Ethletic Children’s Sneakers by Autonomie Project
Autonomie Project prides itself on being an organic, sweatshop-free vegan business and their footwear range makes for a perfect alternative to all the other shoe producers that use harmful products in their manufacturing processes. Autonomie Project also adheres to the Fair Trade principles, meaning amongst other things, the workers are paid a living wage, definitely no child labor, workers have access to health care, no forced overtime and no harassment or discrimination. Overall, Autonomie project is seeking to be a 100% ethical and eco-friendly business.
They have a range of shoes for adults and also offer the Ehtletic Sneakers in children’s sizes suitable for three years and up. Why not teach your kids from an early age that their carbon footprint is just as important as their actual footprint. Like all the Autonomie Project footwear, the Ethletic Sneakers use 100% Fair Trade certified cotton, FSC certified natural rubber and all dyes are PCP and AZO free. Sweatshop-free labor is used to make the shoes. They are available in six colors.
Further details and to buy online, check out the Autonomie Project website.
Intown Magazine Rack by Inmodern
Inmodern is a brand from The Simple Furniture Company and the produce ranges including tables, shelving, media centers, desks, seats and other accessories. All their products are made from FSC approved and Rain Frorest Alliance certified SmartWood. This helps to provide a credible link between responsible product and consumption of forestry products. Unlike many other ready to build furniture manufacturers, all Inmodern products are made from real wood rather than a particle board based laminate that involved the extra use of chemicals.
The Intown magazine rack is a combination of environmentally friendly materials and a simple yet appealing design. It comprises two pieces of wood that can be assembled in seconds. Of course it also has the patented no tools assembly method. No glue is needed, the wood is 100% formaldehyde free and the UV cured finish minimises greenhouse gases. It packs flat for easy shipping or storage.
Further details at the Inmodern website.
Structured Green Bamboo Low Truss Bed
Structured Green makes modern sustainable furniture mostly from bamboo ply which as you would have read elsewhere on this site, is a fast growing sustainable material and perfect for many application around the home and office. The Structured Green philosophy is simple – Design well. Build to last. Live with beauty. They source materials that are sustainably produced, certified or reclaimed, recycled or recyclable. The adhesives are water=-based and the finishes are food grade Tung Oil and beeswax from the local community.
The Structured Green Low Truss bed is made from bamboo ply and finished in a low VOC water-based clear coat. Standard colors are natural and carbonized, however, you can order custom colors if necessary. If you are cusotmizing then you might wish to consider a custom size as well.
Further details at the Structured Green website.
Green Glass Co. Cactus Tumbler reclaimed beer bottle
Green Glass are the market leaders in repurposing beverage bottles into tumblers, vases and other glassware. Recycling is great, however, reuse or repurposing is even better because it often involves less processing, transporting and other actions that can contribute to climate change issues. Green Glass has its origins in South Africa back in 1992 and has emerged as the global market leader in reclaimed glassware.
The Green Glass Co. Cactus Tumbler is created for reclaimed Sol beer bottles. A good beer will last an average ten to fifteen minutes and is then usually discarded and little though it given to what happens to the bottle. It either gets recycled or worse, straight to landfill. The Green Glass Co provides the perfect process to turn these discarded bottles into tumblers whilst retaining the printed label on the bottle. With Sol beer originating from Mexico, what better name for the product than the Cactus Tumbler. Sold in sets of four and dishwasher safe.
Further details at the Green Glass Co. website.
Organik Beach Bum Bag
The guys from Organik, a Hawaii based beach lifestyle brand put out a great range of ec-friendly clothing for both men and women. They are now being stocked in some of the best stores throughout the country or you can buy online at their store. Their aim is to product handcrafted products made from sustainable, organic and recycled materials and printing is hand done using water based inks.
The Organik Beach Bum bag is made from recycled Kona coffee burlap bags which probably means they have to drink a lot of the local Kona coffee to get the bags! It has a recycled fabric liner and the handles are made of boat dock rope. The bag measures 19″ by 22″ and is perfect for dragging all the necessities to the beach.
More information including where to buy at the Organik website.
Plan Toys Wooden Trike
Plan Toys just looks like one of those cool companies that gets to make physically appealing toys for kids. Must be a joy to see the faces of the children when they open a present and see one of these toys. Plus the good thing is that Plan Toys uses environmentally riendly materials for their products. The main material is organic rubberwood which is sourced from rubber trees that are no longer producing latex. The wood is then dried with a chemical free process to strengthen it. As these products are to be used by youngsters, non-toxic E-Zero glues are used in assembly and the dyes are water-based and lead-free. Add to this soy and water-based inks on all printed materials because they understand that sometimes the packaging is more appealing to the kids than the actual product.
The Plan Toys wooden trike is designed as a ride on toy for ages three years and older. It has proper steering and pedalling features just like trikes for older children so they can learn from an early age. Not just for fun, a trike helps with coordination nd teaches bicycle type skills to be used later in life.
More information and how to buy Plan Toys from Amazon.
Preserve Products Recycled Toothbrush
Preserve Products is a Recycline brand and their 100% recycled toothbrushes were their first eco-friendly product. Since then they have become well known for products a high quality range to 100% recycled products such as razors, tongue cleaners, tableware, food storage and mixing among others. These aren’t boring looking products and feature vibrant colours throughout the range. As a further commitment to the environment, whilst all the products are recycleable, some can be returned post paid to the company and they will recycle them.
An example of the product that can be returned to the company is the Preserve Toothbrush. It was designed in conjunction with dentists who recommended a 45 degree curved handle to guarantee a through cleaning of you teeth. It’s available in seven colors so each family member can have their own color (assuming a family of less than seven!) and available in medium, sof and ultrasoft bristles. They also come with a reusable travel case so they stay clean.
Buy this recycled toothbrush by Preserve Products from Amazon.
Zipcar car sharing service for the US and UK markets
Zipcar is just one of those services that is a good idea when looked at from all angles. Sure, it’s tough to pull it off, however, Zipcar appear to have achieved this. Car ownership is expensive and if you have a car just for those times when you need to go somewhere and the majority of time it sits in the garage then a car sharing service might be perfect. No longer do you need to tie up money in a car and lose when you sell it, you can join a car sharing service like Zipcar and enjoy the benefits of a car without the ownership hassles. Heck, you don’t even have to worry about fuel because that’s included in the Zipcar service.
So you are wondering why this is here at Ecobye? Well, sharing a car means less cars need to be manufactured so there are material savings there. There are less cars on the road because people actually think twice about whether they need to really get a car for the trip. The Zipcar website also shows that members save money, compared to car ownership, and are then able to use those savings on other eco-friendly products that might cost a bit more than the regular ones.
There are many locations around the US and UK and membership rates vary from area to area. Fuel, insurance and all other costs are included in the hourly and daily rates. Just pickup the car, drive off and then return it when you have finished.
The Zipcar website has more information.
