Greening the Whiteboard
Date: October 23, 2008 | Category: Office, The Home
If you’re anything like the ecofabulous crew, you can’t resist the lure of the endlessly reusable whiteboard. Still, those noxious pens can make an otherwise exciting brainstorming session end with an obnoxious headache.
AusPen is writing a new chapter in erasable markers. Not only are the Xylene-free inks clear of dangerous toxins, but once they’ve survived their natural use, they won’t join the 400,000,000 rotting markers that fill our landfills-the equivalent of 25,000 tons! The refillable pens, made from completely recyclable materials, each come with an extra bottle of ink, with a 12-pack retailing for under $40. Committed to environmentally friendly practices, the company has received EEC health and safety approval. So the next time your creative muse hits, you can embrace true freedom of expression without having to air out the conference room.
Be Kind: Rewind (and Reuse)
Date: October 21, 2008 | Category: Lifestyle, Office, Tech
If you’re high on tech, you’ve probably already converted from a VCR to a DVD player (or maybe even Blu-ray). But what’s an ecofab reader to do with all those old movies and aerobics tapes from days gone by?
If you’ve still got them, we know exactly who wants them. Simply mail them to ACT, in Columbia, Missouri, and a disabled person will get paid to clean, erase and resell those videotapes to people who can use them. It sure sounds like the plot of a winning movie.
Get Organized the New Old Fashioned Way
Date: October 17, 2008 | Category: Office, The Home
If you are over-scheduled and constantly on the run - sounding familiar? - your “office” lives in your purse or laptop bag.
When it comes to planning your life on the go, a wall calendar just won’t cut it. Most of the ecofab ladies live on their iPhones or BlackBerrys, but some are still luddites or just love putting pen to paper (Zem’s mother has been in the tech industry since it was invented but still cannot fathom giving up her organizer). If you are similarly attached, you still need something small enough to fit in your bag but with enough room to write the dates and times of your child’s entire soccer season, the weekly meeting with your boss and a reminder to pick the dog up from the vet.
Sarah Pinto‘s 2009 Weekly Planners are a simple, functional and totally eco-fabulous way to keep it all together. The planners measure 5” by 7”, and are made with high-quality recycled paper and soy-based ink. They retail for $25.
In addition to being a totally green product, a portion of the proceeds from the company’s very pink Tapestry planner (pictured) goes to California Pacific Medical Center Pediatric Cardiology.
Whether you are a preppy princess or a downtown diva, one of the five unique cover designs will likely appeal your personality and help you keep that machine you call your life a well-oiled one.
Top Green Design
Date: October 9, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Lifestyle, Media, Office
As a self-trained designer, I get a special thrill out of indulging in an hour of Top Design, even last season when it was painfully bad. This season is actually well produced and addictive enough to thoroughly entertain me whilst I peck away at my keyboard round midnight.
It is tremendously enjoyable to see rooms come together, especially with time constraints, but I am always amazed at how the contestants are oblivious to what is happening in the ecosphere. Tonight was a refreshing exception. Danny Seo was the guest judge for an eco-challenge.
I thought that Danny did an excellent job delineating the eco-R’s “reduce, reuse, recycle, refinish, repair, reupholster, just be resourceful”. I was biting my lip when the very naive Natalie used MDF (medium density fiberboard) to make recycling bins - it is a material that can offgas for 14 years! I wanted to give Danny a big tree hug when he called her on it, though she still looked like a deer caught in headlights. Also I found it disturbing that they commented on how they were cleaning everything up with Windex, couldn’t they have used Method or Green Works?!
They should have given the contestants more furniture and accessory choices to show viewers what is possible, even judge Jonathan Adler has a bunch of eco-accessories to choose from at his store (we recently sprinkled them throughout the West Coast Green showhouse).
All in all, it was great to see mainstream media experiment with sustainable ideas. I hope next season that those ideas (and ideally many more) are incorporated into every challenge!
Netting a Better Return
Date: August 26, 2008 | Category: Featured, Lifestyle, Office, Tech
The computer industry is in high speed trying to cater to those of us consumers that consider our footprint with every purchase.
Asus plans to sell a small desktop called the Eee Box which will feature an eco-friendly build while performing to the same specifications as similar conventional computers. (more…)
Join the Club Chair
Date: August 15, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Home Furnishings, Office, The Home
Marrying a love of sleek contemporary design with a reverence for the earth, Animavi has created a line of iconic chairs and ottomans that celebrate the timeless appeal of the curve. Fit for a museum (with a price-tag to match), the sinewy set is apt to run more than $6,000. But if your castle is in need of a new throne, the Animavi is the kind of heirloom you are unlikely to outgrow.
Available in a broad palette of elegant colors and three textiles-organic felt, vegetable-dyed leather and cow-hair- Animavi uses soy-based foam and wool liners. The cushions are fully biodegradable, which means they require less time to decompose in landfills and significantly cut carbon emissions. The metal frame and other stainless steel parts can be recycled. Animavi prides itself on supporting a triple bottom line (modeling their business on economics, sustainability and social responsibility). If you’re looking for a reason to rationalize this exquisite indulgence, keep in mind that a purchase could earn you points toward LEED certification!
Bamboo Worth Writing Home About
Date: July 22, 2008 | Category: Office, The Home
Inspired by a love of nature and artisanal printing, Smock Stationery transforms ethically harvested, “Panda-safe” bamboo from Thailand into luxury paper fit to invite royalty to your daughter’s first formal tea or your son’s black tie soiree. Incorporating European patterns and fresh, contemporary designs, Smock utilizes 20 antique presses and an historic European paper mill to create exceptional, pesticide-free stationery. The note cards are soft yet substantial, embossed with simple, elegant designs that coordinate beautifully with the interior envelope flaps.
The first company in the United States to print on luxury bamboo paper, Smock is a carbon-neutral company that is devoted to fair trade practices. Members of One Percent for the Planet, they also contribute to other environmental nonprofits. Surplus paper goods are donated to local public schools in Syracuse, New York. If I lived on the East Coast and was a few years younger, I’d enroll just to get my hands on some of this ecofab paper. Guess I’ll have to settle for escargot mail.
Green Bagging Eco-Swag
Date: July 15, 2008 | Category: Lifestyle, Office, The Home
Who doesn’t love goodie bags? It’s so much fun to get free gifts at events, right? But then what happens to the stuff we don’t want? I’ll give you a hint: Landfill. Now there’s an answer for earth-friendly business owners who hate to waste precious resources - an idea worth its weight in green.
Eco Imprints, based in San Francisco, produces the usual swag fare, but in organic, recycled fair trade form. Organic tees, pens made from recycled plastic, paper and wood, mugs made from repurposed electronics, water-powered calculators and wooden flash drives. All biodegradable and totally ecofabulous!
Brainstorming is Now Better for Your Brain
Date: June 4, 2008 | Category: Office, The Home
We recently acquired a used whiteboard here in the ecofabulous office. And as much as we welcome something that could bring more method to our madness, we were instantly plagued by memories of those toxic fumes emanating from the tips of our teachers’ whiteboard markers. Indeed that scent is indicative of the harmful chemical, xylene, which diminishes Indoor Air Quality in classrooms and workspaces - noted for its detrimental effects on the brain. That’s not to mention the millions of disposable markers made with PVC cylinders that clog landfills each year. Luckily, we didn’t have to forego the whiteboard. In fact, we found a refillable/100% recyclable alternative that’s non-toxic (no xylene here!) and fume free. AusPen whiteboard markers are also made using recycled aluminum, can go cap-free for 48 hours without drying out, and work really, really well. The AusPen from EcoSmart World is drawing up sketches for our next ecofabulous endeavors as we speak.
Have Your Chair and Sit in it Too
Date: May 19, 2008 | Category: Office, The Home
Over at ecofabulous HQ we spend copious amount of time sitting on our behinds (literally speaking), and though stressing comfort and ergonomic support is important, we certainly cannot get on board with a chair that emits Volatile Organic Compounds. Nor do we want to contribute to landfill waste. And of course we NEED to keep the office looking ever so chic, which is why the Think Chair is the official seat of ecofabulous. But there is a new chair in town - with a lower price tag, a more traditional look and a serious certification - the Amia seat (also from Steelcase). This throne has garnered itself Gold Cradle to Cradle Certification for environmental performance through MBDC. Every aspect of the Amia’s
life - from conception to inception to execution - has been assessed to
ensure this product (or its material components at least) can lead
many, many lives to come.
