Merino wool is the most efficient material for cold weather. Merino wool is softer than regular wool, and it feels more like cotton against the skin. Merino wool resists wind and warms better than synthetic materials. It doesn’t absorb odors and it regulates body temperature. It is also produced in a sustainable manner.

The jacket pictured here is the Smartwool Yampa Jacket. It’s designed with a woven wool sueded fabric, and it has a heavy 100% merino wool lining. There is a women’s version of this jacket too. Smartwool sells a whole range merino wool clothing, including summer wear. Merino wool clothing tends to be expensive, but you can find Smartwool at Altrec.

There are only a few electric mountain bikes on the market, but electric motors can certainly assist with  off-road riding. You can also build you own electric mountain bike by installing an electric motor kit onto an existing mountain bike. There’s also the Biontague, which is a mountain bike that has a electric kit pre-installed.

The best value for an electric mountain bike is the E-Zip Mountain Trailz Electric Bicycle, made by Currie Technologies. I’ve found that the range of a fully-charged battery is about 20 miles — that’s if you make liberal use of the electric assist. If you just use it to go up hills, the charge will last for about 30 miles. You can also add a second battery for $120 from Currie Technologies, that will double your range (but it will also increase the bike’s weight).

It’s available from Amazon for $368.

The Liberty Stealth Climber Mountain Bike is sold by Liberty Bikes in Pennslyvania. This bike has a 450 watt 36V motor and it’s powered by a lithium-ion battery. Electric-assist is engaged with a throttle, and motor will get you up to 18 mph. If you want to go faster than this, you can provide further pedal power using the 6 speed gears.

Weighing only 68 pounds, this mountain bike comes with our front and rear disk break systems. It also has built-in shock absorbers, and front and rear lights. Charging time is 4-6 hours, and the range is 20-27 miles. The bike is priced at $1275, but it looks like its being sold on eBay for $900.

Link: Liberty Electric Bikes

A “Furoshiki” is a traditional Japanese cloth used to wrap gifts, clothes, and other goods. Recently this practice has been revived in Japan. The appeal of this form of wrapping is that the cloth is reused for other purposes, and it is an eco-effective technique in this regard. Furoshiki means “bath spread” and it derives from the practice of bundling clothes at public baths in the Edo Period (1603-1867). Over time, Furoshikis were used protect goods when transporting and decorating goods for presents. You can see some Furoshiki wrapping techniques on this page, and Furoshiki cloths can be found on eBay and in Japanese specialty stores. Story via: Eco-product Navigator (Japan)

Today, virtually all crayons are made with petroleum wax. An optimal alternative, however, is to make crayons with pure soybean oil. One company, Prang, manufactures the soy crayons seen here. They are much less toxic, and they also write smoother and brighter without waxy flaking.

Available from Blick Art Materials or eBay

You’ve probably heard of Jojoba oil being used in cosmetics, but it’s also a great substitute for petroleum-based lubricants, which tend to be strong smelling and polluting. Jojoba is the best alternative because it is a natrual liquid wax that never goes rancid. Use it as you would a petroleum lubricating oil, such as for stuck doors, squeaky hinges and machine lubrication. Jojoba oil comes from the Simmondsia chinensis shrub native to the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of Arizona, California, and Mexico. The mature seed is a hard oval, dark brown in color and contains an oil (liquid wax) content of approximately 54%.

You can buy Jojoba oil in bulk from Horton Supply on eBay or from Amazon.

Based on an entry in Better Basics For The Home.

Corelle dinnerware is efficient because it is highly durable — it doesn’t break, and the designs on the plates cannot be scratched by knives. Corelle is actually made out of glass, but it is created like a sandwich with a glass core that’s thermally bonded to an outer glass glaze. The lamination creates a finished product that is much stronger than its individual components. Corelle has been around since the 1970s, and they’ve just released a new Square collection, designed by Studio Levien of London. It’s available from Amazon for $42.99 (16 piece set).

Other Corelle dinnerware is available from Target or eBay.

Shea Butter is one of the most efficient skin moisturizers available. It is an organic product that protects against dry skin and sunburn. Shea butter is extracted from the nuts of the Shea Karite tree, found in the tropical regions of West Africa. It is a sustainable resource and it requires no pesticides to grow.

The nuts of the Karite tree are picked, cracked, grilled and then pounded. They are then boiled for hours in water so as to extract the shea butter, which is then scooped out and left to cool. It solidifies at room temperature and is ready to be used. Pure shea butter is white or ivory in color and does not smell unpleasant.

There is an FAQ on shea butter here. There’s a book about Shea Butter here.

We chose unrefined shea butter as our efficient choice, because hexane or other chemicals are often used to refine the butter. You can purchase unrefined shea butter from Amazon, eBay or The Cultural Exchange. Sal Enterprise sells bulk quantities of organic, fair-traded shea butter.

LED grow lights are a good choice if you are interested in growing indoors without a lot of hassle. Traditional grow lights generate a lot of heat and use large amounts of electricity, which raises your monthly electric bill by noticeable amounts. These LED grow lights stay cool, and use only a minuscule amount of energy.

Each “SolarOasis Ruby Grow Light” uses less than 2 watts of power. They are designed and optimized for plant growth, not human vision. They produce only red and blue light which the plants can use. See more details on this page. The LED lighting strip seen here is available from LEDTronics for $159.95.

There are also some more powerful and expensive LEDs available at LEDGrowLights.COM and on their eBay Store.

We’ve detailed the benefits of bamboo fiber previously, noting the excellent softness and anti-bacterial qualities of this fiber. For those who wanted to try out bamboo fiber, you can do so inexpensively, since bamboo washcloths are being sold for $2 each on eBay in white and pink. Also, Bamboosa, a major bamboo clothing manufacturer in the U.S., has released bamboo fiber crib sheets, seen here. They are available for $25 from Bamboosa.

Prana makes clothing out of 100% organic cotton, mostly activewear for climbing and yoga, but they also produce casual clothing like this “Cabana Stripe” shirt.

Their web site doesn’t tell you much about how the shirts are made. But we did discover from another source that they are produced in the US.

It’s available from Northern Mountain Supply for $45 or EBay for $30.