Monthly Archives: June 2009

Orange’s Solar Concept Tent: A Camper’s Dream-Come-True

orange-solar-tent

For many of us, summer means many outdoor activities and overnight adventures. Whether you are heading to a music festival or family camping trip, “roughing it” out in the woods may never be the same again!   The Orange Solar Concept Tent won’t be your average run-of-the mill tent.  This tech-savvy tent is sure to be a camper’s dream-come-true.

As the name suggests, the tent is solar.  The energy from the sun will provide heating, lighting, recharging and communication to the tent.  Instead of using traditional solar panels to capture the sun’s energy, the tent is fitted with a revolutionary material.  The photovoltaic fabric is made by weaving specially coated solar threads into an outer fabric.  The three glides can be easily adjusted and rotated to capture the most sunlight and maximize efficiency. Read more »

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Tracing the Origins and Environmental Impact of Clothing

clothing-tracing-labels

When you purchase your clothing, it’s rare that you have any idea about its origins, beyond the “Made in…” tag that typically appears on the manufacturer’s label. But how do you know that your clothing was made using ethical standards of production? Can you be sure that they’re not using child-run sweatshops in Indonesia, or that the sheep that generated that wool for a sweater weren’t starved or abused? Until recently, you couldn’t. For fashion, we were forced to turn a blind eye to the not so pleasant realities that surround the clothing manufacturing industry, the human ethical issues and the environmental impact of fashion. Read more »

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Sustainable Crafted Cork Media Console by Iannone

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Cork isn’t just for topping wine bottles anymore; it’s becoming one of the trendiest materials in sustainable home furnishings because it’s a material with minimal environmental impact, it can withstand the tests of time, and it looks pretty cool too. After your next dinner party, or the next time you have one of your own secret drinking binges; save up your corks, you might just be inspired to create your own sustainable piece of furniture like the latest design by Iannone Design.

The Cork Media Console is a modern, minimalist design ready to house your flat screen TV and the rest of your home entertainment center. Made of cork which delivers the unique texture and look of the furniture, as well as bamboo plywood, you can focus on your green furniture and stare at it for hours on end while you fall into zombiedom in front of the TV every evening.

While some may hold the misconception that cork is a precious commodity that is on its way to extinction, it’s in fact one of the most sustainable materials that comes directly from nature. Cork can be extracted without killing the entire tree that it comes from, so within a 9 to 10 year period the tree is still trucking with a whole new outer layer grown back. Cork will also last longer than most other materials, so it needs little enhancement beyond the low-VOC water-based topcoat applied by Iannone to outlast your design tastes. Cork is watertight, easily recycled, as well as shock and fire resistant; it’s properties are so sustainable that it might hang around so long that you might just be finding ways to get rid of it!

Get your hands on the Cork Media Console, but now that you know all about the sustainability of cork, take a moment to appreciate all it has to offer next time you uncork your favorite bottle of wine.

Via: Nature Repurposed

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Waste-Free: Green Ink Cartridges from Xerox

solid-ink-cartridges

We’ve been waiting forever for a printer/ink option that finally reduces waste and complies with the green movement. Finally a little glimmer of hope is on the way for the corporate world, but those of us looking for green home printing solutions might have to hold our breath just a little bit longer.

Xerox just recently announced a new ColorQube 9200 printer which is compatible with waste-free printer cartridges that are among the first of their kind. Unlike typical ink toner cartridges which are expensive and anything but eco-friendly, this innovative printer uses solid blocks of printer ink that melt when the printer is activated through heat. With these eco-friendly printer cartridges, when the ink is gone, there’s no evidence left to pile up in landfills and litter the world as we know it with waste. Xerox claims that this green corporate printing system can cut printing costs by 60% and reduce waste by 90%.

At $23,000 for this large corporate printing system, those of us with home offices will just have to wait a little bit longer to get our hands on printer ink cartridges that don’t add to environmental degradation. But we can only hope it won’t be along time coming, if this green printing corporate monstrosity it will only be a matter of time before Xerox’s competition is getting in on the waste-free ink trend!

Stay tuned, we’ll keep you posted as to when you can buy your own eco-friendly printers and cartridges to make your home just a little greener; and hopefully, you won’t need to re-mortgage your homes to make the purchase with those geared towards consumers!

Via: Inhabitat

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Recycled Cufflinks for the Stylin’ Dad

recycled-cufflinks

This Father’s Day, why not give dad an extra special gift he is sure to love that is environmentally friendly too?   Dad’s friends and coworkers will be “green” with envy when they spot his quality made, handcrafted Father’s Day gift.  Perfect for that hard-to-buy for father or for the man who has everything, dear old dad is sure to cherish these unique eco-friendly cufflinks for many years to come.

The good folks at eco-artware have assembled a collection of brilliant reused materials that not only make for great style, but also for great conversation.  Their collection includes links made from:
Read more »

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Noon Solar Bags: Portable Power in a Purse

noon-solar-bags

As electronic devices become smaller and more affordable, many people are finding themselves strapped to their cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players and other portable devices.  If you are joined at the hip with a gadget or two, chances are pretty good it takes all your internal energy just to remember to keep them all charged.  If you have a drawer full of cords and chargers, finding the right cord to go with the right device can be trying at best.  And when your cell phone is on its last leg with no electrical outlet in sight, then what?  These devices are supposed to make our lives easier and less complicated, aren’t they? Read more »

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Recycled Sweater Dog Toys from Bark for Peace

Dogs don’t care where their toys come from; they’re just happy to have something new to play with.  And if your dogs are like mine, they’ll likely eat their new plaything whether the toy is meant to be edible or not.

Rope toys are every dog’s dream, but they don’t always last forever, so it’s nice to give them toys that already have a history of sustainability before they reach their last legs. The Recycled Sweater Dog Toys made by Bark for Peace are made from recycled wool sweaters and blankets salvaged from thrift stores. The garments are disinfected in eco-friendly products, turned into strips and braided to form the rope toys that my dogs would not be able to wait to unravel. Not only does this unique pet product allow animals to make their own contribution in going green, it does them a favor, because according to Bark for Peace, wool is a much less abrasive material for dogs to chew and tug on than what’s traditionally used to make these toys.
Read more »

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Husqvarna UberMower for Dad: Absurd(ly Cool)

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It’s the must-have Papa’s Day gift of the future for the greenminded Dad in you life – The Husqvarna Panthera Leo.  The Panthera Leo is a ‘concept mower’ by Husqvarna that’s intended to demonstrate the company’s ‘commitment to sustainability’ as it echoes consumer preference for ‘self sustaining’ gardens – whatever all that means. Wouldn’t a ‘self sustaining’ garden mow itself?  Then again, maybe a ‘self sustaining’ garden is really just an all-white garage near Wimbledon where you admire the Panthera Leo while sweeping a small pile of leaves.  But I digress!

Back to business – a few preemptive answers to the questions you’re undoubtedly asking yourself about this little slice of eco-vative brilliance right now:  Read more »

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Raise Your Glass in a Toast to Trendy Recycled Glassware!

cobalt-collection

Whether you love the libation lifestyle or simply enjoy an occasional glass of fine wine with a refined dinner, you know just how much waste is generated once you get to the bottom of the bottle. The good news, is that now you can drink as much as you want without the guilt of environmental impact, because the Green Glass Company is creating sustainable, recycled products that not only reuse the discarded wine bottles, beer bottles, and pop bottles; they also provide you with a classy way to enjoy your favorite beverage with their unique line of sustainable glassware. So sit down with your favorite beverage, and know that you’re making a contribution to a full-cycle process that benefits the environment, although it may not do any favors to your liver! Read more »

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Furniture That’s Forever

briklor-300-yr-furniture

There are two major problems that people encounter when they bring new furniture into their home. Sure it may look nice and really add something to the décor of the home, but it very rarely lasts as long as you might like it to, and even when it does, quite frankly, you might get tired of looking at it.

I do have some minor reservations about Swedish design company, Briklor’s promise to deliver furniture that “has an emotional and technical durability of 300” years. Ok fine, I’m sure the furniture will last, but if I live to be 300 and my furniture’s still around and kicking, I’m probably in desperate need of an overhaul of great interior decorating proportions for the sake of my sanity. That being said, the purpose of the sustainable furniture, isn’t necessarily that it will survive in one household for 300 years, but that it can be recycled and reused in a number of households while still abiding by modern home décor aesthetics so the 20th owner can appreciate the furniture as much as the 1st. Read more »

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