Here at Tees For Change we love to introduce you to non-profit organizations who make a difference. Today we’d like you to meet Blueprint Investment Fund.

Based in New Orleans, LA, Blueprint empowers entrepreneurs to find their footing and help aleiviate poverty and joblessness within communities across the United States. By focusing on disadvantaged, minority and women entrepreneurs, they help those who might not otherwise have the resources to do so build a florishing businesses. The Fund’s vision is an economically diverse and inclusive community where entrepreneurs have access to the opportunities and resources they need to thrive.

This week marks Blueprint’s Facebook Frenzy. The Fund’s Facebook page has hit 1,000 members and we hope you’ll encourage them to keep going by helping us send 50 more fans their way! Drop by the Fund’s page, hit like and tell them Tees For Change sent you for your chance to win one of our tees and other amazing prizes.

For 11 years the Yoga Center For Healthy Living has been helping people in Brighton, Michigan find peace inside and out. We’re happy to have them as part of the Tees For Change retailer family and want to introduce you them today.

Housed in a beautiful brick building, the Center welcomes practitioners of all ages and skill levels to take part in their classes 7 days per week. Whether you’re looking for prenatal, a class you can share with your children or a session to get your heart pumping, like Vinyasa  or Ashtanga, the Centre has a class for you.

If you’re looking for other ways to engage your body, mind, heart and soul, the Center offers a range of special events from the free yoga book club to April’s upcoming essential oils workshop.

Studio owner, Lee Ann, has been teaching yoga since the 1970s, and welcomes you to draw on her experience in her RYS 200 & 500 classes.

Visit them today at 4437 Old US 23, Brighton, Michigan 48114 to find Tees For Change in the Yoga Center boutique and follow them on Facebook to get all the latest news.

It’s time for us to update our testimonials page and we need your help!

Send us your favorite pic of you wearing Tees For Change and if we use it on our testimonial page we’ll send you a coupon code for a free tee!

To enter, simply finish the sentence “I love Tees For Change because…” and email your photo to  info@teesforchange.com or post it to our Facebook Page.

We’ll unveil our new testimonials site and announce the winners in March!

When you’re scrambling to get to class it’s tempting to grab any old  tee so you can just get out the door and arrive on time. But the yoga tee you wear matters!

Yoga isn’t a fashion show, but you do need to be comfortable to get the most out of class. Your yoga tee should be easy to move it, breathable and, above all keep you comfortable during your practice.

Here are a few things to think about when choosing a yoga tee:

The clothing you wear to yoga should be stretchy enough to avoid constricting when you shift poses, but not so large that it bunches up and gets in your way. Yoga should be relaxing, but if you’re worrying about what your shirt is going to do next you’re not relaxed.

When you buy a new yoga tee, don’t forget to try moving in it before class. Make sure your arms can move easily in the sleeves (cap sleeves are great for yoga) and that the shirt won’t slide up on you if you bend forward.

Pick a yoga tee that lets your skin breathe. The skin is our largest organ, and just like our lungs it needs to breathe. That’s why spandex and other synthetic fibers aren’t recommended for yoga. Choose a yoga tee that’s made of a natural fiber like organic cotton or bamboo.

Don’t under estimate the power of inspiration. Choose a yoga tee that keeps you inspired, and a color that motivates you to keep your energy up throughout your whole class.

Most importantly of all, choose a yoga tee that let’s you feel comfortable and happy in your body, whatever your shape.

Tell us about your favorite yoga tee in the comments!

The photos of our new Tees For Change long sleeve tees are here!

We have some brilliant new colors, like lizard, seen here in our Today Matters unisex long sleeve organic cotton and bamboo tee. The colors may change, but the oh so soft blend of 30% bamboo and 70% cotton remains the same.

Don’t forget to check them all out.

We love hearing your comments on our tees and your ideas for the future of Tees For Change. This year so many of you emailed and called to say you wanted more long sleeve tees that we could hardly wait to bring them back!

This year we’re offering 2 styles of long sleeve tees, ladies and unisex, in a thicker material that’s even more silky soft than last year’s long sleeve tees.

We’re proud to say that these new shirts are Made in the USA with the 70% bamboo and 30% organic cotton blend you love. They’re thick enough to wear alone to keep you inspired and cozy throughout the colder months.

Our ladies long sleeve tees feature the classic Tees For Change
phrases LIVE JOYFULLY and PRACTICE KINDNESS, while our unisex long sleeve tees feature TODAY MATTERS and introduce RISE ABOVE, a stylized text tee that will remind you to think positive, no matter what comes your way.

Each long sleeve tee is available in a variety of colors to let you choose the inspiration that suits you best.

These tees will be available to ship on January 9th, but you can pre-order yours online today!

Save 20% on our new long sleeve eco-friendly shirts by using the code LONGB12 before January 15!**

** Please note this offer is not available to wholesale customers. 

It’s that most wonderful time of year again, and whether there’s snow where you are or not, you can feel the holidays in the air. While this time of year is magical, it’s also the time of year we create a lot of extra waste – an estimated 4 million tons!

To help you have an eco-friendly holiday season, we at Tees For Change want to share some eco-friendly wrapping ideas:

Our eco-friendly Life Mindfully totes are wonderful as gift bags, and extra special because they make the wrapping another part of the gift. The extra long handles measure 25 inches, making it the perfect shoulder bag, and it’s large enough to hold just about anything, from groceries to yoga gear.

Furoshiki, or Japanese fabric wrapping, dates back more than one thousand years, and you can use this ancient wrapping technique to help the planet. There are plenty of sites that sell modern furoshiki for wrapping everything from stocking stuffers to large boxes, or you can make your own using colorful scarves or fabric.

Many of us have a glove compartment filled with maps we’ll never need again. Re-use your old maps as wrapping paper, and don’t forget to remind the recipient to recycle the map once they’ve opened their gift, unless of course they’ve always needed a map of Washington state.

Not only do Mason jars make a visually interesting gift, they’re incredibly re-useable to store bulk good, pasta, coins or just about anything. Roll up a tee and wrap it in a gallon sized jar, or use wide mouth pint jars for smaller gifts and stocking stuffers. If you want to keep your present a secret until the moment it’s opened, line the jar with a piece of fabric.

However you choose to wrap your gifts, think about the planet. We’d love to hear your eco-friendly gift wrap ideas. Share them in the comments or let us know on Twitter or Facebook.

If you haven’t started your holiday shopping yet, you’re not alone. Our friends over at Healing LifeStyles & Spas have recently released their 2011 gift guide, and we’re excited to be a part of it.

Tees For Change sponsored today’s tip of the day. In addition to learning how greens can help you keep your skin glowing and radiant during the colder months, you can enter to win one of our tees, and get a coupon code for 20% off your next order.

Read the tip of the day, and while you’re there don’t forget to subscribe to Healing Lifestyles & Spas tip of the day so you can learn something new everyday!

Take one moment and imagine what it would be like to enjoy a totally stressless Christmas. What if you could simply enjoy the holiday?

Instead of rushing around to stores or spending hours bent over the computer ordering, or bent over wrapping, cooking and doing the million other tasks that seem to be required for the “perfect day,” you might imagine yourself snuggled comfortably on the sofa, maybe an eggnog (spiked or not) in hand, music playing, a fire crackling, surrounded by friends and loved ones, your face lit my a smile. (Not the pained smile of relief!)

While that vision might appear about as real as Cinderella, it doesn’t have to remain a fairy tale.

With a little thought and release of habit and perfectionistic tendencies, it’s possible to live the dream.

Here are a few ways to make it come true.

Sit down with your family and talk about past Christmases. Was everyone satisfied with how things went? If not, what would you like to change? If mom has felt overwhelmed, how can the rest of the family pitch in to help? This may mean that mom gives up some control, but if she’s willing to do that, she may find some burdens lifted. If dad is tired of putting up the lights, maybe this year you forget his pinning them around the eves and decorate a tree he can reach without a ladder. The idea is to, as much as possible, relieve the pressure on everyone.

Make a sign (on recycled paper of course), that emphasizes meaning over things, whether those things are perfect décor, food or gifts. Place the sign where everyone in the family will see it.

• Take a realistic look at the number of gifts you plan to give and the amount you plan to spend. Will Christmas leave you with credit card debt you’ll be paying well into swim season? Is this necessary? Is it wise? How about making gifts from items you have on hand? Or making up songs or poems or choosing to give only gifts of time spent together?
• As you’re thinking about Christmas,consider the environmental costs of things like wrapping paper. Forget buying it and you not only save money, but help the planet out too. Very little of the wrapping paper purchased is recycled and even doing that takes energy.
• What kinds of family activities do you find relaxing and fun? Choose to do one or two of those as the holiday approaches. None of them need cost any money.
• Give yourself the gift of calm every day. Ask your mate or a friend for a massage, a cup of tea, time for a bath or a walk. Think about what would help, then request it.
• Stay away from the frenzy. Avoid any activity you find stressful from malls to tree lighting ceremonies attended by thousands of people.
• Surround yourself in peace. Turn the lights down, burn beeswax candles, play soft music during stressful times. For instance, if preparing dinner for the kids is a nightmare, create a quiet atmosphere and ask them to whisper. Make it a game and they will likely play along.
• Make eye contact. One reason children seem to act out more around the holidays is because they want attention. Simply sitting with them for a few minutes at a time, looking them in the eye (no distractions) and talking, is calming and may help calm you too.
• Say “No.” Refuse to take on any more than you can comfortably handle. You do not have to bake cookies for your kids’ school just because you’re the only mom available. If they don’t have cookies for their party, it’s not your problem. Seriously, you can’t do everything and the more you say “yes,” the more you’ll be expected to take on.
• Approach your holiday meal with the thought that the most important thing is to have everyone gathered together for a fun and meaningful event, not to have so much food that no one can get up from the table without help! What this means is to shop carefully in terms of the amount of food you purchase so that little is wasted. If you find planning a huge meal stressful, how about simplifying it. Try a fondue, desserts only (and guests bring them), or a lunch, when people tend to be happier with less.

Remember that having a green Christmas isn’t about buying and neither is enjoying a calmer one. It’s about realizing the simple joys that come from being together and knowing how easy (and inexpensive), it is to achieve.

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net