Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Clear2Go Filtered Water Bottle

I came across a new product which is pretty cool and highly functional.  The Clear2Go water bottle with replaceable filter, can be filled from any tap water source, providing a convenient solution for clean water on the go.

The Clear2Go provides you with up to 100 gallons of filtration (equivalent to 757 half-liter plastic bottles) and allows you to fill your bottle from tap water at work, school or anywhere on the go. 

The Clear2Go is neat because its inexpensive (about $15) and readily available across the country.  It provides a cost effective alternative that is far more sustainable than buying bottled water.

The company estimates using the Clear2Go vs. traditional bottled water can save you over $1,000 annually. 

Clear2Go can be purchased at grocery stores, mass merchants, sporting good chains, bike shops, convenience stores, drug store chains and online.

Coast of Maine Quoddy Lobster Compost

Over the long weekend here in Rhode Island I finished my planting.  This year I have a mix of flowers and veggies.  For vegetables I am doing four types of tomatoes, three varieties of hot peppers, a number of herbs and sweet peas.  All of the gardening I do is container gardening on the terrace. 

Its fun because the soil is a mix of compost from my Naturemill along with leftover dirt from last year.  I mix the two together to form a wonderful organic soil for the vegetables and herbs.  This year I added another component into the mix that I am very excited about. 

Coast of Maine makes a number of organic natural soils and compost for a wide range of gardening needs.  I came across their Quoddy Blend Lobster Compost and thought it would be the perfect addition to my containers.

Quoddy Lobster Compost is made in New Brunswick Canada - a place near and dear to me where my family has had a house for over forty years.  The lobster compost combines lobster and crab shells along with aspen bark and other ingredients for a very rich conditioning compost that is perfect for tomatoes.

I added the compost to my containers and all of my plants seem to be very happy.  The compost is of a nice rich consistency with tiny bits of shells visible in the mix. 

I'm looking forward to delicious tomatoes and peppers later this summer.

How to Pack a Zero Waste Lunch

Bringing lunch with you to school or work is a great way to eat better and save money.  While there are many benefits to packing your own lunch there is one major environmental concern: single use disposable packaging generates significant amounts of waste.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) just ran a great short piece on how to green up your child's school lunch.  CAP estimates each average school-age child who has mostly single serving packaged items in their lunch generates 67 pounds of waste each school year. CAP suggests packaging a zero-waste lunch.

Here’s the basic things to remember:

1) Reuse your beverage container. Use a thermos or a reusable water bottle to carry liquids.

2) Pack a reusable lunch bag. Using the same lunch bag every day creates no waste and is an affordable one-time purchase. You can probably even reuse a bag you already have.

3) Buy in bulk. Buy family-sized packages of cookies, crackers, and chips, rather than individually packaged snacks, and then pack the desired amount each day.

4) Use reusable containers for food. Use Tupperware, or whenever possible wash out old food packaging for reuse. This is great for transporting leftovers.

5) Rise out of old food containers. Reuse old food packaging to avoid throwing it out.

6) Bring your fork from home. Remembering to pack reusable utensils will prevent wasting hundreds of plastic forks, knives, and spoons every year. You can also keep a set of washable cloth napkins on hand to prevent unnecessary use of paper ones.

It’s almost always easier, and cheaper, to replace disposable packaging items with reusable materials. And they’ll save you less trips to the store in the long run, as well as money on things such as plastic and paper bags.

via Center for American Progress

Ditto Paper Hangers Available to Consumers

Ditto is happy to announce the planet’s first home-use, recycled and recyclable closet hanger.

The Ditto Ecological Heavy-Duty Paper Hangers are now available on Amazon.com. The hangers were developed to provide a superior alternative to the eight billion toxic plastic and wire hangers disposed, every year, in landfills.

Ditto Hangers, 100% non-toxic and 100% recyclable in all paper recycling systems, can even be composted.

We covered Ditto Hangers made by GreenHeart Global several years ago when their products were focused on the dry cleaning industry. 

Made from 100% tree-free recycled paper (minimum 70% post-consumer waste), Ditto Heavy-Duty Paper Hangers are certified to be chlorine, formaldehyde and heavy metal free. Inks are soy-based and adhesives starch-based. The hangers are stylish, long-lasting and hold up to 20 pounds.

Now available in a Ditto 10-Pack, these award-winning Ditto Ecological Paper Hangers made from heavy duty, highly compressed paperboard, have been a first-choice hanger for many top-selling clothing stores worldwide. The Ditto Paper Hanger has proven itself highly functional under the toughest conditions.

Ditto 10-Packs are offered in three sizes: Ditto’s 17” Multi-Use Adult Hangers; 13” Little Ditto Children’s Hangers; and 9” Little Ditto Infant Hangers.

Ditto Heavy-Duty Paper Hangers are compact and strong, creating more closet space; especially useful in college dorm rooms, for travel and storage. Hangers can be customized with writing and art for convenience or fun.

I've used Ditto's Multi-Use Adult hangers and love them.  They are durable and work just as well as their conventional counterparts.  The Ditto hangers are stylish and perfectly designed for household use.  Since they are made from a industrial type cardboard - they have a chic look and feel - very minimal.  I like that.

Poofy Organics Baby Poof

We've had several requests from readers to review a small organic brand Poofy Organics and specifically their line of baby products called Baby Poof.  A couple months ago I contacted Poofy and arranged some samples of their two most popular baby products their Baby Poof Shampoo & Bodywash and their Delightfully Unscented Baby Lotion.  I then arranged for a family here in Rhode Island with a young son to try the products out at home and offer feedback.

What makes Poofy Organics Baby Poof products unique is they use natural preservatives, not the chemical stuff found in many more mainstream products.  This has made their products very appealing to parents looking for natural products for their children. 

It also means the Baby Poof products are made "fresh" and the lotion actually has about a three month shelf life depending on climate.  The lotion comes with an expiration date label right on the bottle.  Initially I thought his shelf life seemed a bit limited, however in the world of babies - its not.  Just like the family that tested these products for us said - there is no problem using the quality by the expiration date especially if your baby likes taking a bath.

In terms of functionality Poofy Organics Baby Poof received high marks for what it is designed to do - clean.  Our test family noted the shampoo/body wash had excellent lather and was clean and refreshing.  They noted the shampoo had a very nice light texture as well.  

Using the Delightfully Unscented Baby Lotion was a treat for our testers, whose young son has extremely sensitive skin.  They said the Baby Poof Lotion was one of the only products they had tried that didn't cause redness or irritation when applied.  This is an excellent statement because as a family our testers only use organic/natural products with their son and said the Baby Poof Lotion was the best they'd tried.    The fact the lotion is unscented is a major plus as well.  They noted the lotion was nice and thick and a little of the products goes a long way.

Poofy Organics Baby Poof products are all made in the U.S. in small batches, fresh to order.  The company, Poof's Closet is located in New Jersey and their products are all available online at their website www.poofscloset.com

Henri Bendel Hosts Eco Exhibit: Living Perfume: the Natural Alchemy of Mandy Aftel

Check Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue in NYC for an interesting "pop-up" exhibit, Living Perfume: the Natural Alchemy of Mandy Aftel.  The exhibit features the perfume, craft, and collections of Aftel who is often considered the world’s leading natural perfumer.  Aftel has also launched her latest perfume, Lumiere at the three week event.

The exhibit, dedicated to the sense of smell, aromatics and the art of natural perfume, features Aftel’s body of work - her perfumes and oils, research and writings and personal library of rare books, graphics, and artifacts. 

“We are thrilled to be able to bring perfumer Mandy Aftel’s art, and collection to the world. The exhibit will be a rare window into her creative process, an important educational opportunity and an unparalleled aesthetic experience,” said Julie Anixter, organizer of the event and Chief Marketing Officer of Brandimage, Desgrippes & Laga. 

“This experiential in-store exhibition is as multi-layered - literally and figuratively - as Aftel’s fine all-natural perfumes.”

Sculptural forms made from smooth, silhouetted layers of white sustainable eco-board suggest the sensuality of natural elements - trees, stone formations, a forest path - while paralleling the layers of perfume and invoking the mystery and beauty of scent. The space is designed to “impose” itself into the store environment in the way that a tree would grow on a busy urban street.

“Henri Bendel is such a vibrant and ‘complete’ environment that the challenge we faced was how to ‘disrupt’ the environment in a way that would draw people to the third floor and into the exhibit from that glorious atrium, and then enthrall them with Mandy’s art and the journey inside,” says Jeremy Dawkins, Executive Creative Director of Brandimage, Desgrippes & Laga.

Eco Design & Packaging

The Living Perfume exhibit was developed and installed using the responsible design principles of sustainable materials and eco-friendly sourcing. Sculptural forms made from silhouetted layers of white sustainable eco-board create natural elements — trees, stone formations, and a forest path. The exhibit is constructed of Xanita recycled post-consumer and 100% re-pulpable materials, E-Core Plus (EC+) structured light weight boards, and contains no formaldehyde, toxins or wax. After the event, most of the fixtures will remain in their current space, converting into Bendel bookstore fixtures as well as for the retailer to use for future exhibit rentals.

Packaging giant MeadWestvaco's Personal & Beauty Care team developed an exclusive gift package for the launch of Lumiere.  Only 12 of the special gift sets were developed for the event each was signed by Aftel and available at the debut.  MeadWestvaco designed and produced the paperboard-based packaging which hold all of the Aftelier perfumes, including the new Lumiere.

Where:  Henri Bendel Fifth Avenue New York - 3rd Floor through May 11th.

Sonnentor Spices Move to Biodegradable Packaging

Innovia Films’ compostable cellulose-based material, NatureFlex NK, has been chosen by an Austrian producer, Sonnentor, to package its range of herbs and spices.

Sonnentor was founded over 20 years ago in the ‘Waldviertel’ region by Johannes Gutmann.  He wanted to sell locally grown and dried organic herbs and spices with the emphasis on traditional harvesting and refining methods, innovation and Fair Trade principles.  The company has gone from strength to strength and employs 100 people in Austria, with 75% of its product exported.

NatureFlex NK was launched in 2008 and offers not only biodegradability and compostability, but also a moisture barrier approaching that of co-extruded OPP. 

Outlining why Sonnentor chose NatureFlex to package its herbs and spices, Gutmann comments, “Sonnentor’s formula for success is innovative product concepts and high-quality, carefully selected organic ingredients.  This organic way requires innovative solutions for our packaging.  NatureFlex plays an important part in our sustainability and successful future.”

NatureFlex was an obvious solution for the packaging in this application as the film begins life as a natural product – wood - and breaks down at the end of its lifecycle in a home compost bin (or industrial compost environment) within a matter of weeks. 

It also offers advantages for packing and converting such as inherent deadfold and anti-static properties, high gloss and transparency, resistance to grease and oil, good barrier to gases and aromas, print receptive surface and a wide heat-seal range.

NatureFlex films are certified to meet both the European EN13432 and American ASTM D6400 standards for compostable packaging.  The wood-pulp is sourced from managed plantations from referenced suppliers operating Good Forestry principals (FSC or equivalent).