Green Thumbs, Greener Hearts

Sometimes, when it comes to how we feel about the Earth, we can get a little too cheesy for our own good. But what we love more than sappy titles, are the many ways we can care for our planet. From shopping sustainable brands to supporting your local urban garden, we want to give you some inspiration for how you can be kind to Mother Earth.

It’s hard to get straight A’s on Nature’s report card and we’re not saying you have to move to the wilderness and stop showering regularly to help out the planet. Often the way to make the biggest impact is by tweaking the things that you’re already doing. If you love shopping, consider investing in two or three long-term pieces that will last you a couple of seasons. Extending the life of an outfit to nine months instead of one, already cuts back on a lot of unnecessary waste. Opting for recycled stationery and reusable totes bags are also easy sustainable steps to incorporate into your everyday life. If you want to dive a little deeper, check out what some of your favorite brands are doing to create eco-conscious processes. As we try to learn how to make our lives more sustainable, brands are also taking steps to change the way retail has been operating for decades - giant leaps or baby steps, that’s pretty cool!

We wanted to give two (green) thumbs up to some brands currently residing at Neighborhood Goods, for their sustainability efforts and transparency:

Good Juju - Feline Productive Notepad

Notepads are a human's best friend and this one happens to be made on 100% recycled paper.

Rothy’s - The Loafer

Rothy’s loafers complement any ensemble and they are carefully crafted from repurposed water bottles and made in Rothy's sustainable, fully owned and operated workshop.

Act + Acre - Cold Pressed Travel Essentials

TSA-approved travel essentials from a carbon positive brand. Carbon positive means that not only are they doing things to minimize their carbon footprint, but they’ve gone above and beyond to be a benefit to the environment. Saving the planet. Saving your hair.

Tribe Alive - Poplin Dress

The classic shirtdress, maximized. Tribe Alive’s clothes are sustainably made by women earning a fair wage, using eco-friendly materials.

Hill City - Performance Sock

These tube socks are quirky, comfy, and Hill City is a Certified B Corporation which means they take extra steps to minimize their impact on the environment.

Neighborhood Goods- South Congress Tote & Legacy West Tote

Ditch the plastic or paper bags and spring for a reusable cloth tote by your favorite Neighbors ;)

Check out the rest of the collection here: Earth Friendly Finds


There are other outside-the-box ways to have a positive impact on the environment. We want to highlight those who are doing the hard work of transforming concrete jungles and treating every day like it’s Earth Day. You probably have walked by a school or community garden while you were soaking up the sun and we think they are a great example of how neighbors can band together for the good of the planet. We're in awe of some local collective efforts we've spotted and we want to share some of them with you.

This picture is taken by our graphic design master, Miekala, of Lipscomb Elementary in the Junius Heights neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. “They have one of the most impressive school gardens I've ever seen.”

Here are some pockets of people who are trying to make the Earth a better place, one tilled lot at a time. Urban gardens are popping up in cityscapes all over the country and provide not only clean, local produce but also put nutrients back into the soil and create a habitat for beneficial insects, like bees. Gardens are tools for teaching people gratitude for the environment and how to care for it.

Brooklyn Grange

Brooklyn Navy Yard, NYC

The Brooklyn Grange is a sprawling urban garden that spans three rooftops in “NYC totaling 5.6 acres with 135,000 square feet of cultivated area producing over 80,000 lbs of organically-grown vegetables each year.” Kicking pesticides to the curb and managing 5 million gallons of stormwater a year, sustainability at the heart of Brooklyn Grange. Besides encouraging local volunteers to learn how to tend rows of vegetables, they also offer consultations for businesses and communities to find sustainable solutions for waste management and gardens. You can follow along on their instagram for some primo farm content and the occasional chicken with a wild haircut.

Volunteer or sign up for a virtual workshop

Urban Roots

East Austin, TX

Caring for people and caring for the environment, is the main M.O of Urban Roots. Annually they grow and harvest “25,000 pounds of fresh foods, and donate 40% of this to 7 hunger relief agencies across Austin.” Incredible. While they are feeding Austinites and giving back to the Central Texas ecosystem, Urban Roots is committed to teaching young people how to be leaders through paid internships. Interns, ranging from 14 to 23 years old, have opportunities to practice public speaking and project management by coordinating the garden’s volunteers. Our neighbors at Urban Roots love how, “food brings people together in powerful ways, and gardens are one of the greatest ways to provide people with an intimate chance to connect to the earth and their food!” Urban Roots wants to spread their passion for gardening to as many people as they can: “You don't have to be an expert to start a garden. With a huge community of gardeners out there, in addition to a plethora of how-to videos, you, too, can become a gardener!” Check out what’s going on at Urban Roots’ by heading over to their instagram and cultivate some inspiration for a vegetable patch of your own.

Donate or volunteer

Promise of Peace

Dallas, TX

Promise of Peace, or POP Gardens as they are called by their friends, focus on “neighborhood and school food gardens while providing nutritional, and environmental educational opportunities.” Elizabeth Dry is the Founding Executive Director of the gardens and understands that “when initiated and implemented strategically, gardens can serve as the heart of the community.” She says, “they have proven to unite diversity, increase positive behaviors, restore the environment and relationships as well feed folks with nutritious and delicious food.” Follow Elizabeth on instagram to see what’s growin’ on the block and, for the locals, remember May 5th is North Texas Giving Day and consider sending POP Gardens some love.

Donate or volunteer