Walk into store full of gadgets and home goods, and you’re generally hard-pressed to find things like clocks, radios, calculators and lighting made with something other than plastic or unsustainably produced metal. If you do manage to score something made of wood, it’s probably a holdover from the paneling-obsessed 70s – not exactly stylish.

A company called Lexon is looking to put an end to that problem with minimalist, modern gadgets and home goods made from bamboo, corn plastic and LED lights. Items like the Mini Dolmen Radio, Dolmen LED light and Safe Calculator fit seamlessly into modern interiors, and are also purportedly eco-friendly (it’s unclear whether the bamboo is FSC certified, and then there are problems with corn, but we digress…)

Prices aren’t listed, but you can check out the whole collection on the Lexon Design website.

Link [Lexon Design] via [Alternative Consumer]

Since “going paperless” has proven to be a difficult challenge for so many companies despite their good intentions, printers are still an integral part of most offices. But even with waste-preventing practices in place, there’s still all that ink and wasted paper.

Enter the PrePeat, a new eco printer that uses zero ink or toner, and doesn’t even need fresh paper. With a special type of coated paper, the PrePeat can print on the same sheet again and again.

The manufacturer claims that the thermal printing head can erase the document and, in the same pass, print a new one on the same sheet without degradation in quality. No word yet on price, which will probably be considerably more than most of the printers currently on the market – but hey, once you factor in the cost of paper and ink it’ll probably be a great buy.

Link [Gadget Review] via [Pocket Lint]

How many times have you purchased a new refillable pen, only to lose it within days, forced to buy a new one? Writing instruments are all too easy to misplace, and disposable pens and markers are still a big source of waste. We may not have an easy (and non-dorky) fix for losing pens, but we can give them a second life – thanks to a new recycling program from Terracycle.

Terracycle, the company that repurposes waste items like chip bags and juice pouches into new items like reusable bags and flowerpots, is now accepting used Paper Mate®, Sharpie® and Expo® writing instruments.

The company has “Writing Instrument Brigades” all over the country in places like office buildings and schools. For every writing instrument collected at each center, two cents will go to a school, community group, charity or non-profit organization of the collector’s choice.

Pretty cool, huh? It will be interesting to see the new products that come out of the program. Meanwhile, check out all the cool stuff already available at Terracycle.net, including non-toxic home cleaners in recycled soda bottles.

Link [Terracycle.net]

TIME Magazine called it one of the best inventions of 2009, and the YikeBike is definitely pretty cool, even if extremely weird looking. The carbon fiber body, matte black finish, unusual seating configuration and tiny back wheel aren’t the only things that set it apart from other bikes you’ve seen – it’s powered by a 1.2kW electric motor and folds up in 15 seconds.

Once charged, it can go about 6 miles (10km) before needing a 30-minute recharge. It’s got built-in LED lights, an electric chainless drive, electric anti-skid brakes and goes up to just over 12mph.

Check out these videos of the riding experience and how the bike folds up:

Weighing just 22 pounds, this thing could easily find a niche among commuting cyclists – at least, those that can afford its $5,000 – $5,600 price tag. But if you’re dedicated to doing without a conventional vehicle, the YikeBike might be just the invention you were waiting for.

Link [YikeBike] via [EcoGeek]

It’s amazing when you realize just how much of the stuff sitting in landfills still could be serving a purpose, if people would only get a little inventive with it. But some artists are way ahead of the curve, producing fun, stylish, durable products from other people’s ‘trash’.

One of those creative thinkers is Jenelle Marlbrough, who makes a variety of awesome totes, messenger bags, make-up bags and more out of old billboard vinyl and seatbelts.

From First World Trash:

Our bags are born in the junkyards of America, where we salvage seatbelts from old cars and rescue billboards before they are thrown into landfills. All materials are then deep cleaned, cut and polished in preparation for stitching. Each bag is individually designed and crafted by first world trash owner and designer, Jenelle Malbrough, in her apartment, in Queens, NY. All bags are tear proof, water resistant and built to last.

I’ve got the signature airplane tote, and it totally rocks. This is a seriously heavy-duty bag that will definitely hold up to a lot of use and heavy loads. I’ve already used it to haul groceries, holiday gifts and a big heavy bag of cat litter and it’s folded up in the trunk of my car waiting for its next job. I love that it’s water-resistant, so if I spill something in it, it will be easy to clean up.

First World Trash bags can be purchased online at FirstWorldTrash.com. Want your business’ logo printed on your own sturdy upcycled bags? First World Trash does that, too – contact them at sales@firstworldtrash.com.

Link [First World Trash]

It’s dead silent, runs on electricity – and looks totally unlike any other vehicle you’ve ever seen. This bizarre yet kind of awesome electric car by auto designer Ralph Tayler-Webb, called ‘Halcyon’, is made for nature lovers and inspired by owls.

From EcoFriend:

Ralph’s research and development included photographing birds in flight, carving an owl in hardwood and sketching them in charcoal and with water colors. He took a flight in a glider over Dartmoor’s national park, handled and flew living owls and experimented with numerous 15th scale clay models.

More at peace with the natural world, Halcyon embraces naturally quiet electric power and in turn eliminates emissions on the vehicles immediate surroundings. Reducing aerodynamic disturbance to a minimum, covered wheels and a tapering teardrop cabin are assisted by gently twisting surface transitions to coax the air around the body with a mere whisper.

It’s tough to tell from some of the images, but occupants get an unobstructed panoramic view of their surroundings through the gigantic, curving windshield, which is free of window pillars. The body is made from lightweight yet impact-resistant porous aluminum foam, mimicking the hollow bones of an owl.

Sleek, sexy, thoughtful and applicable for real-world use – just the kind of design we love to see for the eco-friendly cars of the future. Our only question is, when do we get a test drive?

Get additional info and more photos at EcoFriend.

Link [EcoFriend]

It’s December, and the holidays are officially upon us – better get shopping, if you haven’t already found the perfect gifts for your friends and family. Coming up with creative, eco-friendly gift ideas can be really tough, but the green blogosphere is abuzz with great suggestions that work for everyone from your mailman to your mom.

Here’s a quick roundup of some of our favorite green gift guides from around the web, including stocking stuffers, DIY gifts, gifts for hip chicks and more.

Christmas Gifts 2009: 13 Great Gifts

HuffPo says: “At HuffPost Green, we believe that if you’re going to buy gifts this season, they should be thoughtful, eco-friendly and inspiring.”

Gifts include: Solar Style’s Portable Charger, Windowsill Organic Trio Herb Garden Kit, Planet Earth DVD Set

2009 Green Holiday Gift Guide

Green Upgrader has categorized gift ideas for the adventurer, the eco-trendsetter, the eco geek, the DIY’er and more.

Gifts include: E.C.O. Sunglasses, Repurposed Military Tarp Weekender Bag, Cordless Lithium-ion Dremel Tool

7 DIY Gifts You Can Make in a Weekend

The Daily Green says: “Here are some of my favorite grown-up DIY gifts, and I promise no 5-year-old will be showing up with any of these on Christmas.”

Gifts include: Candles, draft snake, homemade paper

Holiday Must-Haves for Hip Green Girls

The Green Girls says: “Whether you’re the shopper or the wishlist-maker this holiday season, coming up with gift ideas that are both green AND hip can seem like quite the challenge. Fortunately, three eco-chic young women from Teens Turning Green filled me in on the hottest, earth-friendly items they’re hoping for this season. And these items are sure to be a hit with stylish green girl consumers everywhere.”

Gifts include: Jane Iredale Chocolicks lip gloss, Gaiam Kitchen Compost Crock, 7 for All Mankind Organic Jeans

Recycled Fair Trade Stocking Stuffers – Under $10.00

Great Green Goods says: “Fair Trade Marketplace is chock full of great green gift ideas …and not only great gifts, but REALLY great gifts since most of them are eco-friendly and Fair Trade as well.”

Gifts include: Recycled tea bag bookmarks, fair trade silk coin purse, recycled tin earrings

Imagine that you’re forced to call 911 for some extremely emergent reason – like, say, a psycho killer in a clown costume is chasing you with a chainsaw (my worst nightmare). You whip out your totally awesome solar-powered cell phone… but, wait. You’ve got to mess with weird little stickers before you can place a call.

Okay, so the clown scenario is a little far-fetched, but still – you want your cell phone to be ready when you need it. That makes the strange “Label With Green” phone concept a little hard to swallow, since you’re required to power individual components of the phone with ‘Eco-Green Electronic Labels’.

From Yanko Design, via Treehugger:

Upgrading a redundant cellphone means adding to the pile of toxic trash that accumulates all around the world. The Label With Green is a concept phone aims at weaning you off the upgrade mania. To power the phone you need to use ECO-Green Electronic Labels, which are solar paper labels that juice up the phones various components (display, speaker, keypad, camera, and solar battery) independently. So to turn on any function, say display, you need to stick on enough solar labels onto the rear cover to power it.

The more functions of the phone you want to use, the more solar stickers you need to paste on the rear.

The idea is to make you conscious of the amount of toxic waste being accumulated due to improper disposal of electronic gadgets, our greed for upgrades and the amount of energy we consume to power our stuff. Essentially you can use this concept for a variety of gadgets.

It’s an interesting idea, especially given all the toxic electronic waste that is generated every day in the form of outdated cell phones. But the concept needs some work. As Treehugger noted, the ‘Label with Green’ phone is great as an educational device, but those of us looking for a more environmentally friendly cell phone that’s actually usable will have to keep waiting.

Link [Yanko Design] via [Treehugger]

Did you hear? Synthetic, chemical-laden sex aids are out in favor of eco-friendly choices that are healthier for you and healthier for the planet. Hopefully you’ve already given your sex tool kit an eco-makeover with wind-up vibrators, biodegradable condoms and organic lube. Now, you can even add an upcycled whip to your trunk of treasures.

Etsy seller TheInnerWorks turns bicycle inner tubes into “light and extra-stingy eco-floggers” with knotted, fine 12-inch-long tails.

This flogger is made entirely from upcycled and repurposed bicycle tubes that have been discarded and have found a new life in these creations! Each flogger shows subtle signs of these rough-and-tumble past lives- whether slight raised numbers on the rubber or white manufacturers’ marks. These floggers are made without the use of glues or tape, so there’s nothing to crack or get sticky with time.

They’ve even got a recycled inner tube and chain garter, if you’re into that sort of thing. Meow!

Link [TheInnerWorks Etsy]

Artist and ‘upcycler’ Michael Yonke turns reclaimed wood harvested generations ago into stunning, high-end eco-friendly art and furniture. All of his designs have an upcycled material content from 90 to 99 percent and have a modern aesthetic that reaches beyond the rustic look commonly found in upcycled furniture.

The austere geometric designs paired with perfectly polished and stained wood give these pieces, which include chairs, tables, benches and wall art, a sense of sophisticated simplicity.

You can see Yonke’s work in person right now at the Atrium Gallery at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. The exhibit, “Reclaim, Reuse, Renew”, will be up until September 26th. Many pieces are also available in his Etsy shop.

Link [Upcycler.com]