Klean Kanteen water bottle

Wishing everyone a very happy new year and more greener choices for 2012...This post is long overdue...bad health dint let me post it earlier..I have something exciting to share...

My hubby bought us a pair of all steel and bamboo Klean Kanteen water bottles for our bdays :).  I had Klean Kanteen on the list, but the cost made me look for other options.After a long and disappointing search for all steel and no plastic water bottle, we decided to buy Klean Kanteen bottles

I was excited...no styrofoam peanuts..yay!!!

Was a little disappointed to see my bottle wrapped in plastic :(

But then the bag says 100% compsotable..I really hope it is!!

Arent the bottles amazing. They costed us $32 with taxes...(after we used an online $2 coupon)

I plan to reuse jute rice bags to make nice compact totes/bags for the bottles

Read more...

Eco friendly wireless mouse

I have had this peeve about wireless mouse and keyboard.  All the battery it drains, made my green alarm go off on full blast! A few sniffs later, I came across Aramedia's cordless mouse which does not need battries...read more here

An Eco-Friendly BatteryFREE Wireless Mouse For Laptop for $39.95. I am still worried about the plastic which went into making it, but it is a decent trade off compared to all the battery drain from using regular cordless mouse and keyboard

And then Logitech has its Solar powered keyboard..cool isnt it!

Quoting the Logitech site"over 15 billion batteries dumped into landfills in the USA alone, each and every year. Let's face it, any number over zero is too many. All these batteries can potentially leak lead, cadmium, nickel hydride and other chemicals into our groundwater and contaminate our soil. This toxic brew not only renders the soil useless but will also foul our drinking supply. Part of the reason for so many batteries being discarded is that they simply cannot keep up with the demands of modern technology.

Logitech has introduced a new wireless solar powered keyboard that is designed to eliminate the need for batteries. It even works inside in a standard lighted room, so you don't have to work only near a window or outside on a sunny day. With convenience like this, battery hassles will soon be a thing of the past.

Keeping with the eco-friendly theme, Logitech has used completely PVC-free construction methods and the packaging is fully recyclable. The design is intended to create a minimal footprint."

I am very happy to see some progress! However, I do not recommend buying more plastic, it is always better to use anything until its lifetime. One of the sources for green hazard having ruled out, there are products which have been thought out a little further.

These are made of bamboo

source 

There is a downside to using renewable materials as well, as I always say, using any resource in excess and over consumption is never earth friendly..:)..Be wise choose well and be a minimalist!..Frugality is definitely eco-freindly

Read more...

A Conscious Retailer

Read more...

Repurposed and Upcycled ~ Car tires

I came across a Melbourne, Australia based company, called Ruba Designs

Ruba designs upcycles used car tires into amazing designer table mats, desk mats and coasters. If we were to ignore the enery and effort which goes into this process, and the consequent recycling process footprint, this is a cool concept...a lot better than directing used rubber tires into landfill and also reducing the need to chop trees, produce more cotton, bamboo, jute etc or produce more plastic for mats and coasters. 

all images courtesy: Ruba

The Placemats and coasters, which won’t bend out of shape, are warm and inviting to touch, waterproof, heat resistant,  dishwasher safe, and non-slip. They are available in 6 different designs to cater for different tastes.  Also included in the collection are 4 styles of mouse pads and 3 styles of desk sets for the office. Ruba designers Sonia Attard and Lisa Vincitorio share their views in an interview on a fellow Green blog >>Link

If you are interested in updates about Ruba and its products...do click on their Facebook LIKE button  :)..cheers to more such ventures..yay!! 

Read more...

GiveaCar ~ Guest Post

As mentioned in my previous post, here is the guest post from Daniel, of Giveacar, UK.

----

Car donation: a great way to recycle your car

Recycling a car can be a difficult and daunting prospect. It’s not always easy to find someone who is willing to collect you vehicle and make sure it is thoroughly depolluted and reused. There are many people still out there who will simply harvest your cars easily resalable parts and leave the rest to rust.

If you’ve decided to purchase a more fuel efficient vehicle or have resolved to give up your car entirely for a greener mode of transport, car donation is one of the most environmentally friendly ways of getting rid of your old vehicle.

There are a wide range of car donation programs out there, supporting an array of different charitable causes. It is important to find one that will either scrap your vehicle in an environmentally friendly way or put it in to an auction to find a new owner. This ensures that the oldest cars, those with worst fuel consumption, are taken off the road, and newer ones are reused, reducing demand for new car production, which has a significant negative effect on the environment.

If you are in the UK, a great donation program to check out is Giveacar. They guarantee that at least 85% of the weight of your car will be recycled and reused. In addition, they only work with scrap yardHYPERLINK "http://www.giveacar.co.uk/scrap-yards"s that are affiliated to the UK Environment Agency, meaning that your car will be fully depolluted and not just left to drip its hazardous chemicals into the earth.

As well as the environmental benefits of their car HYPERLINK "http://www.giveacar.co.uk/car-scrappage"scrappage scheme, Giveacar promise to donate at least $100 to the donors chosen charity for each car donated. They are partnered with a variety of different causes including several charities tackling the effects of climate change.

Only a year old, they have already recycled more than 3,000 cars and have raised more than $300,000 for good causes.

If you would like to learn more about recycling your car or would like to donate a car, please visit the Giveacar website – www.giveacar.co.uk.

 PS: pictures courtesy: Giveacar 

Read more...

Giveacar ~ Green Charity

Daniel from UK based company called Giveacar, a not-for-profit organisation, sent in a post to be featured on Green Crusader. 

About the company:
Giveacar is into collection and recycling of unwanted cars, with the proceeds of each vehicle going to charity.
They have imported the idea of car donation from the US to the UK, and work with over 250 charities and have raised over £200,000 in the past year through car donation. The company works with scrapyards and salvage operators to ensure cars are sold for their maximum value – thus providing the maximum donation to charity.

Daniel says "Giveacar has had a really positive response, with the service providing a serious financial boost to charities in this current climate, and Reuters have made a news video on the positive effects of social enterprises such as Giveacar. (http://www.reuters.com/news/video/story?videoId=180720019). We are an environmentally friendly operation, recommended by Keep Britain Tidy and recently covered by the Ecologist:
http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/out_and_about/687787/recycle_your_car_dont_scrap_it.html"


Watch this space for the Guest post. :-)

Read more...

Green Garmento ~ Dry Cleaning gone Green (partly atleast!!) ~ Product Review

If you are into dry cleaning your clothes, then this post is definitely for you. Jennifer from the DMD Lab contacted me to write about - Green Garmento.

Whats Green Garmento!??

Every time you bring your dry cleaned clothes home.you walk away with your clothes wrapped in single use plastic bags. If you know me, you would know what I am thinking right now!! lol...

Statistics:

Each year in the US alone, 1.4 billion pieces of clothing are professionally cleaned and 300+ million pounds of single-use plastic drycleaning bags fill our landfills and waterways.

source

OK, now dont get into the "I recycle" argument with me....you too know that recycling every kind of plastic is not possible and also, the amount of time, energy and resources wasted due to the recycling effort is not worth the effort


An Alternative may be! How about Green Garmento...
The Green Garmento, a product developed by Rick Siegel,  is a 4-in-1 reusable garment bag - just like a reusable grocery tote for your clothes - that helps streamline and “green” your drycleaning/laundry routine.

Here’s how it works
At home your Green Garmento serves as a hanging or standard hamper

On your trip to the dry cleaner it functions as a duffel bag

And, most importantly, at pick-up, your dry cleaned clothes will be hanging and protected inside for the trip home – without a single-use plastic bag/twist ties to wrestle with!

It's a simple and simplifying lifestyle change that's practical, eco-friendly, stylish, and affordable ($9.99 retail).... not to mention helping to cut down on the 300 million pounds of plastic drycleaning bags that end up in our landfills each year!

More about the bag

Made from breathable, water-resistant material. 

Wide gussets and a side zipper help to keep everything safely in place and allow you easy access.

Available in multiple sizes from 40 to 72 inches, and a variety of colors, there’s a Green Garmento to suit every need and lifestyle.

Like a reusable grocery tote for your clothes that is eco-friendly, stylish, practical, and affordable ($9.99 retail).

Apart from the fact that the bag can reduce use of plastic bags, I am sure clothes must be safer and well managed in this bag (while being brought home)

How about a funny video :)





My Take...
I do not dry clean so I did not see the need to get this bag though. However, I have a small problem with the material used - Polypropylene. I personally would like a Sturdy Canvas or jute bag!! (Rick,  I hope you are listening). Sorry, thats the die hard Green Crusader speaking :)



Disclaimer: Content source: http://thegreengarmento.com/
Opinion is all mine....This is not a paid review.

Read more...

Earthowl.net - Care a Hoot for the planet

I had been to Climate Change Lobby monthly meet up last Saturday. It has been a few months since I joined the group, however, I could join in the monthly national meet up only last weekend. It was a great experience interacting with fellow Green crusaders and lobbyists. More about the meet in a later post...

As of now, I thought I'd share something about a fellow CCL member's website which sells heavy duty Cotton Canvas bags.

They sells well made canvas bags with witty messages on them.

I appreciate their effort to make a difference.  I recommend a visit to the website and knowing a little more about their effort and maybe a purchase if you could spare $10 and make a commitment to carry your own bag to shop.


Pictures and Link source- EarthOwl.net

Read more...

Eco friendly Printer - Not really

A friend sent out a group mail with ten eco friendly/green living ideas. One of them was a printer which doesn't need paper or ink. This is how it works-


source:eamusing.com
Company creates a desktop printer that doesn't use ink nor paper

Who says printers only use paper to print documents? It's time for you to meet the PrePeat Printer then. Different from conventional printers, PrePeat adopts a thermal head to print on specially-made plastic sheets. These plastic sheets are not merely water-proof, but could be easily erased, just feed the sheets through the printer again, and a different temperature will erase everything or just write over it. Also claimed by the manufacturer, such one sheet could be used up to 1,000 times so that you'll reduce your expenses on paper for sure."

My take!! - Why isnt this a green solution?...
A very important matter of concern - The plastic sheets used to print and erase content. Inventor(s) needs to work on that part of the invention...one major peeve being, the printer itself is made of plastic, whatever the lifespan of the appliance, it is going to end up as tiny immortal bits of plastic floating across some place in the world...hmm.. i am really hoping that i am not the only one who wants to think green or eco sense as a holistic approach

Read more...

I won..I won....

I woke up to a very anxious day today. I was supposed to get a crucial medical report. As first thing in the morning, I sat down to check my email. And lo!...I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me....I had won a nice Green Design Book...Yippiee!!.. I am thrilled to have been picked a winner in a random giveaway!!!!!  Thank you Rachel - for the wonderful book...I am looking forward to receive it!!!

This is the book I won....:-)

Rachel's website... - theinteriorevolution.com is a wonderful Green design and architecture resource..(I recommend that you check it out).  I appreciate Architects and Designers who advocate and really believe in Green, sustainable and eco-friendly design. I read a few articles in her website and loved Rachel for her strong will to make a (Green) difference in the design and construction industry. I am glad to have bumped into Rachel's website. I am sure it is going to be a one stop resource to realize my long standing dream to remodel my parent's home. Also, the book I just won, is going to be a perfect addition to my dream library.

About Rachel
Rachel is an interior designer and an active participant in the green design community. She is a Certified Green Building Professional through "Build it Green" and a member of the Sustainable Homes Committee for the local chapter of the USGBC. Want to know more about this wonderful lady >> HERE is the link

The link to her blog >> HERE

Thank you Rachel, you made my day! 

Read more...

Green Irene

Even the greenest of crusaders need inputs from fellow green beings from time to time. I keep researching for innovations happening in every sphere and industry to keep track of who is doing what, better than I am. As I always mention, living green is a journey. It is for us to be open to ideas so that we could improve on what we are already. Researching helps me to make changes for the better. My basic idea is also to read about which corporate is doing what in terms of making a difference to the environment. (they are the major force in how the world takes to green living. (Let us not buy their claim that they (corporates) are driven by customer demands, is it not logical that if they dint manufacture a non green product in the first place, things would happens for the better!...so first kick all the so called non green product inventors and innovators and the companies who mass produce them, invest in marketing the product, make money and forget about all the ruckus they create for the planet)


During one such researches is when I found this website - Green Irene. They are basically a product marketing company, with consultants in almost every possible state in the USA. What grabbed my attention is that apart from selling "green" products, this company also provide you with inputs to live  greener life while making small changes in ur home and office. I thought it would be great to mention it in my blog. I am not however convinced about the product packaging which is not green yet. I would recommend that you read through their blog and see if you can find anything that you would like to work on (in your lifestyle).

Find a Green Irene- Eco consultant near you ..their blog

Disclaimer:
The views expressed here are my own and am not promoting any company or product offered by them. I am not a part of Green Irene or any associates there off...this was one of my finds during my research for "green jobs" (I m jobless :-) )...until next time..take care

Read more...