For many of us, at least some of the weekend just gone will have been spent planning and shopping for the big festive meal. With so much sustainability debate on wasted food in 2014, have our minds begun turning to food waste this Christmas?
GoldieBlox, the startup behind “Engineering Toys for Girls” and star capital-raiser on Kickstarter, may have blazed a trail by marketing construction toys to girls. But it may be the venerable, and long-criticized, LEGO brand that finally has gotten it just right in terms of how to properly engage this largely overlooked segment of its audience.LEGO recently parried years of criticism with a new TV ad that focuses on the imaginative powers of play in young girls — a paean to the relationship that they can have with toys that traditionally haven’t been marketed to them, as dolls and costumes have — and a call for them to #KeepBuilding.
Now through December 30, eco-friendly watch maker WeWOOD is running a #TreeFreeHoliday campaign, aimed at educating people on the importance of saving trees and planting new ones."We [hope to] encourage our fans and Instagram users to post photos of the creative ways they decorate for the holidays without using a real tree,” said co-founder Daniele Guidi. “For every photo submission we receive, we will plant a tree."
Amazon has announced the launch of Amazon Elements, a new line of everyday essentials with transparent origins. Beginning with signature diapers and baby wipes, Amazon Elements offers Prime members an unprecedented level of information — when and where items were made, why each ingredient was included, where the ingredients were sourced and more.
My favourite story coming out SB ‘14 London was definitely from Lyf Shoes’ Aly Khalifa, as it managed to combine several of my favourite things: shoes, sustainability and localization, together with an unlikely hero. I was introduced (and intrigued) first by this tweet which came up on the #sb14london feed. Sustainable shoes made with a 3D printer. Intriguing.
U.K.-based startup Aquavus is developing a new technology that uses ultrasound to purify and desalinate seawater and clean contaminated water. The system uses powerful ultrasound to blast impure water into particles of less than 10 microns, which then evaporate and condense to form pure water.A single Aquavus unit can purify around 800 gallons a day—enough to supply clean water for 150 people each day in regions in the Global South where people consume just over five gallons per day for drinking, cooking and bathing.
Replenish Bottling, creator of the Replenish Refill System™, has launched a new product line that could change the way many water-based consumer products are designed, manufactured and sold.Using Replenish’s patented Refill System, the CleanPath line of products allows consumers to mix concentrates with water at home using a reusable bottle, thereby eliminating carbon emissions and plastic waste by over 80 percent.The Replenish packaging technology can be found in a new line of concentrate household cleaning and personal care items sold under the CleanPath brand exclusively on the shelves of 2,000 Walmart stores, in 200 Sam’s Clubs and on Walmart.com.
Timberland has announced a collaboration with tire manufacturer and distributor Omni United to create the first tires ever purposely designed to be recycled into footwear outsoles after their journey on the road is complete. Timberland Tires represent a new model in tire innovation: a sustainable, tire-to-shoe lifecycle. The tires will be made in the U.S. (using both domestic and imported materials) and feature a rubber formulation that is appropriate for the recycling of the tires at the end of their useful life into shoes, rather than alternatives such as being used for tire-derived fuel or ending up in landfills.
Tarkett, a global leader in flooring and sports surfaces solutions, has reached an agreement in principle with Bencis Capital Partners and minority investors to acquire 100% of Netherlands-based Desso, producer of high-end and Cradle to Cradle Certified carpet flooring for the commercial, consumer and sports markets throughout Europe.“The acquisition of Desso will enable Tarkett to accelerate its profitable growth strategy by targeting the European market of added value carpet for commercial and residential use, as well as innovative sports surfaces.
Doing the right thing is rarely easy. It means asking tough questions, taking bold risks and making important changes. And since our company began 161 years ago, we’ve been committed to doing exactly that — on behalf of our employees, consumers, workers and the planet.Today, one of the biggest initiatives at Levi Strauss & Co. is sustainability. And if we hadn’t asked ourselves the difficult questions, we never would have landed on and launched our most sustainable, innovative and influential product offering to date: Levi’s Water<Less.
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute announced today it will now offer a Material Health Certificate, a tool for manufacturers across industries to communicate their work toward chemically optimized products. The Material Health Certificate marks the first time the Institute has offered reporting of its comprehensive methodology in only one category.
The search is on for fashion or textile designers that can show their flair for sustainable fashion; the brand new SCAP Extending the Life of Clothes Design Awards (SCAP ELC Awards) is looking for designers to develop innovative solutions to clothes that are wearable for longer. In return, the winner will receive £5,000 and the opportunity to progress their work and develop it for a commercial market.
Goodyear has launched a new fuel-efficient long haul drive tire that improves highway fuel economy by an average of 2 percent compared to the Michelin X Line Energy D, the next most fuel efficient tire on the market.The tire, called Fuel Max LHD G505D, saves around $1,444 worth of fuel per truck per year, compared to the Michelin X Line Energy D. The Fuel Max technology incorporates innovative fuel-efficient compounds, tire constructions and tread designs to lower the rolling resistance of the tires, which reduces truck fuel consumption.
It’s that time of year: vaccine season — your local hospital is probably already advertising free flu shots. But this fall, something’s different. If your provider is like the 300 global healthcare professionals my company, Johnson & Johnson, and Harris Poll recently surveyed, chances are your hospital has “gone green” — 80 percent of global respondents now expect their hospitals will consider sustainability when purchasing products within the next two years.
Boll & Branch, makers of socially conscious home textiles, has announced that its full line of products — including bed sheet sets, duvets, shams and bed covers — will be the first of their kind to sport Fair Trade USA'sFair Trade Certified™ label.
Scientists at Michigan State University say they have developed a translucent solar cell which can capture energy from the invisible parts of the light spectrum, but still let in visible light.In other words, it may soon be possible to generate solar electricity through your windows, instead of just the panels on the roof.The transparent luminescent solar concentrator uses organic molecules created to absorb invisible wavelengths of light, such as ultraviolet and near infrared light. The material moves this invisible light to the edges of the panel, where strips of photovoltaic solar cells absorb and convert it to electricity.
VELUX America has unveiled Active House USA, a custom sustainable home in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves, MO that combines leading sustainability and high performance building practices from around the world.The prototype home defines the next generation of sustainable home building in the U.S., combining expertise from leading sustainable building practices in the United States and from European Active House Alliance practices.
IKEA GreenTech, an IKEA Group venture capital company, has invested in Design LED Products Ltd, a Scottish company with a unique technology for a new generation of lighting products using energy-efficient “light tiles” — LEDs embedded into clear resins and films. The tiles are unique as they are extremely thin, flexible and low cost and can be seamlessly joined together in an array of designs.The investment will support the delivery of the IKEA’s People & Planet Positive sustainability strategy, which includes goals to enable customers to save energy and live more sustainably at home.
Imagine filling the Empire State Building with used toilet roll tubes. Then fill it again. Every year, globally, we throw away 17 billion toilet roll tubes — enough to fill the Empire State Building twice. It’s a scale of waste that consumers find hard to imagine, so Kimberly-Clark's SCOTT® Brand has tried to give them a hand by unveiling a replica of the Empire State Building — a dramatic art structure in New York’s Flatiron Plaza.The 30-foot structure was built to celebrate the national release of Scott Naturals® Tube-Free bath tissue.
Hot on the heels of Patagonia making its bio-based wetsuit material publicly available in order to advance the sustainability of the surf industry, and everyone from adidas to G-Star Raw to Thread turning plastic bottles into fabric, Quiksilver has announced the launch of its newly designed AG47 New Wave Boardshorts, made with REPR