Green Options » eco-friendly

Yearn Worthy Yarn: Linen

Kelly Rand — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:55:36 +0000

My pick for a sustainable, green, yearn worthy-ness yarn for this week is a plant fiber. Yup plant, not animal like yak or quivit or just plain old sheep.

This week I’ve been hunting down linen.

Linen is that elusive fiber that I sometimes come across in interesting summertime knitting patterns for open weave shirts, tunics and shawls. I always make a mental note of it, thinking, huh linen. But I’ve never actually made anything with it.

Linen itself is harvested from the flax plant which produces long and strong fibers known as linen. It has a natural luster and is found in creamy white to tan and can easily be dyed other colors. It is mostly known for bedding and towels made from the strong fabric that is created when the linen is woven.

Less known is the yarn itself, which while not labeled “organic,” is pretty environmentally friendly. The flax plant can grow most anywhere with little to no pesticides and is very similar in its growth to hemp, which we know is also a good eco-friendly fiber.

Louet of North America makes a nice linen yarn in many many beautiful colors. Euroflax is available is sport weight, worsted and chunky. This yarn is machine washable and dryable, making it great and accessible for many projects. Linen yarn itself has poor elasticity and does not spring back readily, but it does hold a stitch giving it great definition, perfect for cables.

Euroflax linen yarn is available in most stores and online. Check out Claudia hand painted linen yarn available at the Yarn Co, too.

Mona over at Textiles and Bicycles had a similar experience with hunting down linen yarn. Check out her experiences with linen yarn.

Image credit: Purl Soho

Pharmaka: Eco-Friendly Art and Conversation

Courtney Carlisle — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:53:16 +0000

Say hello to Pharmaka, a sustainable art gallery who’s mission is to use art as a guide to instigate and inspire discussions about relevant world issues. The impressive downtown LA-based space, which is eco-friendlier thanks to the recent help of HBO’s new show, Alter Eco, will begin hosting curated exhibitions, lectures, panel discussions, podcasts, and accessible community programming and events.

The original founders: Shane Guffogg , John Scane and Vonn Sumner, will focus on contemporary art as catalyst for good dialogue on current issues and events. The gallery is currently hosting an exhibit on abstract Latino art, called Rebel Legacy and will be offering Artwalk Thursdays as well as hosting an upcoming LA Green Drinks meeting.

Four ways to wipe out “green fatigue”

Olga Orda — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:40:48 +0000

You’ve started a green team and seven weeks later, your once ecstatic committee of cubicle warriors by day, green champions by night (a.k.a your green employees) begin to dwindle in numbers. Even the most eager employees look like they would prefer to be idling in traffic than be here listening to your green pitch.

Preston Koerner wrote a valuable article in Green Biz on how to prevent “green fatigue” and separate it from the “green noise” amongst customers in response to a recent commentary on eco-overload in the New York Times.

As Williams points out, fatigue, confusion and contradiction amongst customers is vivid in today’s advertising landscape. Canada’s Competition Bureau has even announced a crackdown on environmental claims in advertising and labelling. But, how can a leader stop green fatigue from stymieing the ongoing efforts of its staff? Here are the five S’s to keep sustainability flourishing from the inside out:

1. Shake things up

How can use of the hot-button, resource intensive “tools” at the office - like paper, packaging, energy and vehicles - lend themselves to more creative solutions? Here’s a few ideas to get the juices flowing:

Carpool Day
If you have a large enough green team with staff that commute from the suburbs:
i. Have staff write down their name and their neighbourhood on a piece of paper.
ii. Match up names into boxes according to neighborhoods;
iii. Do a weekly draw to see who carpools with whom and;
iv. Voila! Instant conversation between the Accountant and the Maketer, not to mention C02-reduced commuting.

Green intrapreneurs
Google allows its engineers to spend 20% of their working time on projects that they are passionate about. This has allowed employees to produce Google Suggest, AdSense for Content and Orkut. While 20% may not be feasible for some companies, try for 5% to start. It boosts employee moral, provides a sense of ownership and may just help create a recycling system that helps the whole company make green while going green.

2. Show honesty
Just when you have a product that has both positive and negative environmental attributes and you’re working to improve the negative attributes, you want to be upfront to employees about that office kitchen composting initiative that went south.

Say it like it is, find out why an initiative failed to get off the ground or just plain stunk (no pun intended), have a laugh and move on.

3. Scintillating conversation
Bring in a green speaker. It doesn’t need to be someone from Speaker’s. Call up the unlikely green heros you read about in your community paper that morning. I’m sure they would be thrilled to come and talk about how they donated solar paneled, hand-cranked internet-enabled $100 laptops to children in developing countries.

4. Step down
Finally, sometimes an idea deserves to die, if only momentarily. Let it. Sometimes, it’s time to delegate the green champion to best successor in your committee. Let go, if only to see your green team revive itself with new energy.

As echoed by Arthur D. Little: regulation, rising energy costs and increased consumer pressure on businesses are driving corporations to chose sustainable buying - and indeed, many start from a humble “green team” - to lower costs and build more valuable business practices.

Print green. Save a tree. And, look good while you’re at it. Learn how many trees, C02 emissions and waste water you can saving using Green Printer’s Eco-Calculator - with sources from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

—-

News byte: Why should we care about keeping our forests or more specifically, our rainforests anyway? What it costs says it well:

“Tropical rainforests help cool the planet by absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide and producing clouds that reflect sunlight and heat away from the earth. Experts say that between 25 and 30% of the world’s GHG emissions are the result of deforestation. The World Bank reports that 85% of Indonesia’s 3,014 million tons of CO2e emissions are caused by fires and deforestation, making it the third worst offender in the world for GHG emissions (behind China and the United States).”

Correction: Adsense for content was not produced by google engineers in their 20% free time. It was an acquisition of a Santa Monica-based firm. Orkut also arose from work outside the company.

Conflict Free Diamonds and Recycled Gold are a Girl’s Best Friend

Courtney Carlisle — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:22:39 +0000

The search for the perfect wedding ring (or special piece of jewelry for that matter!) can be a harried and overwhelming process, but the designers at Brilliant Earth have an eye for high style and elegant design that will leave the most fashionable eco-chick swooning.

Men - take note - not only are these gorgeous pieces, but they are also guilt-free: as in, the designers source conflict-free stones and recycled gold material when possible. Not to mention the company supports local communities in Africa that are usually affected by poor mining conditions and where most conflict diamonds are a source of funds for civil war. Not exactly the image that you want to conjure when you are admiring your custom designed ring glistening on your finger.

Pack a Green Picnic This Summer

Deb Hiett — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:32:05 +0000

Eco-Friendly, Biodegradable Tableware from Let’s Go Green

Picnic in green style this summer with eco-friendly biodegradable plates & bowls, and compostable utensils and cups from Let’s Go Green. Made from sugarcane fibers, these bowls and plates are 100% biodegradable, but sturdy enough for your sloppiest Joes. Their 16- and 20-oz. plastic cups are made from corn, and their PSM (plastic starch material), compost-certified utensils will naturally decompose back to organic elements. Let’s Go Green also offers 100% recycled lunch and dinner napkins, recycled without chlorine bleaching.

Save big when you buy their Picnic Sampler, which includes 50 each of knives, forks, spoons, and 9″ plates — all for only $19.99.

Let’s Go Green has dozens of wonderful products for every room in your home. In fact, a great housewarming gift is one of their Green Home Starter Kits…. Each Green Home Starter Kit is designed depending on how many bathrooms you have in your house, and includes lightbulbs, a water-saving showerhead, sandwich bags, trash bags, wood cleaner, sponges, all purpose cleaner, paper towels, dish detergent, bath tissue, a tote bag, and much more.

If your company, school, church, non-profit, or community group is looking for a great way to raise money, consider the popular and innovative green fundraising program from Let’s Go Green. It not only raises money for organizations, it raises awareness about how each of us can make a difference in the environment with every single household purchase we make.

Labor of Love Week Give Away: Win a Pair of IsaBooties or an Envirosax!

Susie Kim — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:58:24 +0000

As part of Eco Child’s Play Labor of Love series on birth stories, natural birth, hospital births, and home births, our writers will be sharing their birthing and pregnancy stories. We’d like to hear your birth stories too, whether you are a mother, father, grandparent, or adoptive parent.

We are encouraging our readers to share their thoughts and birth stories by hosting a giveaway contest.

Entries in the contest are made by leaving a comment or birth story on the Green Options Forum. At the end of the week (6/28), we will randomly pick two winners for this giveaway. Up for grabs are:

IsaBootie: Funky and Stylish Soft Soled Baby Shoes

Isabooties are the perfect little companions are your baby’s developing feet. Uber stylish yet soft soled as the pediatrician recommends for the first two years of baby’s life. It’s eco-friendly to boot. If you can’t wait to get yours; then take advantage of the 15% discount by entering the coupon code “ecochildsplay” during checkout. Go to Isabootie to get yours today. It’s valid until August 31st.

You can also win an Envirosax! Envirosax children’s reuseable shopping bags have really quirky graphics and vibrant colors (truth be told, all of their bags are pretty vibrant). Their philosophy is “Educating the next generation in the responsible re-use of bags, Envirosax Kids will help tomorrow’s future move in the right direction.”

Recycled paper at Starbucks, Citigroup and UPS - Where is it now?

Olga Orda — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:23:39 +0000

A few weeks back, I was writing about CO2-friendly supply chains and saw the hefty list of U.S. companies that the Environmental Defense Fund had helped switch to recycled content in a drive to reduce paper waste across the nation.

Now, paper is back under the public eye in fuller force than ever because of its significant climate change footprint.
“Paper is a tremendously resource-intensive product to produce,” explains project manager Victoria Mills, “and the decomposition of paper in landfills generates methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.”

When EDF first consulted with their ambitious list of household brand companies like Starbucks, Citgroup, UPS and many others, they were pushing many “environmental firsts” (Starbucks was one of the first to use recycled content in direct food contact applications).

So, what was it that worked and where are these companies now, years after EDF intervened? And, most importantly, how have the original suggestions put forth by the EDF, public pressure and shifting supply chains challenged these brands to green their paper use even more?

Starbucks
Starbucks, after almost a decade since EDF joined hands to improve the retailer’s paper use, switched to 10% post-consumer recycled content paper cups, instituted a 10% per cup discount to encourage “for here (ceramic) versus to go” cups and adopted a corrugated cup sleeve to cut out double-cupping.

What Worked: Throw down a challenge
One of the more innovative things EDF did at that time included challenging Starbucks’ suppliers to find better materials and designs for its disposable cups. The team evaluated several designs, which included adding an insulated outer layer made from unbleached recycled fiber.

Where are they now?
According to their Februrary 2008 company fact sheet, Starbucks recycled their first-ever paper cup made with 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber in 79 percent of all U.S. and Canada stores where they controled waste and recycling.

Citigroup
Citigroup, the world’s largest financial services firm, had their eye on two kinds of green when they partnered with EDF: a. to cut the environmental impacts of copy paper used nation-wide and; b. in doing so, cut costs. Through sheer determination, the reliable banking system, the size and number of offices across the U.S., Cititgroup managed to switch its U.S. offices to 30% recycled copy paper at no extra cost, producing annual environmental savings of 43.8 billion BTU’s of energy, 2,800 tons of greenhouse gases and 26.3 million gallons of wastewater.

What worked: “Visual education” for employees
However, what made Citigroup stand out was its employee education programs, including posted signs at its copying and printing locations to encourage double-sided copying and printing by its employees. During a 5-week, 2-sided printing test, Citigroup saved an estimated $98,000, 11 tons of solid waste and 28 tons of greenhouse gases.

Where are they now?
In 2005, Citigroup purchased more than 6,596 tons of copy paper. By purchasing recycled paper instead of virgin fiber paper, the financial services company:

Saved the equivalent to the amount of residential energy used by 363 homes per year and cut out over 4 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions – equivalent to the amount released annually by 379 cars.

To date, Citigroup’s environmental savings continue to grow.

UPS
While most of the companies in the express delivery industry had made significant efforts to manage risk in the 1990s, UPS paid very little attention to advancing superior environmental performance to gain a competitive edge.

But in 1998, that changed - largely as a result of EDF’s intervention.

The packaging action plan announced in November 1998 cut across the spectrum of UPS’s express packaging. Together, the new packaging improvements along with the reusable envelope, reduced air pollution by almost 50 percent, cut wastewater discharge by more than 15 percent and used 12 percent less energy than previous UPS packaging. In addition, the initiatives saved the company more than $1 million annually.

What worked: Stimulating competitors to action
Once UPS jumped on board, overnight shipping companies spurred to make some notable improvements to their packaging.

In October of 1999, FedEx announced that it switched all of its bleached virgin paper envelopes to 100% recycled, minimum 35% post-consumer content paper. This change, which affected hundreds of millions of envelopes a year, saved almost 12,000 tons of trees annually.

Where are they now?
From UPS‘ latest Sustainability Report, UPS purchased 35,800 tons of materials with recycled content. These purchases have the equivalent energy savings of removing 6,618 passenger cars from the road for a year.

In 2005, UPS recycled 30,700 tons of solid waste materials including metals, plastics, paper, corru-
gated materials, pallets and wood waste, causing a ripple effect amongst their suppliers.

Through its Corporate Office Recycling Program, 54 percent of waste produced by UPS’ corporate office was recycled, including paper, cardboard, lamps and ballasts. In 2005, UPS recycled wastes at a rate of 115 pounds per person at these locations.

To date, UPS has also greened its ground and air fleets, resulting in significant fuel emissions reductions.

The Verdict?

According to BP’s “Environment and society: The results so far” paper, if all Fortune 500 companies used recycled paper, an estimated 6,311,610 tons of CO2 could be prevent. Enough said.

—-

Weekly Tip: Recently launched online dating site DateForTrees.com partners with American Forests, as it continues to pursue its goal of donating at least 12,000 trees annually.
Green Printer’s eco-calculator, with sources from the Environmental Defense Fund, helps customers like Best-Western, ReMax, Lush and Aveda go - and stay - green. Green Printer carries attractive, eco-friendly and high quality recycled paper types at competitive prices.

Kling Bags - Where Eco-Friendly Meets Chic

Reenita Malhotra — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:57:21 +0000

[1] The fashion industry has only recently become somewhat linked with eco-friendly values. Yet even with the advent of popular hemp clothing and the use of natural fibers, most eco-friendly fashion accessories are considered to be 'hippie fashion'. Hardly products that could be associated with the 7th Avenue fashion scene! Natasha Kimling Kwan, the owner Kling handbags has decided to change things around. An emerging designer of vegan fashion handbags, Kwan produces uber stylish clutches that are the perfect compliment to business and casual fashion. Kwan started her fashion handbag company as a DIY effort making her first handbags out of duct tape. Amazed at how many people were unaware of the toxic dangers of PVC and tanning leather, she began to investigate alternative materials that had the look and feel of leather and vinyl. Today, she uses a polyurethane based fabric that feels similar to lambskin but does not use plasticizers, heavy metals, formaldehyde or pyroxylin. And if the eco-friendly materials are not enough to check out the line, consider this: All Kling handbags are handmade in New York by a sewing professional. The human connection is important to Kwan. She could have saved a lot of money by going abroad, but just did not feel good knowing that someone out there would be paid a pittance so that she could make a larger profit. Take a look at Kling bags. Who knows you might want to cling to them yourself. You can check them out the various handbags in the line or find a retailer at www.klingbags.com. [2] [1] http://feelgoodstyle.com/files/2008/06/tn.jpeg [2] http://www.klingbags.com

Eco-Chic Beaded Necklaces Make Sustainable Stylish

Deb Hiett — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:12:47 +0000

Cornstarch-Based Resin Never Looked So Hip

EverybodyGreen.com expands their celebrity-favorite “go! Green” line of eco-chic accessories with the addition of the highly anticipated new summer style: the SeedBead Necklace.

The necklaces are each three strands of beads made from cornstarch-based resin, and feature two 41 inch rows and one 36 inch row of 4mm “GreenBeads.” Each necklace sells for $18.00, and comes in a choice of five rich color combinations.

“We trust that our go! Green collection will demonstrate to consumers that it is fun and fashionable to choose green. It is imperative that people start to see every choice as an opportunity to help the environment, by choosing eco-friendly, fair trade, and sustainable,” comments Keith Berman, Director. “We are thankful that our green accessories have been so successful in raising awareness of eco-friendly alternatives and green practices.”

The entire go! Green collection is made from naturally derived, eco-friendly materials including nickel-free and lead-free cornstarch-based resin Greenbeads and organic hemp. EverybodyGreen.com donates proceeds from each sale to a selection of non-profit organizations, including Oceana, Earth Resource Foundation, The Clean Water Fund, and Heal The Bay. Learn more about the go! Green collection here.

Green Birthday Party Solutions: Eco-Friendly Party Favors

Jennifer Lance — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:09:47 +0000

My children’s birthdays are only two days apart, so we have only one party. That party is rapidly approaching, and though I ask guests to not feel compelled to give gifts and to consider the planet when doing so, my children like to give out party favors to their friends. There is nothing I hate more than coming home from a birthday party with a bunch of dollar store junk we have to get rid of immediately. Now, GreenPartyGoods offers solutions for eco-friendly birthday parties.

GreenPartyGoods explains their company’s motivation for offering parents eco-friendly solutions for birthday parties:

While walking my dog through our local park and watching families disassemble their parties, I was horrified at all the waste that ended up in the garbage cans. Bags of plastic utensils, plastic table cloths, crepe paper and cheap goodies bags filled with dollar toys headed for land fill. This is what motivated me to create GreenPartyGoods.

Here are some of my favorite green party goods offered by GreenPartyGoods:

Toy Wooden Racing Boat: These hand-crafted, hand-painted wooden racing boats are my favorite party favor and the ones we will be giving to our party guests. Since we hold our party at the river, the boats will be perfect for added water frolicking fun. The boats are made by award-winning Anatex. The wood comes from Germany, paint from Russia, and assembled in China. They are tested lead free by a third party and cost $2.50 a piece.
Wooden Baseball Sports Collapser: This is the classic toy where you push the button and the figure moves around. They are four inches tall and made by Anatex from German wood, Russian paint, and assembled in China. These toys cost $3.00 a piece, and I have a feeling the novelty would wear off rather quickly with them.
Felt Party Hats: Available in a variety of themes, from pirates to princesses, these hats are so adorable! Theses hats won’t just be tossed away at the end of the party, because the felt construction makes them durable ensuring they will enter into your child’s dramatic play long after the party is over. These party hats cost $5.95 a piece.
Toy Horse Finger Puppets: These puppets are really cute and made by Schylling, a usually dependable toy company, although they have been involved in some of the recent recalls. These puppets are soft plush, which I assume is polyester, and are made in China, so they are probably the least eco-friendly option available from GreenPartyGoods. They are perfect for a horse themed birthday party though. The puppets cost $2.50 a piece.

GreenPartyGoods has an extensive selection of eco-friendly party supplies beyond party favors. From corn plates to bamboo plates, this site does offer one stop shopping for your green birthday party. I am so happy to have found it!

Six real-life tips to kickstart a Green Team at work

Olga Orda — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:12:31 +0000

A www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch

For all those days when you believe your green values aren’t aligned with your workplace but you can’t - or don’t want to - make the eco-entrepreneur step, here are some immediate action steps to try out at the office this Monday.

Remember: while many green teams start from humble beginnings, they can grow exponentially - pent up passion for green amongst employees can be powerful driving force.

For instance, one eco-savvy video games President started with an email blast to employees and 30 people (out of 90 staff) showed up for the first meeting.

Some useful tips to kickstart - and motivate - your office sustainability team:

1. Just get started no matter what! Find one passionate person to start the group and use money from savings to get the group going and moving forward.

2. Don’t turn people off by being a preacher. Instead support people for what they are doing. Find common ground. Keep it light, fun and inspiring

3. Once you start more ideas will follow. It’s always about learning.

4. Focus on the low hanging fruit first. Look at energy consumption and purchasing. For instance, it’s easy to switch over to a green office supplies company. Get your hands on easy to understand paper purchasing guides (”what does “tree free” paper look like anyway? Can I trust the FSC certification?”) from pros such as Monadnock. If it’s not easy, then it’s not fun and it’s not sustainable. Start with the easy stuff.

5. Concentrate on employee engagement activities that will promote behaviour change – things people can easily do at work at home or commuting like:

cheeky reminders to turn out the lights as well as turn computer and/or monitors off when not in use;
consider eco-friendly waterless printing;
have numbers or contact people to who employees can report leaking taps and toilets immediately;
reduce disposable food choices from coffee cups to take out green purchasing;
recycled paper products;
emphasize the four key areas to promote behaviour change including energy efficiency, transportation options, water reduction, recycling;
show stats and tangible, monetary energy savings like Seventh Generation did in their cold-water promotion;
post cool links like this one by Greenupgrader or PlantABillion.org Billion Tree Campaign from Nature Conservancy in an internal Green Team forum or list-serve to remind people what this effort is all for when motivation wanes;
consider new kinds of cool products on the market, like this award winning paper by Neenha, which uses green energy and manufactures many brands carrying the Green-E, Green Seal and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification;
show how good of a job you are doing to your employees visually - companies like Visible Strategies can help and;
why not have your business donate money to bring green textbooks to local elementary and high schools? It’s a unique way to show your commitment to going green in your community and to motivate employees.

6. Last, but not least, reward good behavior with prizes, special events or speaker series and games.

Above all, keep your expectations in check. Green teams should prepare for the ebb and flow of interest. So, keep up the friendly competition and bring outside people or groups of interest in to help keep up the motivation.

Save trees, time and money the eco-friendly way with our recycled paper, sustainable printing methods and eco-calculator with Green Printer - more details at www.greenprinteronline.com. Now, wasn’t that easy?

Made in the USA: IsaBooties Eco-Friendly Soft-Soled Shoes for Babies and Toddlers

Jennifer Lance — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:24:43 +0000

I always cringe when I see babies and toddlers in hard sole, inflexible shoes, as if their feet are bound like Chinese girls a hundred years ago. Little feet need to grow naturally, without the restrictions of hard shoes, and pediatricians now recommend that children go barefoot until they are two-years-old. The next best thing to bare feet, which is not always practical when walking outdoors or in cooler temperatures, are soft-soled shoes. We have previously reviewed Robeez footwear, but a more eco-friendly, made in USA option exists: IsaBooties.

IsaBooties are made in Colorado with fair labor. These soft-soled shoes are formaldehyde-free, and the “ultrasuede” fabric exceeds the Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety (ASTM F963-07). The fabric is durable, machine washable, breathable, and 100% vegan! These shoes are stain resistant and do not fall off, as well as they help keep socks on little crawling feet. The packaging is made from 100% recycled materials, is 100% recyclable, and printed with soy ink.

Not only are IsaBooties eco-friendly and vegan, but they are super cute. The new Ballet Criss-Crossers are adorable for little girls, and gender neutral designs are available in the new Racers and Trekkers. They also offer many styles on sale, including the Cozy Toesies lined with extra-thick, super-soft Polar fleece.

Celebrities’ babies, such as Brooke Shields’ little one, are wearing IsaBooties, but this isn’t the reason your baby or toddler should be wearing them. Not only are these soft-soled shoes hip, funky, and eco-friendly, but the company was started by “mompreneurs”. I like supporting moms while outfitting my children, rather than companies that have grown so large they have shifted production to China. With IsaBooties, I can clothe my young children with a clear environmental and social conscience.

Green Celebrity, Film, and TV News

Deb Hiett — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:15:58 +0000

Where else would you find Jessica Alba’s baby, Angelina Jolie’s movie, Emeril Lagasse’s TV show, and Ed Begley Jr.’s book in one blog post?! Read on after the jump for more on the latest “HollyGreen, CA” news:

“Hellboy II” Gets a TerraPass

The 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival announced that it is implementing numerous changes to produce an eco-friendly, “green” Festival this year, as part of a company-wide greening initiative by Film Independent – the non-profit filmmakers organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, as well as the Spirit Awards.

The Festival has partnered with NBC-Universal, which is a green company, on both Opening Night (Thursday, June 19) and Closing Night (Sunday, June 29) of the Festival. The Opening Night premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Wanted” (starring Angelina Jolie), as well as the Closing Night premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” will be produced in an eco-friendly fashion.

Changes being made for the overall Festival will impact everything including the use of bio-diesel fueled generators and the recycling of all paper, wood, glass and plastic used at the Festival. Printed materials will be produced on recycled paper using eco-friendly inks, and catering will use organically-grown produce purchased from local farms within a 150-mile radius of Los Angeles. In addition, all carbon emissions created by the production of the 2008 LA Film Festival will be offset by TerraPass, which funds clean energy and carbon reduction projects, including wind power, farm power, and landfill gas capture.

Green Honors to Alba

Congrats to Prius-driving celebrity and new mother Jessica Alba, who just gave birth to a girl named “Honor” this past weekend. In an interview in February, Jessica said she was excited about doing some “green” nesting, doing eco-friendly renovations to her house, recycling, as well as re-furbishing old furniture.

BAM! Emeril Goes Green in July

Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse is coming to Planet Green for a new original series entitled Emeril Green, which will be shot on location at Whole Foods Market and will launch in July. He’ll be kicking it up one organic, locally-grown notch at a time. (Maybe while he’s there he’ll be able to ask the Whole Foods folks why so few of their cut flowers are organic, or even pesticides-free?) Planet Green, which just launched last week, is Discovery Communications’ global, cross-company initiative “with a commitment to document, preserve and celebrate the planet,” including the first-ever 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network.

And, of course, Ed Begley Jr.

You can’t mention celebrities and “green” in the same post without plugging HGTV star Ed Begleys Jr.’s book Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life. This guide (available new on Amazon for about $12) really is highly entertaining as well as informative — I mean, this is a guy who has been “walking the ‘green’ walk” for over 30 years. Who’d have thought celebrities like Leonardo di Caprio would be jumping on Ed Begley Jr.’s bandwagon?!

Paperlight footprint? A Day in the Life of a Slick Brochure

Olga Orda — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:10:05 +0000

Image source: it all skyrocketed with Gutenberg’s printing press…

A Green Printer dispatch.

Ever wondered how much energy and thought it took to produce that shiny brochure your marketing staff handed to you this week? And no, it’s not just the brand and visual design genius we’re talking about.

Let’s face it: making a few pieces of paper look pretty takes up some pretty hefty resources and the paper and pulp industry is there to meet our paper hungry needs (so much for the paperless office).

In fact, the OECD Environmental Outlooks calls the pulp and paper industry the single largest consumer of water and the third greatest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, right after the chemical and steel industries and the oil and gas industry.

And, that rank, as echoed by Co-op America is not set to go down anytime soon.

The Environmental Defense Fund further attests that paper use is on the rise with paper and packaging still making up one third of municipal landfill waste. And, producing all those nice brochures (or manuals or contracts or….) takes up a lot of energy. In fact,

• Producing paper uses 11.5 percent of all energy in the industrial sector.
• One third of all wood harvested in the U.S. goes into paper products.

Thus, on the bright side, paper use presents the potential for enormous environmental savings. Citigroup took up the challenge of using post-consumer waste paper and saved 43.8 billion BTU’s of energy, enough to supply 430 homes for a year.

But then, what about those cool, “a must” coloured graphs and charts on the company brochure?

More than likely, it was made using inks containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). That’s short for those nasty major pollutants linked to the deterioration of the earth’s protective ozone layer and, consequently (some researchers suggest), to accelerating climate change.

So what are we to do?
Let’s begin with the water used to print those brochures. Waterless printers have been able to dramatically reduce water consumption. For example, a printer in Switzerland, operating one of the world’s first waterless web presses, eliminated the use of approximately 250,000 liters (about 66,000 gallons) of water in one year. That water would normally have come from a nearby lake, which is a source of drinking water for tens of thousands of people.

The invention of water-washable inks has allowed the waterless pressroom to be virtually VOC-free. Water-washable ink technology takes out the need for solvent-based press and blanket wash solutions, which typically account for a large portion of a printer’s VOC output.

So, have your cake and eat it too. We all love handing a cool looking brochure to a client. It just doesn’t need to cost the Earth.

More resources

No piece of paper is completely environmentally invisible, even the recycled kind, so choose check out these guidelines for environmentally preferable paper by the Environmental Paper Network.
Handy printable signs to encourage better office paper use by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
Ever wondered where to even start to buy greener paper? The first step starts with asking the right questions and this Paper Supplier Evaluation PDF by the EDF is about as thorough as it gets.
Recycled paper purchasing article from GreenBiz.com.

Get these brands and more, all while tracking how much CO2, trees and wastewater you’ll save with the Eco-Widget, at Green Printer.

Green, recycled paper brands - The four you don’t know

Olga Orda — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:59:15 +0000

Image source: Ecofriend.org

A Green Printer Online Dispatch

Do you scoff at company-made labels (i.e. internal labels) and only go for the non-profit, third party born eco-labels when buying green office supplies? Or do you take both with a grain of salt, comparing the merits of “private” and “public” labels?

If you’re the latter or if you are a green procurer, you probably want to streamline the “boom! done, I’m buying that product - not that one - because it has a trusty brand” process. So, here are the ins and outs of some of the up and coming brands that you’ll see in Staples, online or in a custom office paper supply shop.

The CEO - ENVIRONMENT®
Description
Just like the CEO, this paper covers all the recycled paper rounds. It’s reliable, it’s got experience (comes in smooth, felt, laid, and parchment finishes) and it’s around internationally.

You can buy either 100% post-consumer recycled, FSC-certified fibers, specialty fibers or 100% recycled with 30% post-consumer fiber from the entire line. Plus it’s cost-efficient.

What this paper is best for
Acid free and archival, so it’s ideal for scrap booking. It comes in different colours (all 22 of them) and is fit for the renewable energy expert at your office - all papers are made entirely with Green-e Certified renewable energy

What it’s not so good for
If you are looking for 100% post-consumer line of paper only - this one also carries 30% post-consumer fiber paper type.

The Verdict?
It’s a flexible, no fail solution - just takes some time to choose paper amongst the large selection.

The Office Eco-Star - Astrolite PC 100
Like that person who spearheaded the green team at your work, was the first to buy a hybrid and talk about installing solar panels over the weekend - this paper is an eco-star. In fact, it’s one of the cleanest, brightest, and smoothest recycled paper types available. It’s also FSC-certified so you can be sure it contains only de rigeur 100% post-consumer recycled fiber.

What this paper is best for
Um, everything: from business cards to product sheets, especially since Astrolite PC comes in a thicker, new 130lb double thick cover.

What it’s not so good for
What’s not to like?

The Verdict?
100% reliable just like the Office Eco-Star.

The Design Connoisseur - ChorusArt
Description
ChorusArt paper has top-quality triple coating, giving it a slick yet totally eco-chic feel to it.

What this paper is best for
Shiny-er, glossy-er stuff with the FSC stamp on it: catalogues, book covers, magazine covers, direct mail, inserts and flyers, books, art books, magazines, commercial printing, supplements, annual reports, brochures and more. This paper is FSC-certified, guaranteeing that the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council are respected and that the pulp the paper is made of consists of a mixture of fibers from certified forests and post-consumer recycling processes from controlled sources.

What it’s not so good for
Depending on what you want to use this paper for, it has a lighter feel to it.

The Verdict?
Your Design department will love you.

The Office Knight - The Save-a-Tree ®
Description
Just like your trusted office cubicle buddy back in the day (yes, the one who answered your harried call to finish off a research report at 1:23 am), this paper will get the job done. Made from 100% post-consumer waste, Process Chlorine Free (PCF), it also runs and prints like virgin paper - what more could you want?

What this paper is best for
Medium weight, everyday use yet “dressed to impress” paper quality that’s ideal for CSR and annual reports, stationery, newsletters, catalogues, brochures and more.

What it’s not so good for
Super thick and shiny-ish business cards - this paper has a medium weight feel to it. People that are adamant about having the FSC standard on their communications material should choose another paper product - this one does not have this label (the FSC actually came under fire last year).

The Verdict?
Your PR department or Cause Marketing team will thank you - great for communicating your corporate green committments to stakeholders and an alternative to the FSC label.

Now, if only buying coffee was so eco-conscious and those trees planted by the UN could create a domino effect..