Product Spotlight: Keen Bags

Keen, a shoe and outdoor company, has been in the eco-product business since 2003 when they launched their first earth friendly shoe.

This year they've released a new line of bags, made of recycled material and in an environmentally-friendly way. The bags contain recycled rubber and metal reclaimed from their shoe factory.
They have also included their packaging as an eco-friendly option, with it being 100% made from bio-degradable materials.




Visit www.keenfootwear.com for more info and locations.

Product Spotlight: Eco Hot Cups

Most paper hot cups on the market today contain a plastic lining made from a petrochemical. This lining helps ensure the integrity of the cup against hot liquids such as coffee. In American alone, more than 14 billions cups of coffee are served annually in disposal cups with plastic linings. Hot cups that use petro-based plastic linings will not fully decompose, and are also dependant on a limited and costly resource, oil. Ecoproducts.com brings you an eco-friendly alternative. The new ecotainer hot cups from International Paper are the only hot cups on the market with an inner lining using a plastic biopolymer derived from corn. Along with making a strong and dependable hot cup, plastic derived from corn is also renewable. These new pla hot cups are the perfect eco-friendly cup for they help reduce pollution, save energy and is also fully compostable.

These compostable hot cups are the perfect cups for greening your coffee shop. Compostable in a commercial composting environment, the Ecotainertm hot cup has an inner lining made from 100% corn whereas conventional paper hot cups have inner linings made from petroleum.

Also, the paper comes from trees that were harvested sustainably and the cups are Elemental chlorine-free. These cups perform the same or better than regular paper hot cups.


Get more info at www.ecoproducts.com

Eco-Friendly Lamps Win at Top Drawer Autumn Awards

This past week at the Top Drawer Autumn Awards in England, top designers from all over the world showed their latest designs in food products, interior design and more. Among the awards was the one for Best Eco Product, going to lighting and homewares designer Ulrika Jarl, for her 'cell lights'.
The ceramic lamps give off a peach colored light. They are all created locally(in England), and use materials sourced locally and all waste bone china is reclaimed and reused. The lamps are supplied with energy-saving lightbulbs.
Although ceramic is not a material that is seen as environmental, Ulrika reports that the ceramic is only kiln fired once, and does not require a second firing for the glaze, which keeps the energy consumption to a minimum compared to most other types of ceramic.





-

Use Air Fresheners And You Could Die.

Did that title get your attention??
So the actual situation isn't as dire as it sounds. But its still pretty bad. A recent study by Natural Resources Defense Council found that 12 out of 14 popular air freshener products contained a chemical known to be harmful to the health of humans. Phthalates, known to cause reproductive problems and hormone disruption in humans, were found in virtually all air freshener brands, including several Walgreens-branded air fresheners that the popular retailer has now pulled off its shelves.

In a hopeful lapse of judgement, neither the FDA or the EPA test air fresheners for homes, meaning consumers could be exposed to unknown chemicals without warning.

Only two products tested by the NRDC -- Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle Effects -- contained almost no detectable levels of phthalates, yet the twelve other products tested positive for the chemical even though some were labeled "unscented" and none of them listed phthalates as an ingredient.

This just raises the question as to how many lethal chemicals we are being subjected to each day in our own homes. Maybe its time that the government starts filtering new products? Or maybe we should start using nature's air fresheners instead of ones made in factories?



-

The Solar Bike

A few weeks ago we presented a Hydrogen-fueled bicycle. Now we come to you with a Canadian version. Designer Peter Sandler, President of Therapy Products and Inventor of the E-V Sunny Bicycle, developed the first all Solar electric bicycle.

The E-V Sunny Bicycle has solar panels built right into the wheels, which give constant energy while in the sun and maintaining a constant charge to the batteries. The bike is propelled by a 500 watt front hub motor.

The propelled bike has a speed of up to 30 kilometers per hour. The overall weight is 75 pounds which could be a hassle if you want to get up some hills on a cloudy day. There is only a 10 minute charge time needed to start again (maybe by putting the bike on its side?), so a quick rest in the sun would help for any annoying hills.

The starting price is $1300 with a 90 day warrantee, but if you're happy with your own ride there are $800 add-on kits available.

See their website here: www.therapyproducts.com

Product Spotlight: Sway Stool

From Branch Sustainable Living comes a envrionmentally friendly, ergonomic designed stool, called the Sway Stool (because it sways!). Perfect for office work, or just to peacefully sit and think.

From the site:

The central column of the stool, located directly under the spine of the user, is flexible, solid cork while the rest is perforated. The result is a seat that flexes and pivots under the weight of the user, responding to the slightest body movement. The user's muscles remain slightly engaged to maintain balance, improving posture and circulation. Many have reported this to be a perfect seat for working at a desk or computer, enabling the user to move and rock while working and thinking. Because cork is 100% waterproof and impervious to rot and mold growth, this piece functions as well outdoors as it does in.

Check out more product specs here: Sway Stool




-

Business: Starting Green

With 'Green' as the big word in business these days, businesses are not only starting to supply greener products, but now they must be envrironmentally friendly in their practices as well. Customers are getting smarter in the ways that they deal with big businesses. The internet provides access to product reports, company info and more at the click of a button, and now companies can't just say they are going green, they must act on it.

If you're considering starting a green business, here are a few links and ideas to help you get a foothold in a growing market.

Choose Your Market
'Green' products are no longer limited to food, energy saving or cosmetics. There are new products in every line imaginable, from insulation to books to sports equipment. To begin, you must figure out what part of the market you want to dive into. Here are a couple links that list green companies in various markets:

• GreenPeople.org
  
• Global Sources
  

Green All The Way
The best way to promote your green products is to live the life yourself. If your company doesn't live up to its claims, then customers won't believe your products. Imagine walking into a 'green' shop to find its owner driving a gas-eating SUV or the light bulbs are energy consuming, super bright, short lived, well you know where i'm going here. Your company must live it up green. And with new products coming out all the time it wouldn't be that pricey to start off.
Check out this www.green-business.ca for some more info.

And lastly, there is an amazing site that provides daily links and info on being green. I mean this site is just what you need for a green business. Its just awesome. Are you getting where I'm going with this? No? Well let me spell it out for you.
Eternal Coil. Yes, THIS website! Wow was that hard or what?

Green business are starting to bloom. And there is always room for more!

Bamboo Bikes and More

Sporting goods is one of the newest eco-friendly trends to hit the markets. If green cars and houses can do it, why not sports and fitness!

When you paddle out (into the waves) and you see Styrofoam cups, plastic bags, cigarettes, what enters your mind is what you’re buying and ... what you’re riding in the ocean,” says Travis Wilkerson, membership director for the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, a trade association for the suppliers of surfing products, including several that sell surfboards made of materials selected for their eco-friendly composition.
[Source: journalgazette.net]

Calfee Design, a high end bike designer started building bikes out of bamboo over 10 years ago, when owner Craig Calfee noticed that bamboo was as strong as the carbon fiber he had been using. Bamboo also is reported to absorb vibrations better than metal or the carbon fiber.
This sounds like a great new idea, using one of earth's more hardy products.
See the website for the full story.

Toxins in your House

When you're working on making your house more green and environmentally safe you also have to think about making your body more safe. There are toxins in your house that can eventually create respiratory problems, cause weight gain and slow your metabolism making you feel tired.
These toxins are found in everyday common house cleaners. Recent EPA reports show that indoor pollutent levels are two to five times higher than outdoor levels, and a lot of that pollution is caused by our household cleaners.

One new chemical enters industrial use every 20 minutes," says Paula Baillie-Hamilton, MD, only to join many hundreds of thousands of synthetic chemicals already in use. "As a result, the average person living in the developed world is now contaminated with up to 500 industrial toxins, few of which have been properly tested for harmful effects."
[Source: www.mindfull.org]

There are a large number of companies that provide organic, toxic free cleaners. I'm sure there are many cleaners in your own grocery store that are organic. Rather than let these household toxins slow you down, get organic and help your body stay healthier.

Upcycling: The Fourth 'R'

Here is a great article from www.etsy.com, explaining the idea of 'upcycling', which goes beyond recycling and utilizes used products for new uses, such as art or jewelery. Why should the recycling companies have all the fun?
The article goes on to say how, even when buying green products, you still contribute to the landfills eventually. What upcycling hopes to do is take a waste product (say glass bottles) and use them for something that will be sustained continually(say in building supplies). One hopes that in the future we can find better uses for used products, maybe as something that is functional in our lives!

Here's the full story.

New Mexico: Restaurant Plans on Wind Power

Chipotle Mexican Grill in Gurnee Mills, New Mexico, has gotten the zoning permits for building a a 60 foot wind turbine to power their new restaurant. The project is expected to cost about $60000 USD and will pay for itself in 10-15 years. This is just one of the new wave of companies going entirely green power.
Chipotle restaurants are also known for their use of farm bred pork instead of using 'factory farms' where pigs are kept in crates since birth and don't even have the opportunity to move on their own. Chipotle believes in using the old fashioned farm way of raising pigs:

Since 2001, all of the pork served in our restaurants has been from pigs raised in this humane, ecologically sustainable way. In addition to all of our pork, nearly 60 percent of our chicken and more than 40 percent of our beef is naturally raised. And we'll continue until all of our meats in all of our restaurants meet this standard.
-Taken From www.chipotle.com

Its good to see companies who are this conscious of the world.

Going Green is Good for Business

A recent poll done by analyst firm IDC shows a growing trend in IT businesses looking at the greener side. Over 30% of the IT execs surveyed say that they look at their supplier's 'green credentials' when buying products.

The survey, which interviewed 854 IT professionals, also revealed that 28.6 percent of IT managers saw green technology as a "moral obligation," and 23.8 percent said it was the responsibility of IT suppliers.

Further, 12.2 percent saw the implementation of green technology, under corporate social responsibility agenda, as a competitive advantage.
[quote from www.pcworld.com]

Read the full story here.

I've often wondered how long it will be until supply companies fully show how green their products are. They can say 'using recycled materials' but that doesn't really mean that ALL their products are green. It will be nice to see companies posting full info on their products (say on websites), so that the people concerned with green products can fully understand and see what goes into the suppliers products. I know this is a long way off, but this blogger can dream!