Green Spot

The current marketplace is chock full of great products that are useful, reusable, made from repurposed materials and are friendly to the environment - All good things for you and the world around you. For instance - Check out the Oooms Solar Birdhouse.

During the day, its a normal birdhouse with a perch, yet there’s a solar panel on top. At night, the perch glows to let birds know it still open for business, at no energy cost to you! Plus they can invite the Robins over for a cocktail party for some malted seed, right?

What about a Cup Couture Sleeve? Everday, hundreds of thousands of people buy a coffee or tea and it comes with a paper sleeve to keep your hand safe from burning. What happens to that paper sleeve? It’s wasted. Thrown away, everyday. All those consumers of coffee take the sleeve and chuck it. Not anymore - with the the Couture Sleeve, you can say “no thank you” to the paper coffee sleeve and use your very own, fashionable sleeve that reduces waste today.

Finally, we here at Simply Green Solutions still offer great eco-items such as Organic Bamboo Reusable Tote Bags that can be custom printed with an environmentally-friendly process, and Reusable Canteens too. Whatever the case may be, eco friendly goods are abound, so go green today!

A prior post in early June mentioned that single-use plastic bags, most commonly found in supermarkets, would be banned in California. The measure was introduced to the State Assembly and has passed, but now goes to the State Assembly for voting. In that post, we stated that if plastic bags from the market were banned, Californians would have to:

“Bring a reusable bag or pay 5¢ for a post-consumer paper bag at the market, but know that we will all be reducing waste that harms our environment. Plastic does not biodegrade . . . rather, it breaks down in to smaller pieces and makes its way in to our bodies, air, water, ground and becomes harmful to our world.”

If the ban goes in to effect, as of Summer 2013, nearly all markets would forego offering plastic, single-use bags, and only post-consumer paper bags at five cents each or ensure reusable bags are used. Organizations such as Heal The Bay, San Diego Coastkeeper, the California Grocers Association and even municipalities that currently enact a ban such as San Francisco and Oakland backed up the measure, and showed a lot of support.

Spokespeople from the American Chemistry Council do not support the measure, as it would make California the first state to ban it, following in the path of countries and cities around the world. As the bill makes its way to the state Senate, Governor Schwarzenegger has backed the bill as well, hopefully providing the influence the Senate needs to terminate plastic waste from reaching our waterways and help our planet’s future.

OH GOD NO! SAVE ME! BAN PLASTIC BAGS!

Solar City and ‘Business Solutions’, both solar energy software and building companies, have banded together to gain ground in the race for PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing - which assists solar powered homes, building and even the financing to install and utilize solar energy to reduce energy waste.

Most financial institutions, due to consumer demans and brand equity building practices - will provide “eco-friendly” loans in the form of property enhancements through Home Equity Loans or Home Equity Lines of Credit to not only help the environment, but your property value as well.

But, its more than just homes that need to go green - its all life itself. Everything we do, everything we buy.

Recently, Pepsi has thrown their ring into the “Build towards a Greener Future” hat with a philanthropic-based marketing campaign that not only builds upon “eco-friendliness” but consumer generated content as well. If people go online and vote on a good idea to help the planet for instance, Pepsi may invest in the idea to make it happen - if it gets enough votes, such as an engine that runs on air.

However the future unfolds, we here at Simply Green Solutions know that it can only get greener and that the world will one day be a better and more well-built place.

Build Upwards and Go towards the Future

Simply Green Solutions offers reusable, post-consumer and BPA-free stainless steel canteens in multiple sizes and colors. By utilizing a reusable water bottle, you reduce plastic bottle waste and most likely save some money on water purchases too. Not only is stainless steel good-looking, resistant to corrosion, fire and is one of the most easy-to-clean and hygienic materials available, but in addition, our canteens are safe and our post-consumer screw-cap ensures for safety and soundness.

Recently, another eco-friendly goods company in California called Klean Kanteen had to recall more than a million of its reusable water bottles. It seems that the spout upon which they base their bottle’s drinking action can crack and break in a man, woman or child’s mouth while drinking, thus posing a major choking hazard. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission received reports of this occurrence and the news spread across the nation and even to Canada, in which over 100,000 must be recalled.

On a positive note though, Simply Green Solutions adhered to testing and liability assurances that had led to the design and offer of our popular Stainless Steel Canteens. Whether its a 25oz. or 40oz. canteen, have peace of mind knowing that our canteens, the cap, or any of our products pose choking risks and are highly durable. Take a look at our product offerings and feel free to contact us anytime!

Just Some of Simply Green Solutions Canteens

California is possibly partnering up with Chinese Government contractors to assist in building a high-speed railway. Recently, California voters passed a bill to fund a high-speed rail that could connect Sacramento to San Francisco, and other cities. China has a very extensive rail network that has functioned well for many years, and its technology is being considered for use in Florida as well.

The deal calls for Chinese technology and coordination of a project that would be built here in California, but in the meantime, it seems offers are being entertained from countries such as Germany and Japan as well. China is being called upon to build its successful rail line in Saudi Arabia, and this mode of transportation can reduce carbon waste from cars and planes - not to mention create jobs and cut hours off of road vehicle travel time.

We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed and giving them a call to see if they need reusable bags, canteens and more for that green solution on its maiden voyage.

C'mon ride the train!

Bisphenol-A (BPA), the plastic-hardening additive that leeches from containers such as water bottles in to our bodies and environment, is now under investigation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Although most studies concur that the leeching affects us negatively only when we are in infancy, as of the last few years, agency bodies such as the National Toxicology Program, the U.S. National Institute for Health, the Endocrine Society and many more have found links between BPA and brain development issues.

Found in nearly all plastics (but not our post-consumer PET, PPP or our other products), this component of plastic has been in plastics ranging from baby bottles, sporting goods, CDs, and dental fillings, to name a few, for the last 50 years. It is most commonly found by consumers in over-the-counter water bottles.

Here’s some advice: Now is a good time to get a Reusable Canteen.

The EPA suggest that 100 Million pounds of BPA are released in the ground and surrounding air each year. The agency will begin testing substitutes for BPA and looking at the chemical’s levels in our groundwater and more, but in the mean time, call on us to provide you, your friends, family and company for reusable bottles now.

Post-Consumer Reusable Canteens for Custom Printing (BPA Free!)

Many internet users have Google or Yahoo! set as their home page upon opening their browser. This is only natural as most users scour the web for information. That information must be sought out and that’s done by, yes, you got it - a search engine. Sometimes research and looking through search results pages for downloading music valuable info takes awhile. If this sounds like a habit you’re guilty of, check out Blackle.

Blackle is a tongue-in-cheek spoof of Google, but with good intentions. Upon loading up that page, you’ll notice that it’s basically Google, but black and sexy, just like my morning coffee and probably just as powerful. By ensuring the screen and page appear black, a bit of energy is saved. Whether it’s your laptop battery, monitor, or overall electric bill, loading up Blackle is a reminder that a little bit can go a long way. Their mantra is: “Blackle.com - Saving energy one search at a time,” and they’ve got a point.

As we know here at Simply Green Solutions, the little adjustments we make in our lives to consciously work towards a more sustainable future add up. If we all participate, whether its reducing plastic waste, or saving energy with an all black search engine, it not only sets a good example but can become a green habit and a healthy, simple solution.

Blackle Search Engine

Here at Simply Green Solutions, we’re big fans of the Earth, color, design, and cool technology. Especially when its ‘GR33N_TECH‘. Pronounced “Green Tek“, it is all that which is technology currently in use or development that is making the world a better place, a cleaner place, and hopefully changes mindsets in a more rational manner. This installment of ‘GR33N_TECH’ brings us to the nanotechnology world, more specifically the world of A123Systems.

Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at molecular scale. For instance, if you were to build a robotic arm no bigger than an atom, that is nanotechnology. 100 Nano-meters is much smaller than the width of a human hair. In the next century, we will be witness to widespread development of machinery, computers, and more - that will all be built and made to work at molecular scale.

But back to A123Systems…First sighted in the labs at MIT, this group of nano-technologists developed battery cells and electrodes that were smaller, lasted longer (10+ years!), were more efficient, and even produced more power than its market competitors. As of 2009, A123Systems has been granted contracts with the American Department of Defense, DeWalt Powertools, G.E., Chrysler, Hybrid vehicle manufacturers in China, and more, to build batteries to power the next generation of sustainable living and transportation.

This is the scond in a series of many Greencessories posts that will again bring to light alot of very cool accessories available to consumers that are made from reused material, and are just plain earth-friendly. By the way, as of the last post, if one was to do a Google search for “Greencessorize” or “Greencessories“, nothing would come up. As of this post, Google is indeed ranking it first, second and third and so on. So you heard it here first people - when working on a movie set, shopping for new outfits or gifts, remember to look for greencessories so you can do your part to greencessorize and look good for a good cause.

The world is awesome, and we’re a group of progressive, upstart designers and do gooders out to make sure the world stays awesome. As designers, we appreciate good ideas that look good. As Simply Green Solutions, if its good for the world - ’nuff said.

Our second venture into Greencessorizing your life takes us to Finland yet again, to the doorstep of designer/artist Jouko Kärkkäinen.

Using abandoned wood scraps, and refurbishing plywood from junkyards, abandoned building projects and more, Jouko manages to create art pieces such as his serene and undulating Ply Wall Elements. Some of these “junk scraps” are put to really good use as is the case with the inspirational gift the Tree Seedling. Representative of the Finnish lifestyle (simple, natural and functional), the small, recycled wood box dons a hole in its top. Pour water inside every now and then, keep the wood box near light, and soon a tree seedling will grow - making optimum use of its previously discarded casing.

An “I wish I thought of that” moment occurred as I lay eyes on Jouko’s Cookery Boards. Reworking found wood scraps into a stiff cutting board, this ingenious designer then laser-etches favorite recipes into an upper corner of the board, giving it a subtle difference that allows it to stand out amongst the many cutting boards of the world.

His art is renowned in Finland and can be seen in places such as the Wood Technology Department in the University of Finland, and the Stockmann Department Store in Helsinki.

His personal agenda for the recycled wood art produced by studio Jouko tries to conjure an empathy for our interaction with one of the first Earth materials and “mother-elements” that have allowed us as a species to evolve, progress and survive. To give back to this great element is to practice good, green habits such as using recycled substrates from paper mills that are FSC Certified, printers that use soy inks, not printing documents if you can help it, and if you must print, use both sides of the paper.

But if you’re going to accessorize your life, make it a greencessory and give back to Mother Nature.

Welcome! and Thank you for visiting our Green Spot!

This is the first official blog coming directly from the minds behind Simply Green Solutions. You may find yourself asking ” What is this blog about?” Well to answer your question; we created this blog so that we can spread eco-friendly ideas, products, fashion, and movements from around the world.

In this day and age everyone has a blog, so we felt that we can contribute to the Green movement by sharing our eco friendly ideas and finidings via this blog. Eco friendly products and ideas can be found any and everywhere. Rest assured that when we stumble upon some eco friendly nuggets of gold we will immediately be sharing the wealth with you.

Within Simply Green Solutions we have a amazingly diverse group of individuals. All of us here started as designers in some way, shape, or form. When we brought all of those creative juices together it exploded into innovative perspectives on green living, marketing, and technology. You can look forward to posts about eco-friendly fashion from our Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Alum, emerging green technology and energy from our Art Center of Pasadena and University of Washington Alums, and environmentally conscious design from our Cal State University of Northridge Alums.

So please stay tuned for updates and great green ideas!