Although the gifting lounges that pop up all over Los Angeles in the days leading up to award shows are essentially trick-or-treat for grown-ups (without the trick), there's a charitable aspect to most of them. More often than not, there's a sustainable aspect as well, with green-minded products and vendors amply represented, as we learned from stopping by seven of them in the week before the Emmys.

 

Adding a definite wow factor to the Tic Tac Mints/GBK suite were the one-of-a-kind recycled material furniture, jewelry and other art pieces from Eco First that made the Green Room truly green. There was a couch upholstered in zippers, chairs fashioned from jeans labels, computer parts and seat belts and jewelry made from rubber, broken china and vintage pieces. All spectacular. Also representing collectives of artists, The Artisan Group included creative green items like purses crocheted from plastic bags and old VHS tapes, or journals made from old vinyl records.

 

Social network Blendr.com handed out solar cellphone chargers, and Sprout watches introduced new styles with bands made from biodegradable materials and discarded carp and salmon skin. Rex Linn from "CSI: Miami" snapped one up. He returns to CBS for the crime procedural's 10th season on Sept. 25 in an episode that picks up where the May cliffhanger left off. "It's pretty exciting," he promises.

 

Anthony Anderson (right) took home some Umi baby shoes for a friend who recently gave birth and some Prosecco and Moscato wine from Wine Chateau for himself. Having finished filming "Goats" with David Duchovny, Minnie Driver and Vera Farmiga and "The Power of Few" with Christopher Walken and Christian Slater, he has "The Big Year" coming out in October and is waiting to hear about another role. "I've got my fingers crossed on this Denzel Washington movie called 'Fight,'" he said.

 

On the charitable side, sponsor Tic Tac, which donated $100,000 to Cancer Care, showed off a dress made from 70,000 pink Tic Tac mints and promoted its Extraordinary Caregivers contest, encouraging guests to nominate and vote for deserving caregivers at facebook.com/tictacusa. Teach For America and A New Way of Life Reentry Project raised awareness for their initiatives. The creators of the children's book "Just Like You" offered another way to give back. The book is made by disabled workers, and all proceeds from its sale are donated to nonprofits, including The Art of Elysium, HollyRod Foundation and PACER Center.

 

Also at GBK, there were skin care products and cosmetics from Carita, Revitalash and Haan Therapeutics, cushy shoe insoles from Piggy Pillows, and positive-slogan tanks and T-shirts from Reflect It, which donates $1 from every item sold to cancer research. Aptly, Brenda Strong of "Desperate Housewives" loved the Strong Like Mom shirt. Emmy nominee Margo Martindale was most thrilled to get a new ComforPedic bed.

 

At the Endless Summer suite, attendees paused to donate school supplies and backpacks to the I Have a Dream Foundation adopt-a-class program before checking out paraben- and sulfate-free bath and body products from Vitabath, Bootights cushioned socks and tights, cleansing towelettes from Cool Off, Whirl-a-Style hair accessories for pin-less updos, MobiGrip cellphone holders, Model in a Bottle makeup setting spray, Stemulation skin care and bikinis from Becca. Actor Eric Roberts picked one out for his daughter, Emma.

 

The Humane Society was the designated charity at the Secret Room, and requested that celebs take photos with one of their campaign signs to post online via Twitter or Facebook. Other vendors also offered a charitable element, including Puma's pink sport watch to benefit breast cancer charities and Toby and Max jewelry, made from silver and repurposed bronze and pewter, which donates 20 percent of proceeds from the sale of items from its Rescued in Love line to animal rescue organizations. Other cool items included made-to-order handbags from My Dream Bags, Whitening Lightning teeth whitener and Amaloa jewelry, made from vintage and reused materials like watch parts.

 

"It's always hard finding a good natural makeup line," said Aimee Teegarden, snagging some paraben-free natural cosmetics from Youngblood at the suite. Just back from shooting the independent film "AWOL," which is set in 1969 "and deals with the Vietnam War, life back home and star-crossed lovers," Teegarden was looking forward to attending the Emmys with her former "Friday Night Lights" castmates. Currently in the midst of a move, she found a company called Rent a Green Box that's making it more eco-friendly. "They drop off tubs so you don't have to use any cardboard or tape. You pack them up, they move them and then they come pick them up from your new residence."

 

The HBO suite's high-end product array included Michael Antonio footwear, a 100 percent vegan shoe line and an organic (soybean and cotton) fabric bassinet that comes with the top-of-the-line stroller from UppaBaby. There were gorgeous handbags from Brahmin, sparkly diamonds from Sofia Fiori, designer sunglasses from Solstice Sunglass Boutique, Hallmark's recordable story book, Klipsch headphones and speakers and L'Oreal Paris cosmetics.

 

At the Urban Sanctuary suite, which benefited the St. Bernard Project's efforts to rebuild homes in New Orleans for people affected by the Gulf oil spill and Hurricane Katrina, we got a nontoxic manicure from Nubar and checked out jewelry from Lyon Fine Jewelry, which donates 20 percent from the sale of its Equality bracelets to the gay rights organization, Friendfactor.org.

 

True to its title, Debbie Durkin's Eco Emmys featured an array of green products including Nix Shoes — made from hemp and recycled leather — which donates a portion of profits to charity; Fabe's vegan and gluten-free baked goods; Sonas jeans, made from leftover and pieced together fabric; and Athena's intimate products, which is collecting bras to break the record of the longest bra chain and raise awareness of breast cancer. Charities on hand included L.A. Animal Alliance, Beat Liver Tumors and Music Saves Lives, which holds blood and bone marrow drives.

 

At the Alive! Expo Green Pavilion, where attendees were invited to make video PSAs for Only You Can SaveEnergy.org, eco-products included one-of-a kind jewelry from Vittoria & Banks made from broken mirrors, silver extracted from old film, and nuts, bolts, and watch parts and reusable lightweight tote bags from Ityse which are crafted by inmates from polyester material and fold into pouches made from remnant fabric.

 

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Photos: ZUMA Press