How to be Green: Shopping at The Ultimate Green Store {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Hoa!}

When it comes to being an eco-conscious shopper, I feel like I am on a continuous search.

What are the best products? How do I know that they work? What is the quality like? Why do I have to go to 10 different websites to do the research and find out the information that I'm looking for?

Fortunately, there are times that I am introduced to one-stop shopping from people who have all the answers... which is what is found at The Ultimate Green Store.

As their name implies, The Ultimate Green Store is ones of the biggest online green retailers for environmentally friendly products for the home, office, babies, kids, pets and beyond. No matter what type of sustainable, natural, organic, recycled, eco-friendly goods or products you are shopping for, The Ultimate Green Store will have the high quality options that are made with your health and the health of our planet in mind.

Or, if you're not in the market for anything for yourself, The Ultimate Green Store has a huge selection of eco-gifts as well as a green wedding and baby shower registry - what a great way to start off married life or prepare for the arrival of a new baby!

With the focus being on back to school for so many parents and children across the country, I knew that The Ultimate Green Store could help us prepare with their great selection of backpacks for kids... and with so many EcoZoo Cotton Kid's Rolling Backpacks to choose from, how could we go wrong?

Part pet, part toy and part bag, these adorable bags combine form, function and complete and utter cuteness. With backpacks playing such an important role in kids' lives (for school, daycare, overnight trips, etc), having one that is high quality that will hold up well is very important.

When the EcoZoo Cotton Kid's Rolling Panda Backpack arrived, I couldn't wait to see how it measured up!

This PVC-free wheeled bag is made from natural cotton canvas and rope materials and colored with toxic-free dyes... and is definitely cute! Who can resist a face like this?

I was initially worried that the front face flap fastens with a hook-and-loop closure, as I wondered if Big Sister E and Little Sister B would be able to open and close it as needed...

...however, that concern proved to be unfounded and the girls were able to manipulate it without problem. Inside, we were happy to find that the 18.5 x 13 x 8.5" dimensions result in a ton of space!

There is one large, main pocket, one smaller accessory pocket, and two small side pockets that provide more than enough room to store school supplies, extra clothing, a lunch or any other necessities that a child might carry when they head off to school.

Upon looking closer, I was impressed with the durability and quality of each and every part and piece of this bag, not to mention how good they are for the environment. The buttons and buckles are made from recycled plastic parts and sustainable wood parts and the cotton canvas is thick and well-made. No matter how many times my kids bump and drag it around, I can foresee this EcoZoo Backpack holding strong!

The addition of the telescoping handle and strong, recycled plastic wheels add weight to the bag but also make it possible for it to be pulled along effortlessly by any age.

As I suspected, both girls really liked being able to pull the handle right up and wheel the backpack along behind them. We haven't used a rolling bag for either of them in the past, but I can see it really coming in handy for when they carry heavier and heavier school supplies as well as going on vacations, trips, and more.

However, I really appreciate that alongside the top loop for convenient hanging, that there are two padded shoulder straps so that this bag can still be worn as a traditional backpack.

With so many uses for this high quality bag, I have no doubt that the EcoGear EcoZoo Cotton Kid's Rolling Backpacks would be a hit for any kids who love animals and any parents who appreciate being able to provide an eco-friendly product for them.

Usually retailing for $49.95, this line of bags is on sale now for $34.99, so it's a great time to pick one up. Or, for a non-rolling version, the regular EcoGear EcoZoo Kids Panda Cotton Backpack is on sale for only $19.99!

No matter if you're new to going green or an old pro, The Ultimate Green Store makes eco-friendly shopping easy and fun with their wide collection of products. The days of associating "environmentally friendly" with "dull and boring" are gone and the list of items that you can find here that are cool, colorful, fun, effective, and high quality goes on and on.

And, thanks to their generosity, one person will be able to pick out just the one that they like best, because...

One lucky person will win a $25 gift certificate to
The Ultimate Green Store!

To enter to win: Visit The Ultimate Green Store and tell me one item there that you might purchase if you win.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow The Ultimate Green Store on Twitter, Like them on Facebook, and/or sign up for their newsletter (please enter Thanks, Mail Carrier in the contest code section).
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

#WIN a $25 gift certificate to The Ultimate Green Store for high quality #green products! http://bit.ly/nUlYRK @thxmailcarrier #giveaway

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me publicly with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email, become a fan on Facebook or add Thanks, Mail Carrier to your blogroll.
3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on August 29th at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

A big thank you to The Ultimate Green Store for providing a EcoGear EcoZoo Backpack to review as well as a $25 gift certificate for one lucky giveaway winner. This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.