For the past month or so we’ve been in conversation with the newish start-up: END (Environmentally Neutral Design) Outdoor. The company will, as of August 2008, be selling a range of eco-aware athletic footwear for the outdoors. They say they’ll be “questioning every seam, every stitch and every material. Once a new design is born, we will replace toxic materials, glues and solvents with renewable, sustainable or recycled (R/S/R) materials that can withstand the rigor our outdoor athletes require.”
Based out of Oregon, a small team has been hard at work for the past 18 months or more, refining their designs. They haven’t been slack on the funding side of things either, scoring a goodly whack of Angel Investor finance along the way. Like winning hundreds of thousands in both the “Best Non-Technology Company” and “Best Overall Investment Opportunity” categories from the
Zino Zillionaire Investment Forum. They also teamed with sustainability consultant, Jon Blumenauer, of
Hutani Sustainability Strategies to audit all aspects of the design, materials and manufacturing for their line.
The shoes are designed by Andrew Etsey, END’s Creative Director, who’s a former Global Design Director of Footwear at Nike. His co-founder and business partner, who previously work with eFusion, GE and Philips is Ben Finklea, who's handling the Sales & Marketing. Hear what Ben has to say about their business adventure, in an extended interview after the fold. ...
Factory Green, a new online eco-store, run by pre-med college students Jack Short and Daniel Lyons at the University of Missouri in their “free time.” The store is full of men’s and women’s tees designed by fellow college students and geared for college students. Thanks to tipster Adam, and a recent
Sprig article for passing along this fashion tidbit....
The Hemp Trading Company's new Spring/Summer 08 collection is now
ready to rock online and anyone who is already a fan of THTC's funky street wear will know it's worth taking a look. This pioneering fashion brand have come up with the organic hemp goods again showing off some amazing graphics and fresh collaborations.
Keeping to their original musical influences THTC have developed a capsule collection for Zulu Nation, the label founded by Hip Hop legend Afrika Bambaataa, and the brand's strong ethical stance is reinforced by their collaboration with the
Burma Campaign. See the Burma T-shirts over the fold. ...
by 1plus1 on 06.18.08
The hyperbolic crochet reef
started in Australia, and has travelled around the U.S. gathering beautiful creatures, made by avid crocheters, where ever it goes. Now it has come to London and it is a wonder. Using bright and vivid colours such as oranges, reds and purples, every shape from the sea has been made: shells, coral , starfish and jellyfish. One whole set is made out of black and blue beading and shines in the light with golds and silvers.
What is it? It was the brainy idea of a mathematics researcher and crocheter who realized that she could recreate in crochet 3-D models of creatures such as corals, anemones, kelps, sponges and flatworms. They all have a unique shape known as hyperbolic geometric structures and these shapes can be crocheted so that one can "hold the theorems in their hand". The "reef" has been created as a statement about the impact of global warming on the coral reefs in The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the world. When the microscopic organisms that make up coral become stressed by environmental factors such as rising water temperatures, they become bleached out. If conditions improve the colour comes back, if not they continue to decline. Over 3,000 sq. km. of reef are lost every year.
...
Bagir recently announced the world’s first recycled suit made from PET bottles,
to be sold this Father’s Day at Sears. We spoke with Moshe Godot from Bagir yesterday and he assures Americans that the special suit, as promised, will be ready for Father’s Day (but in the US only). It's called the EcoGir suit and will be sold under the Covington Label at Sears.
This is also your last chance to enter the contest for a Bagir wash and wear suit. We have two to give away and based on your location, there is a good chance you might be able to score one of the recycled suits, if you win. There are two days left.
How do you win one? For the past few weeks responses have been piling up. The contest question for a free suit is, “
What would you do to green the men’s tailored clothing business?”
TreeHuggers who want to win a suit have been giving their opinions. Take note clothing manufacturers and entrepreneurs ––
the comments section is filled with some bold and bright ideas. Some of our favorites appear after the fold.
...
by 1plus1 on 06.11.08
Last week, our parent company, Discovery Communications, launched
Planet Green, the first ever 24-7 TV channel dedicated to green living. With more than 200 hours of original green lifestyle programming, Planet Green is a fresh conversation about what it means to be environmental. We've been bringing you clips from the new shows and encourage you to use our
channel finder so you can watch Planet Green in your home.
We've featured
Wa$ted,
Mean Green Machines,
Hollywood Green,
Renovation Nation, and
Supper Club. Today we're bringing you the scoop on
G Word. For those of you that have been following Planet Green you might be familiar with what it's all about since it premiered last week. We're sure you'll agree that being green is no longer just for granola-loving hippies. Or, shall we say (ahem) TreeHuggers?...
Want to see an
environmentally friendly shoe with a small carbon footprint? Check out the new
TreeHugger Sneaker!
Social Media blogger,
AJ Vaynerchuk, has an on-going series of posts that combine two of his favorite things: social media websites and colorful sneakers! He’s been busy making fantasy shoes for some of the biggest social media sites online and he just posted the one he made based on TreeHugger....
The lads at Finisterre must be stoked. They’ve just picked up the coveted
Observer Ethical Awards, in the Fashion category. Mind you, as The Observer duly noted: “This is clearly no normal fashion label.” Indeed not. This surf-inspired company, from Cornwall, UK, currently has only has four staff and a mere six styles.
It is a very lean operation that is clearly punching above it’s weight class, in terms of getting recognition for ecodesign in the sports arena. The Observer goes onto say, “In fact, it's all about 'testing convention', from the way they (very efficiently) run their mail order through the tiny local post office, shun cheap fabrics in favour of renewable or recyclable fibres, and have pulled out of China ('That would be considered commercial suicide for most sportswear brands,' says marketing man Ernie Capbert) in favour of working with nuns in Colombia and a women's outreach project.”...
J.R. Watkins’ new line of natural home care products brings the fresh-scented carefully crafted quality of their natural body care line to your spring cleaning routine. You might be wondering: “A body-care line that also makes natural home cleansers?” But once you think over it a bit – the concept makes perfect sense.
Both types of products are coming under greater scrutiny as we learn about the risks we take by applying toxic ingredients to our skin and using caustic chemicals to clean our homes. For too long we’ve made a Faustian bargain with the products we use in our personal and home care – accepting that to be effective they must also be a bit (or a lot) dangerous....
Just when you thought you’d heard it all, it turns out the EPA is finally getting around to keeping rat poison out of the hands of children.
Amazingly, it only took until 2008 to happen, but better late than never. And now it seems you’ll have to be a farmer, livestock owner or certified rodent control employee to buy the stuff in bulk. With bags over 8 pounds no longer sold in stores.
And to further ensure this nasty stuff stays out of the hands of kids, they’re making sure that the loose bait-like pellets and the four most hazardous types of pesticides, known as “second-generation anticoagulants,” will no longer be sold for personal use either.
...
by 1plus1 on 06. 5.08
Last night was a big one for us at TreeHugger. Our parent company, Discovery Communications, launched
Planet Green, the first ever 24-7 TV channel dedicated to green living. With more than 200 hours of original green lifestyle programming, Planet Green is a fresh conversation about what it means to be environmental. Over the next few days we’ll bring you clips from the new shows and, in the meantime, don’t forget to use our
channel finder so you can watch Planet Green in your home.
We've featured
Wa$ted and
Mean Green Machines and today we're bringing you the scoop on
Hollywood Green, which delivers the latest in news regarding Hollywood stars and starlets who are going green while making headlines in movies, TV shows, music, events and fashion. Also included are expanded stories highlighting how celebrities are living green.
...
(
Photo: courtesy of the firm.) Indarra DTX is a small design firm based in Buenos Aires that's experimenting with technologies applied to fabrics and different kinds of materials in modern clothing.
Launched about two months ago at
Puro Diseno fair by Julieta Gayoso, the firm has started with a collection that includes a solar jacket (picture above), a vest with anti-stain treatment, bamboo t-shirts for women and lyocell t-shirts for men.
Learn and see more pictures in the extended....
Cultivate Kids organic kids Tees remind us that growing organic isn’t just about reducing pesticides and preventing the spread of GMOs – it is about cultivating a healthy future for our earth and for our children. When we give our kids toxic messages instead of nurturing their natural qualities like curiosity and creativity, we end up short-changing both the children and ourselves. ...
Dutch designer Frans Prins and Swedish designer Cecilia Palmer have joined forces to create
Pamoyo, an ethical fashion label with a creative edge. Pamoyo is an open source label. Pamoyo invites designers to join their mission and enrich the offerings with their creations. Pamoyo, in return, will take responsibility to ensure consumers of the "high quality and sustainable production of every product made under the label".
Pamoyo will post patterns under the Creative Commons license. According to their blog, the Creative Commons office has confirmed that Pamoyo is the first fashion label under Creative Commons license....
Today green is the new black. Or is it the new blue? Either way you look at it, green is the latest buzzword and everyone these days is coming out with a new book to help you exclusively go green. (including us. Shameless plug:
Buy it here).
Going Green by mother-daughter duo Dr. Sally Kneidel and Sadie Kneidel is a great, basic primer for anyone looking to understand subtle differences like what is the difference between veggie oil and biodiesel or what the heck is a yurt. ...
A small but interesting show of handbags made of recycled plastic gives an idea of the full range of innovation and creativity going on today in England. Some of treehugger's favourites such as the " I am not a
plastic bag" and the
Modbury free bags and Kate
Ward's handbag were on display, as they should be. Ryan Frank's stool, Ishongololo, made out of orange Sainsbury recycled plastic bags was front and centre (pictured). There was a delightful key chain, crocheted to hold 3 blue plastic bags by
Cerys Marks, doing her bit by knitting and crocheting plastic because "the UK grocery industry uses enough carrier bags to carpet the entire planet twice a year." Emma Neuberg took an old denim skirt and made it beautiful by using applique design created by heat-pressing colourful pictures from plastic bags and packaging (pictured after fold). A little stiff to wear everyday but a party special. Emma Berry also used skirts; only she made soft handbags out of old pleated ones.
We loved the idea of
morsbags: download instructions to make a bag in half an hour out of an old curtain or sheet. Nat Thakur's
bag of stripy recycled leather pieces is eye catching and attractive.
Bags2riches makes some great looking bracelets of recycled plastic.
...
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the
if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.
School may be out for the summer, but the truth is that many PTA’s and school organizations start planning for next year’s fundraisers a good deal in advance. And there’s an eco-minded fundraising company called Growkids that’s offering 50% of the proceeds to your school or organization, a vast improvement over some of the organizations offering much, much less that we told you about in a post called “Green Fundraising with One Big Caveat” not so very long ago.
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The Royal College of Art Summer Show has a whole section featuring textile artists. Celia Pym loves darning clothes; she sees it as a way of reclaiming old clothes and recognising their intrinsic beauty. She has done it in Paris and the Orkney Islands and wants to mend her way around the UK. Now she is in London. For one project she invited people to bring in clothing with holes. Responding to signs stuck on posts, they 
We all know 
Lula Organics save the day with the 
Billabong's 
