On Earth Day, neat new eco-friendly products

What better day than Earth Day to focus on innovative green products - ones that are easy on the planet and, what's more - affordable?!

On "The Early Show" Friday, sustainability consultant Emilie Cowan, of Opportunity Green and Ecofabulous.com, spotlighted some of her favorite new eco-friendly items -- everything from solar powered lights to filtered stainless steel water bottles.

Cowan says she's seen a shift in the way such products are developed and manufactured. "It's really an exciting time in the world of consumer products," she observes. "Manufacturers and the world's best designers are getting together and producing healthy, stylish, environmentally friendly, affordable products - sustainable -- without compromising style or quality. Many of these products are some of the best out there, because they are "cradle-to-cradle certified," meaning they are non-toxic, infinitely recyclable or biodegradable, and totally safe for the Earth -- and us."

CLEANERS

Cleaners often contain harmful chemicals, but we've been seeing a steady increase in eco-friendly cleaners.

Replenish Household Cleaner/bottle $8; Replenish Household Cleaner/replacement pods $4

Replenish is a "C2C"-certified household cleaner with reusable bottles and insertable pods that are filled with high concentrate cleaner. This cleaner marks a HUGE innovation for cleaning products and the way we use them. One pod, makes four bottles of cleaner and saves over 50 percent of the cost of traditional cleaners. They are beautiful and smell great. They're non-toxic and they really work incredibly well. They have several scents -- this is super hot item.

Method Laundry Detergent $8 - $16

Available at Target, Lowes and many markets, it's a quarter of the size of what we think of as a normal "dose" of detergent; the shipping of diluted product is eliminated. They got smart there - it's plant based, non-toxic, and the container is made from recycled materials and C2C.

LIGHT PROVIDERS

Pharox 300 LED bulbs from Lemnis Lighting $25

The Pharox bulb -- 300 LED bulb will last 25 years! Safe for the household, no mercury, and doesn't get hot to the touch. This is one of the best LEDs out there, with a warm and really nice light, equivalent to a 40 - 60 watt lamp. This is the IT bulb.

Pharox Solar Kit $30

The Pharox Solar IS perfect for upcoming camping season, and really great to have on-hand for emergencies, as well. It comes in a little kit, has a very hip and retro-designed lamp, and a solar charging panel, which you keep charged from the sunlight outside. The panel also has a USB charging port to charge mobile devices. This can provide 8-45 hours of light -- or charge depending on what level you use it on. I've seen this little lamp light up a whole room nicely!

MORE FOR CAMPING

Water Geeks Filtered Stainless Steel Water Bottle $25

This bottle is available at Target, Amazon and their website. It has a built-in filter, to filter the tap water, get rid of chlorine, odors, etc., so you get very pure water. The bottle is BPA- and Phthalate-free.

UNDERGARMENTS!

PACT Organic Underwear $18 - $24

Entirely sustainably manufactured, using organic cotton, and the prints are associated with a specific cause or non-profit, this one is associated with the Sierra Club Campaign. They're unbelievably soft, super sexy and beautiful, and make great gifts.

CHARGING STATION

GE Residential WattStation $1,000 - $1,500

This is incredible! More and more people are getting electric cars, and you can have this at your home and it will charge your car in one hour (it used to take 8-24 hours). You never have to go to the gas station again, and with gas prices going through the roof, this product is a great, easy solution.