Friday, September 24, 2010

Eco Gadgets: Solar energy harnessing Flower Cell offers a sustainable recharge

Here is a really great, eco-friendly idea for charging any of your portable devices by using the energy from the sun:



Eco Factor: Solar-powered portable electronics charger.

The current situation of the planet demands more use of alternative energy and systems that are less polluting and more environmentally responsible. This thinking has made several designers develop products that in some way or the other are helping retrieve the environment from its present state. Industrial designer Alan RĂ­os is a man on the same mission.

Alan has developed a green charger, known as Flower Cell, that relies on the use of solar energy to offer sustainable recharge to most portable electronic gadget you might be possessing. The flower-shaped device carries flexible solar panels in its petals, which harness sunlight and store it in its internal battery. Portable electronic devices that have the ability to charge via a USB port can be connected to the Flower Cell for a quick recharge.

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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Green Lunch-boxes - For Your Back to School Needs


Taken from the website: www.gogreenlunchbox.com

Many of the local elementary schools are working hard to teach the children of our community the importance of protecting the environment. Since their kindergarten days, my children have been taught repeatedly the phrase, “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Over the past few years, with children taking the lead, my family has made changes in our daily lives to do our part to protect and conserve our environment – locally and globally.

In 2008, Go Green Lunch Box was founded simply out of "frustration." Packing two lunches everyday, I was appalled at the amount of waste generated by the packaging of single-serve items (sandwiches, juices, snacks, desserts, etc.). All of that – plastic baggies/wrap/cups, paper cartons/bags, cellophane bags – eventually wound up in our landfills. Upon reading a statistic about a typical American child generating 67 pounds of lunch packaging waste each school year, I knew I had to make some changes. After buying food containers and trying, unsuccessfully, to fit all the containers into the lunch boxes we already owned, resulting in either the lids or containers (or both!) not being brought back home from school, I decided to solve the problem . . . hence, Go Green Lunch Box!

I have partnered with a family friend and international businessman, Hinman Dunn, who has manufacturing and sourcing experience. Like many new products, customer feedback over the past year has provided Hinman and me excellent opportunities to improve our products so as to better meet the needs of parents and children. Consequently, our latest product line features not only design changes, but also, improvements in functionality and durability. We truly think these “second year” products will be very well-received by our existing and new customers.

To ensure quality of our products, Hinman has spent considerable time working with our contracted factories. Also, the lunch box and bottle have passed tests in accordance with the relevant FDA extract and California Proposition 65 (the nation’s most stringent law regulating environmental health and safety). Our food container is made of polypropylene, along with silicone to ensure freshness of its contents. Both are safe and recyclable (please visit www.americanchemistry.com for additional information on plastics and recyclability).

Thursday, September 2, 2010

5 Go Green At Home Tips!

Green "to go." - Not brewing at home? Take a travel cup to your favorite java joint; they may fill it at a discount.

Put it to sleep. - If you'll be away from your computer for more than 20 minutes, change it to "sleep" mode.

BYOB. - Bags, that is. It's good for your wallet, too: Some retailers, such as CVS, now pay you for every disposable bag you don't take ($1 on a special CVS card for every four trips on which you BYO).

Book it. - Dr. Seuss's 1971 book, The Lorax, stars a creature who "speaks for the trees" against those who'd cut them down. Talk about the message with your tykes (book and matching plush doll, $5 each, Kohl's).

Pitch in. - Live in one of the 11 states with bottle bills? Have your kids collect aluminum cans and plastic bottles to redeem for cash to spend on a treat.