Terracycle, a New Jersey based company, is starting to develop something different from their normal cleaning products. They are creating tote bags, pouches, binders and more out of wrappers from candy, energy bars, juice packs, etc.
It’s really cool stuff. i just wanted to make you aware of it as a teaser to the Terracycle review which, I’ll have for you guys shortly.
In the meantime, check out Terracycle’s website and join the revolution. This is going to be historic, people!
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Made of recycled materials, greeting cards with pictures of man’s best friend is something worthwhile to check out if you are into that sort of thing. The greeting cards are fun and completely different than the average card.
The pictures range from cute and funny to serious and curious. The cards are perfect for animal lovers, especially the true dog lover.
They can be found online and at local specialty shops.
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Northland Woolens has come up with a great product. They are taking sweaters and other fabrics that would typically be disposed of and recycling them into very warm winter accessories like Hats, Mittens, Scarves, etc. They do make other products so be sure to check them out.
We received three products to review from Northland Woolens. Unfortunately as winter was ending I only had a chance to review one so
far. I will review the others this winter.
The Twice Baked Hat we received is blue and red. It has a very thick wool exterior with a fleece lining. This baby kept my head nice and toasty! I had a chance to spend two weeks using this and my head was never cold. According to Northland Woolens website, his hat is made by an Amish woman in their local community. It is good to know it is US born, made and no sweat shops were used.
I have only two complaints with this hat. Aesthetically the hat had some frays of fabric on top where a ball could typically be. I had to cut this off because it was unattractive. Also, I couldn’t keep this hat in my coat pocket, like I usually do because it was way too thick. It would have been impossible to put anything else inside.
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The Splaff Flip Flops are not comfortable for me because they are way to flat. I love the premise, recycled car tire upper and lower parts, but they do not fit me well.
Splaff’s Flip Flops are way too flat for me, like can’t be in the army flat, but they are eco-chic and cool. I wish I could wear them, but the Simple ones are going to have to be my summer standard until I can find a more comfortable pair.
I do like the way they look, just plain and black, but damn, too flat for me. Maybe I’m a freak of nature and just should not wear car tire flip flops.
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I really liked Zero Per Gallon’s recycled bike tire belt, but Splaff’s is even better. The Splaff belt looks more like a belt than a tire whereas the ZPG is basically an inner tube with Velcro. I am, in fact, wearing the ZPG belt while I write this review after a bike ride, but the Splaff belt is classier and more functional.
The recycled inner tube and hemp fabric liner is strong and durable; the grommets are just my style as well. The dark black belt with silver accents, for me, is an instant hit. The size is pretty true, meaning, I have a 33 waist and the medium fits snugly.
Splaff also produces wallets, guitar straps and flip flops and we’ll be reviewing some of this soon, so check back with us.
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Created from 80% post consumer fibers, Flor’s Fedora Carpet Tiles are a cheap and green way of carpeting your home. The natural feel of smooth felt resembles a fedora hat, hence the name. My home does not have hardwood floors, so I decided to test the squares in my kitchen on top of the vinyl that came with the condo. Now, vinyl is really bad for the environment, I know, but throwing it into the landfills is even worse, so placing carpet squares over the vinyl can transform a floor from something bad and ugly to something fun and eco-friendly if you choose a green product.
Flor’s tiles are eco-friendly and surprisingly rugged and practical. The practicality lies with the ease of setting up and removing. The setup is simple. Place the adhesive sticker down and line up the tiles corner to corner. Do this for the entire area and watch after a few seconds the tiles sit snuggly in their desired location.
That processes was completely unexpected, in fact, I thought the tiles were going to continue to shift around and move all willy nilly around the kitchen. I was very shocked and pleasantly surprised that I was incorrect in my prejudgment.
I selected two colors, the Walnut and the Chartreuse for my kitchen. I positioned the tiles between the stove and the sink where it would get the most use and abuse. Water splashing onto the floor, food scraps from the oven and prep area and yet the tiles stayed secure. They were very easy to clean to. Just use a broom or a vacuum if you really have a mess and you’re all set. The water just dissolved away for the few times the tiles got wet.
The tiles are priced decently and really stand out in the room, which makes people talk about them too. You can really transform a space into something different with Flor’s green carpet squares, so check them out. Flor has many other options as well, but not many are as green as these little guys.
My MacBook has never been more eco-friendly inside a notebook sleeve made of 100% recycled materials. The sleeve hugs the 13-inch MacBook perfectly and keeps out unwanted damage, however, it is not the ideal choice for protection.
Both the internal and external fabrics are made of recycled plastic known as PET. The lightweight sleeve fits nicely into my Timbuk2 Hemp/PET bag and stays secure while traveling.
Act2 also produces other green notebook accessories as well as other bags. You can purchase them on their online store and read about the company to find out more information over at their official site. Don’t judge them from their site alone, you need to see the product, it’s really nice looking.
Nau’s Loose But Not Slutty Jeans right off the bat have an office look. They are very casual with clean lines and no trendy holes or scrapes. Nau chooses their materials very carefully which can be seen in every piece of clothing they make. These jeans are made of organic cotton with raw denim produced in Turkey. The material is twice dyed with an indigo for the beautiful blue color saturation. Mike thinks the color is too dark, but for me, it is perfection. Without any tags to take away from the design of the jeans, there are no distractions and no snagging when putting a belt on. The natural, organic denim is stiff. This helps in the office as it will not crease and wrinkle that easily during daily wear but can also take the abuse of labor intensive jobs. The hardware is nickel free as to help people whom are highly allergic to some materials.
My favorite part of the jeans must be the wide belt loops. Usually it is hard to find nice jeans that will accept the abnormally wide belts, but these have no problems. In fact, it is actually better for your hip having the wide belt loops as it removes pressure sometimes felt. Inside the jeans is a small hanging band just in case you are in a changing room and need to hang up your pants. The right pocket contains a smaller insert for keys, change or a small cell phone.
Nau’s instructions state to wash inside out with cold water and line dry and never use bleach! However, I have been washing these on tumble low in my dryer and the jeans are holding up well. I have only one complaint with these jeans… sizing. The length is standard and may need to be tailored as do other premium denims. Premium denim costs more (obviously), but these jeans can take a beating and still look perfect.
Unfortunately Nau is closing shop. This makes me very sad, but you never know what can happen in the future!
Finding a really good backpack is a difficult process. Many bags are filled with plastics that contain PVC and other toxic chemicals. Some have certain features that are amazing and then unnecessary features as well.
Ecogear’s Ecotech line is a PVC free line of backpacks designed for common folk but with a green twist to it. I really like the Mohave Tui bag. The inside is large; the bag is sturdy and somewhat compact as well. I do like the small outer bottom pocket, it’ very convenient for keys or business cards. The main compartment is spacious; in fact, I’ve stuffed a MacBook, two days of clothing and a SIGG bottle in the external pockets of the bag. The top of the bag has a small compartment featuring pen sleeves and other useful separators. Finally, on the outside there is a large, water resistant zippered area perfect for things you need quickly. One feature that I love, but could use a slight modification is the music player pocket and port.
The full sized iPod (Classic) fits into the pocket, but it is VERY tight and the headphone jack is extremely difficult to insert into the iPod through the fabric-covered port. You physically cannot fit the iPod into the pocket if it’s inside a case, so forget about it. Other than that small (literally) issue, the backpack looks and feels great. The pockets are sized to accommodate many goodies for an overnight trip or a hike up the mountains and the padded shoulders are 100% comfortable. My arms and shoulders did not ache after wearing the bag for 4 hours straight. I have now brought this bag to a few green expos as well as my overnight bag and it will continue to stay with me as my backpack of choice. I really like the color and the design.
As I stated at the top of the review, not many bags are perfect and when you find one, you can’t let it go. Though this bag could use a few improvements it really is great.
Ecogear also has cute backpacks for little kids and other more eco-friendly bags like organic cotton messenger bags.
