Green Options » Forbes

The Crafters are Organizing and they are Furious: CPSIA Backlash

Jessica Gottlieb — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:52:36 +0000

When I think of crafters, I imagine women of a certain age with sensible shoes sitting in wallpapered living rooms. They have a crochet needle in one hand and a cat rubbing at their ankle.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission probably thinks the same way. But wait, they’ll change their tune.

Come Wednesday, the US will see crafters differently. Crafters are coming together on Wednesday and for a blog-in to talk to the CPSIA about the negative ramifications of a new law that’s scheduled to be enacted on February 10th. Forbes has great coverage.

The law can be read here, and I’m a little concerned. I like resale shops, I don’t want to see them legislated out of business.

Charity Wash? Facebook Supports Questionable Charities

Jennifer Kaplan — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:38:54 +0000

Tis’ the season to donate and if you’re so inclined there are lots of folks trying to help you do it. Facebook has jumped into the game with an application to give Facebook Charity Gifts. Through the app, you make a donation as a gift in a friend’s name and your friend receives a nifty icon on their Facebook page. Sounds like a great proposition, right? The problem is that Facebook did not do its homework on all these nonprofits.

A quick check on Charity Navigator reveals that only seven of the twenty-one nonprofits (33%) were given 4-star ratings: American National Red Cross, One Economy Corporation, Heal the Bay, Islamic Relief, MERCY CORPS, Humane Society of The United States and United States Fund for UNICEF. One group earned 3-stars (”good”), two groups earned 2-stars (”fair”), two are hospitals (and not 501c3 charities)[CORRECTION: the hospitals are both in fact 501c3s] and seven groups were not even rated, including one group with no website [CORRECTION: LOVEFUTBOL does have a very nice website], no HQ and listed “c/o” someone who apparently lives around the corner from me. I should add that looking at the rating is not always enough. As a reader named David pointed out in a comment to the post last week, notwithstanding its 4-star rating, UNICEF has its own questionable practices.

Vote for the Forbes.com “Boost Your Business” Winner

Leah Edwards — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:29:53 +0000

It’s time to vote for the Forbes.com “Boost Your Business” contest winner. One for recently formed small company (several of which are green startups) will win $100,000 and lots of great PR. Five finalists have been whittled down from over 1,500 applicants, and it is time to pick the winner.

It is a chance to test your business analysis skills. Which company do you think can generate the
greatest return on that $100,000 investment? At Forbes.com, you can read the finalists’ condensed business plans and watch videos of the entrepreneurs’ presentations to expert judges–a great source of learning to boost your green business.

Vote for one by November 30th.

LifeStraw: Personal, Portable Water Purifier

Jennifer Lance — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:12:15 +0000

LifeStraw is a personal, portable water purifier developed to combat waterborne diseases, of which nearly 6,000 people die from each day. Forbes Magazine calls it, “One of the Ten Things that will Change the Way We Live”.

Source: LifeStraw