Green Gifts for Father's Day

Dads are prone to grumble about greeting card holidays and can remain classically silent about what gifts they may want. Nevertheless, kids and spouses persist in trying to find the perfect gift for father's day. It helps if he has a particular hobby or obsession (not to say fetish), such as classic watches or kayaking or, if you're lucky, living green. For the green father there are many options, from Earthpak backpacks made from recycled bottles to actual bottles of organic Wolavers beer. But even for those who don't see themselves as green, there are plenty of choices out there:

Patagonia's popular organic cotton shirts include long-sleeved Puckerware shirts ($64), long-sleeved Sol Patrol shirts with sun protection ($80) and the more relaxed, lightweight No-Bother short-sleeve shirt for hot weather ($68; www.patagonia.com). So whether Dad is sweating at the office, out paddling around or trekking through the Amazon, he'll be comfortable, sunburn-free and helping keep pesticides from conventional cotton production out of our waterways.

And for those Amazon hikes, or any closer to home, consider a pair of Jade Planet Pachira boots made from recycled materials like tires, soda bottles and coffee filters, along with a hemp/cotton uppers and laces ($75, www.jadeplanet.net).

For the gadget-oriented and iPod-addicted father, the Solio portable hybrid solar power charger is a slickly designed device about the size and shape of an electric razor which can recharge items ranging from cell phones to GPSs to digital cameras. Comes in four colors, with a tip either for iPods or cell phones; other tips are sold separately. ($79.95 to 89.95, www.solio.com).

For the golfer, check out Eco Golf Balls, a water-soluble golf ball which can be hit into the sea or a lake without guilt ($10/box of 12; www.ecogolfballs.com). And Dad can tee-off from a corn-based compostable plastic Eco Tee, saving trees ($25 for 1,000; www.ecogolf.com). Finally, at day's end he can soothe aching feet with Golfers Green sage footsoak from Homespun Naturals free of any of the dirty dozen ingredients to avoid in personal care products ($4.50/5 oz.; www.pattyscountrycolors.com, 903-728-5884).

Since a man's got to eat, carnivorous fathers may enjoy grassfed beef burgers, which are lower in saturated fats, and because they're organic too there's no risk of mad cow disease from conventional feed ($16.99/lb, www.diamondorganics.com). For organic beers to wash down the burger, you can order St. Peter's English Ale or Old Style Porter ($54/case), Butte Creek Organic IPA ($36/case), or Samuel Smith Organic Lager ($47.40/case) from Portland, Oregon's Belmont Station (www.belmont-station.com).

And once Dad has received his eco-friendly bounty, he may be ready for a subscription to The Green Guide to see what else he's been missing out on.