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From the monthly archives:

April 2005

Natural Indigo Jeans: Metaefficient?

April 26, 2005

Originally, jeans were dyed with the color of the actual indigo plant.
Today, natural indigo jeans can’t be considered metaefficient because they are expensive and only available as a kind of designer jean. Notwithstanding this, people admire these jeans because of their distinctive, deeply hued appearance. The story behind them is interesting too.
There are at least [...]

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The Emissions Neutral Vehicle (ENV)

April 24, 2005

These bikes were designed by the British team Intelligent Energy. The ENV bike is fully-functional and is based around their Core Fuel Cell from the ground up. The Core, which is completely detachable from the bike, is a compact fuel cell, capable of powering anything from a motorboat to a small domestic property.

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Fox Fibre Towels

April 23, 2005

Green Sage has towels available in two natural Fox Fibre cotton colors “sage green” and “cafe” — each created with fiber straight from the cotton plant — there’s no dyeing involved. Fox Fibre is a little scarce — its good to see the towels available here. The towel set is priced at $55.
Web Page: Green [...]

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HybridCars.Com

April 22, 2005

HybridCars.Com is a web site with a lot of up-to-date information on (you guessed it) hybrid cars, trucks and vans. The editor is Bradley Berman who has written a book entitled “An Insider’s Look at Hybrid Cars: How They Work and Why They Matter”.
The web site has an overview of what vehicles are available now [...]

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Bamboosa Clothing

April 21, 2005

More bamboo fiber clothing! This time made in the U.S. and organically produced. Bamboosa is an eco-efficient company based in Andrews, South Carolina. They blend bamboo fiber with organic cotton to make an innovative range of clothing.
The men’s short, pictured here, is made from 100% bamboo French terry fabric (i.e. extremely soft).
Bamboosa is a [...]

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Bamboo Clothes

April 21, 2005

Bamboo Textile sells clothes made out of bamboo fiber. Why bamboo? Well, its one of the softest fabrics in the world — softer than cotton, and it has a slightly silky sheen. It also very breatheable, which makes its great to wear in spring and summer.
The other advantage of this fabric is that bamboo is [...]

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FoxFibre Socks: “Color Grown” Cotton

April 20, 2005

Socks don’t get much more natural than this.
These socks are made of FoxFiber, a cotton that grows naturally in brown and green, so no dye is required to make these socks. The brown and green fibers will deepen with first couple of washings.
We are glad to have tracked these down at Good Humans — FoxFibre [...]

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Dot! Chairs

April 19, 2005

John T. Unger makes these vibrantly colored “Dot! Quadriped” chairs using over 50% recycled material.
The chairs can be used indoors or out, and are built to survive even the harshest weather conditions.
The powder coat enamel surface is durable and easy to clean.
Link: John T. Unger Studio

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Ecoist Bags

April 19, 2005

Ecoist makes bags and totes by hand with recycled materials used to make candy wrappers, food packages, and soft drink labels. This excess materials often ends up as waste in landfills. For each bag sold they plant a tree.

Each bag is unique, with patterns and colors that vary widely, taking each artist 2-5 days to [...]

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MetaEfficient: Metal-Free Inks by Ecoprint

April 15, 2005

Not many print houses put much thought into making their production processes more efficient or non-toxic.
Ecoprint, based in the Washington DC area, is different. They have developed their own “eco-inks”. These inks are specially formulated to be free from toxic metals like copper and barium. The Ecoprint shop also runs on 100% wind power, and [...]

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Red LEDs to Grow Lettuce

April 14, 2005

Apparently red LEDs are 60% more efficient than fluorescent light when growing vegetables hydroponically.
According to IEEE Spectrum Online: Of all the colors of the rainbow, red is lettuce’s favorite. Chlorophyll, the electrochemical engine of photosynthesis, runs on red photons. So if you are growing the vegetable indoors in a factory, why waste energy on [...]

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Oxygenics Showerhead

April 14, 2005

The Oxygenics showerhead is definitely worthy of inclusion here. With a nifty design, the showerhead is able to take low pressure water and transform it into a forceful stream for showering. It does this while using just 1.5 gpm (gallons per minute). It adapts to variable water pressure, and any water pressure from less than [...]

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“Green Building Products” Released

April 13, 2005

BuildingGreen has recently released the GreenSpec Directory of environmentally preferable building products and materials. It includes more than 1,850 listings that designers, builders and building owners can use in identifying products to improve the environmental performance of their buildings.
This increased availability of a diverse range of such products and building materials is helping architects and [...]

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Hemp T-Shirts: Durable and Efficient

April 7, 2005

These shirts by Good Hemp are a blend of 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton. They are sweatshop and pesticide free, fairtraded and priced at $9.95 to boot.
We’ve worn these shirts and they are very soft and feel quite durable due to the hemp content — we’ll probably have these for a while before they [...]

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(Partially) Biodegradeable DVD Player by Sony

April 7, 2005

The Sony DVP-NS955 DVD player, recently released in the UK, has 50% vegetable-based plastic parts.
The parts are made of a biopolymer called polylactic acid (PLA). The biopolymer was created by Cargill/Dow, and they have been criticized for using GMO (genetically modified) corn to create the biopolymer, because GMO crops could potentially have devastating effects on [...]

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Riverside Design Group: SeaForm Tableware

April 6, 2005

Riverside Design Group produces elegant tableware, handcrafted in western Pennsylvania from post-industrial / pre-consumer recycled glass. Despite their crafted appearance, the pieces are highly durable and intended for everyday use, and are dishwasher and microwave safe. The pieces range in price from $26-88.

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Toshiba Develops One Minute Rechargable Lithium-Ion Battery

April 5, 2005

Toshiba who have developed a high energy density lithium-Ion battery that recharge 80% of its capacity in one minute. This is sixty times faster than typical lithium-ion batteries (which among other applications are commonly used in cellphones).

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MEC Organics

April 4, 2005

The Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC) is a Canadian outfitter that offers a range of organic clothing.
Pictured here is their “Matawin Organic Cotton Short Sleeve Shirt“, made of 100% organic cotton, and sold for $38.00 CAD.
Also available: organic cotton mens’ and womens’ pants, hoodies, hats and socks.
Available from: MEC

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Ergonomic Mice

April 2, 2005

We’ve collected a selection of ergonomic mice designed to reduce fatigue and RSI (repetitive strain injury). If you are in front of a computer for long periods, these mice might be worth considering.
The Evoluent VerticalMouse2 has a patented shape that supports your hand in a relaxed handshake position, eliminating forearm twisting. The manufacturer says the [...]

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