Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Conrad Chicago, Ireland Greenbox, Brooklyn Nu Hotel and Greensboro Proximity Hotel

As you may have read, 1GreenProduct.com recently downshifted from a daily to thrice weekly publishing schedule (Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

We did this in order to have a little more time for our secondary activities like eating and sleeping.

And yet, from time to time, just to keep our readers on their collective toes, we've decided to offer supplementary Green Travel content on occasional Tuesdays and Thursdays!

Why pick Tuesdays and Thursdays? Well, not only are those the only free days on our weekly publishing schedule, but the writer in us also likes the alliteration of Travel Tuesdays or Travel Thursdays...

We know that travel often entails some amount of environmental pollution, but we believe that many people do have a practically irrepressible human urge to travel and that the best solution would be not to suppress that urge, but to mitigate the ecological damage by choosing places and properties that do their part to protect the environment.

We hope that our readers who want to learn about eco-friendly products will also enjoy finding out about Green hotels and eco-friendly destinations like the Ireland's newly designated "Greenbox" region pictured above.

With such introductory fanfare out of the way, we present the first ever edition of 1GreenProduct.com's Green travel roundup:

- We just got back from a trip to Chicago and found ourselves might impressed not only with the vaunted friendliness of the locals, but also with the profusion of trees and flowers blooming around town, particularly on Michigan Avenue. It turns out that Chicago is doing its best to live up to its official motto of "city in a garden".

In 2004, Chicago opened the fantastic 24.5-acre Millennium Park right in the heart of the city. Convinced that green roofs offer numerous environmental benefits including better air quality, energy conservation and stormwater runoff reduction, Chicago now claims to have more green roof space (295,000 square feet and growing) than any other city in North America. Even City Hall has a rooftop garden containing more than 20,000 plants!

A beautiful bike path along Lake Michigan encourages many Chicagoans to bike to work (at least when the weather is not arctic), and the city is doing plenty to encourage this trend by creating an extensive network of bike lanes and trails. By 2015, Chicago hopes to "make bicycling an integral part of daily life in Chicago." According to the city, there are already more than 10,500 Conrad Chicagocity-owned bike racks in Chicago, more than in any other U.S. city. Chicago also is home to a spiffy new McDonald's Cycle Center with 24-hour secure bicycle parking, showers, lockers and bicycle rental and repair services.

We had the pleasure of staying at the Conrad Chicago while we were in town. The hotel is redesigning its lobby to incorporate energy-efficient LED backlighting and detailing. Within the hotel itself, much of the lighting has already been switched over from incandescent to CFL or LED, typically reducing lighting energy needs by nearly 70%. The hotel says that it actively recycles paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and light bulbs. In the kitchen, the Conrad Chicago says it's working to reduce the carbon footprint of its ingredients while incorporating local and organic ingredients where possible. And in a move that might please our friends over at Tomato Casual, the Conrad Chicago apparently hosts an employee tomato garden on its rooftop!

- From Chicago, we head south to Greensboro, North Carolina to bring you news of the Proximity Hotel that opened last November. From its solar hot water heaters to its innovative Otis Gen2 elevator that captures energy and feeds it back into the building's electrical grid, the Proximity HotelProximity is shooting for Gold or Platinum LEED status. You can read the whole list of Proxmity's eco-practices yourself, but some of our favorites include the use of recycled building materials (i.e. reinforced steel containing 90% post consumer recycled content), the water-saving Kohler plumbing fixtures, the low-VOC paints and carpeting, and guest room shelves built from walnut SkyBlend, which Proximity describes as "particleboard made from 100% post-industrial recycled wood pulp with no added formaldehyde."

If you're headed to Greensboro or nearby Winston-Salem, we'd strongly encourage you to look into staying at the Proximity Hotel. Rates for August seem to average less than $200 through Proximity's website and reviews on TripAdvisor are mostly outstanding.

- Ireland is already known as the Emerald Isle thanks to its enchanting, verdant landscape. I recently received notice from Tourism Ireland about a pristine corner of northwestern Ireland n newly labeled the Greenbox. Encompassing six counties (Fermanagh, Leitrim, West Cavan, North Sligo, South Donegal and Northwest Monaghan), the Greenbox is chock full of beautiful natural attractions. For example, the Benbulben rock formation in Sligo apparently has the only arctic alpine orchard in the world left over from the last Ice Age.

While visiting the Greenbox, you can take a hot bath in sustainably-harvested seaweed at SOAK (the seaweed is recycled into fertilizer once you've finished bathing) or practice your Side Camel Pose and enjoy organic food at the Clare Island yoga retreat. Looking for something a bit more upscale? The 4-star Brooklodge & Wells Spa offers mud baths, an on-property organic pub serving organic brews and the only certified organic restaurant in Ireland, The Strawberry Tree.

For more ideas on great green Ireland trips, check out Eco Escapes: Ireland by Catherine Mack. Nearly half of Mack's suggestions are apparently located in the Greenbox. You can also contact Tourism Ireland directly at 1-800-223-6470 or visit them online.

- Finally, we have to mention a new hotel in Brooklyn (our hometown). How new is this place? It's so new that they had to name it the Nu Hotel! (Insert rimshot.)

Other than being cool by virtue of its Brooklyn-ness, we like the Nu for its clean design, the fact that it apparently has hammocks in some rooms and its eco-friendly characteristics including the use of organic bedding materials.

Nu's media reps say the hotel's custom furnishings have been built from FSC-certified sustainably-harvested teak wood. We like the fact that Nu chose to use sustainable, renewable and biodegradable cork flooring. From what we hear, harvesting the cork bark from cork oak trees doesn't even hurt the tree. Oh and cork also happens to have sound-dampening qualities, which should help keep the peace since we hear that Brooklynites (and their visitors) can get pretty wild...

Room rates at the Nu average around $250 night - more pricey than Greensboro maybe, but still plenty reasonable for NYC. At prices like these, we would be tempted to say, "Out with the old and in with the Nu," but we already used up our daily rimshot.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Perf Go Green Recycled Plastic Bags

The annoying thing about repetition is that it can make even the most sensible advice seem trite.

Such is the sad fate of the environmentalist creed: "Take only photographs; leave only footprints."

It's pretty much impossible to live by that saying, but it's a good aspiration. It's certainly much better than the current human reality of take lots of natural resources, leave 500 billion plastic bags lying around (according to AlterNet).

That's why 1GreenProduct.com will try to identify and share alternatives to traditional bags that may take centuries to decompose.

A few weeks ago, we brought you a review of biodegradable, compostable BioBags.

Today we present Perf Go Green biodegradable plastic bags.

Available in 13-gallon and 30-gallon sizes (as well as drop cloth, kitty litter and doggie duty versions), Perf Go Green claims several shades of greenness:

- First, the bags themselves are apparently made from recycled plastic. That's great since every product that incorporates recycled plastic helps keep plastics out of landfills and creates a market that encourages more recycling.

- Second, Perf Go Green claims that its bags totally biodegrade within 2 years in a landfill environment. Apparently when the bags are exposed to oxygen, moisture and microrganisms, they decompose into simple natural materials. (The bags were apparently tested according to this standard.)

- Third, the Perf Go Green bags supposedly leave zero toxins behind after they biodegrade. A Perf Go Green representative says the bags break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass.

FYI, Perf Go Green bags come in a box made of 100% recycled paperboard. The box works like a tissue dispenser. The adhesive strip on the bottom of the box secures the dispenser to the inside of your trash can. I suppose that could save some valuable kitchen shelf space...

We weren't able to sit in a landfill for two years and wait to see if the bags really decompose. But we can vouch first-hand for the strength of Perf Go Green. We used a highly unscientific 'pull test' and discovered that these bags seem capable of hauling some serious trash. Hopefully they'll be just as good at having a breakdown a couple years later.

Where to buy:
Both the 13-gallon (MSRP $4.80) and 30-gallon ($7.35 MSRP) Perf Go Green bags contain a dozen bags per box. Buy them online at Amazon.com or Drugstore.com.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Purex Natural Elements Laundry Detergent

I believe that most people want to live Greener, but we don't want to sacrifice our standards of living. That's why it's always nice to see a new product that's affordable, eco-friendly and performs just as well as conventional products.

Case in point - Purex® Natural Elements Laundry Detergent. What do we like? How about:

- 100% natural cleaning ingredients, such as surfactants based on palm and coconuts.
- Natural fragrance extracts (used in combination to create luscious scents like Apple & Melon)
- Ultra Concentrate formula that lets you wash a full load of laundry with half the liquid of a traditional detergent. Less product = less waste
- Biodegradable formula derived from sustainable and renewable resources
- Hypoallergenic and free of dyes
- Bottle that is not only recyclable (#2 HDPE), but also made from at least 25% post-consumer materials

So does it work? We didn't have any crazy dirty socks in our three loads of test laundry, but Purex Natural Elements certainly seemed to do a fine job of cleaning our usual load of washables. Clothes came out smelling fresh and looking refreshed -- no small feat in our building's industrial strength washers and dryers.

We love companies that price their Green products gently. Purex Natural Elements won't bust your budget. The 50-ounce bottle (good for 32 loads) has a MSRP of just $3.49, while the 100-ounce bottle (64 loads, natch) carries a $6.99 MSRP. (If you're willing to provide your e-mail address and receive an electronic newsletter, Purex will even give you a coupon to cut the cost further.)
Note - Just want to give a shout out to The Budget Ecoist, where I first heard about Purex Natural Elements and got inspired to do a little testing of my own...
Where to buy:
You can find Purex Natural Elements Laundry Detergent at Wal-Mart and other grocery and mass retailers coast-to-coast.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Targus Grove Computer Bags


So you're a modern business roadwarrior, but you care about the environment too?

Check out Targus' new line of Grove laptop bags. Available in four styles (Sling, Convertible Messenger/Backpack, Messenger and Topload), all the Grove bags are labeled PVC-free.

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is a common plastic used to make everything from sewer pipes to clothing, but health concerns linked to PVC and the plasticizers (such as phthalates) added to the PVC have led to concerns over its continued use. Indeed, the California legislature has even considered a bill to ban PVC packaging.

Indeed, the Center for Health and Environmental Justice calls PVC "The Poison Plastic" and says that PVC cannot be effectively recycled. They claim that just one PVC container accidentally added into the recycling stream can spoil a batch of 100,000 recyclable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles.

So basically it's a good thing that Targus has eliminated all PVC from the Grove bag. Instead, they've chosen to use recyclable plastic hardware. Theoretically, you can take the bag apart, remove the plastic pieces (i.e. the feet) and take them to a recycling center or put them in your recycling bin. (Though you'd need to make sure that your recycler could handle thermal plastic rubber used in the feet and the other types of plastic the bag contains.)

We should also mention that the stylish metal accents on the bags are nickel-free. Since some people are allergic to nickel and since the nickel refining process may be hazardous to the health of its workers (according to Environment Writer), this also seems like a good thing.

From a purely functional and design standpoint, Targus has done a good job with the Grove series. The olive and black color scheme with 'sedona' (i.e. burnt orange) accents looks rugged and stylish in an understate way. Lots more sedona coloring on the inside, good padding in the laptop section (holds up to 15.4" notebook) and a plethora of pockets and clips make the Grove bags both versatile and fun to use.

Is Grove the greenest solution ever to carrying your laptop? Probably not. You could always throw your computer in a organic cotton case like the ones from Passenger Pigeon (scroll down the page - sorry no direct link to product). But if you want something more rugged and structured, the Grove bags definitely seem like a Green step in the right direction.

Where to buy:
Purchase directly through the Targus website ($49.99 - $79.99) or offline at major nationwide retailers listed here.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Preserve

As hard as we try to minimize our use of plastic, there are always some corners of our modern lives where plastic endures.

Consider the toothbrush. Odds are, we're all using a plastic one.

(Random thought - What were toothbrushes made of before plastic became a common material? Where there wooden toothbrushes? Thanks to Google and Colgate, I now know the most advanced toothbrushes of the late 18th Century were made of cattle bone with swine-neck bristles. Yum!)

Anyway, these days if you can't avoid brushing with plastic, at least you can brush with a recycled plastic toothbrush. A company called Recycline® makes the Preserve® toothbrush by recycling Stonyfield Farm yogurt containers. (Containers that once held organic yogurt, natch.)

When your toothbrushes wear out, instead of chucking them in the trash, you can send them back to Recycline in a postage-paid package (download the label from Recycline's website). Your old razors will be reborn as plastic lumber for park benches, decks and other sturdy objects.

Recycline also makes Preserve razors. Not only is the handle made from the same type of recycled plastic as the toothbrushes, but the blade cartridge can be popped out and changed. (So you don't have to throw away the whole razor when the blade wears out.)

The newest Recycline products bring Preserve into the kitchen with cheery colanders, cutting boards, mixing bowls and storage containers. Most of these made-in-the-USA products are made from 100% recycled plastic and are also dishwasher-safe. The amazing Paperstone™ cutting boards are created from a combination of natural resins blended with 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

Frankly, the design rocks on all the Preserve products - especially the kitchenware. Credit the folks at Evo Design who partner with Recycline to give all the Preserve products an organic feel plus great functionality. Especially with the new kitchen products, everything looks great and is easy to use. Little cutouts in the Paperstone cutting boards, for instance, make it a pleasure to grab and carry a wet cutting board full of sliced scallions over to a pot of bubbling chili.

Or to give another example, consider the apple-inspired food storage containers. Yes, the design is adorable, but it's also well-crafted. Lots of storage containers use a pop-off lid, but the screw-top lid on the Preserve containers seems to fit more snugly. You'll probably preserve your food better and are less likely to make a mess if someone drops the container accidentally.

In regular use, all the Preserve kitchen products performed great while brightening up the kitchen. My only small gripe is that the the regular cutting boards seem to scratch a little easily. Recycline calls these boards knife-friendly, so maybe the softness is supposed to help your knives last longer? Anyway, I preserved the feel and the endurance of the Paperstone boards certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. (Plus it's just so cool to think you are cutting on a board made partially out of paper!)

One last bonus -- since Preserve tableware and kitchen products (except for the Paperstone) are all made out of 100% recycled #5 plastic, they can all be dumped straight into the recycling bin -- provided of course that your community recycles #5 plastics. Unfortunately, not all communities recycle #5 plastic, so you may have to search a while to find a way to get these items into the recycling stream. (Hint: Put "#5" and your location into the Earth911 search box to find someplace near you that takes #5 plastic!)

Where to buy:
Recycline says that Target has started carrying the Preserve toothbrush nationally (though we couldn't find it on Target's website yet). For now, Preserve Kitchen products are available exclusively at Whole Foods. If you're looking for anything else, check out this store locator and then call to make sure the product you want is in stock.