Fire & Light Recycled Glass Dinnerware & Giftware Review

Happy Halloween!

What's more appropriate on a holiday like today than to celebrate products that have been brought back from the dead and given a new life?

I'm speaking of course about Fire & Light, a company that makes beautiful, handcrafted dinnerware, giftware, candle holders, vases and more by recycling old glass bottles and jars.

Buying Fire & Light products supports a company that's turning "waste" into beautiful works of art. The company's website explains it this way:

Fire & Light hand-poured colored glass tableware has a way of drawing the eye, enchanting the viewer with the unique play of light that filters through its rich spectrum of colors and textures. This enchantment is not simply a quality of the glass or its pigmentation, but of the very way in which it is made, the very hands that pour and press it, the beliefs and spirit that drive the people who craft the product, and the community from which it originates.

It all sounds a little dramatic, but when you hold a Fire & Light glass up to the light, you really do feel like you've brought a bit of art into your daily experience of eating and drinking.

Ladling out some food onto one of Fire & Light's Moonstone plates gave our humble chicken dinners a bit more pizzazz.

And the chunky Tumbler instantly become one of our favorite glasses for iced tea and other cold drinks.

Made in California, Fire & Light's products are dishwasher-safe, but they are not recommended for use in the microwave.

Eco-consumers take note - Fire & Light products come in a wide array of colors, but not all of the colors have the same percentage of recycled content. Most colors have more than 91% recycled glass content, but due to color sensitivity, the Lavender and Citrus colored pieces can use only a small percentage of recycled content.

Where to buy:

Use Fire & Light's Retail Locator to find a store near you that carries Fire & Light products.

Can't find a convenient retailer nearby? You can call 800-844-2223 or email the company to place a direct order.

Looking for a treat?

Why not enter our ongoing LaLicious bath and body products Sweepstakes? Lots of sweet all-natural products like the Vanilla Body Butter ($24) and the Peppermint Sugar Souffle Scrub ($34) - and all with zero calories since they're for external use only!

Fall Fashion Week - earth creations(R)

Most of the time, we wash clothing to get rid of dirt.

But Martin Ledvina and Joy Maples, the founders of earth creations (R), discovered that dirt - particularly red clay - could actually be added to clothing to create beautiful designs.

Martin and Joy have built a business out of creating comfy and eco-friendly clothes for men, women and children using natural clay dyes.

We don't want to pigeonhole earth creations, but we think the style could be described as modern hippy chic. In other words, you'll find lots of earth tones (not surprising, really, since the colors come from the earth) and plenty of loose-fitting clothing that drapes and hangs to flattering effect.

The clothes are built from earth-friendly, sustainable fibers such as industrial hemp, organic cotton and bamboo. Most garments are sewn inside earth creations' own factory in Alabama, where the company says employees are paid a fair wage and enjoy a clean, safe working environment.

According to this history of dyeing, modern synthetic dyes date only to 1856. Before that, humanity made art and fashion using dyes and paints made from natural materials - clays, berries, pounded mollusk shells, indigo plants, charcoal and so forth.

By returning to the artistic traditions at the roots of mankind, earth creations has given us beautiful clothing that is both natural and biodegradable, meaning that the clothes will not have any harmful impact on the world we leave for human generations to come.

Where to buy:

You can buy earth creations clothing through the company's own online store (where you can sometimes find sales like the hemp and organic cotton Criss Cross Top marked down from $49 to $15) or at other Internet retailers.

Want to see which shade of clay looks best against your skin before you buy? Use the Store Finder to find a local retailer near you.

EvoLux EarthLED

We love Green products that let you maintain or improve your quality of life while reducing the quantity of energy, water or other resources that you consume.

That's why we have long advocated the switch from incandescent bulbs to CFL bulbs like the Sylvania micro-mini Twist. It's also why we're thrilled to find that the latest generation of water-saving showerheads (like the one from Moen that we reviewed last month) do such a great job of giving you a satisfying shower experience while potentially reducing your water use by 30%.

One of the nice things about technology and competition is that companies are always looking for the next big improvement in efficiency that will make their products stand out from the pack.

In terms of lighting technology, the next Green frontier is clearly LED light bulbs.

We had a chance to test the new EarthLED EvoLux™ bulb. Billed by its manufacturer Advanced Lumonics as "The World's Most Advanced Light Bulb", the EvoLux bulb apparently uses just 13 watts of power to create the same light output as a 100-watt incandescent bulb.

For comparison sake, let's note that Sylvania recommends using the 23-watt version of its micro-mini Twist in order to replace an old-fashioned 100-watt incandescent bulb.

According to these figures, switching all your bulbs from incandescent to CFL would deliver more than 75% energy savings, while switching from CFL to LED would yield more than 40% additional energy savings (or better than 85% energy savings in comparison to the original incandescent bulbs).

Furthermore, LED bulbs have a couple other benefits over CFLs:

- CFL bulbs contain mercury. LED bulbs like the EvoLux are mercury-free. (It should be noted that CFL bulbs don't contain very mercury as explained in our post on the micro-mini Twist, but of course zero mercury is better than a little mercury in a household product.)

- Drop an incandescent bulbs and it will shatter. The same thing will happen with a CFL. By contrast, Advanced Lumonics says its LED bulbs will not shatter. Less shattering is a good thing in our book.

- LED bulbs should last longer than CFL bulbs, which themselves last longer than incandescent bulbs. I couldn't find an authoritative average lifetime figure for a 100-watt incandescent, but apparently such bulbs are so inefficient that they've actually been banned by the U.S. Congress. Still, the ban has not apparently taken place quite yet since Lowe's still carries 100-watt incandescent bulbs with a rated lifetime of 750 hours. The 23-watt CFL has an advertised lifetime of 12,000 hours. The LED does even better - Advanced Lumonics claims its EvolLux bulb will provide more than 50,000 hours of illumination!

- LEDs are cool. Literally. Incandescent bulbs use most of their energy making heat, not light. As a result, a 60-watt incandescent in a metal lamp creates a serious burn hazard. By contrast, the same fixture is cool to the touch when housing the 13-watt EvoLux bulb.

So why isn't everyone rushing to the store pell-mell to switch over to LED bulbs? Why aren't we all slashing our lighting energy bills by more than 85%?

In a word: Cost.

You can buy a two-pack of those pretty much disposable (and thanks to Congress, endangered) 100-watt incandescent bulbs for $2.38. That's $1.19 per bulb.

CFL bulbs have come down in price nicely over the past few years, but a two-pack of the 23-watt micro-mini Twist bulbs from Amazon will still set you back $13.75 or about $6.88 per bulb.

Are you sitting down? Good, because we don't want you to fall over when you hear that the 13-watt EvoLux S bulb will set you back $79.99 (and that's on sale from its previous price of $99.99)!

Now, you'll certainly make some of your upfront cost back in lower energy costs. Advanced Lumonics claims that the EvoLux S will cost you less than $6 per year (though we're not sure how many hours of illumination that assumes...). But even knowing that your LED bulb will last practically forever and that your energy costs will be miniscule, it's still challenging to plunk down so many Yuppie Food Stamps for a light bulb.

If I were a rich man, I'd not only "biddy biddy bum" all day long, I'd also go out and buy some EarthLED EvoLux bulbs for every room in my chateau.

But since I haven't come into money just yet, for now I'll have to settle for a single LED bulb that lets me see just how bright the future might be.

("How bright is the future?" you ask. Why, of course it's so bright that I've gotta wear shades.)

Where to buy:

You can order the EvoLux bulb (with or without dimmer capability) directly through the EarthLED website or through ThinkGeek.

European Eco-Hotels in Bruges, Paris, Prague and Vienna

Hotel Heritage, Bruges, Belgium

Last week, we shared some thoughts about bike-sharing and bio (i.e. organic) food from our recent European trip.

During our 4-country jaunt, we also made a point of trying to stay as often as possible at eco-hotels.

Before we get into specifics, here are two general thoughts on the European eco-hotel scene:

1) When researching the trip, we were surprised to find that the U.S. hotel industry may actually have somewhat of a head start over its European counterparts. Here, chains like Element and NYLO are popping up based strongly on an eco mindset. We didn't find anything similar overseas. We also didn't find anyplace as emphatically green as say, the Gaia Napa Valley hotel with its Solatube skylights, recycled carpeting, low VOC paints, solar panels, recycling bins, chemical-free landscaping, etc...

2) On the other hand, some hotels that don't necessarily advertise themselves as "eco" still incorporate smart ideas that U.S. hotels could copy to reduce their eco footprint. Most of the hotels where we stayed had a master room switch by the door so that guests could conveniently turn off all the lights in the room on their way out. Several hotels that use key cards also had a slot on the wall just inside the door into which the card had to be inserted in order for lights and TV to function. As a result, guests taking their keys with them when they left for the day (or to check out) would inevitably turn off all the lights simply by lifting their key card from the slot. Both ideas - one convenient, the other a bit more draconian - could help U.S. hotels save energy.

Now here are our top eco-hotel picks and reviews for the cities we visited:

Bruges, Belgium - The Hotel Heritage does not specifically bill itself as an "eco hotel", but several elements of its recent renovations should win points for an eco sensibility. For one thing, the hotel has made a point of trying to install energy-efficient LED lights. The Hotel Heritage also cleverly rigged their A/C system so that if a guest opens the window the A/C shuts off rather than trying to cool the outdoors. Incidentally, Bruges itself (or "Brugge" as it is officially known) is just as charming and romantic as everyone says. The Hotel Heritage amps up this romance factor with a tiny rooftop deck perfect for moongazing.

Paris - How eco-friendly is the Hotel Gavarni? This little property is so determined to stake out an eco stance that it's even developed a website called Green Hotel Paris.

What does this mean in practice? Starting this month, the hotel says it is installing new trash bins that will make it easier for guests to separate recyclables. On the breakfast buffet, Gavarni says that it makes a point of offering fair trade food, while using biodegradable and environmentally-friendly cleaning and maintenance products.

A member of the Hotels and Preference group, Gavarni also tries to offset pollution generated by its business by making contributions to GoodPlanet.org, a foundation created by photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand to promote sustainable development and offset global warming.

Prague - The Residence Belgicka by MaMaison carries the European Ecolabel, signaling the hotel's commitment to green policies. Getting the Ecolabel certification isn't easy. (I believe there are only four hotels in the entire Czech Republic that have qualified thus far.) Properties have to submit a long application detailing their performance in at least 20 product categories encompassing everything from light bulbs to tissue paper, from mattresses to cleaners, from office PCs to refrigerators and more. The overall goal is to reduce energy consumption, reducing consumption of chemical substances contained in detergents and disinfectants, and reduce unsorted waste production.

Apart from its eco qualities, Residence Belgicka was certainly one of the nicest places we stayed during several weeks of European travel. Designed to handle long-term business travelers, the Residence feels like an exclusive apartment building. Our room had both sleeping and living areas with a full kitchen including stovetop and microwave.

In the hotel's basement, there was a self-service laundry room, which proved to be worth its weight in gold after two weeks of living out of a suitcase. The basement also contained a fitness room and even a billards room, both of which seemed empty throughout the weekend that we stayed.

The breakfast is basic, but the hotel's manager did say that she hopes to add some bio/organic food items soon as soon as suppliers can accommodate her. Rates start around 115 Euros per night (for a studio apartment) in October, which seems like very good value.

If you don't mind traveling a bit further by tram from the center of Prague, another good eco option is the Hotel Adalbert, located at Brevnov Monastery, the oldest Monastery in the Czech Republic. According to the hotel literature, monks have been living at Brevnov for more than 1,000 years.

Named after the monastery's founder (St. Adalbert) and located inside the former convent, Hotel Adalbert was the first Czech Republic hotel to receive EU Ecolabel certification. You'll notice that the hotel has reduced waste by eliminating little bottles of soap and shampoo in favor of wall-based dispensers. 

Hotel Adalbert was the only we stayed in Europe that has already placed special trash containers in the rooms so that guests can separate paper and plastic from other garbage. You can read all about the hotel's eco initiatives here. (Note that the hotel lists the absence of air conditioning as an eco point. While it is certainly true that eliminating A/C can save energy, you may want to keep this in mind if planning a trip to Prague in the middle of July...)

One tip - the on-site restaurant Klasterni Senk appears to be very popular (at least on the weekends). We would suggest booking in advance if you'd like to have the convenience of eating within the monastery and having a short walk back to your room after dinner.

(Oh and it's not particularly eco, but we have to give a strong recommendation to Pizzeria Groseto, where the pizza was so good, the prices so reasonable and the service so friendly that we ate there 4 out of the 5 nights we were in town!)

Vienna - Definitely the swankest eco hotel we experienced in Europe, the Hotel Altstadt feels like a private home. (A very expensive private home furnished with a sexy modern art collection.) We were lucky enough to stay one of the rooms recently restyled by designer Matteo Thun. If you've got a special romantic occasion to celebrate, the Felix suite will certainly help set the right mood.

What's more, you can feel good about staying at a property that's been awarded the Austrian equivalent of the EU Ecolabel. (If you read German, here's a link to the Umweltzeichen program in which Altstadt participates.)

In practical terms, this means that the Altstadt uses lots of recycled paper supplies, buys food from local suppliers for its tasty buffet, choose the safest biodegradable cleaning products and gives its employees a subsidy toward the use of public transportation. 

The hotel has also installed energy-saving lighting systems -- many of the hallway lights use motion detectors so that they only turn on when necessary. If you're sensitive to cigarette smoke, you'll be relieved to know that all rooms are non-smoking. The hotel has even taken the energy-saving step of agreeing not to illuminate any outdoor signage. The effect is to make the hotel seem even more like a private and exclusive Viennese hideaway.

Skystream Wind Turbine

I don't understand people who think that windmills spoil a landscape. Personally, I think there's something beautiful about watching a field of windmills generating clean power.

I'm the opposite of the NIMBY crowd - I wish that I had a backyard so that I could install a sleek and curvaceous wind turbine like the Skystream 3.7™ from Southwest Windpower. 

Alas, I don't think that the traffic authorities would be amused if I installed a Skystream turbine in the middle of my high-traffic Brooklyn street. 

But that shouldn't stop you from installing this turbine with a rated capacity of 1.8 kW. Skystream estimates that such power should be able to fulfill anywhere from 40% to 100% of the energy needs of a household or small business. (See specs and brochure for more info...)

Actual percentages will of course depend both on wind speed and monthly energy consumption. So start making your home more energy efficient (install CFLs, invest in ENERGY STAR appliances, etc.) and hope for a bunch of windy days. 

Where to buy:

Find a Skystream dealer near you by looking for the blue dots and Skystream symbols on the Skystream map. You may need to zoom out and expand the search area a bit to find a nearby dealer.

Expect to spend $13,000 - $16,000 including installation. Apparently, many Skystream owners do qualify for significant state or national refunds or incentives. The Skystream map helpfully contains a link (under the city/postal code box) to appropriate rebates and incentives. There's also a wind map link, although the landing page for that link didn't seem to be functiong correctly when we tried it.

By the way, you can also lower the price by installing the Skystream yourself, but a media rep for Skystream says that self-installation is "not recommended".

European Bike-Sharing, Bio Restaurants and More

For the past three weeks (until this past Sunday), we've been gallivanting around Europe.

Sure, we sampled amazing Belgian chocolates (highly recommend the delicacies at Sukerbuyc in Bruges), gazed at fantastic French art in the Musee Marmottan, downed some Czech beer in Prague and consumed an immoderate amount of whipped cream in Vienna.

But hey, the trip wasn't just about gorging ourselves. This was work! We were on a mission to find eco-travel options across the European continent. Here's some of what we found:

- Europeans are embracing urban bicycling at a rapid clip. Paris gets lots of press for its famous Velib bike-sharing program, but lots of other cities seem to have the same concept. In Brussels, they call it Cyclocity. In Vienna, it's named Citybike.

In each case, the concept is pretty much the same. You use a credit card to borrow a bike from stations all around town and return the bike at any station where you find a free slot. Rates are very reasonable - 0.5 Euros for 30 minutes in Brussels, 30 free minutes with 1 Euro for the next 30 minutes in Paris.

Unfortunately, the systems in all three cities seem designed mainly for locals. The Vienna Citybike website is only available in German, while even the Paris Velib site uses a mishmash of French and English. If you're patient, persistent and perhaps speak a bit of the local language, this could be a great option for getting around town. (Certainly less expensive than the 5.8 Euros that Paris charges for a daily Metro Mobilis pass...)

On the other hand, you may find it easier to just rent a bike for the day. In Vienna, we got a great 2-hour guided tour of the city from Gerhard Strassgschwandtner using bikes from Pedal Power. With 1,000 kilometers of bike paths and routes and a relatively flat topography, Vienna makes an excellent biking destination. Our favorite parts - biking on a dedicated tree-shaded path along the famous Ringstrasse and cruising through the excellent Prater park.

So why can't the United States have some bike-sharing programs? Actually, we can. In August, Washington D.C. inaugurated its own bike-sharing program and several other cities, including Chicago and New York have expressed interest in the idea.

One challenge is that planners in the States will need to develop a safe and comprehensive bike-lane and bike-path program to go with any bike-sharing network. In Paris, some streets have illuminated bike lanes down the middle with pillars protecting the bikes from traffic. (Incidentally, Paris also has load of pillars along its curbs to protect pedestrians on the sidewalk from wayward cars - or perhaps just to keep people from parking on the sidewalk...)

Personally, I found the idea of biking in Paris a bit intimidating. Throughout much of the day, some Parisian streets seem almost as jammed as those in my home city of New York. As this article illustrates, it may be best to take a bike tour led by a guide who knows which streets are safest and most enjoyable for biking.

- All that biking can work up an appetite, but as mentioned above it's easy to find tasty ways to replenish your calories in Europe. If you're looking for organic food options, the key word to know is bio. People may recognize the term "organic", but "bio" is used far more frequently to denote the same thing.

In Paris, you can pick up award-winning baguettes made with organic flours at Du Pain et Des Idees (roughly translated "Of bread and ideas").

In Vienna, try stopping St. Josef on Mondscheingasse ("Moonlight Street") for a super-casual all-organic and vegetarian dining experience. Attached to the restaurant, you'll find a store filled with organic snacks, produce and other food items.

(PS - If you bring a refillable water bottle, you can stock up on pure Alps mountain spring water straight from the tap. Strangely, despite this natural bounty, the Viennese insist on drinking bottled waters in restaurants and cafes. I was actually refused table water at one of the most famous (i.e. touristy) cafes.)

Vienna also has a unique restaurant called Saint Charles Alimentary, which calls its itself Austria's first "pharmacy restaurant". All fruits and vegetables are picked from the wild, while animal dishes are prepared using meats that the restaurant staff has hunted itself. If you like the idea of knowing exactly where your food comes from - and supporting the locavore movement - Saint Charles Alimentary could definitely be worth a visit.

In Brussels, look for the EXKi chain of natural fast-food restaurants or browse this list of vegetarian and/or organic restaurants for other ideas.

And let's not forget Prague, where you'll find Bio-cafes all over town using mainly organic products to prepare a light and affordable menu based around sandwiches, salads and soups.

Stay tuned for more eco travel tips from Europe in an upcoming post...

Also, two bits of news to share:

1) We have loads of new product reviews to share with you, so expect to see a few more reviews than usual per week while we work through the backlog...

2) We hope to start at least one Sweepstakes later this month. Remember that you're automatically entered to win all 1GreenProduct.com Sweepstakes as long as you're an active email subscriber!