From Demolition to Art: Upcycled Creations by Michael Yonke

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]

Chic Recycled Paper Jewelry by Sandra Di Giacinto

Who knew that paper could create such beautiful and surprisingly durable jewelry? Italian designer and sculpture artist Sandra Di Giacinto has turned her fascination with recycled materials into a collection of colorful, lightweight, incredibly unique adornments that are hand-made in limited editions.

Di Giacinto’s work speaks to the versatility and potential of recycled materials – they can be upcycled in the most unexpected ways. See the full collection at SandraDiGiacinto.it.

Link [Sandra Di Giacinto] via [Great Green Goods]

Gorgeous Eco-Friendly Throw Pillows by Alexandra Ferguson

There’s life beyond the landfill for plastic water bottles, and it’s cozy and beautiful. Designer Alexandra Ferguson creates absolutely gorgeous throw pillows out of 100% post-consumer recycled felt, and each one is approximately the equivalent of 4 bottles.

Stylish, modern and fun, Ferguson’s designs range from peaceful botanicals in muted greens and browns to bright, colorful birds and messages like “be nice or leave”. And, if you see a design you like but it doesn’t go with your color scheme, Ferguson happily accepts custom orders.

Check out her shop at alexandraferguson.etsy.com.

Link [Etsy]

Amazon Summer Sandals Made from Recycled Tires

Everybody needs a good pair of sandals for the summertime, and there are plenty of options out there that make creative use of recycled materials. Amazon Sandals, made in Brazil, are constructed from recycled tires.

Amazon sandals mold into the shape of your feet after a few days, have an excellent grip and last longer than the average flip-flop. They come in two styles – ‘Tupi’ with a black sole and ‘Cipo’, which has natural fibers from the Cipo plant running through the soles. Both styles are available in a range of 5 strap colors: gold, black, silver, green and white.

20 million tires are discarded every year in Brazil, ending up in landfills, lakes and rivers. Aside from being unsightly litter, they collect rainwater and become breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes. Amazon takes thousands of these tires out of the waste stream by cutting them into chips, pressing them into powder, purifying them via a system of sieves and then pressing the rubber into sandal soles. So far, Amazon has recycled over 800,000 tires.

Link [Amazon Sandals]

Coral is Too Precious to Wear

Think twice before buying anything made with real coral: that’s the message that SeaWeb is sending out as coral reefs decline around the world.

It can be tempting when you’re enjoying an island vacation to want to bring home some coral jewelry and other decorative items. But demand for souvenirs, along with climate change, pollution, destructive fishing methods and overfishing are threatening the remaining coral reefs.

From Traveling the Green Way:

A coalition of scientists, conservationists and fashion and jewelry designers are encouraging travelers to bring home coral-inspired souvenirs instead of real coral this year.

Their campaign is called Too Precious to Wear by SeaWeb which is working with the jewelry industry, including Tiffany & Co., coral scientists and policymakers to promote coral conservation.  They’re highlighting available alternatives to consumers who love the look and feel of ocean-inspired accessories.

“Souvenir seekers who purchase actual coral products as mementos from their summer travels are unknowingly contributing to the loss of one of our ocean’s most important ecosystems,” says Dawn M. Martin, SeaWeb President.

Check out the Too Precious to Wear website for tips on how you can avoid being part of the problem, and for coral alternatives.

Link [Too Precious to Wear] via [Traveling the Green Way]

Coup Eco-Friendly T-Shirts for the Urban Lifestyle

Coup is the online store of indie designer Elektra, who creates cool eco-friendly t-shirts screen printed with her own unique art in New York City. Coup t-shirt designs have an urban, graffiti-inspired look, and include a number of designs celebrating the election of President Obama.

Elektra’s Obama Wings shirt has been seen on a number of celebrities, including Madonna, and the unisex 1.20.09 Obama v-neck was a best-seller at the inauguration.

Coup’s eco-friendly t-shirts (identifiable by the recycling symbol in the photo) are made with a unique blend of organic cotton, recycled polyester and naturally occurring rayon and are low-impact yarn dyed.

Check out all the offerings in Elektra’s shop at coup.etsy.com.

Link [Coup]

Repurposed Seatbelts Surprisingly Stylish

They’re virtually indestructible, built to resist everything from water to UV rays and have the shimmery look of satin. Yet, the materials used to create Interrobang’s stylish range of accessories aren’t some new high-tech creation: they’re seatbelts, collected from junked cars and recycling centers.

Charcoal gray with a pinstriped look and modern shapes, Interrobang’s seat belt accessories include laptop bags, messenger bags, wallets, zipper pouches and day bags. This Sydney, Australia-based Etsy shop also creates bags made from recycled billboard vinyl.

Props to Interrobang for coming up with such an awesome way of upcycling a material that still has many years of usefulness ahead of it.

Link [Interrobang] via [GreenUpgrader]

Who’s Who in Green: Rob Kalin

When shopping for handmade goods online, those in the know head directly to Etsy.com. Etsy brings together thousands of sellers from around the world, offering original art, jewelry, clothing, knick knacks, pottery, toys, pet accessories, bath products and even edibles. It’s also one of the best places on the web to find handmade goods made from upcycled and recycled materials.

The genius behind this extremely popular online shopping site isn’t some Silicon Valley techie, but a former classics major and carpenter in Brooklyn. 28-year-old Rob Kalin launched Etsy in June of 2005, and since then it’s gone nowhere but up. Kalin was able to raise $5 million in three rounds of funding from angel investors including the founders of Flickr and Delicious. Kalin repeatedly turned down big money funding offers from venture capitalists who wanted a 20% stake in the company, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Tens of thousands of sellers proffer an amazing variety of goods ranging in quality from the kind of country crafts you’d see on eBay to high end gallery-worthy art, design and fashion. And, hundreds of thousands of buyers eagerly snatch up crafts of all sorts. In 2008, Etsy sold $100 million worth of handmade goods.

Kalin was able to take eBay’s concept of a massive online person-to-person marketplace and improve upon it in a variety of ways, finding a thread of humanity in the often cold and impersonal nature of online interaction. At the basis of Etsy is the idea of walking through a physical marketplace, marveling at all of the wonderful things you see and meeting new people along the way.

Kalin and Etsy have helped put handmade goods into the spotlight, and his fingerprints remain on the site despite the fact that the company has grown to 60 employees, with former NPR executive Maria Thomas serving as CEO.

In an interview with Lindsay Campbell of Wallstrip, Kalin explains the value of handmade versus mass-produced.

“What I see Etsy as tapping into is this desire to buy things that have this other layer of meaning on them. If your house was burning down, what five items would you take? Your TV? Who cares? It’s mass-produced… the bunny that your grandmother made you when you were a kid? You’re taking that. You’re taking things that have this story behind them because somebody made them for you.”

Rob Kalin’s Green Score: 48,301

Trade Your Stuff and Plant a Tree for Earth Day with Swaptree

This Earth Day, swap your old books, CDs, movies and video games for new stuff – and have a tree planted for every transaction you make – on Swaptree.com. Swaptree, a free online trading service, has teamed up with the Nature Conservancy’s ‘Plant a Billion Trees’ initiative with a goal of 10,000 trades completed and 10,000 trees planted on Earth Day 2009.

And, hey – swapping stuff instead of buying new is the ultra green way to shop, and it gives you control over what you get in return, too. Here’s how it works:

Members simply list the items that they are trading and the items they want, and Swaptree’s two and three-way trade algorithms instantly find all of the items that they can receive for the items that they have.  Swaptree is completely free, and users only pay for postage, which means that they can get a book, CD, DVD, or video game for around two dollars.  Swaptree even simplifies the mailing process, by providing users the ability to print a perfect postage label right from their printer, so they don’t have to weigh items, buy stamps, or even go to the post office.

So head on over to Swaptree.com to check out the selection, take inventory of the stuff you’d like to swap and make your trade on Earth Day to get a tree planted in your honor.

Link [Swaptree]

Eco Etsy Recycled Garden Décor

Whenever I’m in search of handmade items, Etsy.com is the first place I look. This online marketplace simply has the largest selection of high quality handmade goods on the ‘net – and many of them are eco-friendly, too. Team Eco Etsy is a group of sellers that offer green items, making it easy to find products by category like clothing, housewares, art and even edibles.

Now that it’s officially spring, I’ve been on the hunt for handmade, eco-friendly garden accents. Etsy didn’t disappoint. Here are some of the highlights that I found:

Reclaimed Wood Mason Bee Box – Made from reclaimed old-growth fir or cedar, this simple but pretty box provides the perfect place for bees – including mason bees, hornfaced bees, leafcutters and Osmia Californica – to nest in your garden. When you encourage bees to hang around your garden, you’ll get a greater yield thanks to their pollination.

Upcycled Traffic Light Bird Feeder – Repurposed traffic lights are made into a unique, brightly colored bird feeder that will catch the light beautifully. $3 from the sale of this innovative bird feeder will go to the National Audubon Society.

Recycled Record Mirror – As recently seen on Good Morning America, this mirror is made from an old vinyl 45 rpm record, hand-painted with acrylics with an original mandala design in a slate gray color. It’ll provide a pop of color and just a hint of illumination from reflected light.

Nature Garden Sign Made from Cedar Fencing – Hand-carved from a piece of reclaimed cedar fencing by Trillium Artisans member Tim Combs of the Reclamation Project, this rustic sign says “Nature” in Kanji. Cedar is naturally weather-resistant, and the sign has an aged appearance that will make it look right at home in your garden.

Want more? Browse the ‘Housewares’ section of the Team Eco Etsy website, and check out the other categories as well!

Link [Team Eco Etsy]

Organic ‘Respect Your Mother’ T-Shirts by Local Celebrity

Global Green USA, one of the most well respected environmental organizations in Los Angeles and around the world, has teamed up with t-shirt company Local Celebrity to produce the 100% organic ‘Respect Your Mother’ t-shirt. Proceeds of the Respect Your Mother campaign (RYM) are donated to Global Green, which stems global climate change by creating green buildings and cities.

This collaborative effort between Local Celebrity and Global Green USA helps you spread the message of protecting the earth while also putting your money toward a good green cause. Local Celebrity also donates proceeds from each and every one of the shirts they sell online to various worthy causes including the water cleanup crisis, human trafficking and HIV/AIDs.

Check out the Local Celebrity website to get yours (and don’t miss their retro-fabulous Captain Planet tees!)

Link [Local Celebrity] + [Global Green USA]

Target Goes Eco with MIO Designs

Eco-friendly versus affordable: do you always have to choose? Not at all – and soon, getting eco-friendly goods will be as simple as heading to your neighborhood Target. Philadelphia-based green design firm MIO has debuted a new line of cool green outdoor stuff now available at Target stores across the country.

Inhabitat has the scoop:

MIO is the newest name to be added to the mega-retailer’s enviable list of designers that already includes heavyweights like Michael Graves, Orla Kiely, and Isaac Mizrahi.  Their philosophy, which champions design that should be both responsible and desirable, is clearly visible in the new line of bright, functional and fun products that will surely instill some “Green Desire” among shoppers who still need to buy stuff, and might as well buy green.

The product assortment includes eight outdoor items made from recycled and renewable materials including a watering can, trowel, cultivator, weeder, mini herb garden, solar lights, hammock and composter ranging from $7.99 – $99.99.  The assortment will be available on April 12 for a limited time at Target stores with select items available online.

Are hardcore greenies gonna flock to Target to buy these things? Maybe not, but it does put ‘green’ at the fingertips of a huge number of mainstream consumers, and that’s big. And, hey, we’ve all gotta run to Target sometimes. Beautiful, sustainable and affordable – what’s not to love?

Link [Inhabitat]

‘Speak Nicely’ T-Shirts Spread the Message of Goodwill

Our words have such a big impact on how we see the world and how we interact with each other. This is a key to treating the environment well also, and it’s an important message to impress upon children as eary as possible so they grow up to respect other people, themselves and the world at large.

We’ve all seen those rather disturbing kids’ message t-shirts and clothing emblazoned with rather, um, inappropriate words and phrases. It seems like they’re everywhere, and who wants their 8-year-old daughter running around with shorts that say ‘Juicy’ on the rear end? Not to mention all those onesies

A company called ‘Speak Nicely’, founded by the mother of four young children, seeks to remind us all of the power of our words and provide items for children and adults with uplifting messages. ‘Speak Nicely’ items are printed with sayings like ‘Honor People’, ‘Say Nice Things’ and ‘I Am the Future’.

Founder Audrey Weitz told MomTalk,

“In my own search for children’s clothes, I am amazed by how our culture invites us to use our children to inappropriately promote companies, or worse spread messages that can be hurtful to others. I developed this line to help build up our children. We need to give them the opportunity to use words to make their own little worlds, as well as a grander one, a more beautiful and peaceful place to live.”

Check out the website for girls’ tees, unisex tees, baby items, hoodies, ladies’ tees, backpacks and shoulder bags and friendship bands.

Link [Speak Nicely]

Sweet Refurbished Vintage Furniture by Livin’ Pop

When it’s time to replace your saggy old couch and junky hand-me-down furniture – or you just want a fresh new look – secondhand is definitely the greenest way to go. But, as a few rounds of thrift store and garage sale shopping will show you firsthand that vintage goods are often a bit sad and worn, themselves.

That doesn’t mean you have to settle for faded, stained fabric or scuffed, scratched drawer faces that have seen better days. Buenos Aires design firm Livin’ Pop shows us how vintage furniture can be given a modern makeover that instantly turns these old treasures into sleek, beautiful pieces that look brand-new.

Treehugger got the inside scoop straight from the design firm:

These pieces are made by Livin’ Pop, a small design firm from Buenos Aires that follows the trend of mixing old with new, but in a sweeter, lighter way than the before mentioned brand. Check more of their pieces in the extended and get inspired to renew your own!

Livin Pop’s philosophy is to make old new, and their aesthetics are inspired in the ’50s and ’60s. The brand is ran by Lucila Nissen and Sofia Moreno, two local designers, and sells by request through their website.

For those outside Buenos Aires, their pieces offer great ideas to rejuvenate those old pieces you may find at a flea market. The red and gray sofa chairs and the stripped one are especially nice combinations.

Check out more photos at Treehugger and the Livin’ Pop website. I know I’m inspired to peruse my local secondhand shops with these design ideas in mind.

Link [Treehugger] + [Livin’ Pop]

Review: The Wonder Wash & Spin Dryer by Laundry Alternative

If you’re off-grid, living on the road or just trying to go green in as many ways as possible, you’ve probably grappled with the best ways to do your laundry without slaving over it for hours on end. Getting clothes and household linens thoroughly clean and dry while using as little water and energy as possible is challenging, to say the least – but two products from Laundry Alternative can help make your life a little easier and your laundry routine a whole lot greener.

The Wonder Wash is a compact, portable hand-powered washing machine that doesn’t even have to be hooked up to a sink. Here’s what the company had to say about it:

• Washes a 5-lb. load super clean in just a couple of minutes.
• Has a patented pressure system that forces detergent into the fabric at high speed for a fast, efficient, economic and very easy wash
• Is ideal for campers, single persons and even for the housewife with small frequent loads like hand washables and diapers.
• Is ideal for delicates such as woolens, silks, knitted dresses and cashmere garments.
• Uses far less water than even hand washing.

The Wonder Wash is essentially a plastic bin with a pressure lid, a stand, a handle and a drain spout. You put warm or hot water in the drum, add soap and then put in your laundry. Once the lid is properly in place, the air inside the drum absorbs the heat of the water and expands, creating pressure inside the drum. That pressure forces the detergent through the fabric, reportedly 100 times faster than you could do it by hand or in a conventional washing machine.

The Laundry Alternative website said that it can fit 7-8 dress shirts, 10 t-shirts, 30 pairs of socks or 2-3 pairs of blue jeans. I decided to test this claim and stuffed it with 3 pairs of my husband’s cargo pants, figuring they were the bulkiest items I had on hand and possibly the toughest to clean. They fit in pretty easily, and turning the handle was not exactly a Herculean task. I set the Wonder Wash up next to my kitchen sink and turned the handle for just three minutes. Then I drained it with the attached drain spout, filled it up with more water and spun the handle a few more times to rinse and drained it again. I must admit I was pretty surprised when the pants, which had been pretty nasty from yardwork, came out clean.

Of course, they were also sopping wet. The Wonder Wash doesn’t wring water from fabrics like a conventional washing machine does, so you’re either in for a whole lot of hand-wringing – or you can use the Spin Dryer, made by the same company.

From the Laundry Alternative website:

• Works in only 2-3 minutes
• 12.2 lb capacity for wet laundry, 5.5 lb capacity for dry laundry
• 3200 rpm spin speed
• Portable, only weighs 22 lbs
• Compact, only 13.7″ x 13.7″ x 24″ (lwh)
• Much gentler on clothes than a conventional tumble dryer
• Removes mineral deposits and detergents, rather than baking them on
• Can be used as a standalone dryer, or with a tumble dryer
• If used with a conventional tumble dryer, cuts drying time by 30 minutes or more, significantly reducing energy costs and prolonging the life of your dryer and clothing
• Connects to any 110V outlet, no installation required.

It did, in fact, get the pants even drier than they would normally be coming out of a conventional washing machine, and it only took three minutes. You can then either throw the load into your regular dryer for vastly reduced overall drying time or hang them up to dry (which is obviously the greenest solution).

These products are small enough to fit in your VW bus, tiny ass apartment or wherever you call home. While the size means you can’t do huge loads – forget fitting a comforter into either one – it does make them super portable. I find the size of the Wonder Wash to be just fine for the amount of laundry my husband and I produce (which isn’t much). The Wonder Wash would also be great for parents who’d like to keep their baby’s clothes – or dirty cloth diapers – separate from their own laundry, particularly since it’s so gentle on the clothes.

You can even use the Wonder Wash in your backyard and dump the grey water into your garden afterward (assuming you’re using phosphate-free laundry detergent or none at all, of course).

All in all, these are great products that make it much easier to have an eco-friendly laundry routine that doesn’t require a return to the methods of the 1800’s. Oh yeah, and the prices are super reasonable, too – $42.95 for the Wonder Wash and $134.95 for the Spin Dryer. You’ll make the money back in months with all the water and energy you’ll save.

Link [Wonder Wash] + [Spin Dryer]

Get it on for the Earth with French Letter Eco-Condoms

If you take sustainability and ethics into consideration when shopping for all of your other purchases, why not extend that responsibility to your sex life, too? The French Letter Condom Company produces prophylactics that enable you to help the earth while getting’ it on.

So, what exactly makes a condom ‘ethical’? Triple Pundit explains:

Condoms are normally made of synthetic latex, sourced from unsustainable farm practices in developing countries where the work conditions are not ideal. There is also the matter of environmental problems relating to disposal and decomposition of condoms. In this regard, many environmental groups have pointed out the damaging impacts of their use, for example, animals mistaking litter as food, smothering of reefs and asphyxiation of sea dwelling organisms, as well as the extensive time period required for the biodegradation of latex. Condom wrappings are typically non-biodegradable and there are also condoms made of plastic materials, such as polyurethane, which also do not biodegrade at all.

Martin, one of the three owners, says that French Letter condoms are certified to ensure the highest manufacturing standards in quality, as well as offer an ethical bottom line. The condoms are made from latex derived from organic farms across India and Sri Lanka are endorsed by “Fair Deal Trading,” with each packet of condoms sold contributing to the improvement of wages and healthcare standards for rubber tappers and their communities.

Varieties available include ‘Aphrodisiac: Delicious and stimulating scents”, “Linger Lust: Potency ring prolongs performance”, “Sheer Caress: Silky light for a real feeling” and “Stimulating Massage: Smothered in indulgent studs and ribs.” They can be purchased online at the French Letter Condom Store for between £7- £9 ($10-$13) per 12-pack, or at Ethical Superstore.

And, the website is totally groovy in a goofy Austin Powers kind of way. Yeah, baby!

Link [Triple Pundit] + [French Letter Condoms]

Team EcoEtsy: A Green Blog You Should be Reading

Etsy.com is a great place to find high quality handmade goods – and there are lots of Etsy sellers making eco-friendly items, from clothing to stationery. Navigating the Etsy site to find those sellers isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but luckily, they’ve banded together to form ‘Team EcoEtsy’, and have made finding these green products easy as can be.

Next time you’re shopping for some handmade green goods, check out EcoEtsy.com, which has tons of great items divided into categories including accessories, art, bags & purses, children, housewares, jewelry, paper goods and lots more. Simple!

And, the Team EcoEtsy Blog has proven to be an awesome source of green DIY craft tutorials, seller spotlights, eco tips and a tempting assortment of environmentally responsible products. The Eco How-To posts are helpful and creative, teaching you how to make things like recycled jewelry cases and gift boxes made of greeting cards.

Buy organic, fair trade, recycled – and handmade!

Link [Team EcoEtsy]

Recycled Flip-Flop Necklace: From Someone’s Feet to Your Neck

The idea of wearing a used flip-flop around your neck probably isn’t too appealing – until you get a good look at these pendant necklaces by Sephari, which manage to turn old shoes into vibrant, unique, eco-friendly jewelry.

From Sephari, via Great Green Goods:

Thousands of discarded flip-flops wash up on the African shoreline. This indestructible rubber creates an environmental disaster for the marine eco-system as it spoils the natural beauty of the beaches, is mistakenly swallowed by marine feeders, and prevents hatching turtles reaching the safety of the sea. Realizing that this flotsam brings a limitless resource to coastal communities in Kenya, UniqEco works with locals to collect and re-cycle discarded waste. The product range is diverse, from unique accessories and jewelry to one-off sculptures of amazing ingenuity, humor and beauty.

From someone’s feet to your neck, this pendant is made from beads stamped from flip flops and accented with glass beads. Strung on a 26-inch leather cord that can be tied the length one prefers, the diameter of the pendant averages 2 inches. Very lightweight, this pendant ispackaged in a small pouch made from scraps of mesh tent material. Each necklace is sold separately. Like all of the UniquEco products, it is has a detailed information tag attached.

It’s amazing how creative some people can get with upcycling old, junky stuff into fabulous new goods. Cool idea, and very much a statement piece!

Link [Sephari] via [Great Green Goods]

Clothing Retailer H&M Boosts Organic Cotton Content

When you’re on a really tight budget and are sick of fruitlessly picking through thrift store racks, finding affordable organic clothing can be tough if not impossible. In such a scenario, it can be tough to pass up $6 t-shirts from places like Old Navy, until you really think about the pesticides and questionable labor practices – but not all “affordable” clothing chains are alike. Swedish retailer H&M, which is known for offering up-to-the-minute fashion at low prices, is getting in on the organic cotton game.

From Green Biz:

Since H&M first started slipping organic cotton into its products in 2004 it has quickly ramped up the amount of organic cotton in its offerings, and this year the clothing retailer plans to use 50 percent more organic cotton than last year.

In 2008 the company used about 3,000 tonnes (about 6.6 million pounds) of organic cotton, putting its goal for this year around at least 4,500 tonnes (almost 10 million pounds).

H&M took its first tentative steps into using organic cotton in 2004, using 5 tonnes (11,000 pounds) in children’s clothes, an amount that represented about 5 percent of the material in the clothes. The items were not labeled as containing organic cotton.

In 2007, H&M began releasing items made from 100% organic cotton as well as some that are a 50/50 blend of organic and conventionally grown cotton. This year, H&M also plans to integrate other alternative materials into its line, including polyester made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled polyester, as well as recycled cotton.

While H&M’s entire line isn’t organic (and I don’t know anything about their labor practices), it’s really encouraging to see a major retailer that caters to the non-green general public put some thought and effort into sustainability. Though these steps may not be enough to win over hardcore greenies, they’re a great way to introduce ecologically conscious clothing to the masses.

Link [Flickr user reiner.kraft

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