Recycled Hangers: A Step In The Right Direction

The ubiquitous wire hanger has been around for ever. In fact, 3.5 billion hangers are used every year. One marketing company decided to take a step in the right direction by creating a more intelligent design which also functions as a platform for advertising. No new trees are used in making “EcoHangers”. The hanger itself is constructed from 100% recycled paper and the hook is made from recycled plastic bottle caps. If business have the local resources to do so, they can recycle the entire hanger at the end of it’s life. The hanger is also durable and can be reused. EcoHangers are made from renewable resources and made in the USA. According to them, the demand for their product is helping recyclers to create new programs to reclaim even more post-consumer papers and plastics.

For more information see, hangernetwork.com

Related Posts
Sustainable Group Greens the Office one Binder at a Time
What’s New at The Body Shop?
The Eco-Friendly Keg Party!
Innovators in Skin for Skincare
Crate and Barrel Releases Their “Eco” Line

OttiMat Gives New Meaning to “Petro-head”

In case the previous blog entry about sitting on hair doesn’t do it for you, here is another solution for what to do with the 60 million tons of human hair that get dumped into landfills each year. OttiMat™ has taken the natural oil adsorbing properties of human hair to help clean up large oil spills in the oceans. Adsorbing, as opposed to “absorbing”, means the hair holds on to the oil without soaking it in making it easy to squeeze out the oil and immediately ready for reuse. It was successfully used in the last year’s oil spill in the San Francisco Bay area as pictured above. Although it seems like a daunting task, the hair mats made it possible for volunteers to quickly and effectively pick up blobs of oil that were washing up on shore without creating more hazardous waste.This product was developed by hair stylist Phil McCory in Huntsville, Alabama. He got the idea during the time of the Exxon Valdez Oil spill in 1989, after seeing how otter fur was retaining the oil. He realized that human hair had the same properties and conducted a test in his back yard with leftover hair from his salon and his wife’s stockings. This method proved to be so successful that NASA soon conducted their own test by pouring 300 pounds of oil and water mixture from a fuel oil spill through the hair filter. After one pass, the water showed 17 parts per million of oil were in the water, just 2 PPM above the EPA standard.

The possibilities for the use of this excess hair that most of us find disturbing goes beyond oil spills. It’s also been found that these mats can be used to fertilize crops and increase plant growth and are available for sale through SmartGrow.

Related Posts
Private: Plastic Recyclers Anonymous: A 7 Step Guide
Droog Does Materials
Ecolean Packaging, A Unique Alternative
Algae Shines Bright on our Clothing
Bisphenol A: A Chemical Found in all Urine Samples!

The Deadline for the Discarded Dreams Competition has been Extended!

Thankfully for those of us who like to wait until the last minute, the deadline to submit your designs for reclaiming old mattresses has been extended to December 19th! The Discarded Dreams Design Competition will be accepting submissions until midnight on the 19th and for those who didn’t get a chance to sign up, there is still time to register! The guidelines remain the same and preference will be given to designs that reuse as much of a mattress as possible with little or no virgin materials. Cardura is in a group of drugs called alpha-adrenergic blockers. 110% Price Match Guaranteed. Online Cardura Cardura From Only $13. The study was halted last week by the study sponsor, the National Heart, LuFind medical information for CarduraCARDURAcarduraJan 4, 2007 CarduraDefinition of Carduradoxazosin mesylate n trade name: Cardura; drug class: peripheral -adrenergDrug InfoNet is your one-stop WWW site for all your healthcare informationaWhat is the most important information I should know about Cardura.

Winners will receive $1,000 and have the chance to develop their design into an actual produc mega-hoodia Side Effects. Men’s HealthRebetol, D, Augmentin, 166, Nutriloe, %-)), Dramamine, gwvux, Zyrtec, 561, Rebetol, 8235, Augmentin, >:))), Nutriloe, 23213, Dramamine, ljdywz, Zyrtec,Buy generic drugs online from our US pharmacy. Online Nutriloe BeMedMaple Leader of Internet International Pharmacies – Order online cheap Nutriloe meds. All products. t.

Visit the Discarded Dreams Website for guidelines, faqs, inspiration and to review other entries.

You can also view our original blog post on the competition here

Related Posts
The International Student Energy Summit (ISES)
Event Notice: Janine Benyus Lecture at Syracuse University
A Better World By Design, a Big Success
Green Festival San Francisco

Meet the ReUse People of America

As their Mission Statement articulates, “The ReUse People of America reduces the solid waste stream and changes the way the built environment is renewed by salvaging building materials and distributing them for reuse.”  With headquarters in Oakland, CA, and a number of branches throughout the country, TRP is busy spreading the word about salvaging the overwhelming amount of materials from construction sites, in an effort to minimize waste flow to landfills.  Begun in the immediate aftermath of catastrophic floods in Tijuana, Mexico in April, 1993, with the help of San Diego and Tijana government and business leaders, the firm set out to provide over 400 tons of donated material to help rebuild devastated communities.  Once they acquire materials from construction sites, The ReUse People of America will then either sell them to customers at one of their facilities, or donate them to Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity.  The company also offers demolition services for homeowners, whereby one may acquire tax deductions based on the overall value of salvaged materials, and provides online inventories of available materials according to location at regional TRP warehouses.

Please visit The ReUse People of America for more information.

Related Posts
Greener Gadgets: Project H Design
The Genius of Paper Tube Architecture
GoodGuide
Plastic from…Bacteria

Droog Does Materials

I am here in Milan, Italy reporting from the Fuori Salone di Mobile. I’ve seen quite a lot and walked even more! Yesterday we went to see the Droog exhibition close to la Triennale on Foro Buonaparte. The title of the exhibition is post-sustainability. Although I generally gush over the ideas generated through the Droog community, I was a bit apprehensive to see what they produced for Milan under this theme seeing as how all the “green” themed shows have been nothing more than disappointing.

Contrary to my apprehensive feelings, the show was wonderful. It was quite small but thought provoking. The two that I enjoy the most are of a new materials nature. The first is a fence for your yard or a highway made of refused plastic bags (see image above). The bags are strung through a series of vertical, flexible cords that are held taught by a metal frame. Depending on the size and density, some bags are layered, some are overlapping, and some stand a lone. Another beauty in this piece is that the control of design and aesthetic is left up to the owner. Now this fence may not keep enemies apart from each other but it has the potential to serve as a sound barrier or simply a way to draw a line.

The second object is a table made of shredded Elle Magazines. Even today in the digital age, somehow we still fall victim to the magazine collection problem. It made we wonder what size chair we could make if everyone pooled all the magazines and paper propaganda collected at this show- certainly a chair no human could mount alone. Most importantly, what I appreciate about this table is that it is attainable and easy to create- any teenager forced to clean up her room and realizes she has a stack of magazines to the ceiling could simply create a vanity table out of them and not throw away a scrap (not to mention have to carry them all downstairs to the trash)!

It is the simplicity and engagement that really makes Droog objects special. I hope that other attendees alike had a similar reaction. If you were there, by all means share your comments with us! For the rest of you, stay posted, I will be reporting more…

Related Posts
Greenergy Design Exhibition: Milan Design Week
The Speed of Sustainability: Milan
Connect is at it again…responsible events…what?
Green Design In the Real World: IDSA Boston’s Real Green Conference, Nov. 8th

Reclaiming Tires: Design Within Reach Style

As a part of Design Within Reach’s new business strategies, they’ve been pushing hard to get eco-friendly products to the market. This new product from their rubber tire line was inspired by by the fact that “Americans alone toss out about 300 million tires every year.” These products are modeled using ancient leather-crafting techniques and actually made in Egypt. They are hand-cut and hand-sewn wile being useable indoors and out for planters, carrying containers or simply durable storage. Each container is durable and unique, offering a functional alternative to the landfill. To quote the folks at Design Within Reach, “the big thinkers of the world are working on creative ways to reuse this vast quantity of rubber – ideas include mixing ground-up tires with urethane to create sidewalks or burning them like coal to produce energy.” Their goal is to take this concept to the consumer market, creating smaller but important opportunities for material reuse in the product design industry.

Related Posts
Going Green at The Home Housewares Show, Chicago 3.22.09
Rethinking Compostables
GoodGuide
What Happens to All That Glass?

Belts Made From Belts

Linda Demers from à La Mode Designs sells products that are often made from post-industrial scrap. Through her site, you’ll find these great belts made from automobile seatbelts, an urban twist on the classic “d” ring belt. She say’s her biggest challenges are being able to find consistent reclaimed materials to use and sourcing manufacturers who can sell or donate smaller quantities.

Related Posts
Recycled Beverage Containers
Tree Theory Bags – reinventing how a bag is made.
Melissa Plastic Dreams of Sustainability
MoSS: Museum of Sustainable Style