La Grange Businesses Go Green to Celebrate Earth Day, April 22

Several La Grange businesses and organizations commit to eco-friendly actions that benefit the planet in celebration of Earth Day on Monday, April 22, a worldwide occasion where events are held to show support for environmental protection.

“Our local businesses are planting seeds that grow into big changes for the environment,” said Steve Jasinski, President of the La Grange Business Association and a Realtor at Baird & Warner. “But everybody can help the planet by patronizing the small businesses in our neighborhood instead of travelling a greater distance to the mall.  And even better, bike or walk to the local store,” he said. 

The La Grange Business Association website (lgba.com) maintains an updated list of businesses and groups that offer “green” services and merchandise.  Some of them are:

B Boutique 18 W. Burlington highlights their jewelry line, MSR Jewelry. The designer purchases some beads from the Bead for Life Organization which enables women from Uganda to sell their beads made from recycled magazines to a global market. B Boutique will offer a 10% discount on all full priced accessories from April 22- April 26th.

Baird & Warner Real Estate features “Spring Spruce Up, HGTV Style!” on April 11.  Are you ready to sass up your place, organize your space and spruce up your home? Join home stager and HGTV stylist Julea Joseph for a workshop full of tips and techniques on organizing, re-purposing and giving your home a fresh new look with your existing things. 6-8PM at Francesca’s Bellezza at 75 S. La Grange Road with complimentary appetizers and soft drinks.  RSVP to steve@dependondean.com by April 9.

Cheryl D & Company 1 W. Harris carries the Wood-Mode and Brookhaven cabinet lines that are committed to sound environmentally protective policies and practices in manufacturing their cabinetry.  Other environmentally friendly products include Marmoleum (a certified sustainable, retro vinyl-type flooring choice), Plyboo (a bamboo and plywood hybrid product ideal for countertops and other applications), Richlite (recycled paper countertops), low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, water-based finishes, water filtration systems, and low-formaldehyde cabinetry. 

Consign and Redesign 35 S. La Grange Road offers a workshop on Flea Market Flips on Earth Day, April 22 and informational boards regarding green design and decorating tips.

DeVries Grocery 806 Arlington will provide a free reusable DeVries Grocery canvas tote to the first 10 customers on Monday, April 22 who make a minimum $25 purchase that day.  DeVries also works with a local farmer to provide fresh eggs if you order them online.  

EcoManiacs 74 S. La Grange Road is a green eco-friendly specialty boutique. On Earth Day, EcoManiacs will have hourly trivia games, in-store events, and unique prizes.  The store also provides aluminum pop top recycling on an ongoing basis.

First National Bank of La Grange  620 W. Burlington will offer FREE sensitive document shredding on Saturday, April 27 from 9AM to 2PM. Bring your documents to the professional staff from R4 Services, a full service information management company , who will personally  staff the shred bins located in the bank’s parking lot.  The shred company provides records management, fast accurate document retrieval, scanning services, records management consulting, personalized customer service, state of the art records software and bar-coding, on-line access of document information, certified destruction services, box sales, microfilming, and climate controlled vaults. 

Hammer Boutique 703 W. Hillgrove is a unique chic store, located on the trendy west side of Lagrange with an interior and façade that uses reclaimed wood built by a local artist. The boutique represents many local artists including several that utilize recycled frames, reclaimed paint and other recycled materials.

Horton’s Home Lighting 60 S. La Grange Road provides paint recycling (for a small fee), and fluorescent, CFL light bulb and battery recycling at no charge.  Horton’s will offer CFL light bulbs for $.99 as well as 20% off all LED fixtures and replacement bulbs from April 22 – 28.

Huge Hearts HomeCare 639 S. La Grange Road provides recycling collection for many household items. Seniors and their families may drop off items or they will pick up. They will collect and recycle the following items: old keys, CDs, DVDs, video games, cellphones, crayons, rubber-soled shoes and eyeglasses. Contact 708-352-1850 for information.

La Grange Police Department 304 W. Burlington hosts a Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 27 from 10-2.  They are a regional drop off facility and will collect unwanted, expired or unused prescription drugs for a safe destruction.  Call 706-579-2333 for details.

La Grange Public Library 10 W. Cossitt accepts used eyeglasses, hearing aids, and cell phones on behalf of the Lions Club. They also have an ongoing used book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Library and works with a vendor to recycles books that they are unable to sell.

The Carousel Shop 23 Calendar Ave accepts donations of gently used clothing, accessories, home décor, toys, books, music, and magazines to support the Community Nurse Health Association.  It also offers an ongoing textile recycling on damaged clothing, leather goods, linens, lonely socks, and sad stuffed animals.  Drop off at the Carousel Shop in a bag labeled recycling. 

The Hope Chest 717 W. Hillgrove in the trendy West End is an upscale women’s and children’s resale shop that accepts donations of new or gently used items. They also re-use department store paper bags.  Bring in department store paper bags or a clothing donation from April 23 - 27 for 25% off that day’s purchase.

The UPS Store 106 Calendar offers document shredding for $.75 per pound.

Vintage Charm  729 W. Hillgrove features an Earth Day promotion and offers 25% off all tote bags for the day.  Using a tote in place of a paper bag is one way to “be green.”  Vintage Charm also offers a variety of vintage finds which can extend the life of many unique treasures.