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.
Bamboo Living prefabricated bamboo houses
Bamboo Living Homes is a maui, Hawaii based firm that recognises the benefits of building green homes from bamboo. Technically bamboo is a grass rather than a tree and is the fastest growing plant on earth with some varieties growing about four feet a day. There are a few unique things about bamboo that make it very appealing from an environmental point of view. Obviously it is a renewable resource and matures in around five years. It is basically a carbon sink as it converts carbon dioxide into sugars that form the fibres of the plant. It is strong enough to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes and actually survives them better than other building materials.
The variety of bamboo that Bamboo Living Homes uses a ‘timber’ species and the hollow tube shape gives it a strength factor about 1.9 times more than an equivalent solid wood beam. There are a variety of designs to choose from or you can custom design a home for yourself. you can even create your own resort villas with the prefabricated villas delivered to your site and an installation person then trains local personnel in assembling them. Prices on the site are shown per square foot so you can get an idea of the pricing as well.
More details about Bamboo Living Homes at their website.
Vans Cojo eco-friendly shoes
The Vans range of eco-friendly shoes in the surf lineup covers slip-ons and lace-ups in low, half cab and full styles. All of them feature natural based raw materials such as hemp and bamboo and use water based glues and inks.
The Cojo comes in three colours and one of them features the checkerboard pattern that is synonymous with Vans. Materials include chrome-free suede and hemp, bamboo charcoal lining, hemp infused gum rubber outer soles and they are also natural crepe wrapped. Plus, all water based glues and inks.
Click to checkout the full range of Vans shoes.
Half Crepe and Half Crepe Lace Up shoes by Vans
More fine footwear from the folks at Vans Surf. Vans as a company has been through ups and downs and deserves your support. They offer great products and put so much back into sports like surfing, skateboarding and BMX just to name a few. Think of events such as the Vans Triple Crown and Vans Warped Tours.
The Vans Half Crepe shoes come in slip on and lace up varieties. Not a low shoe and not a boot, they are the ‘half’ shoes. made from natural hemp, corduroy and suede with bamboo charcoal linings and a natural crepe outsole. Water based glues hold them together and the inks are also water based.
To purchase Vans shoes, have a look at the range here.
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.
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.
Twist bamboo cleaning cloth
Twist is a Boulder, Colorado based company specialising in household cleaning products that replace the need for paper towels and the like. All their products are 100% biodegradable, free of dyes and dishwasher safe (top rack).
Something I haven’t seen before is instructions on their website about how to turn their recyclable packaging into bird feeders. Perhaps more companies can think about other uses for their packaging.
The Twist Bamboo Cleaning Cloth is made from 82% bamboo and 18% corn. Bamboo is one of those fast growing plants that doesn’t require pesticides or fertilizers. It is perfect for so many products because the varieties range from soft to hard and can be used across a large number of products.
The bamboo cloth is a 100% biodegradable chamois for dusting and polishing and at the time of introduction in mid 2008, was the only 100% biodegradable chamois in the US market.
Check out more details at the Twist website.
Kayu bamboo sunglasses by Kayu Design
Kayu has created a product that many people might think unnecessary because of the small amount of materials in sunglasses. That said, to many people they are fashion accessories and they might own numerous pairs. Plus, every little bit helps.
The frames are made from bamboo, the perfect raw material because it is fast growing ( can restore itself in only five years) and good growth isn’t reliant on lots of fertilizers and pesticides. Besides, lovable animals like pandas love bamboo and eat so much of it (it’s low in nutrients) that it has to be fast growing.
Kayu products aren’t cheap, however, $50 from each sale is donated to Unite For Site which is enough for one sight restoring surgery in a developing country.
The complete range including the bamboo sunglasses can be seen at Kayu Design.
Vans Low Crepe shoe
I have been a long time supporter of Vans shoes since my early teens as a young BMX rider wishing I had a pair. Eventually I bought a pair and still have them. Just can’t get rid of them.
So fast forward many years and I was pleased to see them making footwear from sustainable raw materials. The Low Crepe model is a slip-on made from natural hemp and textiles, a bamboo lining, hemp infused gum rubber sole (waffle design of course) and all held together with water based glues. They come in a few colours all using water based inks.
These are part of their surf range so check out the Vans range.
