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Image courtesty of TerraCycle

We just began an interesting experiment at TerraCycle: Opening our first retail outlet and giving people a place to bring in what they'd normally mail to us as part of our collection Brigades. But that's not the most interesting part. We've decided to see what people will do when given the chance to pay whatever price they want for products.

In this economy, will people intentionally undercut the price? Will they, unaware of what we really charge, which, whenever possible, is the same or lower then comparable non-green products, actually overpay for their purchase? Or, might they, knowing we're a company working hard to make as sustainable a product as possible, make a point to pay more as a show of support?

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Image via Terracycle

How many billboards did you pass today? If you can even keep count, you're lucky. Most of those are made with vinyl. And most of them get thrown away. Over 3 million a year in the US alone. That's nearly 10,000 tons, or to give you a visual, about the weight of 2500 adult elephants. Once it makes it to the landfill, it's not going anywhere. Vinyl does not biodegrade. We thought something should be done about that. Starting this month, we are.

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Now here’s something happy for rainy days: the Spud Raincoat, made from potatoes and designed by the guys from Good for Environment! Under the brand name Equilicuá, they make thought provoking products such as the Econo, a water saving device for potted plants. The Spud Raincoat is for times when plenty of water is falling from the sky, and will definitely cheer you up on a grey day. The coat educates every by-passer on bioplastics by telling them “I was a potato”. And indeed, this waterproof coat is made entirely of bioplastic derived from potato starch and other natural resources, which makes it a 100% biodegradable and compostable product. And to give it the final touch at the end of its product life, the coat has integrated seeds so that plants grow out of it once it is returned to the earth!

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Photo via: Seattle Sports

This month I was given the pleasure of putting two of Seattle Sports new solar/crank-powered flashlights/USB chargers to the test. Let's see how they stacked up to a few of their competitors...

TH Exclusives

Photo via: Seattle Sports

This month I was given the pleasure of putting one of Seattle Sports new solar/crank-powered radio and iPod speaker to the test. Let's see how it stacked up to a few of its competitors...

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Today we came across these funky house slippers called UNCUT, made from 100% natural felt and designed by Ernest Perera.

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Bakus Cork Mat by Ciclus Designs

We told you about an innovative wine-lamp box Cavallum: a sustainably designed holiday gift commissioned by a Spanish company. The designers at Ciclus have recently announced another simple, yet practical design to extend the life of your wine bottle corks while protecting your surfaces from heat.

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Designer Joan Nadal took on the challenge to re-design one of the most common everyday objects: the humble clothes hanger. A small object with a large environmental footprint if we consider that of the 8 billion polystyrene or polycarbonate hangers manufactured per year, only 15% are recycled. That is enough to fill the Empire State Building 4 times! The solution: make recyclable hanger from just one material, and if you can, recycle something along the way. BoB Hanger does exactly that: it’s made from recycled cardboard and needs two reused bottles to function.