Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Maggie's Organics Sock Monkey

I thought Maggie's Organics idea to produce a special edition sock monkey from irregular socks and other shop scraps was a great one.

The creative little stuffed animals make great unique gifts and give workers at their North Carolina-based production facility a special item to produce.

The sock monkeys allow Michigan-based Maggie's Organics an efficient way to use irregular socks from their normal production and polyester mill scraps that otherwise would be considered waste.

The idea behind the sock monkeys is so simple its interesting we don't see similar ideas and products coming from other companies.

The sock monkeys are a classic style eco-friendly toy. The are available direct from Maggie's Organics.

Kudos to the company for doing something with its waste and caring enough about its employees to find creative ways to help them keep their jobs.

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Wayfarer Candle Company Finds Affordable Green Packaging

The Wayfarer Candle Company has recently reworked its candle packaging to be more sustainable. In the process of greening their packaging the company was pleasantly surprised to find eco-friendly packaging options don't always have to cost more than their conventional counterparts.

“We wanted the packaging to be elegant, protect the candles during shipping, be made in the USA and above all be environmentally friendly,” said Mike Peek owner of Wayfarer Candle Company.

Wayfarer needed both retail gift box and wholesale packaging for their candles. With some research and a little bit of luck Wayfarer was able find packaging solutions to fit both of their needs.

They found a container from the Chicago Paper Tube Company that was nearly perfect for their product. The tube shape packaging fit well with the shape of their products and significantly reduced materials versus traditional box style packaging. The tube container packaging is also more durable and requires far less protective packaging materials when shipped.

Chicago Paper Tube Company's container is made from 100% recycled paper (85% PCW). “Because the candles we manufacture are made of eco-friendly soy wax, it was particularly appropriate that we were able to use soy ink to print the package design,” said Peek. Wayfarer Candle is also located about 25 miles from where the container packaging is manufactured to the carbon footprint required to obtain the packaging is minimal.

Wayfarer sells the majority of its candles wholesale so finding wholesale packaging that fit their requirements was of particular importance to the company.

Peek came in contact with Salazar Packaging in Chicago who had recently introduced a whole line of affordable 100% recycled corrugated packaging called Globe Guard. He told me he was initially hesitant about talking with Salazar Packaging because he had assumed the cost would be too high.

“I had the perception that the boxes would be much more expensive. Particularly since we needed custom box sizes made for our product,” said Peek.

Globe Guard packaging is made from 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper and seemed ideal for what Wayfarer needed.

“Dennis and Lenora (owners of Salazar Packaging) were very helpful and the quote they gave me on our packaging solution truly shocked me,” said Peek. “I had almost signed a deal to get traditional boxes for almost 5% more than their bid.”

Peek told me overall they are very pleased with the efforts they've made to make their products more green. “We will continue to strive for sustainable solutions for future products and packaging,” he said.

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The “Green” Badge of Courage

BY JACKIE DELISE

It takes courage to go green…

…to become a pioneering leader and break out of the ‘wait and see’ mode, when it comes to the subject of sustainability!

In 1869, the Union Company of Pennsylvania made a paper bag making machine that combined all the best features of previous other machines. This company really started the paper bag making business.

Fast forward, plastic bags were introduced in the United States in 1977 under the premise that the manufacturing process of paper bags were wreaking havoc on trees and forests, as well as destroying natural habitats for wildlife.

Plastic bags were seen, at the time, as a far superior environmental alternative to paper bags.

Last year, San Francisco banned non-biodegradable plastic bags in its large grocery stores and pharmacies. Oakland and Los Angeles followed.

In my state of Connecticut, it was just announced that Westport is the first town to ban plastic shopping bags.

Beginning in March 2009, retailers who use plastic bags (with some exceptions to include use for produce), will be fined $150.

Some folks may be opposed to the ban, as it is not necessarily better for the environment if it takes more trucks and fuel to deliver the same amount of paper bags (as plastic), to a store.

But the pros outweigh the cons~

*A blurb on Plastic News notes that a retailer uses three plastic bags to every one paper bag.

*Plastics are down cycled vs. recycled, and typically reprocessed, only once before going to a landfill or incinerator.

*Paper may be reprocessed six or seven times.

*Paper bags can be manufactured from recycled paper.

And, while we hear a lot about this, it is important to be mindful that not all plastics may be recycled. #1 PET and #2HDPE are those with the highest rate of recyclability.

As a collector of paper shopping bags for the past 30+ years, I am a big proponent of them for their utilitarian function, and simple beauty in its’ timeless aesthetic.

Plastic cannot lay claim to that.

I just read in the current issue of Graphic Design: USA about the Burning Man Art Festival in the Nevada desert and the showing of “2663 Urban Tumbleweeds”, an eco-art installation by design firm MLSK.

They sought to raise awareness of plastic bags as a common sign and symbol of waste and consumption and created a graphic statement on a grand scale: an art installation of 2,663 shopping bags which represents the number consumed each minute in the U.S.!

The bags are displayed against a “Trash Fence”, a name the participants coined when referring to the boundary fence that keeps participants and trash inside the festival limits.

Signage was made from recycled vinyl graphics, and communicated the story of the environmental impact of the bags.

Next stop: a New York City park where they plan to “artfully” intervene the bags within trees.

Since art is supposed to elicit a response, evoke an emotion or trigger a feeling within us, plastic bags are not pretty and this is not art!

It is a green badge of courage to use paper!

Going green is not a trend.

It is not fashionable to build sustainability into your lifestyle.

It is a fundamental necessity that must take place in order for our planet and us to survive in harmony.

Go paper!

Jackie DeLise is Vice President of Zunda Group LLC.  Zunda Design Group creates brands that inspire, by designing visual identity and packaging that evoke emotions and connect consumers to their brand, ultimately captivating attention and purchase intent at retail.  Jackie can be reached at j.delise@zundagroup.com.

Five Places to Find Incredible Used Bargains

Last week I posted five tips for finding sustainable items on eBay.  eBay is one of my favorite places to find bargain quality items cheap.

Today I am sharing suggestions for the five best places to find quality sustainable items. I believe quality used items are sustainable as they aren't a new product, often prevent something from ending up in a landfill and many times are made better than similar new products today.

There are a whole of options for finding great used goods but five stand out as clear winners in my mind.

Garage/tag sales: Nothing beats a great tag sale. Look for advertisements in your local paper, on Craigslist or just around town. Almost every Saturday here in Rhode Island I am up and out the door early hitting the local tag sales. I especially look for moving sales as often the sellers need to move items and are much more willing to bargain.

Church sales:  These can be great! You'll often find the lowest prices at church sales. There is normally a large variety of items at church sales – often these sales are advertised for several weeks and are part of larger festivals or events.

Thrift stores: Thrift stores vary tremendously and their stock is constantly changing. Many times a trip to the thrift store is either great or you leave with nothing so it can be frustrating. Check your local area for chain thrift stores like Savers or the Salvation Army. Also many churches or community centers have thrift stores. Prices are generally higher per item than you'll find at tag or church sales but still tremendous bargains can be had.

Flea Markets: Flea markets can be great – check out one of my favorite blogs, Eddie Ross for proof. Eddie posts often about the finds he has from the various flea markets in NYC. There are flea markets all over the country – often the more rural ones tend to have lower pricing so keep that in mind.  Urban flea markets are usually more expensive.  I've been to flea markets all over the country and world and you never know what you'll find.  Down south in the Houston area many great furniture finds can be had for very fair prices.

School/organization sales: Like church sales sales hosted schools or other organizations to raise money can be a great place for bargains. The pricing is often higher than you'll find a church sale as many times tables are rented to people to sell their goods. These sales are like mini flea markets. Check your local papers and CL for locations

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Guayaki Yerba Mate Launches Biodegradable Tea Packaging

Beginning this month, Guayaki Yerba Mate’s new San Mateo and Traditional Loose Yerba Mate ‘teas’ featuring new compostable and biodegradable packaging will appear on store shelves around the country. 

In their quest to create the ‘greenest’ packaging possible, Guayaki learned about a technology called NatureFlex that is created by Innovia Films.  Guayaki worked with their eco-minded friends at Superfood Snacks and Innovia to pioneer the first retail products that use this technology in a flexible stand-up bag format. 

The new bags for San Mateo and Traditional Loose Yerba Mate are made of 2 layers of cellophane and foil films and are printed using water-based inks.  The outside layer of the colorful package is transparent cellulose, and the inside film layer is made of cellulose with one side coated with a microscopic layer of aluminum that serves as a barrier to light, oxygen and moisture. 

The outside cellulose layer is printed so that the eco-friendly water-based inks are trapped between the layers so that the ink can not scratch off.  The foil side is facing the outside so that the product inside is only in contact with the transparent cellulose layer.

Although cellophane films and aluminum foils are not new packaging concepts, the process for producing metalized cellulose films that are compostable and biodegradable and have the ability to be strong and flexible is truly groundbreaking.

First marketed in the U.S. in the 1920’s, cellophane was the most popular packaging film until the 1960’s. That was when poly based products began to dominate the packaging market.  In today’s more environmentally-conscious market, cellophane is returning to popularity because it is 100% biodegradable. 

Aluminum acts as a very effective barrier to light, oxygen, odors, flavors, moisture, and bacteria.  The Guayaki bags are designed to provide the freshness benefits of an aluminum barrier, using the minimal amount of material necessary. 

This NatureFlex film is the only metalized biodegradable film suitable for home composting because the level of metal is minuscule (by overall composition less than 0.02% of the bag).  In the decomposition process, the thin coating of aluminum oxidizes and turns into aluminum oxide which is inert and non-toxic.

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HYmini and miniSOLAR a Cool Pair

BY BERYL SHERESHESKY

I have never claimed to be the most technologically adept of all my friends. To be honest, I don’t even own an iPod. And yet, here I sit, charging my cell phone, with the sun! “Green Power is in your hand,” powerfully worded indeed.

The HYmini and miniSOLAR allows everyday people, like me, to harness wind and solar power for everyday necessities. Your cell phone, camera, mp3 player and PDA are no longer resigned to the wall outlet. Let loose and set them into the wind!

In all honesty, I was stumped in the beginning. I have always been interested in solar and wind energy, but I had never used it myself.

The most popular combination from HYmini is both the HYmini fan and miniSOLAR panel.  The fan creates wind power. By attaching it to your car window, bike handles, even your arm while running, you can generate power. The miniSOLAR uses solar energy to power your electronics.

So, how long does it take, and does it work? In the time it takes for me to watch John and Kate Plus 8, I can charge my camera to take about 50 pictures, charge my cell phone for about 20 minutes of talk time and, if I had an iPod, I would have about an hour of play time.

Technology is going green and with the HYmini portable power generator($75) it pays to play into the trend. And no matter what type of phone, mp3 player or camera you have, the HYmini has the adapter that fits!

The miniSOLAR is encased in recycled cardboard and the HYmini uses LED lights to let you know when things have fully charged. Green from head to toe, you can choose your favorite to color and the accessories that fit your lifestyle.

To charge on the go and keep life moving, wind and solar power is now in your hand.

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Having traveled around the world, Beryl Shereshewsky, a recent University of Colorado, Boulder graduate, realized that in life, she wanted to accomplish three things. One, travel more, two, write about what she saw and three, save the world. With the recent advances in the green movement, she realized that she could be a superhero writer and write about saving the world. Combing her powers, she now writes for various eco and travel sites across the web, changing the world one article at a time. Feel like chatting?  E-mail her b.shereshewsky@yahoo.com.