O So Green Bears are produced entirely from hemp fiber

Source: osogreenbears.com

O So Green Bears are unique in the fact that they are produced entirely from hemp fiber, which is a readily renewable source to make cloth and other products, and also from recycled materials. Hemp has been used for making everything from ropes to cloth to oil for over twelve thousand years.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp and the Declaration of Independence was written on paper made with hemp. The interesting story of hemp is found on a separate page of this site.

O So Green Bears are the greenest bears on earth and originate in Europe, where they are sewn on solar powered sewing machines. Their European cousins are the Ecobears.

O So Green Bears are sort of like immigrants of the bear world originating in England, moving to Spain before being invited to the US by Suzanne Lippe who discovered the bears and their creator while in Europe. Being a supporter of anything green, Suzanne was very impressed by the bears, their creator, and the totally eco friendly production of them. Having the bears come to the US was a project that Suzanne passionately needed to carry out.

Ecobears are the creation of Yvonne Wright who first discovered the use of hemp fiber as a potential source for producing green products from a man named John Parkinson. Mr. Parkinson was making fabric by combining hemp fiber, obtained from Hempcore in Essex, England, which is still in business today, mungo, a
wool fiber from old cloth, and shoddy, shredded wool from old cloth. Yvonne Wright began using this material to make various objects that were environmentally friendly, including purses, rucksacks, paper, soft toys and more.

Eventually she settled into making bears, driven by two passions, the environment and making soft toys. On February 29th 1996 the first Ecobear was born and named Harvest. Imagine only having one birthday every four years?

Using a combination of Hemp, recycled cotton and wool mix was unusual at the time. Yvonne’s company produced the first bears made in the twentieth century from such materials.

Ecobears was awarded the 2000 Best Newcomer Award from the British Toymakers Guild among other toymaker awards.

In 2006 Yvonne and her partner, David, traveled throughout England, Spain, France and Morocco in search of a new lifestyle, finally settling in Catalonia Spain. The new location allowed them to live a more self sufficient lifestyle. Their off grid use of solar energy allows each bear to be made from solar powered machines that leave green bear paw prints on the earth. Their goal is to use these bears as an educational source to increase awareness of the use of hemp as a renewable and earth friendly fiber obtained from a plant that has a myriad of uses that were much ignored in the last century until recently.

Hemp is a source of fiber that can be used with no chemical processing. It is used for textiles and paper. The oil from the hemp seed is used for bio fuels to power vehicles and is also a rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Burlap was also made from hemp and was a source for making soft toys in the 1800’s.

Hemp has experienced a rebirth in popularity among environmentally concerned companies in the past decade.

Today Yvonne and David produce many eco-friendly products available through their website. David also writes the wonderful stories, for the website, of the Ecobears who live on the Planet of Vynex, a place that is abundant with plants and wildlife that is all cared for by the Ecobears. Renowned Children’s Author and illustrator Calvin Innes is in collaboration with David for the publication of the first Ecobears printed book.

In the US the Ecobears are now licensed and marketed under the name O So Green Bears, by Suzanne Lippe, founder and President of Give a Green Bag LLC, an environmentally dedicated e-commerce store that sells a huge variety of green home and gift products in filled to order bags. Her O So Green Bears are constructed with the identical materials as the European versions and are made on solar powered machines, as well, at the facility in Spain.

They are adoptable by name and every month a new bear will be released for people to add to their eco friendly collection of O So Bears. The O So Green Bears that are sold only is the US are unique and, for now, only available through the O So Green Bear Site.

The designs are produced as a joint effort between Yvonne and Suzanne who has an extensive design background and education. Oso is Spanish for bear thus the name O So Green Bears.

Suzanne, aside from her crafting and design skills is also well known environmental advocate and the bears serve well as diplomats for her cause to further environmental awareness through education. For each bear that is adopted a portion of the cost will go to one of several environmental causes.

Suzanne Lippe is well known for her works through charities and environmental groups especially in her home state of New Jersey. She has held workshops and art shows to promote awareness of the health issues of Barnegat Bay.

Her recent show called Re-clamming the Bay featured local artists who created their own designs of giant clams and placed them strategically to be viewed by all as a means of attracting attention to the cause. The show was an overwhelming success.

O So Green Bears can be ordered through this website and custom orders are also available. All bears are one of a kind so when you adopt one of these adorable and friendly little bears it will be yours alone with it own unique character and personality just like a child. You will also be taking a stand for endangered, threatened and mistreated animals all over the world. Adopt an adorable O So Green Bear friend today and help give life back to the land, sea and sky.