We have to give the festival credit, maybe it seemed as though more authentic green businesses showed up at this year’s version. We didn’t see much corporate greenwashing like the not as Green as it used to be Burt’s Bees. Also, Coke owned Honest Tea sold its not so green corporate drink but that would be a minor quibble. Aside from checking out some of the various discussion groups (state of small Green business) and even some cooking demos (how to make organic stew) most of the time we spent wandering the trade floor.

Without spending too much time or words (we’ll post some more ramblings soon) here’s some of the cool stuff we found. Zen Honeycutt’s mother roped us in (or rather grabbed) us to introduce us to her daughter who is busy creating her own lavender empire with her practically lavish lotions, eyeshades and creams. Just down the long aisle, we spotted the reusable sandwich bag the Fresh Snack Pack. Great idea in place of the sandwich bags that get tossed. These packs contain no PVCs but we’d like to find out what these bad boys consist of. We had no doubt about what the Organic Essence lip balm consisted of. But we licked our lips for more than just the organic ingredients. The 100% FSC compostable non-plastic tube really wowed us. Why hadn’t someone thought of this before? Like us? We also ignored the wishes of our dentists and sampled the multitudes of chocolates, and we sampled them all but we liked Alter Eco bar (especially the dark) not only for the best and richest creamy favor but also for the organic ingredients and the fair trade philosophy that the relatively small company abides by.

As for 2010….bring it on!

Icebreaker’s Bodyfit

Have you ever wanted to meet the sheep that was shorn for your clothes?  Just enter the “baa code” on your label into the Icebreaker website to meet where your sheep lives.

With most of the things you buy, you’re told little or nothing about how they’re made. Icebreaker is different.

We have a deep commitment to animal welfare, the welfare of the people who work with us, and the environment. And we have nothing to hide.

Your unique Baacode will let you see the living conditions of the high country sheep that produced the merino fibre in your Icebreaker garment, meet the farmers who are custodians of this astonishing landscape, and follow every step of the supply chain. We’re sure you’ll find the experience as inspiring as we do. Enjoy your journey back to the source.

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As part of our efforts to promote green printing, we continue to closely follow the printing industry, keep you posted with printers who have already adopted eco-friendly practices in their business and speak with them on the state of green printing, the trends, the challenges in the present and their plans for the future.

We posted already two interviews with green printers (Greg Barber and Deb Bruner) and today we are happy to have another green printer on our blog: Livio Ciciotti of Monroe Litho (Rochester, NY).

Livio Ciciotti is an Account Executive with Monroe Litho based in Rochester, NY. He is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Print Media. He has been invloved in printing since high school. Livio is also in the Marine Corps Reserve, an honor graduate from the School of Infantry he now serves with 3rd Battalion 25th Marines out of Buffalo, NY and is preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan.

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Evening Breeze is an interesting solution: It’s a canopy bed that has adjustments for both temperature and humidity, and delivers it quietly, overhead, using only 400 watts. As it’s focused just on the place where coolness is desired, there’s no need to try and cool the whole room. Simple, brilliant. The resulting energy savings can mean 4MWh, $1000 and 2.5 tons of CO2 reduction annually.

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On the creatively intriguing side, we walked into the Icynene Inc. display booth only knowing that they create their Icynene LD-R-50 spray foam insulation partially from Castor oil. Honestly, we didn’t exactly know the origin of Castor oil. Castor oil comes from Castor beans (not true beans from Castor plant) and don’t serve a normal food source, so not food for insulation here. Castor crops don’t require pesticides or fungicides or even water to grow and are rapidly renewable. For this insulation, they use 15 percent castor oil (and unfortunately 85 percent polyglycol, which in our eyes is like using B15 biodiesel. Fifteen percent is better than zero percent but still a long way to go. This product helps eliminate dust, pollen and contains no VOCs as it is water blown. Most traditional cellulose insulation comes from 80% newspaper (up to100% post-consumer recycled) and 20% binders and fire-retardants, commonly borax, boric acid, sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfates and/or other chemical compounds. Smell the goodness.

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By contributing guest author Ida Cheinman, Principal and Creative Director of Substance 151, a strategic design agency for Green Printer’s “Design Goes Green” series.

We live in a time when “sustainability” is topping the buzzword charts and a wave of greenwashing is flooding the mainstream. We live in a time of intense competition, gloomy economic forecasts and rapidly disappearing marketing budgets, but also in a time when more and more companies and organizations strive to uphold higher environmental and social values, making the shift to the triple bottom line economic model. Sustainability and social responsibility are the forces that drive many of today’s business decisions; they also change the way organizations re-think their branding and marketing strategies. As marketers and business leaders, we are faced with the challenge of finding differentiation by creating empowering and memorable brand experiences for our audiences in the increasingly crowded sustainable marketplace.

So, What are the rules?

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White Lines factory reuses their carbon emissions in a closed loop, making for zero CO2 emissions, for one. Then they offset what they can’t reuse (transportation, etc) via planting trees in Africa, as coordinated by environmental consultancy U&W (interestingly pronounced “You & We” in Swedish) The wood used for the paper comes from locally sourced, sustainably managed forests, and woodchip waste from sawmills. And every package tells you the precise carbon footprint, the materials traced back to the source.

And then it gets interesting.

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Green Printer speaks with Sigrid Albert, Principal and Art Director of StepUp Communications, a company that focuses on creative services for internal communications.

A post by contributing writer Melissa Chungfat.

Some of your clients integrate sustainability in their business. What advice would you give to green start-up businesses in terms of identity and design?

Having a clear vision and direction for your company is the first step. From there, you can create your visual identity. Green businesses already have clear values to communicate, which makes it easier to design for them. Their visual identity should reflect what the business does and the best thing is for them to follow through with their promise. Be clear about what your strengths are and the direction your business is going, and designers can help with that process.

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By Contributing Writer Melissa Chungfat.

Design Goes Green - The first of a series of articles by Green Printer on the cross-section between the environment, business and the creative communications industry.

Every day we hear about companies going under and pub meals having more value than bank stocks. At at time when profits are low across the nation, some company executives think that now is not the time to implement environmental initiatives. So why did companies committed to sustainability in 2008 perform better that those that didn’t?

Management consulting firm A.T. Kearney did a study comparing the performances of  99 companies with strong commitments to sustainability against industry averages from May to November 2008. Companies that leaned towards green outperformed industry averages by 15% over the six months in 16 of the 18 industries.

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“My name is Greg Barber and I specialize in environmental printing. “ This is the first line on the homepage of Greg Barber Company, an eco-friendly printer and also the printer that prints Eco-Libris’ stickers and flyers.

Greg is also one of the most experienced people in the area of green printing and we thought it would be very interesting to hear from him what does it mean to be an environmental printer and what’s going on in this market. We weren’t wrong. This interview is a great opportunity to get a glance of the growing market of environmental printing, which as you will see is becoming not only beneficial for the environment, but also for businesses’ bottom line.

Hello Greg. You describe yourself as an environmental printer. Can you tell us what that means?

We are eco-friendly in our paper, inks, energy and our recycling of our waste. We specialize in printing on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, rock paper, and tree free paper ,and we use soy based inks, for our offset printing, and 100% non toxic toner for our digital work. Our energy is primarily Wind energy, and the paper we stock comes from mills that get their energy from either Wind or BioGas.
How long have you been an environmental printer? how did you get into the business of eco-friendly printing?

I started at the 20th anniversary of Earth Day in 1990. I saw middle school children celebrating Earth Day and I decided to join them by specializing in Environmental Printing.

Is it true that it’s more expensive to print on recycled paper? if it is, what’s the premium you currently need to pay for it?

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My children love the Chef’s Portable Kitchen.  It was designed by Natural Pod and is made on Vancouver Island, British Columbia with a combination of Europly, Birch, Oak, Fir and Purple Heart and finished in natural beeswax.  Purple heart is one of my favorite woods, so I was delighted to see the details done in this unique wood. The portable kitchen is rather large at 32 inches across, making it easy for several children to work cooperatively and share this unique, wooden toy.

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It was when Jennifer Stambolsky was planning her own wedding that she found a lack of wedding invitations for the modern bride that were both gorgeous & eco-friendly. With a love of nature combined with a love of beautiful stationery, she launched EarthlyAffair.com.

Choose from two environmentally friendly papers, a premium 100% Recycled Post Consumer Recycled paper that uses no new trees and a heavyweight 60% Recycled (30% Post Consumer) Cotton paper that is Forest Stewardship Counsel certified. All envelopes are made of 100% post consumer waste, FSC certified and processed without the use of chlorine. Not only that but they are a carbon neutral business purchasing CO2 offsets for emissions caused by conducting business and shipping through carbonfund.org.

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My son, like many boys, adores trucks. He enjoyed William is Going Green when his sister read it to her, but there is one thing about the story I find a bit awkward. I do think that city garbage trucks should have hybrid motors, but as mentioned in the book, the cost to convert a truck is expensive and not readily available. William’s reward for rescuing a cat is not the solution for most city garbage trucks, and I think it is a little misleading to children who really want to see change. Perhaps there is another way William could have gotten a new hybrid motor from recycling proceeds, donations, gas taxes, etc. Maybe I am too much of a realist, but I like my green children’s fiction to address the realities of environmental change. This part of the story didn’t bother my children at all, and they really did like it.

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Now the nations largest publisher and distributor of children’s books has joined the movement. Scholastic, announced recently that the company is further strengthening its sustainable paper procurement practices. Their goal:

…to increase its publication paper purchase of FSC-certified paper to 30% and its use of recycled paper to 25%, of which 75% will be post-consumer waste.

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In that same spirit, it also makes sense that a publisher of religious materials has now created the first "green" Bible. Thomas Nelson Inc., a Bible and religion publishing company, will release just such a Bible today.

While the need for a more environmentally-friendly Bible might seem obvious, actually creating one was a challenge. Thomas Nelson had to work extensively with its paper manufacturer, Domtar, to develop a new grade of paper that was both green and lightweight enough for Bible paper. The company did at last find a solution, and the result of its efforts — the first Bible printed on recycled and Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper — will be released today, Tuesday, Oct. 9.

Thomas Nelson is also looking for other ways to reduce its ecological footprint, said Mike Hyatt, the company’s CEO. "In addition to offering eco-friendly products, we are striving to implement ‘green’ practices in our daily activities," Hyatt said.

A growing number of book publishers are taking similar steps. The Green Press Initiative, a non-profit group, has so far engaged with more than 140 publishing companies — including Random House, Scholastic and McGraw-Hill — to institute more environmentally responsible practices in the publishing industry. In addition to Thomas Nelson, other religion publishers joining in that effort include Ave Maria Press, Baker Publishing Group and Intervarsity Press.

In a related initiative, more than 220 players in the U.S. book industry have signed onto the Book Industry Treatise on Responsible Paper. Once in effect, the standards outlined in that treatise are expected to save the equivalent of five million-plus trees and cut greenhouse gas emissions equal to those put out by 45,000 cars.

According to the Green Press Initiative, more than 40 percent of the industrial wood harvested around the world each year goes toward making paper — "a sobering fact given that forests store half of all carbon in the biosphere and deforestation accounts for 25 percent of human-caused (carbon dioxide) emissions."

"Given the Bible’s message of stewardship and the growth of the creation care movement, we hope to see other Bible and religion publishers following Thomas Nelson’s lead through steps to use paper with less impacts on forests, people and the climate," said Tyson Miller, director of the Green Press Initiative.

Image: Mike Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Buy recycled content or renewable materials.

• Bamboo and cork are renewable resources, as is wood when it is sustainably harvested.
• Look for carpets made from recycled materials or natural fibers. Rubber flooring is also made from recycled materials and can be recycled, or down-cycled (made into another product) afterwards.
• There are many types of all-natural linoleum available, and tiles can be manufactured with recycled content.
• Keep in mind that some materials need sealants or glues during the installation process that may not be so green, such as cork or stone. Others, like bamboo and wood, may contain additives such as formaldehyde, or are made of composites with undesireable materials such as vinyl, including some cork products and linoleum.

Look for salvaged materials.

• Flooring materials such as wood, stone and tile can often be found at building supply salvage centers. They may need some refurbishing and prep, but will be cheaper and greener than buying them new.

Maintenance and upkeep. This is a common consideration in all flooring decisions, but is even more important when thinking about green choices. For example:

• High trafficked areas will need a more durable material, but will also need to be cleaned more frequently. You’ll have to decide what types of cleaning products will be needed and if those are very eco-friendly.
• Wall-to-wall carpeting is a magnet for dust, dustmites and mold, decreasing the indoor air quality. An alternative could be using carpet tiles or area rugs.

The Green Home Guide lists several tips in helping you consider sustainable flooring for your home, pros and cons of different products, and a buyers guide to green flooring materials.

Additional Information and Resources:

Green Home Guide - 8 Tips for Selecting Healthy and Environmentally Sound Flooring

Green Home Guide - Navigating the Flooring Thicket: Find the Greenest Way to Meet Your Needs

Green Home Guide - Buyer’s Guide to Green Flooring Materials

Care2 - Salvaged Wood Flooring

Care2 - Rethinking Carpet

Green Living Ideas - Flooring

More from GO:

Guest Post: Building Supply Salvage Centers—Where a Bargain Lessens Your Carbon Footprint

Eco-Effective Decisions: Who Wants to Un-Screw the Cork?

What Grabs You: Non-Toxic Home Design!

How to Find a Green Builder – Part 1

How to Find a Green Builder — Part 2

Smart HomeOwner: Better Home, Better Planet

Modern Green Living - at your fingertips

You are most likely already aware of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and know that FSC certified lumber is preferred for use in green construction because it is sustainably managed and harvested. It also has a chain of custody reporting system that ensures that everyone in the processing chain is following the correct procedures with their materials sourcing and their handling of the material. However, construction is not the only place where you will find FSC certified products.

The printing industry is another huge user of wood and forest products. And, as with construction uses, FSC is heavily involved in promoting sustainable practices for printing and paper-making uses. In order to use the FSC trademark on a product, the producer must be a member of FSC. Every step of the way, from the management of the forest and the cutting of the trees, through the pulping of the wood and the manufacture of the paper must meet FSC guidelines, and the product produced carries a certificate that has been independently verified by a third-party source. For a printer to use the FSC trademark on a catalog, for example, they need to be certified themselves as FSC chain-of-custody certificate holders.

"It's what drove local faucet-maker Moen Inc. to ask St. Ives (a printing company) to print catalogs on FSC-certified paper. As a supplier to the construction industry, which is becoming increasingly green, it's important that Moen demonstrate it's doing its part." Another landmark coming this summer, Scholastic Inc. is also going to be using FSC paper for at least 65% of its initial printing of the seventh book in the Harry Potter series.

As more and more people are learning is the case with green building, printing with FSC paper is not necessarily more expensive. Many kinds of FSC certified paper also contain some recycled content, but because paper degrades as it is recycled, some virgin wood pulp needs to be used to provide the necessary strength. FSC works to ensure that the stock for that comes from sustainable sources.

According to the FSC website, "Over the past 12 years, over 84 million hectares in more than 82 countries have been certified according to FSC standards while several thousand products are produced using FSC certified wood and carrying the FSC trademark. FSC operates through its network of National Initiatives in 40 countries."

via: Ann Arbor News and Newhouse News Service

Links:
Forest Stewardship Council

FSC Paper

The Rainforest Alliance is working with children's publisher, Scholastic, to print the book using paper containing 30% post-consumer recycled content, and to make sure at least 65% of the 16,700 tons of paper needed for the initial printing of 12 million copies is FSC certified. There will also be a limited run of 100,000 copies on paper that contains 100% post-consumer content.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sets the standard for sustainable forest management. Criteria for FSC certification includes biodiversity conservation, responsible harvesting of timber, worker and land-use rights and observance of international laws and treaties.

Each Harry Potter book has increased in length over the years. The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, came in at just over 600 pages, and in the first 24 hours sold 6.9 million copies. The seventh installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be 784 pages and is anticipated to put up similar (if not greater) numbers in sales.

For a publisher to step up and purchase FSC certified paper and recycled content paper for a book of this magnitude is a big deal and will hopefully prompt other publishers to follow suit.

Via CSRwire.com and MSNBC