A Material World
Date: December 4, 2007 | Category: Home Furnishings, Office, The Home
All Terratex textiles (for interiors) meet four criterion: They’re made from 100% recycled materials, manufactured with an ever increasing eye for sustainably, meet/exceed industry standards for quality and performance and are recyclable or compostable at the end of their useful life. Do I smell Cradle-to-Cradle? And the company adheres to a Mission Zero goal, where they promise to eliminate any negative impact on the environment by the year 2020 (I think with a little encouragement we could push that to 2012). Their newest collection, Body & Soul, was conceived to marry these tenets with vibrant color and sophisticated design. And we’re talking durable. For aesthetics, we like the Dandelion Dreams and for soft to the touch we’re going with the Matrix. These textiles are made for a variety of uses - from residential to commercial - so if you’re in the market for some creative interior materials, check out what Terratex has to offer. Hopefully this will help LEED you in the right direction.
Post(er) Modern
Date: October 17, 2007 | Category: Office, The Home
We’ve all seen them: maybe at the dentist’s office or during the humdrum of a workday - the omnipresent motivational poster that incites more gastric juice activity than actual inspiration. A man runs on some sand dune, in some dessert - Perseverance. An eagle soars over a mountain - Leadership. A drop of water ripples out in stagnate water - Action. You get the cheesy picture. It is with a sigh of relief that AMPs (Alternative Motivational Posters) from Right Brain Terrain are creating real ripples. A company that tells a completely different story, one that reflects human ingenuity, design and progress. These posters were designed to save us from the stock photos, sappy sentiment and toxic, glossy sheens that have become standard. Instead, all of their posters are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and from FSC-certified wood sources. They use Certified Processed Chlorine Free and vegetable-based inks such as soy. While I may not be rushing to adorn my own walls with AMPs, I gladly welcome their presence everywhere one of their obsolete cousins of generations past would have been (DREAMER).
Eco-Makeover Your Workspace
Date: July 26, 2007 | Category: Office, The Home
You might spend a lot of time in an office or cubicle, but that doesn’t mean it can’t become your own little eco-oasis! So roll up your sleeves, put yourself on deadline, and take some simple steps that will not only reduce your carbon footprint significantly but will create a healthier and more productive work environment. For starters, did you know that according to the EPA more than $3 Billion dollars is wasted annually in electricity for office machines left running when not in use? A great way to immediately assist in reducing your impact is to plug all of your computer and electronic devices into a Power Strip that you can turn off every night with the flick of a switch. Plug in your PC speakers, iPod charger, cell phone charger, scanner etc. Investigate which devices are the biggest energy hogs with Kill-a-Watt. It’s true that sometimes your monitor and computer need to stay running, but there is no longer an excuse to be like-minded with your appliances and waste time being ‘idle.’ I am very excited about the new CO2 Saver which you can download for free, just click here! CO2 Saver is a lightweight application that adjusts your power settings on your computer, hard drive and monitor to consume less electricity when not actively in use. The tool bar displays how many pounds of CO2 you are responsible for keeping out of the environment and will display your individual as well as collective impact. Small steps can truly add up to impressive results! Take for example the move to using a staple-less stapler - we would save 120 tons of steel if every office worker used one less staple a day for a year (that’s about the equivalent of 25 SUV’s!) My office started using this gadget and it works well when we have to use paper, which we try to avoid unless absolutely necessary. In the words of Rob Schneider from Saturday Night Live, “Making Copies” is now becoming somewhat out of favor as we can now PDF our doc’s and distribute them electronically. The average office worker uses approximately 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year which translates to a lot of trees! If you MUST print, use 100% post consumer recycled paper, available at most office supply stores or “tree-free paper“. For your binders, folders and other supply needs, check out the Office Depot Green Book or online catalog and refuse the monster book that they typically distribute. Another office instrument that I find particularly thrilling is the biodegradable pen where you can exercise that “green” thumb of yours and actually plant it! But you definitely don’t have to be a gardener to pick up a few small plants to keep in your office. Plants have been referred to as “nature’s clean air machines” and studies have shown that plants notably improve the quality of the air by effectively removing carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide among other pollutants from the atmosphere. The common English Ivy, Heartleafed Philodendron or Green Spider plants are three that been named as some of the most efficient air cleaners that prosper indoors with low light and don’t require too much water. Water, however, is a something that humans should all remember to drink plenty of! Being a good hydra-tor is a wonderful feeling but an even better feeling is practicing this without contributing to the incredible amount of plastic used to bottle it. Approximately 2.7 billion tons of plastic is used each year for bottling water and 86% of it ends up in landfill and will never fully biodegrade (I won’t even go into the harmful effects of plastic on your health and the environment today!) but, a great way to quench your thirst and your style is tote a Earthlust bottle. They’re made with 100% food grade stainless steel and are coated with a highly elastic safe finish. They have a beautiful vast collection of colors and styles to suit your personality, (or personalities as the case may be!) Of course this is just a start and there many things that you can continue to do on your quest to green your work space. Don’t forget to turn off the lights when you leave your eco-office and pick a copy of the September issue of House and Garden Magazine - the eco-chic column has some excellent additional tips and product recommendations.
Put your PC on a CO2 Diet!
Date: July 26, 2007 | Category: Office, The Home
Ever have one of those days where you’re mostly away from your desk in meetings? With your PC idling away without you? It’s certainly a frequent occurrence for us at ecofab HQ.
I’m pleased to announce a wonderful free PC utility to help your computer use less electricity, and generate less carbon, called CO2 Saver.
CO2 Saver is a lightweight application that adjusts your power settings
on your computer, hard drive and monitor to consume less electricity
when not actively in use. While it’s not a substitute for turning off your PC (and speakers, etc.) completely it can lower your daytime computer energy use by 10% or more. Our ecoFabulous version even has one-click access to the latest scoop on ecofabulous.com!
We’ve been running CO2 saver on multiple desktops and laptops with great results so far. We hope you join us - click here to jump straight to the download and get started.
BIG THANKS to our friends at Snap.com who created Co2 Saver and helped us deliver this eco-software to you for free.
Rock Paper Scissors
Date: April 11, 2007 | Category: Office
[Please Note: Zem is 'off the grid' in Italy, helping to transform a Chianti estate into an eco yoga retreat. More details on this exciting project when she returns!]
Good design often begins with pen and paper, so why not make that vellum good for the environment too? Staples is doing just that with their 100% recycled copy paper. In addition to 100% post-consumer content, the paper is acid free and is processed chlorine free. Many of the other office super stores are getting on the sustainability bandwagon, but Staples has been leading the pack with a range of products that are aggressively priced and readily available for both delivery and in-store pickup.
If you work in a cubicle farm that goes through more paper than Dunder Mifflin, here’s your chance to tell purchasing that the time is now to switch to an eco-smarter product.
While picking up my recycled ream I came across the KleenEarth scissors from Acme United Corporation. After recovering from my initial shock that there’s actually a company called ‘Acme’ I was pleasantly surprised to see these scissor handles were made of 70% recycled plastic. Now that rocks!
