Greenworks Natural All Purpose Cleaner
Greenworks is part of the global consumer products company Clorox. Not necessarily known for the environmentally friendly products. It looks like they be moving in the right direction with some of their cleaning products. A partnership with the Sierra Club and with products authorised to carry the EPA‘s Design For The Environment certification logo, Greenworks appears to be serious about their green products.
The Greenworks Natural All Purpose Cleaner, as the name suggests, can be used in many places around the house and works on most dirt, grimes and mess. It is safe for most surfaces, just check the details before use. The natural cleaner is made using plant based ingredients from coconuts, plus essential oils. The website includes details that it is 99.93% natural.
More information and uses at the Greenworks Cleaners website.
The Brelli sustainable bamboo umbrella
Brelli is a wholly owned subsidiary of PAM&Co and is proof that eco-friendly products don’t have to look ugly. The company looks at all aspects of their business to see where they can improve. Examples include their website being created by a solar-powered graphic design studio (just remove the music please!), and hosted by a company that purchases renewable energy certificates.
The Brelli is available in 35″ and 52″ sizes and the frame is made from sustainable bamboo with a biodegradable clear material for the canopy. It should biodegrade in around five years, all the while releasing only harmless gases that can generate around 90% of the electricity used in the manufacturing process if applicable.
See more photos of The Brelli at their website.
Vers Audio 1.5R bamboo iPod dock
Vers Audio’s mission according to their website is to ‘craft a beautiful, better sounding system with less impact to the environment at the same time’. As a company they look for sustainable materials and in the case of the wood they use the entire tree including the roots, trunk, branches, leaves and bark. The paper in the packaging is 100% post-consumer waste. What is even better is they have looked to reduce the overall packaging as well. For example, no twist ties and paper pulp packing rather than styrene foam means a 12% reduction in the size of the box. The flow on means more boxes per container and the subsequent saving in transportation.
What about the product? The Vers Audio 1.5R Bamboo uses an energy efficient amplifier and by using 9.5mm thick wood rather than plastic the unit is more rigid and therefore the sound is not affected by the product. Most other ipod docks don’t consider this. Style wise they have adopted the less is more approach and left just the basic controls. Perfect.
Much more information including technical specifications are available at the Vers Audio website.
Hand woven baskets and bowls made from telephone wire
The Zulu women in South Africa are well known for their basket weaving abilities. They have applied these skills to making great looking baskets and bowls of various shapes and sizes, from telephone wire. The discarded telephone wire provides a great raw material and because of the different colours, each bowl is slightly different.
As well as utilising an obsolete material, the proceeds from sales is helping the Zulu communities support themselves rather than becoming reliant on government and foreign aid. Many of them have been affected by HIV/AIDS and the money helps them receive health education in addition to the basic education needs. The locals own the businesses and it is not simply a case of a business person taking advantage of the Zulu women.
You can view more designs and buy the telephone wire woven bowls from the Original Women website.
PlantLove lipsticks by Cargo Cosmetics
Firstly, it must be stressed that Cargo Cosmetics might be using eco-friendly packaging, however, their products such as the lipsticks mentioned below still contain parabens. Guess it’s better than using harmful packaging as well and every little bit helps.
The 20 lipsticks in the PlantLove range are supplied in tubes made from corn. Corn is a renewable resource and the bio-plastic is greenhouse gas neutral. The packaging doesn’t stop there. If you purchase their product in the US then the box can be moistened and planted to grow wildflowers.
A couple of other quick facts about the PlantLove range are that the shades were designed by celebrities such as Evangeline Lily, Angie Harmon and Kim Raver. Also, $2 from every sale is donated to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
More information about the PlantLove range at the Cargo Cosmetics website.
Famous Green Label surf wax
Surf wax is one of those items you don’t really think about much. Put it on the board and paddle out, so to speak. Problem is that you need to keep reapplying it because it comes off and is dispensed into the oceans. Not very ocean friendly if manufactured from petro-chemical based products.
Enter Famous Surf Wax and their green label line of eco-friendly surf waxes. It is a 100% petro-chemical free product that is completely biodegradable. This is an organic product, all natural and most importantly, earth friendly. Every surfer should be able to find a suitable one because it is available in five temperature from 60-Below F (15-Below C) to 78-Above F (25-Above C).
Even the packaging is recycled, FSC certified and printed with soy based inks.
The Famous Surf Wax website has more details.
J Brand Jeans Love Story in woodstock denim
J Brand jeans Green Label is their newest range, joining the Blue and Black Labels. The denim jeans are made from certified 100% organic cotton. The cotton fields comply with SKAL International standards for textile production. Additionally all washing is done with vegetable dyes.
If you are a celebrity watcher in the US then you might have already seen their jeans on people such as Cameron Diaz, Hilary Duff, Angelina Jolie and Heidi Klum, to name a few.
The Love Story jeans are a slim fit to the knee with a feminine waistband made from 10 ounce lightweight stretch denim. The woodstock colour is only available in their Green Label range. If you like the cut but not the colour, they are also available in the light haight colour.
Full details at the J Brand Jeans website.
Sea Captain shoes by Vans Surf
As written elsewhere, I think Vans shoes are the best. I’ve tried other major brands and keep going back to Vans. Perhaps because I never wear them out like the others. Tough as nails and big on style.
If you prefer a lace-up then the Vans Sea Captain is a better choice over the slip-on Low Crepe Vans model. Very similar low cut show made from similar materials. A quick rundown includes organic canvas, hemp and nubuck uppers, bamboo charcoal lined midsole insert, water based inks and glues. Finally, the Vans traditional waffle sole.
Click for the Vans Sea Captain range of colours and best pricing.
Greenworks Natural Bathroom Cleaner
Greenworks is the eco-friendly brand developed in early 2008 byt the household products conglomerate Clorox. Hopefully the culture will permeate into their other product lines that aren’t quite as environmentally friendly.
The Greenworks natural bathroom cleaner is a 99% natural product with plant based ingredients (from coconuts) and lemon essential oil. The remaining one percent is a synthetic preservative that they haven’t been able to replace with a natural version as yet.
Packaging is recyclable and just as importantly, the products are not tested on animals.
See more about the natural bathroom cleaner and other products in the range at the Greenworks website.
