Acres USA

unknown corporate status

A source of books on organic/sustainable farming and eco-living

Indie Bound

This a site when you can support your local book store, verses a large corporation.

Cal Ben Soap Company

unknown corporate status

$27.00/gallon seafoam dish glow
$27.00/gallon gold star shampoo concentrate - For my hubby. I don't like the strong coconut smell.

I could not stand the aroma of their bar soap or laundry powder (almond essence).
The dishwasher powder has chlorine and fragrance which I did not notice before. So I hand wash most of the time.

Small family business - 6 employees
- believes environment should be respected

$13.50 silver water gel
$45.00 "the solution"

unknown corporate status

   $04.42 bi-o-kleen glass cleaner
   $04.18 8 oz. wave jet spot eliminator
               natracare products

Deluth Trading

unknown corporate status

jeans and t-shirts for my husband

Family Owned Small Corporation
- uses recycled shipping boxes

   $08.00 eg smith 100% cotton thick boot socks
   $14.40 munsingwear v neck t-shirts
   $11.20 munsingwear men's underwear

Burgundy Pasture Beef

Family Business

grass fed pastured beef

Family Business
- about Paidom

pastured beef, chicken and lamb

Small Family Business - 10 employees

$19.95 sauerkraut - 34 oz
            natracare products
$06.95 8 ounces dried Calimyrna figs
$13.95 1 lb dried chestnuts
            brown rice, brown rice cereal, etc

unknown corporate status

$05.35 baking powder
$13.95 1 pound dried tart cherries
$04.95 1 pound dried apricots
$07.50 1 pound dried Calimyrna figs
$09.95 1 pound maple granules
$07.35 3 pounds raw peanuts (in shell)
$04.95 1 pound peanut butter

Corporation
* ALL SALES FINAL 15 % RESTOCK FEE

$04.95 12 Oz. bottle Kombucha Tea

Corporation

25.90 5 pounds peruvian pink sea salt

14.52 3 pounds sonoma pink sea salt

Ebay Store - Discount Pet Direct

unknown corporate status

$25 - 25 thick 6" grass feed bully sticks for dogs - use buy it now

unknown corporate status

$14.99 orijen dry dog food

$17.99 orijen dry cat food

$06.75 kitty kaviar

unknown corporate status

$03.17 ziwi peak canned dog food

$02.14 ziwi peak canned cat food (venison and fish)

$03.99 kitty kaviar

unknown corporate status
* RETURN Authorization number needed - hate those!

$14.95 orijen dry dog food

$18.09 orijen dry cat food

$03.39 ziwipeak canned dog food

$02.29 ziwi peak canned cat food (venison and fish)

Harrison Bird Foods

unknown corporate status

$06.00 organic wild bird seeds

unknown corporate status

Non GMO Heirloom Veggie seeds form around the world.

family ranch

Sells organic garlic for eating and growing.

unknown corporate status
* Return authorization needed within 3 days

   $05.50 strawberry clover
   $03.95 dutch white clover

family business
* cancellation fees + restock fee 1.50 per plant
* will refund or replace damaged plants though.

heirloom tomato, pepper, eggplant and herb plants, only a few are hybrid.

family owned

wild flower and grass seeds native to Texas

unknown corporate status

organic garden supplies

a nonprofit conservation organization based in Tucson, Arizona

open pollinated seeds from native peoples of the southwest

unknown corporate status

Open Pollinated Veggie Seeds suited to the mid Atlantic States

small family farm

sells certified organic seed potatoes

BioShield

Small Corporation - family run - 5 employees
- products safe for employees to make, the user, and for the environment

wood stain and finishes - they contain natural citrus oils

Lehman's - many non electric items

Family Owed and Operated Business - 80 employees

Jay Lehman, founder of Lehman's, was dubbed The Grandfather of Green back in the 1980's by an Ohio-based magazine.

   $37.95 large juice jars
   $17.95 ball canning jars
* $12.95 smaller metal rake
* $34.95 long neck grass shears
* $79.95 pocket watch

unknown corporate status

cat scratch pads and all sorts of other cat things!

Mississippi Clay Works

Family owned it seems

stoneware bowls and mugs

U Haul

unknown corporate status

$2.79 paper package tape - This is great stuff. It does not smell horrible like plastic packaging tape.

Corporation - 600 employees

family run

* $04.99 pentel twist erase mechanical pencil
* $04.69 alvin draft-line mechanical pencil
* $01.39 pentel eraser refills
* $00.99 2B lead refills
* $02.59 metal pencil sharpener
* $11.18 retractable knife
* $06.85 fiskars soft grip scissors
* $05.09 steel wool
* $08.24 sandpaper
* $01.77 pre cut mat boards
* $02.11 unbleached muslin
* $01.35 jute twine

styles check company
artistic checks
the check gallery
image checks
designer checks
checks unlimited - have not tried this company yet
classic checks

Large Corporation- 1000 employees

Printed products are printed with soy based inks and on the highest post consumer recycled paper content possible. We also have stopped sending free vinyl check book covers with every order to help with our landfill issues.

checks in the mail

Corporation- 450 employees
- follows OSHA requirements

AEHF

Non Profit Organization founded to provide research and education into Chemical Sensitivity.

   $06.59 un-petroleum jelly
                home improvements products
                books

Family business
- about dakota free

   $4.65 best buy pure prairie soap
   $2.99 honey lipz lip balm
   $5.99 sophie soap

unknown corporate status

parts for my hydro floss oral irrigator

unknown corporate status

   $06.95 wood toothbrushes, natural bristle
   $06.95 pop-up cellulose sponges
* $07.95 wood foot massager
* $15.95 wood wide tooth handled comb

Small company - 31 employees
- about mountain rose herbs

* $12.75 jojoba oil - organic - oil hinges (not sewing machines)
* $10.75 16 oz macadamia nut oil - organic
* $02.95 10 cotton tea bags
                bulk organic herbs
                containers
                natural sourced baking soda, aloe vera gel, beeswax, buckwheat hulls,
                carnauba wax, course sea salt, cloth tea bags, etc.

They have every thing I would need to make my own personal care products, if I ever got brave enough!

Drugs Store.com

Huge corporation

PM Organics

2 Woman owned small business

organic fabric

Family owed and operated business - 4 employees

"NearSea Naturals was founded out of a concern for the environment:

for our health
for the health of the people who grow and process the fabrics that we wear
for the sake of our children who will be living in this world that we're leaving them
and for the world itself

Those four interconnected principles guide our business today as well, and always will."

   $10.45 pattern tracing paper
   organic fabric
   organic cotton thread (natural, white, black)
   cotton batting
   natural buttons
   cotton lace
   cotton tapes
   cotton covered elastic
   cotton snap tape and cotton cording
   cotton yarn

Birch Street Clothing

unknown corporate status

   $7.28 pattern tracing paper

Erica's

Small Family Business - about 30 employees

   $4.59 Super lube Machine oil - does not smell

patterns, books

Sewing Patterns

unknown corporate status

sewing patterns

unknown corporate status

    singer parts
    instruction manuals
* books

Sew Thankful

Small Family Business

$5.00 100% cotton thread

United Sates Postal Service

The government

postage calculator
- I use the postage calculator to know how much postage to apply, then I leave mail on or in the mail box.

zip code look up


I ordered a stamp catalog and order stamps from it since I can not go to the post office.
They also have stamp order forms you can mail to your local post office or give to the carrier.

Huge corporation

I got a Fed EX account. It is free to get one, but then they give you a discount. They sent shipping bar codes labels and other stuff. If shipping is cheaper through Fed Ex, I apply a bar code sticker and my hubby drops it off at a mail shipping place. I used to just have them pick it up at the house until their rates went up. They started charging $3.00 to pick up a package and I also was not aware that they were sending everything the expensive air express way. Not too many things are that important!

Buttonwood Corp

family owned

wood buttons

Green Earth Office Supply

unknown corporate status

* $01.00 natural school glue
* $01.06 12 colored chalk sticks
* $12.90 100 natural recycled file folders
* $16.25 100 colored recycled file folders
* $02.40 2" X 4" labels
* $02.10 1" X 3" labels
* $02.00 110 sheets lined notebook paper - college ruled
* $03.50 5 X 8 notepads - natural color
* $02.00 woody refillable pens - non toxic ink
* $01.25 woody refills - pack of two
                notecards

unknown corporate status

$8.00 1 pound maple sugar in bulk

Family Owned Business - 140 Stores

   $08.49 duct tape
   $11.99 wool dust mop
   $14.99 metal dust pans

tools, tape, hardware, light bulbs, bathroom scales, brooms, garden stuff, calculators, bird feeders, camp stuff, sports equipment, grills, outdoor furniture, coolers, painting stuff, sand paper

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Toxic or Not Toxic
If you see a product that I use, that you think is toxic, or there is a better choice, please let me know. I try to get the least toxic product, but do not know about all the options out there.

I am also trying hard to avoid plastic, but have not completely accomplished that yet. Making plastic is a toxic thing to do for a living and many of the plastic workers are very ill. I do not want to support such an industry. I also think natural materials are healthier for us too.

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Corporations

Publically traded Corporations are very bad for many reasons. They are more likely to pollute and underpay and/or mistreat their employees. They are beholding to their stockholders and them only, so they often do not care about the environment or their employees. You are more likely to be let go from a corporation for no good reason than a small independent business. But. the main reason that corporations are so horrible is that, the money they take in does not stay in the community where it was earned. If enough money is spent at places like Walmart and Sears, your town and the members in it will become poorer and poorer and the stock holders very much richer. If you purchase items from your local family owned business, your money will stay in your town and make it prosper.

For example, I used to get our appliances serviced from sears or like companies. I looked in the phone book for a family owned business. They charged less and do much better work. This is often the case if the worker is the owner and has a vested interest in whether you ever use his services again. The air conditioning guy even told me how to fix the problem myself, if it ever happened again. How is that for service?

For more info on corporations check out the following:

Why Buy Local - PDF

Economies for Life

Stopping the big boxes

A Civic Economy

Farms of the Future

More great articles ...


I try very hard to buy from family owned businesses. I still buy from corporations when I know of no other way, but at least I am trying.

Currently, I buy from a few corporations and I would rather not do that. I sometimes do not even know which companies are really corporations. I would guess the following are corporations.

DeLulth Trading
Singer at Home
U-haul
one or more of the check companies

If you know for sure if any of the companies that I use are corporations, please let me know.
I would also be glad to hear about any small family owned businesses that could take the place of the corporations that I am using. I have completed e-mailing all the companies on this page. Some did not answer at all! Of those that did not answer, I added info about them if they had an about us page. If not their corporation status still remains unknown.

I can only shop on-line or through printed catalogs, due my MCS.

This page has been checked for dead links on 11-16-08.