What goes around comes around

method is now using bottles made of 100% recycled plastic!

You’ve heard the term “cradle to grave,” right? In marketing-speak, it refers to the importance of getting consumers hooked on your brand while they’re young so they’ll remain loyal to you over the course of their lifetime. And hey, that’s something we aspire to, although not in a creepy way.

Environmentally speaking, however, “cradle to grave” refers to the life cycle of a product, from manufacture (“cradle”) to disposal (“grave”). Putting our bottles and other packaging back into circulation has always been important to us, which is why we encourage all you people against dirty to recycle every scrap of it.

looking for a gift to brighten someone's day?

Now here's a bright idea! Recently, I attended the San Francisco Green Festival and picked up a Solio charger, made by Better Energy Systems.  This ingenious pocket-sized device unfolds three leaves (or blades as they call them) to expose solar panels. These in turn charge an internal battery that can later charge your phone, ipod or even digital camera. You can also charge directly from the sun or even charge up the internal battery from a wall outlet. It's the perfect mobile charger to keep your wired world juiced up. With increasing popularity of mp3 players and gadgety phones the Solio makes the perfect green gift for almost anyone. My ipod has been "off the grid" now for a month.

As an added bonus, Better Energy Systems is a green business that offsets the CO2 produced to manufacture Solio and is actively involved in reforestation programs.

green diapers...

And by green we mean, environmentally conscious, not the surprising colors little baby bodies can occasionally produce inside diapers. gDiapers is a company we've always loved and we were happy to see them at this year's Green Festival hosted this past weekend in San Francisco. So, what's so great about gDiapers?

They're flushable. Yes, this can take a bit of getting used to but considering how much waste is created with traditional disposable diapers, it's an idea that's ready for the mainstream. gDiapers are a two-part system comprised of a flushable inner refill which fits into a little reusable outer pant. When the diaper becomes soiled, you simply flush the inner pant down the toilet - no smell, no diaper bin, no guilt.  As gDiaper says, it's "fashion and function on one cute bum." Now that's an idea worth sharing.

be green now!

Green Mountain Energy has just launched its new site BeGreen which allows consumers to calculate their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and purchase offsets that enable users to neutralize their carbon footprint. Green Mountain, based in Texas, is the country's largest supplier of green energy and serves both residential and commercial interests. Their highly interactive and informative BeGreen site allows users to calculate auto, home, air travel and natural gas emissions and purchase carbon offsets which go towards renewable energy credits, reforestation programs and other carbon offset technologies. In addition it allows users to create online profiles and get useful tips on living a low-impact lifestyle.

ecopod home recycling system

The problem with being a good environmental steward is that so often it goes against the fabric of our naturally, consumer-driven ways. Being good to the earth takes effort and often we have to go out of our way to do it. Tackling the "lazy" mindset is a challenge for anyone trying to make an impact, which is why we love the Ecopod, a design driven appliance crafted to make recycling simple and rewarding. Aside from its sleek look, borrowing more from high-end kitchen appliances than a trashcan lineage, the Ecopod is functionally smart. It incorporates a foot-pedal operated compressor that crushes recyclables and collects them in bins that can hold between 50-60 crushed containers. There's also separate area that can hold glass bottles, newspapers, plastic bags and other materials. It's a one-stop recycling center housed in a Jetson-esque look.

Though it'll be a challenge keeping the estimated 130 billion containers from going into U.S. landfills this year, the Ecopod can at least make the process rewarding and....hey, a little cool too.

bags with street smarts

One of my favorite examples of green fashion is Freitag of Switzerland. Freitag began making messenger bags from used tarpaulins from freight trucks. These heavy-duty nylon tarps commonly used on European trucks are rugged and waterproof but unfortunately are not recyclable.

corn fed, just not Texas bred

I love bottled water. But, I hate to think of all the bottles that go to waste from people that don't recycle. Well, now there's a bottled water company that helps make this little luxury guilt free.

Biota is a bottled water company that draws from Rocky Mountain Spring water in Colorado. But the real jewel is the bottle itself, made from polylactic acids, otherwise known as PLA. PLA is a resin extracted from corn, a renewable resource and it requires 30-50% less energy to produce than conventional plastic. And PLA is 100% compostable. Biota claims that the bottle will completely compost in 12 weeks (though this is applicable to industrial compost systems). It even burns clean and doesn't release harmful chemicals into the atmosphere like normal plastics.

making marketing fun

Check out some of these clever marketing vehicles found around the web....my favorite is the noose on the old man!

Good-ness that's gracious of you!

I seem to be on a kick right now for charitable giving. So, I was pretty excited to find this new magazine out, called Good Magazine. Similar to the idea behind the search engine GoodSearch, which we wrote about recently, this magazine will donate your one-year subscription fee of $20 to an organization of your choosing. You'll get six issues of a hip magazine dedicated to (in their own words) "stimulating the culture of good by creating dialogue around things that matter". Good hopes to sign-up 50,000 subscribers, and donate 1 million dollars!! Ambitious and right up my alley!

doggie do's

These biodegradable doggie bags were picked up by one of our packaging specialists.  The manufacturer Biobag claims these bags are 100% biodegradable and compostable. The bags are created from GMO-free corn and are designed to decompose in 40 days in a regulated compost environment. Which is a far more pleasant thought than the alternative - poop preserved in plastic.

Putting some rusty math to work, I did a rough calculation of how many plastic bags (the bad kinds) would be saved if every dog owner switched to biodegradable bags. On average, assuming 50 million dogs in the US, if every owner used a biobag for the daily walk (we’re also assuming the owner takes the weekend off and let’s the dog use the yard) that could be as many as 250 million baggies saved from the landfills! 

The best part of these bags - they have six-step, illustrated instructions on the back of each bag on how to collect doggie poop... just in case you've forgotten.