing high-quality alternatives to conventional kitchen and household products.

• The materials they use are specially chosen to reduce their impact on our environment. 
• They use unbleached paper, recycled materials and wood and paper coming from sustainably managed forests. 
• They replace petroleum based ingredients with natural and renewable resources. 
• They use paper from pulp and paper mills practicing the highest levels of clean water management. 

Every care is taken to ensure that each step– from factory to store shelf – conforms to strict standards for the conservation and protection of our greatest asset – the environment.

My Thoughts:

The kind folks at If You Care sent along an assortment of their product line in order for me to get a feel for their environmentally friendly products, in order for me to write up this honest review.  I was sent 100% recycled aluminum foil, waxed paper, baking paper, snack and sandwich bags, large baking cups, and a T-Shirt.

 

The packaging of every If You Care product is made from unbleached and most often recycled cardboard or paper that can also be recycled again. All of the coffee filters, baking cups, waxed paper, sandwich bags and parchment paper are 100% biodegradable and should be composted. And, what surprised me the most is how most of their kitchen and baking supplies cost less than if I was to buy the same product at a local grocery or retailer.  The overall quality of each of the samples sent to me was great.  At first, I wasn't sure how the paper snack and sandwich bags would hold up, and if the grease from a sandwich would in fact not leak out.  The verdict -- it held up extremely well and no grease leakage or stains on clothes or greasy fingers!  These snack bags are great to store cookies, sandwiches and so much more. 

Over the Thanksgiving holiday is when I tried out each and every If You Care product sent my way.  I was impressed at how the aluminum foil really was thick and kept spills in the oven at bay.  As for the baking cups, I took a few recipes from the If You Care website to try out.  If you love recipes, you definitely have to check out the If You Care recipe section, which includes recipes from the company, as well as from customers who use their products.  I especially loved making and eating the Tiptree Muffins.  Click here for the recipe.

 

When I told family and friends who were dining at my house for Thanksgiving about his wonderful and environmentally friendly product line, they were impressed.  A few even jotted down the company name, so that they could order product when they arrived home.  Everyone needs to do their part to help save the environment, as we will be leaving it to our children.  Why not start by switching to more environmentally friendly kitchen supplies (which also include fire starters, coffee filters and trash bags, to name a few products).

---BUY NOW---

If You Care products are available at Whole Foods Market and the full product line is available online at MyBrands.  Click here to check which other retailers near you carry this product line. 

---GIVEAWAY---

One lucky reader will win an If You Care Baking Gift pack. It will include some of their items like the unbleached parchment baking paper, baking cups and sandwich bags + an If You Care t-shirt (available in sizes M, L and XL).  

Complete the MANDATORY ENTRY first, and then as many EXTRA ENTRIES as you like. Make sure to leave your email address with your first comment, so that I can contact you if you win.

Mandatory Entry:

 

Visit If You Care and tell me in a comment a product you could use in your home. 

EXTRA ENTRIES:

(Please leave separate entries for each, along with your email address)
1) Subscribe to my blog via email and/or become a GFC follower (2 entries each)
2) Follow me on Facebook (1 entry)
3) Enter any of my other giveaways, leaving a comment with the name of the giveaway (1entry per giveaway entered)
4) Blog about this giveaway. It must include a link to this specific post, as well as a link to my blog, http://ctmomreviews.blogspot.com/. (In your comment, please leave a link directly to your post – 3 Entries)
5) Follow me on Twitter (1entry)
6) Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry per tweet, per day; please include link to tweet in comment below)
Enter to #win an If You Care Baking Gift Pack @rmccoy1234 http://ctmomreviews.blogspot.com/ #giveaway (Ends 12/22)
7) Vote for me on picket fence blogs (See button on right side of blog -- One entry per vote, per day; Note:  You can only your one vote per day on ONE giveaway; duplicate comments on other giveaways on the same day with be void)

8) Add to a Giveaway Linky site  (5 entries)

Open to US residents only. Giveaway ends on Dec. 22, 2011 at 11:59PM EST. I will then use Random.org to choose a winner. Winner will have 48 hrs. to respond to my email to claim prize. If I don't hear back from selected winner, I will draw another winner.

About If You Care:

If You Care was conceived of as a brand of environmentally friendly kitchen and household products.

The first If You Care products were unbleached coffee filters, and they were launched in 1990. These were the first unbleached coffee filters in the U.S.

Parchment Baking Paper and Baking Cups soon followed. All of the paper products were unbleached and totally chlorine-free.

In 2004, the very first Aluminum Foil made from 100% recycled aluminum was launched. This product featured a 95% energy savings compared to conventional aluminum foil. Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil for grilling and barbecuing, also from 100% recycled aluminum, was introduced in 2007. That same year, waxed paper, from unbleached paper coated with soybean wax was launched. In 2009, two new products are being launched in the fourth quarter – 100% carbon neutral fire starters, made from FSC certified wood and vegetable oil, and sandwich and snack bags made from unbleached greaseproof paper. Many new products in a wide variety of categories are being planned and developed in the coming years.

Disclosure:  I was sent samples from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.