Green Options

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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.”

Oh how I get my kicks discovering unique designers with eco style! Just in time for the Summer Solstice, I share admiration for Enamore, founded by designer Jenny Ambrose 20004 in the seaside city of Brighton, UK.

This striking empire-line Jeanie Halter Dress is made from a blend of hemp and Tencel®. It has delicate strawberry shaped organic cotton lace detail and ruby-red satin bow detail.

Know that Tencel® is a [...]

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.

Kudos to my colleagues who go the extra mile to design seminars I’d wake up at the ungodly hour of 5:37 AM to sit and listen to in half-wake awe, Americano in hand.

Seminars that go by blockbuster titles - as least for green entrepreneurs - such as “How to manage carbon risk” have authentic learning value.

In our over-wired world, live events are a luxury, an hour or three to feel how much we really love context and contact, not just stoic information glaring out at us from a screen when we’re learning complex stuff - like international carbon trading markets.

More to the point, events are becoming an even more attractive “pull” medium than ever. And, the savvy, green entrepreneur should know how to harness the reputation and client lead potentials of a well-orchestrated event - an eco-friendly supplied event, that is.

When it comes to eating, I have come to accept the fact that I am a grazer. This analogy is quite fitting given that I am an herbivore, I suppose. I snack often and tend to eat smaller portions several times a day rather than eating huge meals. I hear it’s not a bad idea to eat smaller meals more often, so I embrace my munchies. Of course, I try my best to keep my snacks healthy and green, but occasionally I can’t help but give into organic dark chocolate or Fig Newmans.

My favorite snacks often come from my local farmer’s market, the bulk bin at the co-op, or recently, from my own plot in my local organic community garden! I work from home and am always busy, so sometimes I make them ahead of time on weekends and stock the fridge and cupboards so that I have a quick stash of healthy snacks available to grab quickly. I’ve been known to crowd my desk with small plates of munchies while working. Hey, snacking happens, it might as well be good for you!

So, to the delight of green-minded grazers everywhere, I present my top ten favorite healthy sustainable snacks. As an added bonus, these recipes are all vegan. So dig in.

Sustainable bag reporting continues from Part I. There are so many great choices!

Muumuu Heaven is a shop located on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. The family-run business got so busy producing eco-conscious and original women’s apparel from recycled Hawaiian garments, they decided to collaborate with another designer for bags to stock.

Kauai is a neighbor island, same state of Hawaii, where Denise Tjarks structures new life also from old muumuu, aloha shirts and fabric remnants. Word is spreading so fast, it’s impossible to share an exclusive not sold. But you get the idea from these two illustrations. Above is Maia, the pretty green plant print. Below that is the reverse side, an orange small floral print. Both reversible option sides are made from vintage mu’umu’us circa 1970.

From A to Z and across the globe are earth-friendly status bags for every imaginable purpose. I start with Alchemy Goods where founder Eli Reich combined his green lifestyle with a misfortune in Seattle. His stolen messenger bag story inspired him to become an accessory designer who combines bicycle inner tubes, car seat belts, and billboard vinyl.

The company was honored to display their messenger bag beginning May 15th at the Sustainable Fashion Symposium in The Design Museum of University of California at Davis, which runs until July 13th, 2008. So exciting that a blog was created just for the event.

I’ve been told that artistic Seattleites in the Emerald City are famed for introducing grunge music, and that the craze made unkempt appearances a trend. This cool unisex bag can style you either way; vogue or grunge!

… for production of renewable energy and maybe carbon sequestration.

Carbon neutral is gaining popularity these days, but Mantria Corporation is taking it a step further.

“We pledge Mantria Place will be the first carbon negative community in the nation by 2011,” states Troy Wragg, Mantria Corporation Chairman and CEO. “Carbon neutral is simply not good enough given today’s environmental issues. At Mantria, we believe that we must go much further to truly help our planet. Our goal is to be carbon negative.”

Located in Sequatchie County, Tennessee,  Mantria Place will be Tennessee’s largest master planned community weighing it at 5,500 acres. Nearly half of that will be green space in addition to two championship golf courses. A big question looms: can new, luxurious development really be green? With luxuries like two golf courses, how can their carbon footprint make it below par? Mr. Troy Wragg was kind enough to speak with me to answer that very question.

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 [...]

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 [...]

Kwabena Mensa, a small holder cocoa farmer in rural Ghana, readily testifies that the seasons have changed, and he no longer plants his crop in mid-year as he used to more than ten years ago.

He has also noticed that the weather is a little changed lately and harvesting is now delayed by a couple of months or so. Although he knows this can be attributed to climate change, he does not wholly understand why that is so.

Small holder farmers in Africa are already experiencing the impact of climate change. Weather patterns are changing, extreme weather events becoming more common, and ancient calendars for planting, weeding and harvesting are no longer valid. The threat of food shortages, crop failures, and growing deserts are real and immediate.