Here is something that most SUV owners are sure to love. Especially if you are a Ford addict, if you buy a new Escape or Mercury Mariner, you will be gifted with a new soy-based cushion cover and will be the first ones to have this feature in the market.

Ford has a lot of planning to do as far as planting their carbon footprints on their vehicle line and what better way to do it other than to start with your top selling vehicles in the market.

Ford wil introdue new soy- based foam seats on its Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner in 2009. These cushions are wrapped in 100 per cent recycled fabric, the first such seats in the automotive industry.

“As Ford continues to migrate soy-based foam seat inserts across many vehicle platforms, we’re improving our environmental footprint by conserving limited resources and reducing carbon dioxide emissions,” said Debbie Mielewski, technical leader, Ford Plastics Research.

(Source) Domain B

In an effort to transform and limit its carbon footprint, Taco del Mar has taken the initiative to change its current line of food packaging and do its part for contributing towards eco-friendly awareness as far as business is concerned. To most consumers, it would not matter as long as they get their meals but sooner or later, most of us will appreciate the efforts of these companies such as Taco del Mar in doing away with the waste.

Among the things they aim to change are their waste bags, utensils, food lids and trays. This effort will go a long way and will certainly be good for business.

Taco del Mar, in a joint venture with Trellis Earth, may be the first big restaurant chain in the country to go green.

“We are going to be changing 16 pieces total in our packaging, everything from our trays to our lids to our garbage bags to our utensils will now be earth friendly,” said Erin Gilbert, Taco del Mar marketing director.

(Source) NWCN

Panasonic Vivi RX-10S Bike

Here is another bike you should watch out for. Through the months, we have brought to you various bike concepts each having its own advantage as far as eco-friendly and healthy travel is concerned. While the Panasonic Vivi RX-10S bike has almost the same features, its key feature is the dynamo on the front wheel which is connected to a rechargeable battery by the rear wheel.

So if you are going downhill, you can recharge the batteries through a freewheeling downhill motion which may eventually power the bike later on if you get tired pedaling.

“In principle, the idea is simple. When the bicycle is at the top of a hill, that is potential energy, and when it is moving downwards we have kinetic energy. Normally that kinetic energy is converted into heat from the friction of the brakes, but in this case it is used to power the battery,” said Peter Hall, professor of chemical engineering at Strathclyde University.

(Source) One India

Leila Hafzi has had her share of fame owing to her being featured in Eco Fashion World and now she is getting ready for another round of trendy eco-fashion clothing inspired by NASA’s images from the outer places of the universe.

“We use different techniques, everything is hand-made. First, to get the vibrant colors, we premiered AZO Free dyes in Nepal. These are the legal standard dyes in Europe, but most Asian countries don’t have that regulation and work with dyes that are extremely harmful to the workers’ health… For the paler colors, we are experimenting with herbal Ayurvedic dyes to preserve the purity of the organic materials.”

(Source) Eco Fashion World

In this case, the design may be catchy but it is really the materials that they use which adds a little bit more spice to why Hafzi’s eco-designs are getting much publicity. And among her best customers at the moment happen to be the celebrities. With that, you can imagine why she is gaining ground from all her designs and work.

For the catering and fast food chains in operation in the world today, here is a good alternative as far as plates and utensils requirements are concerned. Surely, there are a lot of requirements for these items since business in the food industry normally requires disposable for a better way of enjoying catered food.

The Aware Utensils

The Aware! range includes Ecotainer hot cups and lids, non-wood fibre plates and bowls and cutlery made from Polylactic Acid, a plastic made by extracting sugar from corn starch, sugar beet or wheat starch, which can also be composted.

Whether the name used has to do something on stressing what these utensils are made of is really something appealing. Whatever the case may be, the important thing is that we go eco-friendly while enjoying food and meals wherever we may be.

(Source) Big Hospitality

One thing about pop icons and aspiring musicians today is that they love to use the best instruments in town. In this case, these guitarists may want to apply a certain green patch towards buying their next guitar. The best part of it is that people will not even know the difference (unless of course they divulge it).

Most of these guitars are made from bamboo or other wooden raw materials that are being tagged as dilapidating in terms of availability. As long as that guitar can carry the same tune, pop artists and guitar players will not know the difference.

Those looking to reduce their financial footprint will prefer the First Act Bambusa electric guitar ($400, right), made from bamboo, “one of the fastest growing plants in the world, and an uncommonly renewable resource,” with a water based finish and food-safe glue, should you run out of granola.

Next on the list are the Martin Sustainable Wood Series acoustic guitars ($1700), constructed from a mix of FSC-certified wood plus some old-growth mahogany and rosewood.

Your other option is the Gibson LEs Paul SmartWood, built with wood that has been certified by the Rainforest Alliance, which receives part of the revenue from each unit sold.

(Source) Wired

While the eco-fashion options are being revealed these days by various fashion designers, why not include underwear to the mix. Wearing green does not limit itself towards clothes and apparel. They can even go as far as our underwear as the concept initialized by Giulio is concerned.

Just consider these latest green underwear designs:

1. Seacell Men’s Underwear
2. Bamboo Men’s Underwear
3. Organic Cotton Men’s Underwear

Each line has their own use of eco-friendly materials. So with these choices, how can any man miss them!

Giulio is pleased to offer Eco Friendly underwear for men worldwide. Green boxers and briefs… Seacell, Bamboo, Organic Cotton and more. Giulio underwear is the luxuriously fun affordable staple for men worldwide. Bring it on.

(Source) PR Web

It may seem to be something of an understatement, but yes the folks over at Las Vegas have decided that they will finally be going green by building some seriously eco friendly buildings along the Las Vegas Strip.

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With over fifty million square feet of building work going on but all being built to LEED standards, naturally this is not really going to make things better, but these new buildings are not going to make things worse either, which has to be good thing doesn’t it?

Source [World Hum]

Everyone is telling home owners to go green. But the thing is, outside that of using alternative energy, conservation and segregation of waste, what else is there to do?

Well you just have to look around, read magazines such as Good Housekeeping Magazine to know how to go green. It is not mainly focused on the things you can do but on the things you can use and buy. Green living is not only about performing duties that pertain towards saving the environment. Products and materials alike of a greener nature have been introduced in the market and the consumer just needs guidance on where to find them.

Just take a look at this house and how it was christened to be eco-friendly and green. You are bound to discover a lot of new things from it.

The house’s designer, Robin Wilson, says going green couldn’t be easier: “It’s really exciting, because the price points have come down … from the organic towels, sheets, plates that are vintage, and also, you’ll find vintage pieces (furniture) that have been … reclaimed by re-staining them.”

“It doesn’t matter where you are,” Ellis observes. “You can make your house greener, you can make your life greener; just look at the green choices and try to make a more energy-efficient, smarter, greener choice.”

(Source) CBS News

Guess who is the next celebrity making a pitch at eco-friendly investments. Controversial yet popular actress Pamela Anderson is putting up an eco-friendly hotel in Abu Dhabi after her recent trip for the Make a Wish Foundation Charity after being persuaded by the royal family to become a hotelier there.

Being the environmental conscious person that she is, this is Anderson’s part of giving back to the environment, putting an eco-friendly investment like other popular stars have done before her like Brad Pitt.

She reveals, “I’m building a hotel there. It’s environmentally friendly. I went there with the Make a Wish Foundation and met some great people there, and the royal family was really friendly.”
And the environmentally-conscious star insists the hotel is kind to the earth: “It’s built with no fossil fuel at all….in Abu Dhabi - where they have all that oil.”

(Source) Contactmusic.com

It was a dream of the Prime Minister Gordon Brown to develop eco towns in the UK; this would have been the first major building projects in the country since the 1960’s. However, these plans have been put into limbo simply because it is believed that many of these developments were not green enough.

Originally there were to be around ten of these eco towns, but this has been cut down to around two and even those may not get the go ahead either. This is a significant blow not only for the building of eco friendly projects, but for the UK housing market too.

Nevertheless, thinking up an eco town is one thing, putting it into practice is another with transport, utilities and the established local area. However, there is still a need for new homes and surely, the best way is to build eco friendly new homes rather than the alternative.

Source [Telegraph]

We have heard a lot about the superior quality the Blue Ray brings to watching films on DVD. The Blue Ray is touted to be the next optical disc format to further showcase high definition video and larger storage space. The problem is finding players that can read them.

Sony has announced the development of the BDP-S350 player. Only recently have consumers been able to easily find them at stores for purchase. Originally expected to be out last February, this new Blue Ray player has also applied some environmental, footprint-reducing specs to make the unit eco-friendly.

Sony has reduced the overall unit size of the player by 55 percent, reduced the packing material by 52 percent and reduced its total weight by 38 percent. With this, Sony was able to reduce the CO2 emissions when shipping the BDP-S350. Likewise, Sony has also made the player’s energy consumption a little less than the usual.

(Source) Gadgetll

Ever wish there were more funny tees about the green movement? Well how about a t shirt that plays on the green recycle symbol?

The green tee above is a whimsical play on the very well known recycle symbol we see on recycling bins everywhere.

In this case, the green symbol on the funny t shirt stands for Rock Paper Scissors, the popular hand game from way back when. Wear it and show your green humor off to all.

Available @ Busted Tees, for about $20.

Diving has become a common pastime for people today. There is an inherent draw to explore the depths of the deep blue sea. Hence, the need for wet suits has grown over the years. We have heard of the usual brands, such as Body Glove and Matuse. Not far behind in the lineup is Patagonia, which makes use of neoprene derived from limestone, rather than petroleum, in the manufacturing of their suits.

However, the manner of producing the Patagonia wet suits has become an eco-friendly concern due to the laborious and wasteful process of mining limestone. The process has been likened to drilling for oil, and thus, is now the subject for a study on how to make it more eco-friendly. Patagonia is actively searching for a better alternative to better adhere to the true eco-friendly practices and standards set forth today.

“The carbon footprint from mining and heating limestone is comparable to drilling for oil,” says Jason McCaffrey, director of surf for Patagonia. “It may be easier to clean up than an oil spill, but there is no eco-friendly wet suit.”

The company is experimenting with recycled neoprene and hoping to test a prototype within six months.

“What I like about Patagonia is that they admit that they’re not happy with the limestone and they want to make a greener wetsuit,” says Chris Mauro, editor of Surfer magazine. “They were eco before it became fashionable.”

(Source) Los Angeles Times

Whether you want coffee or tea, boiling water has had its share of wasted energy and keeping water warm. Normally, kettles have to be re-powered to get the proper warmth to produce those warm drinks we want and with this new offering by Siemens, the Insulated Kettle not only makes sure of boiling wisely but also keeps water warmer for a longer period of time.

A good item to buy for £79.95

The insulated kettle (pictured) manufactured by Siemens is designed by Porsche. But does it go from 0 to boiling in sixty seconds? Not quite, although the two minutes it does take isn’t bad, and its thermally insulated body will keep boiled water hot for longer. I like the fact that it won’t boil until the lid is firmly shut: leaky lids are an all too common cause of energy loss in cheapo kettles.

(Source) Hippy Shopper