Looking to travel on a budget and still find Green accommodations? Check out this selection of eco-friendly hostels available via HostelWorld.com.
- All accommodations fashioned from recycled materials and renewable products.
- Instead of a typical hotel room, sleep in a converted school bus, a bamboo hut, even an old tractor.
- 3 acres of land, breathtaking views of the ocean and a volcanic crater. Even the outdoor toilet has a jungle view.
- Live off the land by taking advantage of gardens full of spices and salad greens.
- Take a kayak trip down the Charles River
- Hotel's Green characteristics include recycling stations, energy efficient lighting and appliances, recyclable carpet and low-flow plumbing.
- Walking distance from hostel to Newbury Street shopping, Quincy Market, and Fenway Park. Surrounding neighborhood contains some of the area's top-notch bars.
- Eight blocks from the White House.
- Each floor has its own recycling center.
- All paper used at reception is 100% recycled, CFL bulbs used throughout the hostel, eco-friendly soap used in kitchen.
- Environmental documentaries screened monthly.
- Stay in a tree house overlooking the ocean and pristine St. John beaches.
- Other lodging options include ecotents and cabins
Disclaimer - HostelWorld provided the information in this post. 1GreenProduct.com has not personally experienced or verified any of the eco-friendly amenities or features described above.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
EconoGreen Bags
Looking for an eco-friendly alternative to your typical plastic trash bag? Check out the line of EconoGreen Plastics bags (and dropcloths) from the whimsically named Jig-A-Loo company.
Jig-A-Loo claims the bags are made from 100% recycled plastic and that they will completely biodegrade leaving "no harmful residue or toxins" in about two years in the environment. (Traditional plastic bags might take up to 1,000 years to degrade in the environment, according to one source I found.)
For a good analysis of the pros and cons of biodegradable plastic bags, check out this article at Natural-Environment.com.
As far as I'm concerned, if you have a choice, it's typically better to pick a product that's made from recycled materials and biodegrades as quickly as possible. On both counts, EconoGreen Plastics bags seem to fit the bill.
Incidentally, the bags are also made in North America. For U.S. Consumers, that means fewer resources were used to transport the bags from point of manufacture to point of sale.
Where to Buy - Use the Store Locator on the Jig-A-Loo website to find a retail location near you. You can also buy through the Jig-A-Loo website ($3.99 for 30 tall kitchen bags).
Disclaimer - Jig-A-Loo gave me a package of EconoGreen bags to review.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Blog Talk Radio - Vapur, Radley London, Anvil Eco, YogaFit, ECOS, Skoy, GlacialLight and Sylvania
Tune in Wednesday March 17th at 8 p.m. Central Time (9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific) to the 1GreenProduct.com show on Blog Talk Radio for reviews of these eco-friendly products.
(If you're unable to listen to the show live, you can always download it later and listen to it at your convenience.)
Have questions or comments about other products we've reviewed in the past? Call in to the show (347-945-6594) and share your thoughts!
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Radley London Umbrellas and Totes made from post-consumer PET plastic bottles and other recycled materials. ($50 for umbrellas, $35 for totes). Note that only the Nostalgia and Beside the Seaside styles within the Umbrella collection are made using recycled materials.
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Sylvania Ultra LED high performance series 8-watt bulb ($29.98 via Lowes.com)
Floodlight-style LED GlacialLight (GL-BR30, $44.95 via C. Crane Company)
YogaFit jacket made from 70% bamboo ($25.99 via YogaFit website) Correct link and image posted on 3/24.
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Skoy Cloth 100% biodegradable cleaning cloth ($5.99 for a 4-pack)
Anvil Knitwear Eco (available for direct purchase here) collection including AnvilRecycled T-shirt ($10) made from 69% recycled cotton...
....AnvilSustainable T-shirt ($12) made from recycled PET plastic bottles and transitional cotton (grown on farms that are striving to obtain organic certification)...
....AnvilSustainable fleece sweatshirts ($37) made from a blend of organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles...
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...and AnvilOrganic T-shirts ($12) made from 100% certified organic cotton
To hear reviews of all these products, discuss any past reviews on 1GreenProduct.com or talk about whatever eco-friendly products you've got on your mind, remember to tune in Wednesday March 17th at 8 p.m. Central Time (9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific) to the1GreenProduct.com show on Blog Talk Radio.
Disclaimer - All of the companies mentioned above sent me free samples of their products for testing purposes.
Update - Did you miss the live Blog Talk Radio broadcast? You can still hear the show at your convenience by clicking the button below...
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Green Travel in Palm Beach and Boca Raton, Florida
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| Getting fit at The Breakers (image courtesy of Palm Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau) |
The town of Palm Beach, Florida may be one of the richest communities in the United States (#26 per capita, if you believe Wikipedia), but money isn't the only thing that's Green down there.
Your intrepid correspondent spent a long weekend braving the sun and surf (not to mention the crazies on I-95) to seek out some of the eco-friendly travel highlights in Palm Beach and its surrounding County.
- The famous Breakers resort in Palm Beach not only maintains an organic herb & vegetable garden to supply its restaurants, it also runs a weekly Green Market (November to May) that gives employees access to fresh produce from local farms. Not content with just making a difference at the resort itself, two members of The Breakers' executive purchasing team (Geoffrey Sagrans and Rick Hawkins) founded an independent, non-profit organization called Localeopia to match local Florida farmers and organic food producers with nearby chefs and restaurants. This locavore initiative not only gives customers fresher food, it also helps preserve farmland while cutting out the greenhouse gas pollution associated with transporting food cross country.
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| The oceanfront pool at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach (photo via Four Seasons website) |
- Palm Beach County contains numerous natural and wild areas. Some of the highlights include the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (221 square miles of Everglades), a portion of the 110-mile LOST trail around Lake Okeechobee, the 90-acre Okeeheelee Nature Center in West Palm Beach and the 325-acre MacArthur Beach State Park where you can go kayaking among the mangroves.
- Yes, it sometimes seem like everyone is driving either a Bentley or a Ferrari (neither of which are known for their MPGs), but you'll also see plenty of joggers and bicyclists taking advantage of Palm Beach's flat terrain and well-developed trail system.
- You can get a little tipsy in style while still maintaining your eco-cred at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach thanks to organic cocktails like the Herb Garden Mojito served in The Restaurant.
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| The very beautiful, very pink Boca Raton Resort and Club (photo via resort website) |
- The Boca Raton Resort & Club gained admission to Florida's Green Lodging Program last year. In addition to expected eco-friendly programs (recycling, fluorescent light bulbs, use of Green cleaning products), the resort installed an electricity-saving energy management system and reclaims enough water to support 90% of all exterior landscaping!
- Enjoy some peaceful contemplation at the Morikami Museum & Park in Delray Beach. The museum tells about the Japanese settlers who created a Floridian colony called Yamato in the early 20th Century. Paths lead visitors through 200-acres of gardens representing various eras in Japanese landscape design.
- Pick up fresh and local fruits, vegetables, breads, pastries, plants and more at the West Palm Beach Greenmarket, open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. (October - April) at 2nd Street and Narcissus Avenue in Downtown West Palm Beach.
Disclosure - The Palm Beach County CVB facilitated my trip to Florida. The Four Seasons and the Boca Raton Resort and Club each hosted me for two nights.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Where have all the Green products gone?
Well, I thought it would never happen.
After more than 200 posts in all sorts of consumer categories, I'm having trouble finding any truly innovative, amazing, special Green products out there that are affordable and widely available to U.S. consumers.
I'm a bit amazed, to be honest, because I originally thought I'd have no problem finding ~250 eco-friendly products a year to review and now I'm struggling to find just 50 a year that are truly worthy of extensive review and attention.
Don't get me wrong. There are lots of great Green products out there - eco-friendly home decor products, fashion products, food products. But I'm not a fashion, design or food blogger, per se. I don't have anything special to write (most of the time) about a new set of bamboo cotton sheets, a new organic cotton pair of pants or a new all-natural snack.
If the design/functionality/taste is truly amazing, I'll write about it, but I'll leave it to the dedicated decor/fashion/food bloggers to cover those beats.
My interest has always been in talking about products that change the game. LED light bulbs. Electric bikes. Recycled aluminum foil. Dual-flush toilets. Extraordinarily efficient (and thus energy-saving) home electronics. Wind turbines. Solar panels. Hybrid cars. You get the picture.
So...please don't get alarmed if I don't publish a post every week. I'll publish as often as I can find quality products that are worthy of your time and attention.
And if you find any of extraordinary Green products that you think deserve a review at 1GreenProduct.com, please let me know.
Meanwhile, I'll keep looking too.
Thanks,
Aaron Dalton, Editor, 1GreenProduct.com
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