Giveaway is CLOSED

Fortunately, I don’t have to pack lunches for anyone these days. I know. Don’t hate me. But I do have to pack water bottles and snacks for sporting events for my kids though, which is just about every day. So when New Wave Enviro Products sent me a bamboo lunch bag, a stainless steel water bottle, and a stainless steel food container to review, I was psyched. I packed their snacks – which are like a meal – and their drinks in the bamboo bag every week for about two months to take them for a test drive.

Let me tell you what I found out about each of the items.

Bamboo Lunch Bag

Bamboo lunch bag:

At first, I didn’t like this soft and wobbly bag. It wasn’t stiff like all the others I’m used to and it didn’t stay opened on the table when I was trying to put the items inside. It had no shape and I needed to constantly hold the opening up to put them in. But then, once the items were inside, the bag was soft enough to accommodate all the items and more. It measures 6x6x10 with a 6-inch gusset. It also has a convenient handle that measures 8 inches from the bag’s opening so you can fling the bag over the shoulder easily. The bag is roomy enough to fit the stainless steel food container (reviewed later),  a 20 Oz. stainless steel water bottle (reviewed later), and some fruits or snack. It was the perfect size. It washed well (washed in cold with dark colors and dried naturally) and the color didn’t fade too much, if at all.

Bamboo is a sustainable resource and has been very popular among the eco friendly industries of designers and builders. Unfortunately, it has been come to the attention of some critics who believe it has been over-harvested and the lands have been ruined due to over farming. But bamboo is a natural ‘weed’ that re-grows fast. According to the company, bamboo is also “naturally anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic” so it’s perfect for a lunch bag that contains food. Whether the issues of over harvesting causing land erosion is true or not, I still think bamboo is so much better choice than trees or plastic. Bamboo can be made into fabric, yarn, flooring, and even paper products like plates.

So for replacing paper, plastic and vinyl lunch bags, I give this bamboo lunch bag five green hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

Stainless Steel Water Bottle from New Wave Enviro

Stainless Steel Water Bottle –

Made with #304 Food-Grade stainless steel, this 20.2 Fl Oz/.6L bottle has a ring top screw cap and quick release carabiner clip. Frankly, I couldn’t use the carabiner because once the bottle was full, it became too heavy to clip the carabiner to anything. I took the carabiner off and I placed the bottle in the bamboo bag to carry. The bottle was the perfect size. It wasn’t too big or too small for my kids or me. The amount of liquid inside didn’t make the bottle too heavy and there was enough drink to last an average day. I love the bright red that was sent to me but you can choose from a variety of colors.
What is there not to like? This stainless steel bottle will save oodles of plastic water bottles so I give it five green hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

Stainless Steel Lunch Container

Stainless Steel Lunch Box

I don’t use plastic food containers anymore. I replaced all of them with glass but I don’t have any stainless steel so this was new to me. This lunch container is made with food grade stainless steel and is thin and light. It has two locking clasps on two sides to close the lid and that’s it. It reminds me of Japanese Bento boxes. I used to pack my kids lunch in plastic containers – where were the stainless steel ones when I needed them? The idea is great and it will replace all the plastic ones.

But there are two things I don’t like about this container. 1) unfortunately, because stainless steel is thin, I had to gather the sides in order to close the lid, otherwise, the sides bowed outward, making it difficult to close it. 2) the container isn’t leak proof. The liquid leaked and that wasn’t cool. For dry foods, the container would be fine but not foods with sauces and liquids. I think a thin rubber ring fitted inside the lid might have prevented the leakage.

I love the idea of a stainless steel food container for carrying lunch. It’s lighter than glass and you don’t have to worry about breakage. For its purpose to replace plastic and with the two concerns I have with this stainless container, I give it four green hearts.

♥♥♥♥

Shower Filter From New Wave Enviro

I like these products that they sent me but my favorite product from New Wave Enviro is the showerhead filter that I’ve been using for two years. I noticed my skin is not itchy from dryness on those hurried mornings when I skipped my lotion ritual. Well, it makes sense though since skin is the largest organ in the body – and it absorbs everything – it will absorb all the chemicals from the water while in the shower. You drink filtered water; don’t you think you should take a shower with filtered water too?

Now for the giveaway, New Wave Enviro will send one winner a set of the stainless steel food container and the bamboo bag.

Here are the rules:

• The give­away is open to those who are my subscribers only. If you are not my current subscriber, you must subscribe by using the feedburner subscription for e-mail or RSS. Your e-mail address will NOT be shared with anyone or posted anywhere.
• You must be over 18 years old who lives within US.
• This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday Decem­ber 30, 2009.
• One win­ner will be cho­sen at ran­dom, gen­er­ated by a random.org, and will be announced on Thursday, Decem­ber 31, 2009.
• No pur­chase is nec­es­sary is to enter the giveaway.
• There is no limit as to how many times you can enter. Each com­ment is one entry.
• SRP is $30 for stainless steel food container and the bamboo bag

Here is how you can enter and please only leave me a com­ment related to this prod­uct and giveaway:

1. Subscribe to this blog if you are not already a subscriber
2. Go to New Wave Enviro and comment on what product you would like to try.
3. You can also enter by tweet­ing about the give­away! Please use @ecokarenlee so that I know you tweeted
4. Blog about this give­away. If you do not have a blog then you can post on any social media instead. (Face­book, MySpace, etc.)
5. Add me as a friend or fan on Face­book (see the side­bar on the left for the button)
6. Fol­low me on Twit­ter (see the side­bar on the left for the button)
7. Grab my but­ton and put it on your blog.

Remember you must be a subscriber to enter this giveaway.

Thanks for participating and good luck!

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