How very, very, very clever. This little “bicycle” allows residents in third world countries faster and easier access to water sources and allows them to filter the water as they transport it.  This arduous task is usually assigned to the village women who most often have to walk miles to a water source.  Could this contraption provide some aid and relief?
I so admire the minds that create these things. Bravo!

Wow, look at what I just found: www.CatalogChoice.org. Now you can get your name and address off catalog lists thanks to this new service. I have a noticeable feeling of guilt every time I open my mailbox and shift through all the unwanted and unsolicited catalogs. Some I got because I ordered something, once,  years ago and they continue sending. Others because my name was sold to a mailing company. Regardless, I don’t need catalogs. I can find anything I want by going online.

So, I was quite thrilled to find out about this new, a sponsored project of the Ecology [...]

Too Clever! I love this cool design that accommodates a century old idea. There’s a little enviro-friendly touch to this as well. From Yanko Design:
As winter’s cold creeps in, we all revel in the little things to
keep cozy. The Natural Wave is ceramic plate that fits over an old
school radiator. The heated plate keeps your drinks and snacks warm
without having to use additional power and energy like a microwave or
oven. Pretty ingenious and if anything, it makes those old rusty
radiators look a lot better. (Designer: Byung-seok You)
Next, the clothing dryer rack version…

Why go Spudware™? Currently, huge volumes of paper, plastic and styrofoam cutlery, tableware and food packaging are used and disposed of each year. To give an idea of the scale, an estimated 39 billion items of disposable cutlery are used in the US each year (source: The Food Packaging Institute, Washington, D.C.). That’s just outrageous!  Switching to compostable foodware and packaging would remove the economic barrier to composting, as food waste, packaging, and tableware could simply be processed together.
Great for alternatives for restaurateurs who offer To Go service and for individuals or families with the smaller quantities available at Treecycle [...]

via Telegraph.co.uk
Vivienne Westwood. I love her! Not just because she is still so sassy and provocative and sexy at age 66 years young, but also because – and this is so totally counter-intuitive to anyone who is in the high consumerist world of fashion – she has the courage to say what’s right and what, incidentally, has been on my mind for some time.
“Dame Vivienne Westwood thinks we should all stop shopping for clothes. “If you ask me what I think people should be getting next season,” she says in that softly bossy northern accent of hers. “I’ll tell [...]

I have been using the Papier d’Armenie for over 20 years. Maybe more. It dates me, I know!!. And, until just now, it never dawned on me that I should share this magical product until I used it today and found that I was down to my very last sheet… Oh no!
I replenish my supply of Papier D’Armenie every time I visit my hometown, Montreal. I know where to find it there but have never seen it in any store in the US, although I know it’s bound to be sold somewhere… (Actually, I just found it on Amazon.com).
Anyhoo, if [...]

I love the flux of creativity that our eco-challenges are creating. Take this Dutch brand (this is what they call themselves, a Brand, not a company) that is making us look at consumer products from another angle. Literally.
VolksWare means “people’s product” or “product for people”. The form of the product depends on the idea and concept behind the project. Volksware explores the function of today’s consumer goods.
The Volksware carpet questions the effect of the over supply and mass production on the consumer. the cloth carpet represent a person’s lifetime consumption of clothing. By, for convenience, it is sold by the [...]

As a follow up to the May 27, 2007 article in the NY Times on the subject of bottled water and to my related blog post, Wednesday’s  editorial reinforces  the ecological inappropriateness on this consumer good. Here is an excerpt:
In Praise of Tap Water:
On the streets of New York or Denver or San Mateo this summer, it seems the telltale cap of a water bottle is sticking out of every other satchel. Americans are increasingly thirsty for what is billed as the healthiest, and often most expensive, water on the grocery shelf. But this country has some of the best [...]

You have probably heard about this new bike sharing program launched in Paris ten days ago.  Given the traffic and parking problems in Paris, weaving around the city on a bicycle might be the most efficient solution for short distance commuting.
Velib is a new a self-service bike rental program where a user can pick up a bike at various designated
stations (pick up and drop locations). Almost 20,000 heavy duty bikes and 750 stations are already peppered
throughout the metropolis. One can rent a bicycle for an annual membership of 29 Euros or by the half hour at various rates ranging from [...]

Terra Plana was founded by the sons of the Clarks footwear chain.  They make footwear from recycled car tires, old army blankets, car seats and other recycled materials.
Inspired by ecological survival, Terra Plana believes in a variety of non-generic products and sustainable strategies.  Their shoes are designed so that they can be kept for life. “Reparability, lightness, anatomic design, and durability are all staples of sustainable shoe making”. All that AND  style too!
Our society of consumerism has lead us into purchasing almost exclusively disposable goods. Doesn’t work? Throw it!  Buy another one!  Huh? I remember my parents bringing all their [...]