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The newborn collection is designed for babies with sensitive skin. The organic cottons come in subtle pastels and natural cream colors. Baby nursery rhymes come to life with her signature embroidery. You can choose the rhyme that suits your little one best.

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Meet Jennifer Murphy. She is a Chicago resident who lives with her husband, daughter, and son. They hold a family passion for farm animals and the future of our environment. Jennifer’s mission is to improve the lives of others through her talents, creativity, intuition and knowledge. She produces modern fun baby and toddler clothes from sustainable fabrics.

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That’s what happened to Rachel. So she decided to create exclusive and unique hand sewn or stitched garments with plenty of spunk and pizzaz. Her passion started and continues from vintage treasures. Durability was also important to Rachel, so each item is made to last.

Vintage pieces are incorporated into designs that bring a little from the past into the present. Her favorite materials to work with are tulle, velvet, speciality ribbons, laces and  good quality silk flowers. That’s recycling fun!

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So, what’s Project Green Search? It’s an educational platform designed to “… [inspire] young people to start thinking about how to align their careers with their environmental ethics.” As Greenloop sells sustainable fashion, a model search seemed like a natural fit: not only can fashion models have quite an impact on other young people, but the fashion industry has a pretty heavy environmental footprint. The sector badly needs great young minds with a sense of style to ensure that it addresses environmental challenges while still producing couture people want to wear.

Started on August 7th, the entry period for the model competition will run through September 16th. On the 17th, the public can vote on entrants, and ten finalists will be invited to Portland Fashion Week for interviews with judges, and a photo shoot with fashion photographer Courtney Daily. After a runway show, judge will choose the winner. She will receive:

• a contract with Option Model Management;
• a complete make-over and eco-fashion wardrobe;
• a professional photography session with Courtney Dailey; and
• a natural & organic beauty shopping spree.

Sound like the opportunity you’ve needed to break into the business? Head over to Project Green Search to enter.

The Demeter Egyptian cotton is super-soft, absorbent and breathable. Plus it’s the rarest, most luxurious fabric in the world. Both individuals and retailers are invited to shop online for baby clothes, toys, diapers, and women’s menstrual pads.

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Beware the entry deadline is fast approaching on August 31st, 2009 and judging will be completed by October 1st, 2009. The competition is sponsored by USGBC, The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and The Hospitality Industry Network (NEWH).

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How many colleges and universities are participating in the 2009 Recyclemania? 510

College sports fans will likely say “That’s not an accurate comparison, Jeff.” They’re probably right… but, the question remains: Have you ever heard of Recyclemania?

I hadn’t until checking my feed reader today.  Apparently, I’m not alone: I checked most of the other big green blogs, and found nary a mention in any posts. There was one passing mention of it on Ecolocalizer, but it was far from the focus of the post.

Now, I don’t bring up this lack of coverage (at least within the green web) to criticize anyone, but rather to express my amazement — this thing’s huge! Founded in 2001 “as a friendly challenge between recycling coordinators at two schools in Ohio, Miami University and Ohio University,” Recyclemania now coordinates participating colleges and universities from all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and, for the first time, schools from outside the United States.

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Forget the Oscar buzz.

Check out our Climate Activist’s Choice Award and vote for your favorite. Voting ends this Monday.

Watch and vote now

Global warming solutions are complicated. So, we challenged filmmakers and concerned citizens from around the country to explain in just 30 seconds how capping global warming pollution could help solve our oil addiction.

We are thrilled with the creativity and insight of our five finalist videos. And now you have the chance to help pick the winner.

The video with the most votes will receive the Climate Activist’s Choice Award, with a prize of $1000. And, we will run the winning video as a TV ad to pressure Congress to pass a national cap on global warming pollution.

Plus, we will offset one pound of global warming pollution for every vote cast.

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Or do you think you’re sophisticated because you read a bunch of books and pay attention to world news? Then test your knowledge of geography with these quick and fun online games, you nerd!

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And often growth goes hand in hand with competition as companies scrabble to increase their share of a finite market.

Trouble is, anti-trust legislation introduces a certain ceiling beyond which a business may not grow within a sector.

So to keep on taking money from consumers, a business has to start expanding in a different sector. Most of the time this means buying an existing company, which also happens to eliminate future competition.

Businesses often justify this by saying greater consumer value can be achieved through merging backroom processes and increasing purchasing power. Good for the consumer you may think .. or is it?

The Real Consequences Of Business Growth

Three things happen when backroom efficiencies are introduced:

1. people lose their jobs, reducing the money in circulation, lowering living standards and reducing peoples’ ability to buy lasting quality;
2. products are made from cheaper products, forcing consumers to buy several low quality items instead of one good quality one;
3. innovation, competition and variety take second place as large companies concentrate on which common denominators they can sell for the greatest profit, eradicating consumer choice.

Are any of these consequences really in the public’s interests?

Destructive Competition Across Sectors

Take the growth of large supermarkets as an example. Not content with decimating the retail environment for food, electricals, health and clothing they’re now (in the UK) moving into restaurants, financial services and publishing.

Rather than bringing value to consumers, today’s practice simply eliminates competition, value and employment. Worse of all, it makes several industries reliant on a handful of companies, undermining the overall stability of an entire economy.

Government, bullied by big business, has allowed this to happen. Too many times during the financial crisis have we heard “this institution is too big to allow it to fail”. This means only one thing: businesses have grown too large.

A new framework is required which emphasises the need for a mutually supporting network throughout the economy alongside to support value driven competition within each sector.

Making Growth and Competition Good For All

As a first step, sectors need to be redefined or segmented, and businesses restricted to owning a certain percentage of spend in any one of these smaller packages. No company should be allowed to compete in more than, say, three of these new sector packages.

This will ensure an individual organisation cannot corner consumer spend in the way supermarkets or banks have. The same goes for service industries and B2B supply chain considerations.

The economic madness of biggest is best-est has to stop. The past of giant leviathans which can bring an entire country to their knees the moment they stumbles should be left behind. The future of small and agile , collaborative and competitive has arrived.

What do you think? Is this the way for the economy to move forward, or should we count upon greater centralisation and consolidation across sectors to provide stability for the years to come?

Leave a comment below. We’ve had some great opinions throughout this series and I look forward to reading some more!

Picture Credit: “Working Together Teamwork Puzzle Concept” by lumaxart from Flickr under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License.

Clean Tech Call for Entries

“The California Clean Tech Open is unique among business plan competitions: it seeks entries from professionals, scientists and students alike; focuses solely on clean technology; and […] the prize package of cash, services and office space goes above and beyond other awards and is not typically available to early-stage start-ups.“

Eligible entries are accepted in categories as diverse as green building; smart power; air, water and waste management; energy efficiency; renewables; and transportation. Competition winners will be showered with an incredible array of resources designed to fast-track the startup phase. The generous prize packages include $50,000 in cash, one year of office space, legal and insurance services, marketing support, accounting services, and enrollment in the exclusive Summer Workshop Series for entrepreneurs.

Not ready to share your big idea with the world? CCTO offers a wealth of resources for non-entrants, including:

CCTO Sustainability Starter Kit

Formerly reserved for competition winners, CCTO’s extensive Sustainability Starter Kit is now available for download at no cost to curious clean tech ecopreneurs. Proposing concrete solutions to a broad range of challenges faced by sustainability change agents, the kit includes information on topics such as:

• Sustainable supply chain management
• Waste management strategies
• Company case studies
• The five rules of green marketing
• B2B resources for forward-thinking companies

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  ]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/06/11/countdown-to-the-california-clean-tech-open/feed/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/27/free-range-studios-offers-free-marketing-for-worthy-causes/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/27/free-range-studios-offers-free-marketing-for-worthy-causes/#comments Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:26:45 +0000 Julie Sammons http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/27/free-range-studios-offers-free-marketing-for-worthy-causes/ The sought-after studio behind famed viral videos “The Meatrix,” “Grocery Store Wars,” and “The Story of Stuff” wants to craft your next marketing campaign — for free. Known for their humorous approach to sustainable social media, the talented team at Free Range Studios invites you to compete for some top-shelf promotional assistance.

  “Through Free Range’s 2008 Gratitude Grant program, we are offering up to $15,000 worth of design and/or strategic communications services from our menu of core offerings: strategy consulting, identity design, web design, print design, and online movies.

  So what do you want to “ink” this year? A new campaign strategy? A website? A fresh logo? A never-before-seen Internet tool? As long as you have a concrete goal and a concrete goal to make a positive difference for our planet and its people, we encourage you to apply.”

  Eager to join the ranks of previous grantees such as the Global Footprint Calculator or ChangingthePresent.org? Act fast and submit your organization’s eight-question application form by 5:00pm on Thursday, May 1st.

  A small business success story of its own, Free Range is committed to helping fellow social change agents succeed. Even non-contestants come out ahead by downloading Free Range’s fantastic PDF guides to effective communication strategies.

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  ]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/04/27/free-range-studios-offers-free-marketing-for-worthy-causes/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/03/24/100-mpge-automotive-x-prize-offers-10-million-purse/ http://gas2.org/2008/03/24/100-mpge-automotive-x-prize-offers-10-million-purse/#comments Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:45:37 +0000 Clayton B. Cornell http://gas2.org/2008/03/24/100-mpge-automotive-x-prize-offers-10-million-purse/

  Teams from around the world are gearing up for the Automotive X Prize, a competition that will award part of $10 million to the team that builds the cleanest production-ready 100 MPGe (mile per gallon equivalent) vehicle.

  This isn’t a race centered on space-age concept cars that will never see a US highway, but aims to jump-start the auto industry with revolutionary, super-efficient vehicles that consumers will actually want to buy. Entries must be ready for production and have a business plan outlining how they’ll be brought to market. They’ll also be judged on safety, cost, and features.

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  ]]> http://gas2.org/2008/03/24/100-mpge-automotive-x-prize-offers-10-million-purse/feed/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/03/04/enter-the-reconnect-design-competition-for-urban-entrepreneurs/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/03/04/enter-the-reconnect-design-competition-for-urban-entrepreneurs/#comments Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:11:21 +0000 Julie Sammons http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/03/04/enter-the-reconnect-design-competition-for-urban-entrepreneurs/ You’re an ideas person. It’s why running your own business appeals to you, and it’s the reason why you see solutions where others see problems. Turn those ideas into exposure this summer by entering the Re:Connect urban design competition.

  A 200-word essay, a clever solution, and a $25 fee secure your entry into this international competition that seeks to build sustainable urban communities. Re:Connect encourages ecopreneurs to consider the role of technology in urban environments, the localization of key services, and biomimetic neighborhood design.

  Register for the competition by June 1st and submit your innovative entry by June 15th for consideration. Prizes include $2,000 in cash, media promotion, and the opportunity to sustainably transform an urban landscape. While on the Re:Connect site, be sure to browse additional competitions and resources including:

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  ]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/03/04/enter-the-reconnect-design-competition-for-urban-entrepreneurs/feed/ http://ecotalitylife.greenoptions.com/2007/08/03/ecotality-automotive-x-prize-announces-first-31-competitors-for-100mpg-competition/ http://ecotalitylife.greenoptions.com/2007/08/03/ecotality-automotive-x-prize-announces-first-31-competitors-for-100mpg-competition/#comments Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:47:12 +0000 Ecotality Life http://ecotalitylife.greenoptions.com/2007/08/03/ecotality-automotive-x-prize-announces-first-31-competitors-for-100mpg-competition/

  Editor’s note: This week, Ecotality’s Bill Hobbs takes a look at the Automotive X-Prize, a competition to develop a 100mpg automobile. This post was originally published on August 2, 2007.

  The Automotive X-Prize has announced the first 31 teams accepted into their competition to create a commercially viable car that gets at least 100mpg. Among the teams accepted: Tesla Motors, Zap, Phoenix Motorcars, Fuel Vapor Technology and Team Velozzi. According to organizers over 300 teams have expressed interest in the competition and are considering jumping in. Commercial viability is a key criteria for picking the winner - the teams must demonstrate not just performance but also business plan showing that they can sell at least 10,000 of their vehicles annually.

  Here’s the press release…

  The Automotive X PRIZE (AXP), a competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles to help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change, announced today that over 30 teams have signed a letter of intent to compete once the prize is officially funded and launched.

  The international competition, in which qualified teams will compete head to head, aims to dramatically increase consumer access to ultra-efficient, clean, affordable and desirable vehicles. The 30 plus teams include diverse groups from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland. More than 300 additional teams have inquired about joining and are actively considering entry.

  “We are thrilled with the wide variety of teams and technologies from around the world that have expressed an interest in joining the competition,” said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, CEO and Chairman, X PRIZE Foundation. “We are confident that the Automotive X PRIZE will motivate and bring visibility to a range of non-traditional solutions from both traditional and non-traditional players. The time for incremental change is over. We need radical breakthroughs to stem the consumption of fossil fuels. An X PRIZE can help make this happen.”

  The independent and technology-neutral AXP competition is open to teams from around the world to prove they can design, build and bring to market 100 MPG or equivalent fuel economy vehicles that people want to buy. Industry experts will scrutinize team plans. Those that qualify will race their vehicles in rigorous cross-country stages that combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance. The winners will be the vehicles that exceed 100 MPG equivalent, fall under strict emissions caps and finish in the fastest time.

  The Automotive X-Prize is from the same folks who created the Ansari X-Prize for the first successful private-sector rocket launch to reach space.

  The competition is intended to be technology-neutral, meaning the vehicles don’t have to run on gasoline, and indeed many of the teams entering the competition are proposing vehicles that don’t use gasoline at all. As the presser explains, the winning vehicle must get “100 MPG or equivalent fuel economy,” though how equivalence is calculated isn’t explained.

  The following 30 teams have signed a letter of intent signaling their intent to apply for the AXP competition:

  • Aptera Motors - California, USA
  • Commuter Cars Corp. - Washington, USA
  • Cornell University - New York, USA
  • DEHyds - Washington, USA
  • Delta Motorsport - Northants, UK
  • Desert Fuel - Arizona, USA
  • Disruptech - California, USA
  • Dragonfly Technology LTD - Northhampton, UK
  • Fuel Vapor Technologies - British Columbia, Canada
  • GreenIt! - Oregon, USA
  • Herf Duo - Berlin, Germany
  • HyKinesys - California, USA
  • Kinetic Vehicles - Oregon, USA
  • Kuttner Doran Inventions - Virginia, USA
  • Loremo AG - Munich, Germany
  • Maine Automotive X - Maine, USA
  • MDI, Inc. & Zero Pollution Motors LLC - New York, USA
  • Michigan Vision - Michigan, USA
  • MotoTron Corporation - Wisconsin, USA
  • Phoenix Motorcars - California, USA
  • Porteon Electric Vehicles, Inc. - Oregon, USA
  • Prometheus Systems, LLC - Arizona, USA
  • Psycho-Active - Georgia, USA
  • Roane Inventions - Texas, USA
  • Society for Sustainable Mobility - California, USA
  • Spirit One - Alberta, Canada
  • Valentin Technologies - Wisconsin, USA
  • Tesla Motors - California, USA
  • Velozzi - California, USA
  • X Tracer - Winterthur, Switzerland
  • ZAP Motors - California, USA

  The prize: an as yet unannounced sum of millions of dollars. The Ansari X-Prize for space flight was $10 million.

  ]]> http://ecotalitylife.greenoptions.com/2007/08/03/ecotality-automotive-x-prize-announces-first-31-competitors-for-100mpg-competition/feed/ http://elizabethredmond.greenoptions.com/2007/07/20/eco-effective-decisions-vote-on-sustainable-design-for-the-future/ http://elizabethredmond.greenoptions.com/2007/07/20/eco-effective-decisions-vote-on-sustainable-design-for-the-future/#comments Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:12:53 +0000 Elizabeth Redmond http://elizabethredmond.greenoptions.com/2007/07/20/eco-effective-decisions-vote-on-sustainable-design-for-the-future/ In the design world, often times young architecture/design firms and even individual designers will apply to competitions during the young part of their career to get public recognition, build credentials, and experience the social circuits around design.

  
  As a young aspiring designer myself, I have made a keen observation of the design industry this year. Many of the call-for-entries and competitions this year have been for solutions related to sustainable development, energy, climate, biodiversity, environmental degradation, etc. Naturally we would expect these type of call-for-entries to come through the EPA grant programs, the NRDC, and other governmental organizations for the environment. Instead the call for action is coming from design firms, architecture magazines and other NGOs alike.

  Allow me to take this opportunity to highlight some of the forthcoming competitions and competitions past that have sparked interest in publications of all sorts. The entries to these competitions not only alert us to solutions most of us have never thought of, but through the venue of these competitions many will have the opportunity to be realized! The following are just a few examples of the aforementioned. Look out world, great solutions are coming!!!

  Design 21: the Social Design Network, is a mainly internet based collaborative project between the global design and merchandise company- Felissimo; and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (known as UNESCO). They seek to inspire social activism through design- design for the greater good. “We connect people who want to explore ways design can positively impact our many worlds, and who want to create change here, now.” Design 21 has been hosting international competitions since 1995 mostly based around social themes.

  This year, one competition called Heated Issue, was a call for an environmental campaign; another was for an educational “Childs Play” toy that encourages children to cultivate their own imagination; and the third, Shelter Me, is for a new design of a natural disaster temporary relief shelter. The competition award recipients were voted on by the public, and the winners were just announced! So go ahead, view the future!

  Metropolis Magazine: an architecture, design, interiors magazine has strongly directed its focus towards sustainable development in design over the last few years. Annually, they host a design competition called the Next Generation Design Competition that awards $10,000 to the winner and they choose a list of runner-up proposals that get published as well. This year the competition focused on solutions for ENERGY reduction, consumption, efficiencies and alternatives. The award recipients this year designed a city streetlight that conserves urban energy based on the lunar cycle. Check it out. Metropolis also just announced next year’s theme: WATER.

  Droog Design: an international design collective based in Amsterdam, seeks to “create innovative concepts that change perspectives." This past month they had a call for entries for concepts based on Climate Change. As a result of picking a winner, they hope to develop a product that pushes boundaries, changes perspectives of environmental issues, and invent new experiences, interactions, and participations… How exciting. Droog will select the top 10 designs, and the public will be able vote online to pick the winner. Public voting begins in September, so look it up and get your vote on.

  Aside from the competitions calling specifically for sustainability conscious and socially responsible entries, many award recipients of internationally acclaimed annual design competitions are being recognized for their environmental awareness. Competitions such as the ID Annual Review, the Red Dot Design Award and the Spark Awards. This interesting progression is to be noted among the design circuits as a landmark in sustainable development. Lets hope that this is not the trend of the year but an annual progression towards more socially and sustainability conscious design and cradle-to-cradle conscious products.

  ]]> http://elizabethredmond.greenoptions.com/2007/07/20/eco-effective-decisions-vote-on-sustainable-design-for-the-future/feed/ http://jeffmcintirestrasburg.greenoptions.com/2007/01/18/search-engine-optimization-meets-climate-change/ http://jeffmcintirestrasburg.greenoptions.com/2007/01/18/search-engine-optimization-meets-climate-change/#comments Thu, 18 Jan 2007 03:25:58 +0000 Jeff McIntire-Strasburg http://jeffmcintirestrasburg.greenoptions.com/2007/01/18/search-engine-optimization-meets-climate-change/ We've seen plenty of evidence that the tech world has caught the green bug, and now the search engine optimization (SEO) folks are getting on board. Swedish-based web marketing company Getupdated has announced the creation of the SEO World Championship, and the first one started on Monday. The phrase for which web masters and SEO experts are optimizing in this first competition: "GlobalWarming Awareness2007." Contest creators hope to have fierce competition among webheads aiming for top spots on Google, Yahoo!, and MSN Live, and to generate awareness for climate change along the way. According to Getupdated's press release,

  This unique SEO contest is targeting a significant cause as well as trying to make a global difference. The project focuses on creating world consciousness of our continuous planet heat rise. "The SEO World Championship selected this keyword with the purpose of creating worldwide awareness related to the issue of the Earth heat rise". Our contestants will write valuable content about what we can do to prevent Global Warming" said Luar Buso, Vice President for Getupdated Internet marketing.

  Search engine optimization is all about getting the word out via the web, so hopefully we'll see some valuable content created on the climate crisis. The contest runs through May 1st; I'm thinking about putting a link to the search on Google so we can keep track of both the horserace and the information presented. Now, if they could just offer greener prizes…

  Crossposted at sustainablog

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