Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

London Restaurants Launch Straw Wars

 

As of today eighteen restaurants in London's SoHo have signed on to a campaign dubbed Straw Wars aimed at reducing the use of plastic straws.

 

Restaurants participating are not discontinuing the use of plastic straws rather they are only providing them to customers at request. 

The group cites evidence that millions of plastic straws end up in water supplies or in the ocean after being discarded.  Many of these straws are then ingested by mammals or other marine life.

Read more in a piece via the Guardian 

 

Inside Apple Details 'Secret' Packaging Room

 

 

Adam Lashinsky's new book Inside Apple provides a glimpse into the ultra secret world of Apple design and development.  One key area of note to SISG readers is Apple's secret packaging room where designers spend countless hours creating and perfecting the Apple product packaging experience.

The book went on sale yesterday and today the Internet is full of bits and pieces of info from the book.

According to the author Apple's secret packaging room is so secure employees needed to badge in and out of it.  Inside designers would open hundreds of versions of Apple packaging all focused on making the consumers un-boxing experience the best it can be.  Designers would create versions of Apple packaging and tweak them until they were perfect.

"How a customer opens a box must be one of the last things a typical product designer would consider," Lashinsky wrote. "Yet for Apple, the inexpensive box merits as much attention as the high-margin electronic device inside."

The book Inside Apple went on sale yesterday and is available on Amazon or through other retailers.

 

Reusable Packaging Options for 2012

Innovative Products like the Globe Guard Reusable Box Sealer Can Help Companies Reduce Waste and REUSE

Reusable packaging represents the ultimate in sustainable packaging.  Developing packaging that is truly reusable is something we should all be striving for when we're developing and conceptualizing new packaging solutions.

Reusable packaging is nothing new to Dennis Salazar President of Salazar Packaging and a long time SISG contributor.  Dennis has been focused on producing reusable packaging options for his clients for several years now and launched Reusable Packaging Options to help clients incorporate affordable reusable packaging into their businesses.

To Dennis reusable packaging isn't just about the packaging used to ship products to customers.  Dennis and his company are focused on helping companies reuse corrugated and other materials throughout the entire process of product development to shipment to the customer. 

One innovative product is the Globe Guard Reusable Box Sealer.  The Reusable Box Sealer is designed to help companies reduce packaging waste during testing, product development, shipping preparation and other applications.  The Box Sealer does not require the use of any destructive or wasteful tape or glues and allows a box to be sealed and reopened repeatedly until ready for shipment.  The benefits of this creative product are numerous and allow for significant reduction in corrugated waste.

As we're about enter 2012 companies are looking for ways to reduce costs and eliminate waste more than ever.  To Dennis this represents a perfect opportunity to focus on reusable packaging options. 

"As companies continue their efforts to reduce cost and their carbon footprint in 2012, and assuming they have already reduced their packaging as much as possible and they have utilized high recycled content/recyclable packaging wherever possible, it stands to reason that reusability might be the best option left to deliver meaningful, positive green results," said Dennis.

Post Office Considering Significant Changes

This whole debate about the future of the US Postal Service has me confused and I thought it was relevant to address on SISG because so much of what we talk about here passes through either the USPS, UPS or FedEX.

These days its seems like everyone from Congress to talking heads has a plan to fix the Post Office but I have to say most of the ideas and options I keep hearing seem insane.

A core part of plans is to eliminate Saturday mail delivery.  This option makes very little sense to me and eliminates one of the USPS's primary competitive advantages over its competition.  The USPS is the only carrier who will deliver letters and packages on Saturday as part of its normal non-surcharge service.  To be fair FedEX Ground also does normal Saturday delivery but its mostly packages.

To me eliminating Saturday mail service would be a body blow to the USPS.  One that they may not recover from.

Another point I don't see raised often enough is the relationship people have with the USPS.  Personally I prefer the USPS over all other options unless I'm shipping something very large.  I find their service to be much more customer friendly - because they care about residential deliveries. 

I avoid UPS at all cost however sometimes its not possible.  I find their service to be terrible and they have an attitude that they can care less about residential deliveries.  This is one thing USPS should be emphasising - that relationship they have with people in this country - that day to day interaction via mail delivery and post office locations.

The question should be why isn't USPS the primary mail delivery outlet for online businesses like Amazon?  I'm guessing Amazon chose the carrier who could give them the best delivery network and price?  I know USPS does some of their deliveries but its a small number of the overall business. 

In the piece in the New York Times ran yesterday regarding the Post Office crisis - it was suggested the USPS is considering closing hundreds of distribution centers.  Again I just don't get this.  The infrastructure is already here and built - why not make it work?

Another area where the USPS has been a leader is on environmental issues and trying to make the process of shipping packages through its system as environmentally responsible as possible.  I've covered the USPS's process of seeking and obtaining Cradle to Cradle certification for many of its mailers here on SISG.  I think this is an area where the USPS can work with companies like EBAY - whose users heavily use the USPS to develop mutually beneficial and green shipping and business practices all the while encouraging EBAY users to ship via USPS. 

I'm sure there are serious fiscal and organizational issues within the USPS - no question about it.  I just don't think the solution is the make their service less available. I think the solution is to look at what they do well and where they have advantages in terms of service and existing infrasturcture and where they've already been leaders and focus on those areas and services.

High BPA Levels found in Holiday Food Staples

The Breast Cancer Fund recently released a report focused on BPA levels found in canned goods routinely used to prepare holiday meals.  The results of the report, BPA Levels in Thanksgiving Canned Goods, is unsettling. 

High levels of BPA were found in holiday staple items like Campbell's Turkey Gravy, Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, Del Monte Fresh Cut Sweet Corn Cream Style and Libby's Pumpkin.

The report found that in more than half of the products tested a 120 gram serving of the canned item contained enough BPA to show adverse health effects in lab studies.

The study included alternatives to the canned items it focused on including similar products packaged in Tetra Pak packaging or frozen items.

Download a PDF of the report

 

Whole Living Magazine Thanksgiving Ideas

 

Still searching for some yummy sustainable sides for Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday?  Look no further than the November issue of Whole Living magazine.

Regular readers know I'm a big fan of Whole Living which is Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's (MSLO) monthly focused on living healthily and incorporating sustainability into your life.

The November issue has a features six Thankgiving Sides You'll Want to Eat All Year.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Grapes with Walnuts

Creamy White Bean and Vegetable Mash

Green Bean and Shallot Ravioli Salad

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Gratin with Crispy Sage Leaves

Whole Grain Skillet Corn Bread

Stuff Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Pistachios

Check out the magazine for those recipes and lots of other interesting info.  Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. 

New Balance newSKY Shoes

New Balance has been doing some innovative things with eco-friendly materials in their shoes.  Several years ago they released the 070 shoe which was a big hit.  The 070 was made with materials like rPET and rice husks and constructed using water-based solvents.  I was a big fan of the 070.

Recently the company released its latest venture in eco shoes the newSKY shoe.  Available in both a mens and womens version the newSKY features an upper made of 95% rPET.  Each shoe is made from rPET fabric which comes from recycled PET plastic bottles.  The bottles are cleaned and made into a flake material which is then spun into a very durable and versatile rPET fabric.  Each pair of newSKY shoes is made with the equivalent of eight 20oz plastic bottles.

I've been trying the newSKY shoes for a week or so now and I have to say I really enjoy them.  They are incredibly minimal in terms of design.  The shoes are lightweight - what I would imagine a ballet shoe feeling like - but they are also surprisingly durable and warm. One thing I did notice was they seem to be a bit more narrow than a standard shoe so factor that in when choosing your size.

The New Balance newSKY are available in several color configurations in both a men's and women's shoe for about $95

 

 

Conscious Box Lets Consumers Try Variety of Green Products

Conscious Box is a new concept in the green marketplace.  Consumers subscribe and each month receive a box of eco-friendly and natural products.  The products have all been carefully screened and reviewed by the staff at Conscious Box before being included.  Companies cannot buy their way into having their products included in the box.

Why is this an interesting idea?  Well I think most consumers who are looking for green or more eco-friendly products will appreciate being able to try products before committing to buy a larger size version. 

With green products there is constant change in the marketplace with new products popping up and other ones failing.  The Conscious Box allows a consumer to try a number of products in small quantities before buying them at the store. 

Lets face it eco-friendly products are expensive and some of them don't work out as we had hoped.  Also many green consumers are highly concerned about waste if a product doesn't work out or isn't something they like.  Conscious Box allows the consumer to try products.

Another interesting feature of the Conscious Box is its packaging.  The makers of Conscious Box placed a high level of importance on making the box and the shipping container as green as possible.  They worked with Salazar Packaging in Chicago to develop the ideal packaging solution for their product. 

Dennis Salazar, president of Salazar Packaging and a SISG contributor said the box and shipper are made from 100% recycled corrugated content produced by wind power.  He told SISG the Conscious Box team was adamant about using the greenest possible packaging.

Read more about the packaging for Conscious Box at Inside Sustainable Packaging

Ekobrew Reusable K-Cup for Keurig Coffee Machines

 

Finally a refillable K-Cup that people actually like is available for Keurig Coffee machines.  The Ekobrew was developed by the Seattle based company Eko Brands and is designed to allow consumers to use their own coffee in Keurig K-Cup machines.

The Ekobrew starts to address a major problem with the K-Cup systems - waste.  Estimates have more than five million K-Cups being discarded annually by consumers in the US. 

The overwhelming majority of consumer reviews and feedback on the Ekobrew are positive.

What amazes me about this is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) who own Keurig didn't develop this themselves.  The company was pushing a refillable K-Cup called My K-Cup but it had mixed reviews and never really caught on with consumers.  In addition there had always been talk about developing a more eco-friendly K-Cup but that never seemed to take off.

See previous coverage on the K-Cup problem. 

30 Fathom Doormats Reuse Canadian Lobster Trap Rope

I heard about 30 Fathom Doormats while on Grand Manan a couple months ago and paid a visit Claus Wolter, the man behind the company.

Wolter, an accomplished rowing coach both in the US and Canada lives on the island and became interested in making a product from used lobster trap rope. 

He explained to me outside his workshop near Grand Harbour that lobster fisherman routinely invest around $100 per trap and if there is any problem even slight with the rope they'll choose to discard it rather than risking losing the trap.  This practice creates a problem - tons and tons of discarded lobster trap rope.

The rope used in lobster fishing is high quality and durable so Wolter started thinking of things to do with it.  Inspired by creations he'd seen elsewhere he started experimenting with weaving doormats.  After much work he developed a method he was happy with and began producing colorful doormats from reclaimed rope. 

Each doormat uses between 150 and 180 feet of used rope which is approximately 30 fathoms.  Wolter told me that after being profiled in the Chronicle Herald out of Halifax, Nova Scotia he began receiving calls from fisherman offering to donate their used rope rather than discard it.

Wolter sells his doormats at a number of stores in Canada and he can be found every Saturday during the summer at the Grand Manan Farmers Market.  He is able to ship his creations to customers in the US so check out his website and help keep discarded rope from being land filled or incinerated.