Green Options

Since yurt kits are typically shipped to the building site without a floor, anything other than a local resource requires orchestration. That’s because the floor is ideally finished before the yurt is erected.

Alterego in Maryland can discuss the feasibility of FSC certified hardwood, cork, bamboo, linoleum, or rubber floor materials for your yurt structure. The company is owned by architects who offer sustainable products with modern designs.

Birki Schuh GmbH was founded in 1993 by Stephan Birkenstock. His General Manager title remains for the Birki’s brand today. His famous cork-latex footbed feature was highlighted from the beginning. So were his anatomically molded footbeds.

The German Birki’s brand offers a large vegan all-age shoe collection that ranges from cork sandals to water-friendly clogs, and lots in between. Those special footbeds are made of cork, ALPRO®-cell or ALPRO®-foam, which are terrific shock absorbing materials.

If you’re anything like me, you tend to hoard things that look like they may be useful later: empty thread spools, glass jars, bottle caps, and those ubiquitous wine corks.

[Creative Commons photo by Claudio Matsuoka]

I’ve got a big bowl of corks in the kitchen that’s mocking me. They dare me to find a project to use them up. Well the joke’s on you, little corks! I didn’t just find one way to turn you into something new. I found ten.

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

I like beer. I like pubs.

I guess that is why I am still talking about eco-friendly coasters. As I mentioned before we are doing some research on eco-friendly coasters for Intrepid Travel and now that research has lead me to cork coasters.

And this is the thing, cork has been around forever. According to the dictionary the origin of the word itself dates from between 1275–1325 AD.

This is an old material, but how many of us think of it as a green material? Hemp and Jute have also been around for a long, long time and they are considered green. Why not cork?

The thing that got me thinking about this are these core coaster from Americanna. When I asked Americanna if they had an eco-friendly coaster they immediately came back with cork.

This morning as I woke up to my clock radio, the one minute Project Green segment came on the Rush Limbaugh leaning KNCO AM. It reported on a recent meeting of California wine growers, all 26 of which are talking preliminary to major efforts to green their operations, product, and packaging.

Somehow this doesn’t surprise me. Vintners are acutely aware of the health of their environment, their plants, and the resulting product. With the refined and particular tastes of many of their consumers, a lackluster wine will lead to lackluster profits. Beyond that though, their customers are, I would venture to guess, more likely to be of the LOHAS mindset, choosing what they consume based on more factors then simply the cheapest available. They want everything they touch to have thought, consciousness, and a lighter impact on the planet factored into them.

How can a wine be green? The grapes themselves can of course be organic, the growing method biodynamic. But what else?

Cork is just one of those materials that I never give much thought to. It just keeps my wine fresh and makes a great organizational board. Lately, however, I have seen cork popping up more and more on Etsy and discovered that it is actually a great environmentally friendly product. Here is what I learned:

Cork is harvested from the outer layer of bark of the Cork Oak [...]

Cork is a great jewelry material. It is 100% recycled and recyclable, flexible, and water repellent.

Each piece is individually cut from a single block used for storage and display. Will fit men and women.

Sold by STUDIO 1 a.m. for $48

Designed & Made by Donna Piacenza

There’s more than just bamboo when it comes to sustainable flooring. More green alternatives are available now for several types of flooring material. So, whether you’re looking to re-carpet the living room or want to re-do your kitchen, here are a few things to consider when thinking about flooring.

Buy recycled content or renewable materials.

• Bamboo and cork are renewable resources, as is wood when it is sustainably harvested.
• Look for

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Recently, I visited a local store called Solutions looking for an easy floor wax to revitalize my maple floors. I had done a little research online, and every product I read about required long periods of no traffic after application and buffing. I remembered my parents old buffing machine, and laughed at the prospect of buying yet another cleaning appliance. The owner of Solutions suggested Protex brand Premium Self-Polishing Wax

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Ever since the French monk Dom Perignon searched for the perfect closure for his new sparking wine in the early 16oos, the cork stopper has been a cultural staple that is synonymous with the celebration of opening a new bottle of wine. Since the new millennium, worldwide wine production has become a larger and more popular industry. New wine producing regions are moving towards alternative wine closures, therefore putting the

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