Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
- 9 monthsWhat a difference a year makes. At the start of 2007, few consumer products companies had a focus on sustainability in packaging. However, 54 percent of the consumer goods companies that AMR Research recently surveyed are targeting improvements. The numbers are highest in food and beverage, with 65 percent seeing it as an important objective for 2008.Sustainability matters to major customers
The New York Times has a special section on green business. Highlights include:
Read the full story at News.com.
- 9 monthsThe International Home and Housewares Show 2008, held this week in Chicago, touted many eco-friendly, energy-efficient household products coming soon to retail and online stores.
- 9 monthsSoliant LLC has been awarded the Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC(R)) 2008 Achievement Award for “Enabling Technologies in Processes and Procedures” — for developing Fluorex(R) bright film. Fluorex(R) bright film is currently used on a variety of plastic substrates to provide a chrome finish comparable to chrome plating. This sustainable alternative to chrome plating offers very low emissions, excellent impact performance and 100% recyclability. Fluorex(R) bright film is used in insert molding, extrusion lamination and thick sheet thermoforming.
Read the full story in Modern Plastics.
- 9 monthsCereplast (Hawthorne, CA) has signed a multiyear supply contract with extruder Pace Industries Inc. (Reedsburg, WI) to supply that company with its Compostables resin for use in custom sheet and roll products for the graphic arts industry. The Compostables line replaces the majority of petroleum-based resin with plastics derived from various starches, including corn, wheat, tapioca, and potato.
Read the full story in Modern Plastics.
- 9 monthsUsing $20 million in financing from Royal DSM N.V.’s venture arm, Tianjin Green Bio-Science Co. will build a manufacturing site for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) in the Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA). Produced through fermentation by microorganisms, PHA is an alternative to other bioplastics such as PLA, which is derived from polylactic acid by way of plant sugars. To date, the main proponent of PHA has been Metabolix (Cambridge, MA), which, along with its partner Archer Daniels Midland, will begin operating a new PHA plant this year in Clinton, IA, with an announced capacity of 110 million lb.
Read the full story in the Washington Post.
- 10 monthsThere was a time, and it was pre-Al Gore, when buying organic meant eggs and tomatoes, Whole Foods and farmer’s markets. But in the past two years, the word has seeped out of the supermarket and into the home store, into the vacation industry, into the Wal-Mart. Almost three-quarters of the U.S. population buys organic products at least occasionally; between 2005 and 2006 the sale of organic non-food items increased 26 percent, from $744 million to $938 million, according to the Organic Trade Association.
Read the full story and view the photos at News.com.
- 10 monthsWhat does cardboard furniture have to do with technology?
As prices rise for oil and raw materials (even sawdust), fans of furniture made from cardboard call it more earth-friendly and affordable than its wooden counterparts, which usually requires felling trees, or furniture made of pressboard, which contains toxic glues. It’s also lightweight and can be packed flat for easy shipping.
Star architect Frank Gehry is known as the design pioneer in this realm. Between 1969 and 1973, his “Easy Edges” series of designs layered corrugated cardboard to create chairs and tables capped by a wooden layer for extra strength. Design schools regularly teach Gehry’s forms.
Cardboard as a building block is slowly gaining in appeal around the world. The 2000 Olympics in Sydney featured cardboard furniture. In Hong Kong, cardboard is used for coffins.
Read the full story from Environmental Leader.
- 10 monthsThe first organic standard for the U.S. beauty and personal care market has launched with the support of 30 founding members including Aveda, Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, and Origins, according to the Organic And Sustainable Industry Standards, or OASIS.
Read the full story in the New York Times.
- 10 monthsTravelers who don’t trust the water from a mountain stream or a hotel-room faucet have a portable high-tech option for purifying drinking water.
- 10 monthsWorking with University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering and business school faculty and students, a Wisconsin entrepreneur has perfected a fiber-reinforced fishing lure that may prevent millions of pounds of toxic plastics from polluting waters nationwide.
Read the full story in E The Environmental Magazine.
- 10 monthsKids outgrow shoes at an alarming rate. And gone are the days of the all-white walking shoes that live on as bronzed bookends or pencil holders. Kids’ shoes are a quickly expanding market, filled with mini adult versions of everything from flip-flops to slippers to heeled dress shoes. Companies with a green perspective are looking to balance what’s most important in a child’s shoe—durability and flexibility—with materials and methods that are better for the planet. These environmentally conscious shoes are generally more expensive, but kids’ shoes are also a favorite hand-me-down, especially during those fast-growing toddler years. That makes quality construction all the more appealing, whether as a parent to multiple kids, or a mom or dad in a network of other like-minded parents.
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency is launching this week the first steps toward new green standards for copiers and other imaging devices. This effort builds on the success of EPEAT - an on-line tool to help institutional buyers identify and buy greener electronic equipment.
On February 20, 2008 EPA will host a two-day roundtable to kick-off the development process for the new environmental standards. The forum will bring together representatives from manufacturers, suppliers, public and private sector purchasers, public interest groups and experts in electronics design to define the scope of the products to be covered, look at other standards and labels, and begin to develop potential environmental performance criteria for the new standards.
“EPEAT is a trusted resource for buyers looking for greener computers, because it was developed by all the stakeholders,” said David Jones, Associate Director of the Waste Division in EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “The success of EPEAT has led to significant environmental benefits. EPA is committed to supporting stakeholder efforts to now reduce the impact of printers and copiers as well.”
EPEAT – the electronic product environmental assessment tool – was launched in 2006, focusing on desktop and laptop computers and monitors. It includes a set of environmental criteria and a system for registering and verifying equipment that meets those criteria. EPEAT-registered computers have reduced levels of toxics, are more energy efficient, are easier to upgrade and recycle, and use more sustainable packaging than conventional equipment. EPA supported the development of EPEAT, but it is now a largely self-sustaining system operated by the Green Electronics Council.
Purchasers have embraced EPEAT enthusiastically. Nearly all electronic equipment purchases by the U.S. government must be EPEAT-registered. In addition, more than six states and dozens of local governments and colleges and universities have adopted EPEAT in their procurement for computers. Major private companies are using the tool as well. That success has driven demand by purchasers for additional products to be added to EPEAT.
The February 20th workshop will begin a 12-18 month process to craft the criteria for imaging devices. EPA will not develop the new standard itself, but is providing funding and staff support to bring stakeholders together to do so. The standard will be finalized the IEEE Standards Association.
For information on the EPEAT standard and the searchable database listing all EPEAT-registered computer products, visit http://www.epeat.net. Additional information on the Green Electronics Council is available at http://www.greenelectronicscouncil.org.
- 10 monthsRead the full story in Metropolis Magazine.
- 10 monthsJapanese luxury-bathroom manufacturer Toto has developed a tile that essentially cleans itself. Available in Japan since 1993, Hydrotect tiles are currently used in more than 7,000 buildings, and they make their stateside debut this spring. The tiles work on the same principle as self-cleaning glass, which has been used successfully in the United States for a few years. Titanium dioxide is baked into the surface of the ceramic tiles. When exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, it decomposes organic compounds, including soot, grime, and oil. The treated surface also becomes hydrophilic, meaning that a thin layer of moisture prevents dirt adhesion. As a result, mere rainwater washes away the dirt particles—no scrubbing or harmful detergents required.
- 10 monthsGreen-e Climate to offer consumer protection program for retail offsets, launching at Carbon Forum America, February 26th from 12:15-1:00 at Moscone Center, San Francisco
- 10 monthsSteve Nash is the All-Star guard for the Phoenix Suns whose passion for environmental awareness forged a partnership with Nike to create the Nike Trash Talk, the first performance basketball shoe made from manufacturing waste. Nash will debut the Nike Trash Talk tomorrow night in Phoenix against the Dallas Mavericks.
Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal.
- 10 monthsYour credit card can help save the planet. That’s the message companies are pitching to consumers as they roll out new credit cards designed to cash in on people’s worries about global warming.
The latest installment of This Green Life reminds us that the greenest thing we can do is follow the 3Rs. Includes some excellent resources for purchasing products made from recycled materials.
- 10 monthsRead the full story in Occupational Health & Safety.
- 10 monthsIn a recently completed study funded by GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), there was preliminary evidence that “green” low-emitting products may still cause increased chemicals in indoor environments.
Read the full story in Interior Design.
- 11 months…it isn’t only the national chains that are going green. Many communities can now boast of green building materials stores, beginning with Seattle’s Environmental Home Center, which may have been the first of its kind. Stocked with a diverse array of products—from appliances and bath fixtures to finishes and lighting—a spin around these centers is a de facto education in what’s green. What we haven’t had are green home furnishing stores, until now.