Consumer Products Archives - Page 4 of 18

PUMA Re-Cut Project Upcycles Denim into New Shoes

March 31, 2014

by Derek Markham

A new line of shoes from PUMA is combining upcycling with social good, by turning leftover denim scraps into new shoes and giving 100% of the profits from the sales of those shoes to an orphanage in Vietnam. The PUMA Re-Cut project, which is part of the company’s Closing the Loop initiative, takes leftover denim from a nearby denim manufacturer (these denim scraps are used to test the shrinkage and color of the fabric), and uses it to sew uppers…

A Bottled Water that Plants Trees and Creates Clean Energy

March 12, 2014

by Derek Markham

Bottled water tends to be an environmental boondoggle. Not only are most bottled water brands using the same municipal water that is readily available from the tap (with a huge markup added to it), but those plastic bottles contribute to our massive plastic waste problem, even if in theory, they are recyclable. However, there’s a new kind of bottled water in the works, and one which promises to be not only eco-friendly in its materials, but that is designed with…

Entrepreneur Creates a Gentle Feminine Wash for a Healthy Hoohoo

February 19, 2014

by Derek Markham

The best ideas for products and services are the ones you desperately want for yourself or a friend, but that nobody offers yet, and that’s exactly what entrepreneur Stacy Lyon focused on when building her business, which meets a need that centers around a somewhat taboo topic – feminine hygiene. Several years ago, Lyon learned that a friend’s cancer diagnosis included the discovery that parabens had been found in her tissues, and shortly thereafter she also happened to have a…

Biodegradable Cigarette Butts Could Reduce Smoking Litter

February 11, 2014

by Derek Markham

A biodegradable cigarette filter made from all-natural materials could make a huge impact on the amount and type of litter associated with smoking, which is currently quite significant. It’s estimated that some 5 trillion cigarette butts end up as litter every year, and because most of them are made with synthetic materials that are resistant to degradation, these butts can take up to 15 years to break down in a natural environment. In fact, a study of 25 years of…

Sustainable Clothing from Recycled Plastic Water Bottles

January 16, 2014

by Derek Markham

We love t-shirts. We get them free as swag at events, we buy them to support causes, and we get them as gifts. Even if you wear a button down shirt for work, chances are you’ve got a drawer full of them (I’ve got several), and most of them are not sustainable clothing by any stretch of the imagination. Conventional cotton is one of the fiber crops that takes the most off-farm inputs, from water to fertilizer to pesticides, and…

Kids Clothing that Grows with Them: Interview with Nula Kids Founders

January 14, 2014

by Derek Markham

Thanks to more transparency in the sustainable fashion industry, we, the customers, are no longer outsiders in the clothing manufacturing processes. We have the resources to track the sources of designers’ fabrics and other materials, the seamstresses…

An Affordable Solar Lantern, Made in Africa

January 13, 2014

by Derek Markham

Solar lanterns are an excellent small-scale use of renewable energy, whether for camping, for an emergency preparedness kit, or just as a low-carbon source of light at home. But for most of us, with easy access to the grid and cheap batteries in every store, they’re just a neat accessory. However, in many parts of the world, such as rural eastern Africa, they can be a life-changing item, because only a small percentage of the population has access to electricity,…

Sustainable Clothing Company Feeds the Hungry with Every Sale

January 6, 2014

by Derek Markham

If you’re looking to upgrade your wardrobe, and you want to buy your clothes from a sustainable clothing company that’s not only making their apparel from organic fabrics, but is supporting the flagging US apparel industry, as well as feeding the hungry with every sale, then Fed by Threads should be your next stop. “Fed By Threads set out to inspire change & get us back to the roots of what America stands for: generosity, community, feeding the hungry, and…

Crowdfunding Handmade Slow Fashion Helps Keep Block Printing Alive

December 24, 2013

by Derek Markham

In a culture where fashion is based on mass-manufactured clothing, handmade apparel has a great appeal, not only because you don’t see it everyday, but also because the unique qualities of artisan-made clothes can elevate your personal wardrobe into the realm of art. Bringing the ancient art of Indian wood block printing to the modern world of fashion, artist Rebecca Layton’s Rekh & Datta clothing company is based on the “slow fashion” concept, which favors quality over quantity, and ethically-made…