The top image is the inside of the bowl, and the bottom image is the bottom, which as you can seen was an old Rod Stewart LP!

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“Lawrence Ohlman III, MBA candidate at University of Toledo, never imagined he would be repurposing part of his student loan, starting a unique sustainable products company and marketing the first FDA approved 100% natural tableware…” Ohlman says he took the housing portion of the loan, to finance the business, as he explains: ” I moved back in with my parents and started the EcoLogic Products company, that’s what MBA’s are supposed to do; I just advanced the timeline a little! “

Made primarily from bamboo fibers; the raw material is powdered and mixed with bio-based polymers at high temperature to form a collection of sustainable (biodegradable at the end of life) and durable dinnerware. It is clear to me this company truly follows a Cradle to Cradle product philosophy and here is why:

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You may know him for his Pride & Prejudice role as Mr. Darcy or in Bridget Jones Diary, The English Patient, Shakespeare In Love, Love Actually, Girl With The Pearl Earring and most recently, Momma Mia!, but after opening two fair trade coffee shops in London, Colin Firth opened Eco-Age, a full-service green living store in Chiswick, England.   

Together with his wife, and two partners they’ve created a three story ecologically-renovated shop that provides inspiration, services and products for living a greener life.  In addition, they’ve started a campaign to make Chiswick the first “eco village” in London by encouraging businesses and homeowners to commit to:

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“This comforter is made from organic cotton fibers that haven’t been subjected to the pesticide spraying of which many farmers bear the repercussions. The EPA estimates that each year farmers in the U.S. suffer from as many as 300,000 acute illnesses caused by pesticide exposure.” ~ via Sprig

Also check out Linens ‘ n  Things : Pure Green Sanctuary Sky covers pictured here:

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For me, sunshine is so important, it makes me smile. Just think, if we could harness sunlight indoors, not only would we cut back on energy bills by twenty percent, we will also be able to nourish ourselves with indoor gardens, that heal. Here are futuristic indoor sunlight options (some visionary research projects) that may become more widely available with time (going counter-clockwise)~

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How to Get Married in Green: Have an Eco-Friendly Wedding Without Compromising on Style

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Let’s say you are decorating a skylit dayroom, nursery, or your bedrom and want a bright, happy feeling in the space. Well, if you’ve ever considered wallpaper, check out these sunlit designs offered by Seabrook Wallcoverings and Sandpiper Studios:

This new unique collection has been an inspiration for and from our studio. The designs and colors are certainly leading edge”eco” inspired but also the production process is equally inspired. All of the inks used in printing are water based and come from renewable resource forest, so no clear cutting.

If you are doing the installation yourself, or managing the renovation, try researching the safest adhesives as well. It may be worth your while to look into wallpapers that are installed with traditional wheat paste or cellulose paste. These adhesives are made from

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Mother and daughter created company, Botanical Paperworks in Winnepeg, Canada, offer beautiful Garden Greetings for your wedding; products made from plantable handmade seed paper that are both stylish and earth friendly.

Invitations, response cards, favors, guest books and more. They have what your need for your green wedding.

Botanical Paperworks stationery is made from 100% post consumer waste recycled paper and tree free cotton fibers. The seeds are North American wildflower seeds placed by hand into the paper pulp.

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The economy is causing people to cut corners in every imaginable place…weddings are no exception. Every expense is up. People struggle to make ends meet as gas and food prices continue to rise.

Who can afford to have their dream wedding in this society?

This past year in my local area I have seen the rebirth of the backyard wedding. Everywhere I went there were signs: so and so’s wedding, wedding reception here…and all the signs were in front of houses and pointed towards backyards.

I live next door and across the street from an American Legion and a Polish Legion. Both very popular rental venues for weddings and other parties. In past years they were bustling with noise and people every weekend, sometimes everyday of the weekend with weddings and parties going on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This summer they remained mostly quiet and empty.

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from Domino, I noticed how wonderful their upfront spotlight on energy saving tips is.

For instance, this featured focus on minimizing our eco footprint is great!

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The artichoke branches & moon recycled cotton throw pictured below,

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The artist’s vision is to utilize the disciplines of painting and mosaic to create a connected collection of representational or abstract images in segments of brilliant color. The goal of the work is to utilize resources that would otherwise go to waste. It’s described as an organic communion of thought and inspiration. The faces portrayed are imagined to be images from advertising ephemera and motivated by the constant external stimuli of art and beauty, fashion and design.

The artist says

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This chair design takes healing house-plants to a whole new level. It is the “Let’s grow some balls! ” seat by Doreen Westphal who presented this object in april at the Salone Internazionale de Mobile as part of the Tuttobene (www.tuttobene.nl) exhibition in the Via Tortona. Their blog post explains:

“Let´s grow some balls! is a combination of lounge chair and plant container from recycled plastic. The design is a spontaneous and yes; very direct reaction on the ‘tegenlicht’ documentary here in Holland which introduced the cradle2cradle production principle. Let’s grow some balls! is a call to us designers to take more responsibility for the things we make.”

The shape changes every time, depending on the plants grown inside the ball. Some examples include the mediteranian herbal garden, tulips or exotic plants,

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Look at this genius kitchen set up by Dutch designer John Arndt via design sprout. It uses the genius inner workings and complex yet simple systems in nature as a beautiful example of how to go about sustainable design. This marvelous piece of furniture was engineered to use the waste from one process to fuel the others. For example, the mini ecosystem design includes

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Woods in Bruce’s sculptures are acquired from sustainable growth trees, not rain forests. In fact Bruce is a Rainforest Action Network activist who makes custom metal creations for businesses, architects, individuals, and the film industry. His works have been displayed in many museums and art galleries; printed in newspapers, books, and magazines; and shown in films and television.

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Alabama Chanin creates an “array of limited-edition products for the individual and home. Using a mixture of new, organic and recycled materials our products are constructed with care by artisans who live and work in our local communities. All of the Alabama Chanin products lines are made-by-hand in the USA.”

A.C. has jewelry, interiors fabrics, t-shirts, home collections, a special organic series and more.

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For those of you looking to re-upholster that charming antique love seat set or chaise lounge, and want to do it right, try Rubie Green upholstery fabrics.

Rubie Green (homepage images above) is an eco-upholstery fabric company with the creative philosophy:

“It’s a barefoot walk in the sand; it’s a lazy afternoon nap, and it’s your first sight of the Mediterranean coast. It’s life at its simplest, and nature in its wordless beauty. Here at Rubie Green, our mission is to dress your surroundings in fabrics that represent vitality, energy, comfort and style, all while maintaining respect to the environment by using only 100% organic cotton. We believe in classic designs that are familiar to every decade, re-vitalized in an eco-friendly manner. We know that natural does not mean boring, and that interiors make a house a home.”

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Every once in a while I like to cruise around online (some low-carbon cruising!) to check out cool green home furnishings. I went to some of my old favorite haunts, as well as some new ones– and was totally overwhelmed with all of the gorgeous furniture design going on out there in the eco-sphere. Let me share some really lovely pieces with you.

One of my favorite craftsmen in Brandon Morrison of Whyr’hymer Furniture. He uses totally sustainable materials in his pieces and they are just stunning. He uses only FSC-certified woods and non-toxic finishes. He makes spectacular tables, beds, cabinets and some of the most distinctive lighting fixtures I’ve ever seen. At left you see the exquisite Ladies Rose Cabinet. The Whyr’hymer website is also just a rich visual experience, so take a spin and enjoy!

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Like Amenity, Mod Green Pod, and Oliveira Textiles, the fun new fabrics from Rubie Green are high end decorator fabrics with a high end price tag: about $90 per yard.

But oh, the lovely!

Pictured above are Megan, Patsy, and Portobello.  Rubie Green’s full line of fabrics includes two stripes, a zigzag, a funky zebra stripe print, a kind of lattice looking print, and a floral.  The zebra stripe and the zigzag come in two colorways each, and Patsy also comes in green, for a total of 12 fabrics.

What makes these fabrics green?  Well, here’s the rundown from their website:

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Organic Bouquet, based in San Rafael, California, was successfully launched nationwide in August 2002. The business originated with the goal to establish the national market for organic flowers. But cofounder Prolman said it was hard convincing growers to convert. However thankfully, the pursuits of combined commitments, charitable fund-raising partnerships, and determination resulted in a reliable certified organic distribution system.

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