Welcome to JivaJive, a place for all your "green" thoughts, news and resources to come alive.  We take your comments seriously and look forward to hearing you around.   

In today’s changing world, it seems like we are always worried about balance. Balance between our needs and our children’s needs, or our needs and our employers’ needs and even our own needs and the earth’s needs.

As a founder of a sustainable clothing line, I obviously work hard to maintain an eco-friendly lifestyle, however with the economy in a downslide, I’m starting to realize how difficult it can be to balance my financial needs with my personal need to reduce my carbon footprint and lead a healthier chemical-free existence. Let’s face it, organic foods are more expensive than the chemical treated and mass grown alternatives. Sustainable materials and clothing tend to cost more and be harder to find than non-organic cotton products. Jiva was created as a price-conscious, global-conscious brand and I strive to find that in my personal life as well.

For our first JivaJive, I want to share with you three ways I’ve found to save money and take practical steps toward change. I also want you to share with me and others great new products or penny-saving organic produce and restaurants you have found! It helps us all to share information and resources. So… Let’s Jive!

• Recycle & Reuse: we R&R like crazy people and wanted to take this into our focus at Jiva!  All our shipping boxes are from other brands and business that were throwing them out. As a business, this is a great way to take practical steps toward consuming less, therefore dramatically decreasing our demand for new materials.  So, when you receive a shipment from Jiva, it will come in a recycled/reused box with the Jiva label! 

• Plan Ahead: We take a trip Jimbo's Market once a week for all our organic fruits & veggies.  By planning ahead for the week, we're able to get all our goodies in one trip, saving Gas and Time! 

• Slow(er) & Steady: I have been so busy with launching Jiva and taking care of our home errands, my drive time has dramatically increased. However as I become more conscious of how much gas is wasted driving fast and how our use and dependency on oil is not in the best interest of our country or planet, I've found that driving at a slower, steady speed saves us about two tanks of gas each month. This is a small sacrifice that benefits the planet and it saves us $80 per month.

Okay, It's your turn!   

At Jiva, we love hearing your stories about your favorite green brands and experiences.  From your favorite shop, caterer,  doctors, builders or even other fashion brands, tell us what you love and why.  We'll offer you 5% off your next purchase just for sharing your thoughts with us!

I'm always curious what moves other people. We all have several meaningful motivators, but one or two always standout. One of mine is driving.  I love fast and powerful cars, but I also love my planet, SO I'm very excited about electric cars!

Here's a little blurb written by EcoQueen of Green on her home page about electric cars: http://www.ecoqueenofgreen.com. We're in line for one of the new Tesla Model S and we're happily yet impatiently waiting for 2011 delivery date to come around. I would LOVE to hear what you moves you and what you think about electric cars!