The big city guide to going green

Consumers in San Francisco now have a handy resource to turn to for information on eco-friendly restaurants and retailers—and one that will save them money to boot!

The Green Zebra Guide is a shopping guide and coupon book, offering savings of over USD 12,000 at more than 250 local organic restaurants and shops, spas, yoga and Pilates studios, independent bookstores, bike shops, museums and more. Priced at USD 25, many customers will find that the guide pays for itself in just a few purchases.

Not only are customers inspired to go green, but the Green Zebra Guide is a great marketing tool for participating businesses, many of whom are local independents whose brands aren’t as recognizable as their larger chain competitors. The Green Zebra Guide’s outreach to the local community doesn’t stop there. Green Zebra donates a portion of their profits to the Conservation Connection Project, an environmental science initiative for area public schools. Schools and non-profits also can sign up to sell the guides as a fund-raiser, earning USD 10 for each copy sold.

The guide also features articles and tips on eco-friendly living, including a list of 20 steps you can take today for a greener tomorrow—all in all, a great reference for area residents who want to feel better about their impact on their community and environment. Currently, the Green Zebra Guide is limited to the San Francisco area, but as consumers everywhere become more environmentally conscious, this concept could gain popularity in almost any major city.

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Greener bricks, made from cow dung (Or, how Indonesian cows sh*t bricks)

We’ve covered the value of worm poop, and now it’s time for the merits of cow dung to come to the fore.EcoFaeBrick turns cattle waste into bricks that are greener, stronger and 20% lighter than regular clay bricks.

The Indonesian organization was set up earlier this year to tackle the problem of excessive waste in farming areas. From this, the ecological and economical solution of the Cow Dung Brick was born. There’s no visible difference between a traditional brick and the dung brick—and before you ask, there’s no smell either. Instead of using wood fire the dung bricks are fired using biogas, helping to further reduce carbon emissions. The new product also lets land be retained for farming, rather than being excavated for clay for conventional bricks, or becoming a health risk due to ‘too much dung’.

A green product that boosts the wealth of rural Indonesians, it’s not hard to see why EcoFaeBrick came first in the 2009 Global Social Venture competition. The company has identified 22 areas around Indonesia that they want to expand the project to, plus 22 more in other parts of the world. One to support, or otherwise get involved with!

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Socially responsible flip-flops upcycled from old newspapers

PaperFlops create flip-flops made from old newspaper, benefiting the underprivileged as well as the environment.

Recycled and upcycled products feature regularly here on Springwise. Just recently we’ve seen fortune cookie purses, surfboards and even shoes made with waste materials. Now a company in Indonesia,PaperFlops, are next to tread the eco-friendly footwear path with their flip-flop made from old newspaper, benefiting the underprivileged as well as the environment.

PaperFlops are made entirely from biodegradable materials; newspapers, coconut shells, palm tree roots and 100 percent natural rubber. They employ mentally and physically disabled workers as well as street children in Jakarta, Indonesia, providing education and training in arts and crafts to manufacture the handmade products. It takes approximately 1kg of old newspaper to produce a pair of PaperFlops, which keeps production costs low, while a natural sealant is used to ensure they are water-resistant and hard-wearing. Priced at EUR 31 a pair, PaperFlops are available in a range of models and sizes, and are currently seeking funding through Ulule.

Boasting green credentials is becoming a standard requirement for companies looking to boost their public profile. When this can be achieved at the same time as benefiting the less privileged, so much the better. Could your business kill these two birds with one stone through some equally creative thinking?

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Bioplastic

Unlike typical plastics made from crude oil, “bioplastics” are often made from plant matter such as corn starch, potato starch, cane sugar, and soy protein. A potentially renewable alternative to petroleum-based plastics would have the long-term benefits of reducing global warming pollution and our dependence on fossil fuels, but do bioplastics fit the bill? As they become more ubiquitous—in the form of grocery bags and disposable plates, food containers, and cutlery—numerous concerns have been raised about their true value:

• Bioplastics are designed to be composted, not recycled. The plant-based material will actually contaminate the recycling process if not separated from conventional plastics such as soda bottles and milk jugs.
  
  
• Home composting may not be an option. Some bioplastics cannot be broken down by the bacteria in our backyards; polyethylene (PE) made from cane sugar is one example. Only bioplastics that are fully biodegradable will break down in a home compost pile, and it could still take up to two years for certain items (e.g., forks and spoons). The rest require the high heat and humidity of an industrial composting plant—of which there are only about 100 in the country, and not all collect waste.
  
  
• Plants grown for bioplastics have negative impacts of their own. Bioplastics are often produced from genetically modified food crops such as corn and soybeans, a practice that carries a high risk of contaminating our food supply. Also, corn and soybean producers typically apply large amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that pollute our air and water. To compound matters, the growth of the bioplastics and biofuels industries (both of which currently rely on food crops as their raw material) increases the demand for crops and the impact of agriculture worldwide.
  

Environmental advocates are calling for bioplastic production based on renewable crops (such as native wild grasses) grown without chemicals. Bioplastics could also be developed from agricultural waste. Until then, what’s a consumer to do?

• Look for the “Compostable” logo. The Biodegradable Products Institute identifies products appropriate for municipal and commercial composting facilities. To find facilities in your state, see the Related Resources.
  
  
• Opt for reusable or recycled instead. When you can’t use metal cutlery or ceramic dishes, look for recycled, dishwasher-safe products that can be recycled once they’re no longer usable.

Source: union of concerned scientist

Eco-friendly Notebook

The venerable Moleskine-style notebook may claim the likes of Picasso and Hemingway among its past users, but an Oregon-based printing and publishing company recently launched a new alternative that offers the added appeal of eco credentials and customizability, and squarely targets (artistic) minipreneurs.

Pinball Publishing's Scout Book is a pocket-sized notebook with saddle stitching and a durable chipboard cover. Artists, designers and other minipreneurs can customize the 32-page notebook by uploading their own cover art and choosing an interior paper style—lines, grids or blank, with a choice of 18 Pantone ink colours. Both the cover and interior are made from 100 percent recycled paper, inks are soy-based, and Pinball uses renewable energy sources in its manufacturing. Minimum order is 250 notebooks, and multiple cover styles can be included in one order. Pinball specifically targets artistic entrepreneurs on Etsy and elsewhere with the Scout Book, which seems a natural for branded promotional giveaways, too.

Besides bringing one more product category into the ever-expanding realm of customizability, the Scout Book is also a testament to the growing ranks of (part-time) artistic and crafty entrepreneurs, who have become an attractive market of their own. Give them new options, make their lives easier, and they'll return your love in kind! (Related: White lines make paper stand out — Design-before-you-buy on German version of Etsy.)

Website: www.pinballpublishing.com/printing/scout-book?sec=scoutbooks
Contact: info@pinballpublishing.com

Source: Springwise

Greener driving with Fiat and Microsoft

Helping drivers think twice before putting the pedal to the metal, Fiat has developed a new system that gives customers the insight they need to drive in more a sustainable way. ecoDrive processes driving data collected via Blue&Me, an in-car communications device developed by Microsoft. Users plug a standard USB drive into their car's Blue&Me port to gather information on acceleration, deceleration, gear changes and speed throughout the drive.

They then upload the data to their computer, where it's analysed by ecoDrive software to produce relevant tips for driving efficiency, like braking more gently into corners or maintaining a constant speed on straights. Drivers can also share their own tips and ecoDrive experiences using the ecoVille online community. Launched by Fiat in October 2008, ecoDrive is currently only available for the Fiat 500 and Grande Punto, but will work with any model featuring Blue&Me from 2009. Fiat claims the software can cut emissions and fuel consumption by up to 15%, meaning a lower carbon footprint and gas bill for drivers. An obvious improvement would be immediate feedback while a driver is behind the wheel, but we're sure that's in the works ;-)

Fiat and Microsoft's ecoDrive collaboration mirrors the successful partnership between Apple and Nike that runners can use to track and soundtrack their runs, enabling them to review their performance when they're back at their computers. As eco-awareness continues to build (and once energy prices start climbing again), consumers will become increasingly interested in tracking their personal energy use. We're confident that many other embedded eco-metric devices will follow, so if you're in manufacturing--now's the time to start researching and developing. (Related: Visualising energy use.)

Website: www.fiat.co.uk/ecodrive
Contact: www.fiat.co.uk/content/?id=3046

Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz for Springwise

Ambient Feedback for Greener Driving

After we featured Fiat's ecoDrive, one of our spotters alerted us to Honda's Ecological Drive Assist System. Called Eco Assist for short, the system gives feedback on driving techniques, aiming to help consumers save fuel. Eco Assist also helps improve fuel optimization and battery charging. Recognizing drivers' love of a good challenge, Honda moves the goalposts by rating them on the eco-friendliness of their driving style. At the end of each journey, the instrument panel displays how well they did.

One of the system's smarter features is that it gives feedback by changing colour in real time, avoiding distracting statistics and numbers. Fuel-saving, smooth acceleration and braking are rewarded with a green glow, and aggressive starts and stops are reprimanded in blue. A positive alternative to the dearth of dry save-the-planet communications, the system's ambient communication makes its message easier to absorb: helpful for those multi-taskers who spend their journeys making phone calls, revising their routes and flipping through MP3s. Honda hopes the constant form of feedback will turn drivers' good intentions into subconscious habits.

The system will be included in Honda's American Insight hybrid as of spring 2009. Given that the easiest way to save the planet is to change our behaviour, how could your business put customers in touch with their actions? (Related: Visualizing energy use.)

Website: www.hondanews.com/categories/1097/releases/4878

Spotted by: Treehugger via Casey Palmer for Springwise

Media Agency focuses on low-impact advertising

Realising that green concerns are here to stay, British media agency Curb offers nothing but low-impact advertising. Its clean advertising service (similar to Street Advertising Services and GreenGraffiti, which we featured earlier) uses rainwater to clean logos into grubby pavements, and has been joined by a four other services that are both novel and easy on the environment.

Curb creates sand sculptures of all sizes; burns patterns and logos into wood using magnifying glasses; and offers a ‘logrow’ service to cut logos as big as 30m wide into turf. Although each service is handcrafted, the agency is adamant that images are produced exactly as created digitally. Last but not least, graphics can be projected on falling sheets of water to create a memorable display. Household names have already used Curb’s services: Adidas was immortalised in grass, Volkswagen commissioned a sand sculpture and Barack Obama’s face was etched into wood.

We’re happy to see that ‘cleanvertising’ has been expanded into an entire portfolio of green(er) advertising options. Curb claim to be the world’s first and only media agency to be doing this exclusively. Which indicates that there’s space for others in different regions. Start blasting, sculpting, cutting and burning!

Website: www.mindthecurb.com
Contact: info@mindthecurb.com

Spotted by: Paul Tsannos for Springwise

Building Green Habits, One step at a time

Breaking a bad habit is never easy, but a little support can help. Much like Green Thing, which we wrote about back in 2007, Green Groove is a site that aims to help consumers create and stick to a plan to eliminate their unsustainable ways and embrace new, greener habits.

Green Groove's goal is to help consumers make "a phased withdrawal on catastrophic climate change." Toward that end, the Idaho-based site invites visitors to take three initial steps to create their own, personal withdrawal plan. First, they choose their desired plan type, length and level of difficulty, including whether it's just a personal plan or one that incorporates a household or family. Next, the site guides visitors to select specific weekly goals in four categories: auto, diet, home and lifestyle. Within the "home" category, for example, weekly goals might include replacing one old lightbulb with a compact fluorescent, or hang-drying at least one load of laundry. Third, visitors are then invited to put their weekly goals into the order they'd like to follow in accomplishing them, thereby creating their step-by-step action plan. A downloadable "Goal Tracker" widget is available both for Mac and PC, as are "Green Groove Participant" and "Green Groove Certified" website badges for those who are in the midst of or have finished their plans.

With all the many external demands on consumers' time and attention today, the need for support in making lifestyle changes seems greater than ever. Deliver that help in bite-sized portions, and you may just win some lasting support yourself! (Related: Nagging service for dieters — A public incentive to stick to one's goals.)

Website: www.greengroove.org
Contact: support@greengroove.org

Spotted by: Phillip Farris for Springwise