It is very interesting that so many items are now being made from wood, this clearly is a step back in time to when there was no metalwork’s or foundries. However, these have the feel of something like you would get in a Chinese restaurant, made from a nice soft sustainable wood. The set is eco friendly to produce and is biodegradable to dispose of when finished with.

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Features and Specs:

Made of 100% organically grown bamboo.

Set of two forks and two spoons. Dishwasher safe.

FDA approved food-safe

No bleaches or dyes

After disposal, biodegrades in 4-6 months.

Made in China.

Fair Trade.

Priced at $14.99

Source [This Next]

Very neat concept that i just stumbled upon on Springwise. For those that dont know, Springwise is like a giant business idea portal. The green restaurant being launched via social networking is called Elements.

Essentially the restaurant and its concept is being formulated by group members, and each one has input into its development. It is the latest craze in the net world, as it plays on collaboration, web 2.0 tools, and something called crowdsourcing.

Without getting too technical, crowd sourcing basically is when you use (and harness) the collective power and efficiency of a group of like minded people. One way this is mostly employed, is online via social networks.

In the example of the green restaurant, the group meets at the online social network called Collective X, and it generates input from members there. Elements is the name of this restaurant project, and it is aimed at those who are progressive. It is, or will be an organic locally sourced, earth friendly vegetarian eatery.

We encourage balance in life. All of life is interconnected, thus our actions can have a great impact. We balance our needs—health, enjoyment, vitality—with the needs of others and the Earth. As an independent local business, Elements endorses the triple bottom line: we measure success in not only economic, but environmental and social terms as well. We support balance in our community by serving organic vegetarian food grown our own garden in a building that exceeds environmental standards. We support balance globally by cutting our waste, composting, and recycling, and by neutralizing our carbon output with offsets and green energy.

Wow, that is quite a mouth full. According to the restaurant page, the restaurant has already reached certain platues, and is currently at the finding a General Manager stage, among other steps.

Progress Map Below

As you can see above in the progress map, each step is outlined for members and maybe for possible would-be investors.

I quite love this idea, and it is something that im sure can only be pulled off, with the right group of people. Otherwise it could be total chaos, and/ or take forever to accomplish.

Other Examples Of Social Networks Doing Good

This idea of using the power of a group of people online, is pretty new but so far has proven to be effective. Another example i can give you is Kiva, an online portal (of anybody lenders) who join with others, and collectively micro-lend to small business owners and artists in developing countries. So far Kiva has been quite successful.

To read more on Elements, head on over to their group restaurant page on the web.

Source: [SpringWise]

Prince Charles is not known for his tactfulness, which is probably a good thing. This time he has ripped into the industry behind genetically modified foods, those big corporations who see an opportunity like hunger and invest in producing crops to fit the bill.

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However, Prince Charles sees things differently as we can see from his interview with the Daily Telegraph.

“What, all run by gigantic corporations? Is that really the answer? I think not. That would be the absolute destruction of everything and… the classic way of ensuring that there is no food in the future,” Charles told the paper. He added that “clever” genetic engineers had put the world on course for the “biggest disaster environmentally of all time. “The world should be working “with nature. We have gone working against nature for too long,” he said.

Source [Ecorazzi]

A lovely Keetsa reader, submitted the following tips for a more eco friendly office. Thanxs, Sheree! Feel free to submit your own below in the comments section.

(photo credit - flickr)

10 (More) Green Office Tips:

1. Use a mug for coffee and a tumbler for water.
2. At meetings, present on PowerPoint instead of passing out printed packets.
3. Print on both sides of the paper.
4. Instead of throwing out one-sided, non-confidential printed documents, use them as scratch paper.
5. Use silverware instead of plastic utensils.
6. Recycle empty, clean yogurt cups and use them for paper clips, staples, pens, etc.
7. Don’t use screensavers.
8. Turn off bathroom lights when not in use.
9. We have a mini-library where employees bring in magazines they’ve finished reading at home and we all share them during our lunch break. Old magazines are then recycled.
10. We also recycle empty, clean Lean Cuisine type food trays for our maintenance guy to use when he does paint touch-ups.

With offices accounting for a large part of global warming and emissions, making our workplaces a little greener can’t hurt. Every small step helps and contributes to conservation efforts.

These plastic bottles which can contain either milk or fruit juice are really a such a waste of a recyclable plastic container, but as with many of these items they are rarely recycled and nearly always end up in the landfill site.

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However, thanks to Frugal Dad, here is a list of some of the ways that these containers could be used for:

 1. Collect rainwater to irrigate gardens.

2. Cut milk jug in half and use top as a funnel for pouring motor oil.

3. Cut off handled section to use as dog food scooper.

4. Make powdered drinks and juices.

5. Use as a paint cup for trim work or small paint jobs.

6. Use milk jugs to store granulated yard products such as ant killer.

7. Homemade toilet brush holder.

8. Store foods.

9. Refrigerator organizer.

10. Portable freezer.

11. Industrial strength paperweight.

12. Plant starter containers.

Source [Hippy Shopper]

As the credit crunch takes hold, many people resort to other methods of either making more money or getting the goods that they want, but without paying the high prices. Other people just pay or do without, but this is the way of the world.

However, as money gets tight, spending extra on organic food becomes more of a choice of cost rather than conscience. Maybe this is why the UK’s largest supermarket chain has started to place electronic tags on all of their organically grown chickens! Normally you would see these tags on DVD’s and other goods, but it seems organic food has become the food of choice for shoplifters. I do have one question though, how do you get a whole chicken out of a supermarket?

Source [Hippyshopper]

A music festival is one of those things where it is hard to think of it as being eco friendly, after all, there are huge demands on local resources such as water and there is always the waste too. However, the Latitude festival, which just happens to be down the road from where I live, starts today and is known as the UK’s greenest festival.

Every ticket holder gets a special waste kit, which comprises of a compost bag for food, a bag for plastic bottles and other recyclables, plus a black bin bag for all other waste, which can then be put into the correct bins that are around the site.

Source [Hippy Shopper]

Are you headed out of town and are wanting to eat at a vegetarian restaurant? Or maybe have some friends coming to visit this weekend, who are vegan?

Have no fear, Happy Cow is here.

Happy Cow is a portal of vegetarian restaurants from around the world. It is a comprehensive resource for anyone looking for a local or out of town veggie eatery. They have over 8,500 listings, and they do a good job of updating the portal.

Searching is EASY

You can find a vegetarian only restaurant, a vegetarian friendly restaurant, or a health food store. Search by miles, zip code, country, search by type of food, and/or by keyword. You can also read reviews submitted by members, and submit one yourself.

Much more relevant than going to Google, try it out.

There has been much talk about what has been coming out of the G8 summit in Japan many of the leaders have been talking about how we need to save energy, food and cut back on just about everything else. Well this is fine we all need to think about our actions, but until everyone thinks about this then is there any point?

Take the G8 leaders themselves, it has been estimated that the carbon footprint for this years G8 summit is around eight thousand tons of Co2, this is over three times what was created in last years G8 summit in Germany!

We were also told to watch the amount of food that we buy and go on to waste, in the UK it has been estimated that the average family throws away around £6 ($12) worth of food every week. Yet, shortly after telling us this, the G8 leaders sat down to an eighteen course meal.

Source [Metro]

Virtually everyone knows about carbon footprints and many of us try to reduce them by cutting down on travelling and other things that can be adding to the amount of Co2 being produced because of our actions.

But do we ever think about our pets and in particular the carbon footprints of our dogs, this can cover everything from where the dog food and collars are made, to what the dog leaves behind in the park. There is a quick survey to take on Pooch and Mutt, where with a few ticks of the boxes you can quickly find out.

In the mean time here are some extra tips to make doggy’s carbon footprint reduce:

Biodegradable poop bags

Wonderful walkies

Sustainable accessories

Biodegradable packaging

Time with your pet

We hear so much about natural disasters these, and how so weak we all are when it comes to helping out the survivors. Yes we send aid and maybe some cash too, but this doesn’t always have the desired effect.

What the people on the ground need is decent accommodation that is dry and safe, without this it makes no difference how many tons of food are sent over. This is why this prototype for a Mobile Green Disaster Shelter, it is easy to build, light weight and eco friendly, it ticks all of the boxes and therefore could be one of the answers.

Hemp has so many uses, most of which can replace something or other that we use in our daily lives, whether these products are a direct replacement is down to individual tastes. There are some food alternatives that leave a lot to be de desired.

However there are also those products which need no explanation and have no problem replacing its non eco friendly counter part. Twine made from 100% Hemp is just one of these products; it is totally natural and costs around $7.5 per ball of around 325 feet in length.

This is a very interesting design in the concept stage at the moment but never the less this could be very useful for virtually anyone who uses light, which is everyone basically! The designers Faludi Design estimate that the cost of these lights could be around $20, which is a great price by anyone’s standards.

Ideal for:

Children studying
Pre-dawn food preparation
Cottage industry
Night market stands
Homes (especially homes with outhouses)
Bicycle or animal travel
No doubt much more