“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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1. What’s the greenest grilling option? Electric and propane grills are definitely better than charcoal. If that’s your only option though, try using cleaner burning, natural charcoals. A great list can be found here at GreenYour.com. If you’ve got your heart set on the flavor that comes from grilling over wood, Woodflame grills were the most eco-friendly option I could find.

2. Skip the meat. As if you didn’t need another reason to lower your meat intake, I also recently came across this health-related article on the 5 Worst Foods to Barbecue. (Hint, none of them are tofu.) You can replace the burgers and hot dogs with some vegetarian knock-offs (respectively, I recommend Amy’s burgers which come in a variety of flavors, and Lightlife Tofu Pups.) Or you could even try making your own ahead of time. I have to admit, I’ve never tried grilling my black bean or white bean burgers, but it’s worth a shot!

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