Greener Design

Nike Debuts Latest Collection of 'Considered Design' Products

GreenBiz Staff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:04:47 +0000

Nike will debut a new collection of athletic footwear Saturday made with environmentally preferred materials. A portion of revenue from the N7 line will support Native American youth sports through the N7 Fund.

The Green Building Market and Impact Report 2009

GreenerBuildings Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:46:12 +0000

This second annual report, by Rob Watson and the GreenBiz.com editorial team, explores the impacts that LEED-certified buildings have already had on energy, water, waste and employee productivity -- and projects those impacts for the next 20 years.

Beyond the Black Cloud: Looking at Lifecycles

Dave Douglas — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:49:15 +0000

Looking at the full impact of any type of product or device -- rather than, say, the cloud of exhaust in front of you on the highway -- opens the door to a whole new understanding of how design affects the environment.

The Anthozoans Are Coming to Save Us! Corals Offer Concrete Solutions to Our Carbon Woes

Tom McKeag — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:30:00 +0000

The method corals use for building their homes is worlds away from the way humans have been making cement and concrete, but one company has developed an innovative method for using seawater (which corals also utilize to make calcium) to both make cement and sequester carbon dioxide.

Cadbury and Sprint to Save Tons of Waste with New Greener Packaging

GreenBiz Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:13:37 +0000

Cadbury will abandon its customary round metal tins in favor of square, recyclable cardboard boxes for its Roses and Heroes chocolate lines, while Sprint's new recyclable casing for its wireless accessories will save the company about $2.1 million a year.

First 100 Percent Recycled Take-Out Container Released

GreenerDesign Staff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:20:11 +0000

The Bottle Box, the first 100 percent post-consumer plastic take-out container has been released, developed in collaboration by Direct Pack and Global PET.

U.K. Company Launches Design Competition For Recycled Plastic Sheeting

GreenerDesign Staff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:20:52 +0000

Axion Polymers has released its new, 100 percent recycled content polystyrene sheet, called Axfoil, and has created a design competition to award the most innovative and sustainable product design made with the new material.

Next Wave of TerraCycle Products to Come From Huggies, Kleenex Packaging

GreenBiz Staff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:23:14 +0000

The company that built an empire by turning worm poop into fertilizer and cookie wrappers into backpacks has set its sights on the used plastic packaging from Huggies diapers, Scott toilet paper and Kleenex tissue.

Answers to Green Marketers' Questions on Ecolabels

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:35:26 +0000

GreenBiz.com’s October 15, 2009 webinar on "The Green Marketing Landscape: Ratings, Labels, and Certifications" yielded far more questions than we had time to answer during the allotted 60 minutes. We've selected questions from among the hundreds asked and submitted them to our three speakers, who graciously provided answers.

Bayer, Costco Awarded for Recycling, Waste Reduction Efforts

GreenBiz Staff — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:05:00 +0000

StopWaste.org has awarded 12 Alameda County, Calif., businesses for their achievements in recycling, making less waste and operational efficiency. Among the companies awarded are Costco, Bayer HealthCare, Boston Scientific, Lucky Supermarkets and the U.S. Postal Service.

Life Cycle Assessment 101: Why Does it Matter?

Kimi Ceridon — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Understanding life cycle assessment is important for product engineers and designers, as it is a tool that uses quantifiable analysis to evaluate sustainability metrics. As these tools and skills develop over time, they also lead themselves to ever more sustainable future products.

Deirdre Imus's Mission to Green up Toxic Hospitals

Anna Clark — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:48:14 +0000

The head of the Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center talks about how she developed and promotes her line of green cleaning products, the lessons all ecopreneurs can take from her story, and how her success is a system, not a secret.

European Firms Failing to Source Sustainable Palm Oil

GreenBiz Staff — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:18:36 +0000

In a new scorecard released by the World Wildlife Fund, only one-sixth of companies surveyed show progress toward goals of ending the environmental and ecosystem impacts of conventional palm oil harvesting.

Genealogy of the Living Principles

GreenerDesign Staff — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:00:00 +0000

In developing the Living Principles for Design, AIGA's goal was to distill the collective wisdom found in decades of sustainability theories and make it accessible to a broad audience of design practitioners and their clients. They ended up creating this chronology/primer of 30 sustainability visions, principles, frameworks and tools.

Using Sustainability Labels to Drive Performance

Melissa Schweisguth — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:16:29 +0000

It seems like a new sustainability certification or standard is announced weekly. As these increase, along with corresponding logos and taglines, so too have questions about their validity and meaning for stakeholders.

BuyGreen.com, The Company That's Never Bought A Shipping Box

GreenerDesign Staff — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Online retailer BuyGreen.com prides itself on the fact that it's never purchased a new box to ship items in, so much so that it prints "shamelessly shipped in reused packaging" on each box it sends out. The company has been able to go more than two years without buying boxes thanks to cast-offs from other businesses and a little dumpster diving.

The Living Principles for Design

GreenerDesign Staff — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:42:48 +0000

In The Living Principles for Design, AIGA distills the collective wisdom found in decades of sustainability theories and weaves it into a quadruple bottom line framework for design, adding cultural vitality to the triple bottom line of environment, economy and social equity.