Recycle t-shirt by Volcom V.Co-Logical

Posted on 3 October 2008
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Recycle t-shirt by Volcom Volcom are doing a series of V.Co-Logical products made from sustainable materials such as organic cotton and hemp. Prints are made fromm vegetable dyes and organic stains and they use low impact production methods where possible. The range includes, tees, knits, fleece, wovens and a few other miscellaneous items.

The Recycle t-shirt features the well known recycle logo and is made from 100% organic cotton with a low impact screenprint. It is available in blue, natural and vintage black.

You can get more details at the Volcom website where you can purchase online or find a local Volcom dealer.

Palmetto organic t-shirt by Matix Clothing

Posted on 27 September 2008
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Palmetto t-shirt by Matix Another t-shirt from the 100% organic cotton range from MAtix Clothing. The Palmetto t-shirt is available in white, black and sage green.

You can also be part of the polution solution by purchasing products from Matix Clothing. They include a rubbish bag with some of their range rather than the usual wax combs, bottle openers and fin keys. Let face it, you probably have enough of them already. I know I do. Their philosophy is that the environment would be a lot cleaner if everyone picked up just one bag of rubbish and ensured things were disposed of properly rather than just throwing them out of cars, leaving them at the beach or other areas where they end up in rivers and waterways and other nasties.

More information on the Matix Clothing range at the Matix Clothing website.

econscious organic cotton clothing

Posted on 16 September 2008
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econscious slim fit tee econscious product a great range or 100% organic clothing. They offer blank clothing perfect for putting your own design on or for when you just don’t feel like wearing anything more than plain t-shirt. Their range includes t-shirts in both regular and slim fit for men and women, polos, sweatshirts, hoodies, caps, beanies and more. Plus you don’t have to use the plain old natural colour. For example, the men’s slim fit t-shirt pictured is available in sky, wasabi (shown), white, warm grey and black. It is made from 100% organic ring spun cotton in 150gsm. Not too heavy and not too light. The slim fit uses a side seam construction which isn’t always suitable for the large prints so keep that in mind.

A quick look over the econscious website shows a documented commitment to manufacturing attractive products with the least possible impact on the environment. They are constantly striving to improve their processes rather than stading still. “Doing well by doing good” is a motto they follow.

Wholesale orders are also possible and from a quick bit of research it appears they supply some of the more popular brands with their organic blanks. Don’t worry though, you can still buy in retail quantities and there is no need to order over 1200 at a time unless you want private labeling options.

Th!nk City electric car

Posted on 11 September 2008
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Th!nk City electric car The Th!nk City is an electric car from the Scandinavian company Th!nk or Think. They have been developing electric cars for over 17 years and their aim is to change the way people think about electric cars. Carefree, carbon-free mobility is the way they state it. The cars are made in the most efficient small assemlby plant in Europe and was developed with the help of Porsche Consulting.

The Th!nk City is a 100% electric car that meets all the safety standards throughout Europe and North American. No driving around in something that feels about as safe as a scooter. The Th!nk City is a zero local emmissions car with an engine that is about three times more efficient than a traditional combustion engine. With the latter, most of the energy is wasted and only around 20% is actually used. The highly efficient electric engine has a city driving range of about 200 kilometres and can be charged overnight. And let’s not forget just how silent electric cars are when running.

See the full Th!nk product range at the Th!nk website.

Sweatleaf organic cotton t-shirt by Matix Clothing

Posted on 8 September 2008
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Sweatleaf t-shirt by Matix Matix Clothing might not have a large range of environmentally friendly products, however, they are doing something a bit different and hopefully encouraging people to clean up their local area. They call it Polution Solution and instead of including small items like wax combs, fin keys and bottle opener with their apparel they are including a trash bag. The theory being that if everyone picked up a bag of trash when they hit the beach things would be a lot cleaner.

Matix Clothing do have some organic clothing and the Sweatleaf t-shirt is an example. Made from 100% organic cotton, it comes in black, white and marine blue. So pick one of these up and rather than being part of the problem, become part of the solution.

More information on the Matix Clothing range at the Matix Clothing website.

Logical Star organic cotton wallet

Posted on 4 September 2008
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The Logical Star wallet by Volcom is part of their V.Co-Logical product range. It is made from 100% certified organic cotton and comes in two colours, natural and vintage black. It is a three fold cloth wallet with a velcro closure.

The V.Co-Logical initiative by Volcom is their social responsibility program that covers a range of products, support for outside programs and also an inhouse program to reduce waste and utilize sustainable materials. They have also teamed up with One Percent For The Planet where 1% of the sales from the series are donated to environmental causes.

More details of the entire Volcom range can be found at the Volcom website.

Catalog Choice to opt out of receiving paper catalogs

Posted on 28 August 2008
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Catalog Choice is a free service for US residents who wish to opt out of receiving paper catalogs through the mail. Whilst it relies on the merchants to voluntarily honour the requests their list of endorsements is long. You simply sign up for free and then select the catalogs you wish to decline. If the catalog isn’t listed then you can suggest it for inclusion. The benefits are for both the senders and the receivers because the senders get to reduce the number of catalogs delivered (by only sending to people interested in them) and hence the cost of production whilst the receivers get less clutter in the mail boxes.

Environmentally speaking the benefits are huge. According to the site, there are more than 19 billion paper catalogs delivered each year. Just imagine the lost sforests, carbon emission in producing and delivering them and then the problems of what to do with them once they have been used. Annually it accounts for 53 million trees and around 53 billion gallons of water discharges from the volume of paper required. that’s 81000 Olympic sized pools. The power used in production is roughly the same as the annual power usage of 1.2 million homes. Truly staggering.

Of course they have a strict privacy policy and you can find out all the details at Catalog Choice.

Leather and denim sandals by begoodesigns

Posted on 23 August 2008
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Be Good Designs leather and denim sandals begoodesigns makes use of excess leather from other manufacturing processes and turns it into stylish products such as the sandals as shown. These are the leather and denim model and are made from recycled cream leather upper and insole lined with denim.

begoodesigns sources excess materials and claims a massive 99% of inputs are excess leather. Rather than seeing this going to waste it is being turned into stylish eco-friendly products. In addition, 100% of their waste is reused. By producing smaller producs such as jewellery they ensure nothing goes in the bin. And what doesn’t go into their products is used as packaging which also means 100% of the packaging is made from excess fabric.

More details at the begoodesigns website.

MBT Chapa GTX Pumpkin sports shoe

Posted on 18 August 2008
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MBT Chapa GTX shoes MBT or Masai Barefoot Technology have a range of sports and casual shoes and sandals. The featured shoe is the Chapa GTX Pumpkin sports shoe that uses their patented technology based on the Masai walking tribe from Africa. There are a range of benefits to using these shoes including improved gait and posture, increased toning of the legs when walking because they help to use neglected muscles and reduced stresses on the knees and hips.

Better still, the company has a very strong corporate responsibility program. Footwear manufacturers have received a lot of bad publicity and MBT addresses each of these concerns on their website. They support the International Labor Organization’s efforts and have established their own code of conduct covering issues such as forced or convict labour, child labour, remuneration and maximum working hours.

From an environmental perspective, their boxes are made from cardboard and designed such that they don’t require any glues or staples and are fully recyclable. Shoes are shipped with an environmentally firendly picro-pack patch to reduce bacteria and mould. They operate a clean manufacturing facility in Korea, keeps harmful emmissions to a minimum and doesn’t use chemicals with benzene structures. Finally, they use chrome-tanned leather to produce a strong, flexible product using the most energy and water efficient method.

The full range of MBT shoes can be seen on their website.

Nature’s Avenger organic herbicide

Posted on 12 August 2008
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Natures Avenger Organic Herbicide Nature’s Avenger Organic Herbvicide is a pleasant change the the toxic chemicals we have been using in our gardens for years. The majority of people probably give little thought to where it all ends up as longer as the weeds and bugs are killed. This organic herbicide is made with natural citrus-oil, is approved for use in organic production, OMRI listed and EPA registered.

The makers claim it is just as effective as the synthetic glysophate based herbicides and results appear within a couple of hours. The idea is very simple. The citrus oil stips the plant of its waxy cuticle and it ends up dehydrating. The patented technology affects the plant but doesn’t leave a lasting impact on the soil so you can be planting again within hours. Obviously it affects all plants so overspray should be avoided and protect plants that you don’t wish to kill. Emulsion technology helps you see where has been sprayed.

It is available in a 24oz ready to use spray bottle, or better still, buy the 32oz or 1 gallon concentrate and help reduce the number of containers .

More detals of how Nature’s Avenger Organic Herbicide works at their website.