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AUM sail tote at Branch. Made from recycled sails.

After hearing about San Francisco based online shop Branch several times, we knew we it was perfect for our shopping guide. The concept of Branch is to seek out and sell stylish, well designed items that are made with sustainable materials and methods. While still an online only operation, the shop did have a "flash" shop a few weekends back in San Francisco and is apparently looking for a permanent place in the area.

As for the sustainability factor, they're really not kidding about this stuff. Each and every item comes complete with meticulous information of where it was made, who made it, and an "ingredients" list the FDA would be proud of.

So if you're looking to give the environment a hand, you should probably take the 5 large you were going to spend on this chaise and plant some trees or something. But isn't it comforting to know that if you were in the market for a $5k environmentally friendly chaise lounge one is available for you to buy?

The selection of tableware and home accessories is more accessible and affordable than the furniture. Frankly we would like them whether they were environmently friendly or not. Which we guess is sort of the point with Branch. The store makes buying sustainable goods the easy, obvious choice. Seeing as he's hanging his hat in SF these days, we wonder if Mr. Gore is a customer.

There are cheaper, easier ways to live a "green" lifestyle than a Prius. We like 3R Living because it's green without being preachy. They don't try to make you feel guilty for using chemical cleaners or plastic bags. And their products stand up just fine on their own, whether they're recylced, biodegradable, eco-friendly or not.