Brady Hamed
Bureo's Upcycled Skateboard Aims to Clean Up Chile's Waters
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Last fall, we introduced a startup called Bureo Skateboards, which aimed to build skateboards from the tons of plastic waste littering Chile’s beaches and waters. Founders Ben Kneppers and David Stover detailed the company’s journey from the idea phase to a multi-faceted funding structure. At the time, the two friends were reluctant to release many specifics about their final product line, as it was still pre-production, but last month they got back in touch, ready to discuss their next phase. - 8 years ago
Phonebloks Using Open Innovation to Develop the Best Phone in the World
Product, Service & Design Innovation / While I won’t say which company makes my smart phone, I will say that my phone breaks… a lot. I’ve had problems with the headphone jack, the vibrate setting, and currently, the touch screen will occasionally start to malfunction by pressing buttons at will, only ceasing when I restart my phone. Problems like these, which are frustrating at best and costly at worst, are one reason Phonebloks plans to step in to save the day. - 9 years ago
Entrepreneurs Hoping to Fix Food System by Taking the “Ick!” Out of Cricket
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Earlier this year, the United Nations released a report on incorporating insects into the diet as a means of increasing nutrition in developing nations and reducing the carbon footprint of the food production industry. While many might have taken this report as a bit of a novelty, it has captured the imagination of several mindful entrepreneurs set to change the way we eat. - 9 years ago
Bureo Poised to Make Waves of Change in the Skateboard Industry
Waste Not / For Ben Kneppers and David Stover, the dream was always sun, sand and a great day of skateboarding and surfing. But their passion for sustainability and the environment made them keenly aware of plastic pollution in the oceans — when the two took on beach cleanups as a hobby, all it took was a brief epiphany that this plastic could be put to use, and Bureo Skateboards was born. - 9 years ago
B Team Meets with One Young World Delegates to Discuss the Future of Business and Leadership
Leadership / On October 5, the One Young World conference, which convenes young people around the world to create positive change, gathered several leaders in the sustainability world to discuss the future of the integration of the environment and the economy. Known as “The B Team,” members Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group; PUMA chairman Jochen Zeitz; Arianna Huffington, president of The Huffington Post Media Group Paul Polman; Prof. - 9 years ago
Leaders Discuss Private Sector's Role in Mitigating Climate Change at REDD+ Talks: NYC
Collaboration / Last Thursday at the Bronx Zoo, the United Nations hosted an event to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program and its offshoot REDD+. - 9 years ago
Flint and Tinder on a Mission to Revive the American Cut-and-Sew Industry
Supply Chain / It seems that starting a successful business can happen at any time and to anyone. All it took for Jake Bronstein was a look at where all his underwear was manufactured. Once he realized that 99% of all men’s underwear sold in the U.S. was produced in developing nations, he organized a Kickstarter campaign in April 2012 with a mission to change that, build a better product, and help revive the American cut-and-sew industry (a mission shared by like-minded clothing manufacturers SustainU and Manufacture NY). - 9 years ago
Dirtball's 'Green Jean' Needs Your Help to Tackle Plastic Bottle Waste
Waste Not / 66 billion bottles of water are consumed (and ultimately tossed) each year in the United States alone. In order to make a dent in this staggering number, eco-friendly clothing company Dirtball is using Kickstarter to launch a new product, The Green Jean. - 9 years ago
The Top 8 Things We Learned from Marks & Spencer's 2013 Plan A Report
Marketing and Comms / Year after year, Marks & Spencer sets a high standard for environmental sustainability in the UK retail world. Its large scale and high level of social consciousness give it the unique position to promote change throughout the industry. As a part of its Plan A initiative, launched in January 2007, M&S makes a varied range of responsibility efforts, from beach-cleaning and cancer fundraising to recycling programs and organic produce.Let’s take a look at the year's most important changes and surprises, as revealed in the company's recently released 2013 Plan A Report: - 9 years ago
Woody Harrelson Continues to Chip Away at Deforestation with New Straw-Based Paper
Supply Chain / True to his name, Oscar-nominated actor Woody Harrelson, best known for his time on the TV show Cheers and movies such as Zombieland and No Country for Old Men, also likes chipping away at environmental issues.With a history of lobbying the government to restrict logging, Harrelson is now turning his attention to more efficient ways of producing paper. “Ever since I was pulled into the environmental world, protecting trees and stopping deforestation has really been a calling for me,” Harrelson stated in an interview with TIME. “The thing to do is change the supply. We need to change the way that paper is made.” - 9 years ago
Sword & Plough Giving Military Veterans and Fabrics New Life and Purpose
Waste Not / The ancient phrase “to turn swords into plough shares” may not be common today, but Emily and Betsy Nunez are doing their best to keep it relevant. The phrase means to take military technologies and materials (the swords) and apply them to peaceful civilian activities (the plough shares). Their new company, appropriately called Sword & Plough, is repurposing surplus military material into fashionable bags and accessories. - 9 years ago
New Green Chemistry Commitment Promises to Change the Chemical Industry and Chemistry Education
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / Twelve colleges and universities have joined Dow Chemical and other chemical industry leaders in signing the Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC). This is the first nationally organized effort to link higher education and the chemical industry to effect education reform in the U.S.The non-profit Beyond Benign, founded by Dr. John Warner, launched this consortium with the goal of teaching chemistry for a sustainable future. In order to achieve this, Beyond Benign fosters innovative, efficient and environmentally sound chemical products and processes, while preparing world-class chemists with the skills necessary to do so. - 9 years ago
RSN Releases Guide to Help Textile Buyers Trace Their Supply Chains 'To the Spinner'
Supply Chain / The Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) is quickly becoming the go-to place for informative and useful white papers and reports on supply chain management. - 9 years ago
ExxonMobil Shareholders Express Concerns About Fracking
Marketing and Comms / ExxonMobil, the nation’s largest natural gas producer, may finally start listening to their shareholders about hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking.” Many of the concerns people have surrounding the natural gas extraction process include the fact that toxic chemical leaks, spills and explosions could harm the health and safety of communities and the environment, and that it could lead to the contamination of drinking water for communities near and far. - 9 years ago
Sustainable Travel Leadership Network Releases Tool To Help Destinations Assess, Improve Sustainability
Marketing and Comms / Last week, the Sustainable Travel Leadership Network (STLN), a group of leading companies from major travel industry sectors united to share knowledge on responsible tourism, unveiled a new tool to help the travel industry make informed decisions on investments in destination development. - 9 years ago
'Fresher for Longer' Campaign Hopes To Reduce UK Food Waste by Highlighting Importance of Packaging
Waste Not / In a recent report from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), researchers determined that consumer attitudes and behaviors surrounding food packaging could help reduce household food waste. - 9 years ago
UK Retailers Increase Efforts To Decrease Food Waste
Waste Not / Coca-Cola Enterprises, Unilever, AB InBev, Nestlé, and 45 other retailers, manufacturers and brands have all recommitted to a joint reduction of food and drink waste by 1.1 million metric tons by 2015. - 9 years ago
Bridgestone Americas and Yulex Develop Renewable Alternative to Rubber
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / A little-known perennial shrub called guayule (pronounced why-u-lee), native to the Southwestern United States, has been tapped as a potential alternative natural source for rubber by Bridgestone Americas and agricultural-based biomaterials company, Yulex. - 9 years ago
Producing Steel Without GHGs? And That's Not Even the Cool Part
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / In easily my favorite sustainability story of the week, researchers at MIT have developed a process to manufacture steel without any greenhouse gas (GHG) byproducts. - 9 years ago
BASF Licenses Genomatica Process for Creating BDO from Renewable Feedstock
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / Chemical technology company Genomatica has announced a new partnership with BASF. The chemical giant has licensed Genomatica’s patented new manufacturing process for a renewable form of the organic compound 1,4-butanediol, more commonly known as BDO.BDO and its many derivatives are used for the production of plastics, solvents, electronic chemicals and elastic fibers. - 9 years ago