There were a number of green and eco-friendly flash drives on display at the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) event in Fort Worth last weekend including the T530 Riclado made from 100% Recycled PVC and show at the event by Hirsch Gift.

Hirsch lists these items as being made from post-consumer materials that have completed their life cycle and would otherwise have been disposed of as solid waste.

Hirsch also points out the T530 casing is manufactured with post-consumer recyclables collected in commercial & residential recycling programs. That is a nice touch for Ecopreneurists looking for a local tie-in.

Of course I am assuming the PVC is a fungible commodity so although the PVC comes from commercial & residential recycling programs there is no telling if they come from your local commercial & residential recycling programs.

Like most flash drives the T530 is RoHS compliant.

Hirsch was also showing off their cherry wood and bamboo drives.

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Living here in Austin, I can attest that under the right conditions, bamboo doesn’t need the care (read: water) that even organic cotton does in order to thrive.  There are yards all over the city where bamboo planted as a privacy screen has busted out all over.  It’s like kudzu, only taller.

So the idea of using bamboo for fabric is extremely appealing.  Plant it, ignore it, harvest it, fabricize it. It’s that last part that’s a problem.  How exactly is thick, reedy bamboo turned into soft, fuzzy fabric anyway?

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Pictured here are images of gifts offered by Traidcraft, the UK’s leading fair trade organization with a mission to fight poverty through trade, practicing and “promoting approaches to trade that help poor people in developing countries transform their lives.” Traidcraft’s unique structure - a trading company and a development charity working together - gives them a unique how trade can be made to work for the poor. How is fair trade defined?

“Fair trade seeks to transform the lives of poor producers in the developing world by enabling them to use their skills and resources to trade their way out of poverty. It seeks to challenge injustices in trading structures and practices that so often lead to the exploitation and marginalisation of poor people.”

Pictured above from left to right:

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This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

SanMar, one of the largest shirt manufacturers in the US, just got into the eco-friendly apparel game in a big way.

The SanMar green site at http://www.sanmar.com/Green.html boasts 27 items, many that are eco-friendly versions of their very popular Port Authority band.

Port Authority is normally ranked #1 or #2 in the promotional market industry for sales. It is the shirt most Proforma offices recommend to clients.

SanMar also is offering bamboo shirts but as yet does not seem to have a product to go up against the e.c.o. Fleece items from AshCity, however I suspect they will come out with something to compete in this area.

AshCity offers in-house embroidery services. SanMar does not (of course Proforma Green can embroider any item from any supplier).

What does all this mean for the Ecopreneurist?

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I confess that I get my kicks out of discovering “green” innovative design talent that I’m convinced has a bright future. Some friends tell me about their similar intuitions, such as predicting the fame of upcoming actors and actresses. Then others about musicians and singers. You get the idea.

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This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

If you are planning an event or teaching program that involves a lot of data please save a tree and use a flash drive.

At less than 8oz a 1GB flash drive can hold more information that 100 twenty-page teaching manuals. Use a promotional items company like ProformaGreen for your drives and we can print your logo, event name, even class title on the side of the drive.

Flash drives are easy to use and no one ever throws them away. They may erase your info but the drive will survive with your information printed on the shell. A great marketing item.

And now for the zinger, the flash memory wars are on again.

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The 70% bamboo/30% cotton blend is not only machine washable, it also makes the nursing pads soft, smooth & non-bulky.

Bamboo kun, a naturally occurring element in bamboo, makes it naturally anti-bacterial. It’s also hypo allergenic, has a cashmere-like softness that is great for babies and its porous fibers naturallys wicks moisture away from skin.

OK, the name is a little cheesy but these signs are a great idea for businesses that need eco-friendly signage which still shows a professional edge.

Primarily constructed of bamboo, the Panda Stand is an environmentally friendly retractable banner stand for the exhibit, display and graphics markets. The unit is made from 90% renewable resources (bamboo casing and pole) and designed to maximize visual impact.

The Panda Stand’s eco-friendly style helps to emphasize your message while contributing to a greener planet for us all. In fact I would say the stand itself contributes to your message.

The manufacturer - Megagraphix - is working on using a 100% recycled solution for the banner itself as well as printing the unit using 100% vegetable based dyes.

This sturdy and premium portable display unit offers the same high performance attributes as other retractable displays. Its precision-engineered retraction system makes it easy and quick to set up virtually anywhere - simply unwind the graphic stored in the bamboo base and insert the support pole.

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This plug n’ play system works with your USB 2.0 and 1.1 jacks, is Mac and PC compatible (phew!) and automatically turns on and off with your computer to conserve energy.

Did I mention how good looking it is? The hard drive is made with renewable bamboo and recyclable aluminum, the most recycled metal on the planet according to SimpleTech.

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Managing or starting up an eco spa? Trying to “green” your fitness center? Launching a new green hotel? Then this may be for you.

Pro Towels has released a new line of towels made from bamboo. They are lovely and great for any spa or water related business with a green agenda.

Bamboo as a woven material is popping up more and more in the industry. I would say it feels closer to silk than cotton and is being used in bags, totes, shirts, the usual suspects.

The Pro Towel Bamboo Collection advertises itself as a 35”x60”, heavyweight, twill hemmed and looped finished towel of 100% bamboo. Colors available are Sandalwood, Ivory, Leaf Green and Pure White.

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Bamboo can be used in wall, roof, and floor trusses, or as individual studs.  The poles generally range in size from 2 ¾” to 3 ¼” in diameter and 10 to 14 feet long, so they will easily fit into standard western construction.  According to the ICC report, they can be used in Type V non-fire-resistance rated residential and commercial construction.  In commercial construction use is limited to one story and a maximum floor area of 2000 square feet.

Bamboo makes an excellent substitute for traditional wood framing because of its rapid growth cycle.  The largest species, timber bamboo, grows to a whopping 120 feet with a 13 inch diameter in just three years.  The stalks can be cut, then left to grow again without replanting.  Growing bamboo is good for the soil as well, as it deposits minerals into the ground, and serves to prevent erosion.

The down side of this new product is the cost of transportation.  Currently the only bamboo certified for structural use comes from Vietnam and must be treated with borate.  Bamboo can be grown in almost any climate, so costs could be reduced as more is grown in the U.S.  Locally grown bamboo would also help sales of other bamboo products such as wood flooring and veneer.

To see a building in Mexico City build from structural bamboo, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomadic_Museum.

More on bamboo products: www.bambooliving.com

More information on structural bamboo: http://www.toolbase.org/Construction-Methods/Wood-Framing/structural-bamboo

To see the ICC Evaluation Service report, visit http://www.icc-es.org/

With stringent fair trade practices and extensively researched textiles she trademarked the term “Luxury Eco” to describe her line before the concept was known to the masses.  Her pieces are created in Los Angeles with fabrics like seacell (seaweed bonded to wood pulp), sasawashi (Japanese leaves), bamboo and organic cotton.

Introducing her denim line last Spring, she was the first to bring sasawashi denim to the fashion marketplace.  Linda indicates that it takes one pound of pesticides to make one traditional pair of jeans and she was determined to introduce a better alternative.  

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Here are a few tips for going green while wearing white:

The Rings: Make sure you choose conflict free diamonds and recycled gold bands if you aren’t inheriting a family ring. C5 Company, Todd Reed and Brilliant Earth are excellent designers that use recycled gold and raw diamonds thatare responsibly sourced.

The Dress: Check out ANGeLRox, Natural Bridals or Deborah Lindquist for gorgeous bridal collections that are made with organic and eco-friendly fabrics, such as hemp and silk. Heirloom dresses and vintage are also excellent choices and can be a really nice touch for your special day.

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Common production from plant to fabric is not as green as eco-minded people would like. Michael Lackman of LotusOrganics.com contributes to an impressive blog his family originated. He shares some interesting facts from extensive research.

Scrutiny is gaining attention because heavy and toxic chemicals are typically utilized to process bamboo into fabric. The alternative to chemical is mechanical processing. The mechanical method means crushing the woody parts of the bamboo plant followed by natural enzymes to break the walls into a mushy mass so that the natural fibers can be combed out and spun into yarn. This is essentially the same eco-friendly manufacturing method used to develop flax or hemp linen.

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The National Exposition of Contract Interior Furnishings (NEOCON) was held this past week in Chicago, and GreenBuildingTalk was there to check out the unique combination of over 1,200 residential and commercial showrooms and exhibits. With our goal of discovering new green products, Josh and I made our way through the maze of office furniture, flooring, wallcoverings, and hundreds of chairs.

Amidst the legions of chairs, our first discovery was RealForm Technology’s plant-based polyurethane foams, products used for seating applications. The polyurethane foams contain 20% bio-based content, and the company’s laboratory trials have achieved even higher Bio-Polyol substitution, foams capable of being molded for any type of furniture, including sofas. RealForm’s Realbio foam product is leading the way in eco-friendly furniture foam, and is one to keep an eye on.

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It is so heartening to see the growing availability and market for eco kids’ clothes. These clothes have become quite stylish over the last several years and are made from organic cotton and bamboo. The eco benefits of bamboo clothing are sometimes debated, but you can’t deny that there are many environmental and health benefits of this grass. Bamboo clothing is softer than cotton, is grown organically, is uv-resistant, adjusts to body temperatures, etc.

Bambino is a company making organic baby clothing from bamboo and cotton. These clothes are super cute and stylish. My favorite item is the Mao Mummy Pyjamas. These jammies are made from woven bamboo that is soft and has a nice texture. This product definitely matches Bambino’s mission of:

Using eco-innovation to deliver stylish and luxurious baby clothes in fun and inspiring colors, we like to keep things simple by avoiding big logos and branding.

I like to keep things simple by avoiding big brands too, and the more I read about this company’s philosophy, the more I fall in love with their products.

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But what makes this company truly stand out is the packaging! See, when you purchase a Kee-Ka item it comes housed in this nifty little brown box crafted of recycled paper that is ready to be mailed in three simple steps. No digging for wrapping paper, no searching for tape, no “This looks like my kid wrapped it” thoughts. Nada.

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