A conversation on bitter cold would usually be directed to our northern friends and those of us that experience snow throughout the winter.  However, this winter that seems to incorporate the entire US.  With freezing spells hitting the usually balmy states of the south there’s no saying what this winter has in store.  That’s why people across the country should reap the benefits of lowering their thermostat’s just a little bit.

I realize this may seem like the opposite of what you want to do, but you can fight the cold by layering up, including investing in the increasingly popular Snuggie.

The following from Madison Gas and Electric provides a chart of the energy saved when you set your thermostat back.

It’s unlikely that you’ll be dropping your thermostat anywhere in the 11 to 13 degree range but it may be possible for you to drop it down 5 degrees.  Even 5 Degrees for a few hours throughout the day can start to make a different.  Every little bit helps.

For more information visit:

Madison Gas & Electric

You may have out grown your trapper keeper days, but it’s unlikely that you’ll outgrow the need for a 3-ring binder.   It keeps you organized, efficient, and did I mention eco-friendly? That’s right, this little contraption is so much more that you imagined.

The way you organize often depends on how you think.  To some it makes sense to place things alphabetically. To others it makes sense to organize according to time, project, client, or subject matter.  Luckily any system that works for you will work for the binder.   Within your system of organization you can further organize by using tabs or separating sheets.  You can also attach cd holders to store masses of information.  You may be thinking, “I know a binder’s organizational uses.”  Fair enough, but do you know all of the ways it can make you eco-friendly?

We’ll start with recycling. Many of the dividers and CD holders are being made of recycled material.  Additionally, they’re being made of material that can be recycled.  The binders themselves are also being made of recyclable material, whether it be from recycled plastics or papers.   For example, take our eco-binders.  They are made from 75% post-consumer recycled material and are functional as well as dirt and grime resistant. Additionally, you can reuse binders from one project to the next making them an efficient way to stay organized.

For more information visit our store at:

Sunrise Store

For a multitude of different reasons there comes a time when it is necessary to get rid of some clothes.  Maybe your kids hit a growth spurt.  Maybe you hit a growth spurt; wanted or not. It’s possible your style has changed, or that you just feel overwhelmed by the lack of space.  Whatever the reason it’s important that your old clothes steer clear of the dumpsters.  Here are 5 things to do with the clothes you don’t want to wear.

1. Donate them- If the clothes are still in good condition donate them so they can be worn by someone else.

2. Make accessories- Use the fabric to make headbands, hair ribbons and belts.

3. Make a quilt- Many of the heavy fabrics, such as jean, are great for quilting.  Combining several different types of jean also creates a nice checkered pattern.

4.Make a Bag- Cut long, wide strips of fabric that you can fold in half and then sew the sides creating a great bag. You can also add a handle for convenient carrying.

5.Make things for your pet-  Old fabric can be sewn together for pillows and bedding that are perfect for pets.

For more information please visit:

Using Clothes

How do you feel about spending a relaxing afternoon on the deck, basking in the sun, taking in the scenery and kicking back… on a bunch of milk jugs?  This afternoon might have sounded like it was headed in the right direction until the milk jugs, but don’t be deterred.  By the Yard is an innovative, fellow Minnesota-based company whose outdoor furniture is made out of recycled milk and water jugs.  If you aren’t sold on their innovative materials you might be swayed by their comfort, variety and product guarantees.

Their furniture is no joke. By the Yard boasts a 35 year warranty for their outdoor furniture, guaranteeing that it will not crack, rot, or peel within that time.  It is also offered in a variety of colors and styles to ensure it meets your decor. Perhaps the best part about the color you choose is that it’ll stay that way.  Their website states;

It will not fade more than 3% over a 10 year period; a color change that is generally not noticeable to the human eye. The color runs throughout each piece and has a UV-inhibitor incorporated into the material to minimize the chance of any discoloration.

The following is a sampling of a few of these colors and styles.

Now that’s cool!

For more information please visit:

By the Yard

Living a more sustainable lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight.  It’s unlikely that you go to bed a fossil fuel hog and wake up the next day with your hybrid car and carrying reusable grocery bags. It’s a continual learning process.  It’s also about recognizing the impact of your daily habits and understanding what it takes to change them.  For example, take a magazine and consider it’s impact on the environment.  You probably think that if you recycle them you are doing your part. To some extent this is true but did you ever think about the resources used to make the original magazine?  Do you know if you subscribe to a magazine that is made out of recycled paper or not?  Many magazines are in fact made out of recycled paper which significantly cuts down on the amount of resources needed to print them.   One such magazine is the popular Everyday With Rachel Ray.  For a list of more magazines go to better magazine list.

You may think now that you’ve subscribed to a magazine printed on recycled paper (which you of course plan to recycle when you’re done reading) you’ve really done your part. However, even this can be improved upon for the die hard green goers.  I’d like to introduce you to the electronic magazine subscription.  Available through your computer and involved in the destruction of zero trees.  Described by Barnes and Noble as

“…delivered to the recipient’s email address. Scores of titles available. An Eco-Friendly gift because these subscriptions are paperless and are delivered electronically- not by mail carrier.”

It’s everything the environment ever wanted.

For more information visit:

Grist

Barnes and Noble

The average American throws away 4 pounds of trash daily.   Considering the fact that there are over 300,000,000 people living within the United States it is easy to see how the trash situation can get out of hand.  In fact, it’s estimated that the US generates around 230 million tons of trash a year.  The good news is that with that much trash there is a lot of room for improvement.  Here are some statistics from The Clean Air Council that demonstrate how much room for improvement there really is.

• Only about 1/10 of solid garbage in the U.S. gets recycled.
• Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.



• In the U.S., an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays.  Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags.
• Americans throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet every three months.

The good news is that a little recycling can go a long way.

• For every ton of plastic bottles that are recycled, 3.8 barrels of oil are saved.
• Aluminum has a quick turn-around as a recycled material. It can be back on the shelf as a new can in as little as six weeks.

For more information visit:

Learner

Popular mechanics

As discussed in earlier blogs, new packaging can lead to an increase in sales.  However, sometimes it’s hard to know what path to take in terms of innovation.  Here are a few tips from Peter Renton’s article in Packaging Digest that discuss different innovative options along with some real world examples.

Create a Reusable Package

Pom tea is unique in design, and exceptionally eye-catching.  Renton’s article discusses the truly original design:

“The boutique beverage market is mature and extremely competitive, so you might think there are few really new ideas when it comes to packaging. You would be wrong. POM Tea has created something truly different. For a start the product itself is different – it is tea infused with pomegranate juice. But it is the packaging that is remarkable; the drink is packaged in a regular tall drinking glass with a lid and a clear shrink wrap label. It says on the label: Remove the label, keep the glass.”

Add a Little Extra to Your Packaging

Renton’s article points out Amy’s pasta sauces, specifically that “it looks like the way your grandmother would package it, and you can’t go down the aisle of pasta sauces without noticing it.” Fans of Amy’s products would agree.  All of their packaging is simple, usually with appetizing pictures. And their products for a gluten or wheat-free diet are exceptional.

Merge Two Packaging Concepts
Renton also discusses the Anheuser Busch bottles.  Wow – what a great idea  to make a beer bottle out of recyclable aluminum!  From being a brand that is known for being less exotic than others, they have certainly stepped it up in the class and style factor!  It would not be surprising if these bottles lead to new customer sales.

For more innovative packaging tips visit:

Packaging Digest

Holiday lights decorate the house.  They decorate they yard. They wrap around street posts and store fronts. They may be festive but they also are notorious for upping the ever dreaded energy bill.  However, this year can be different with solar powered string lights.  They are described by Christmas Solar Lights as,

“…LEDs – which rely on a really tiny amount of electric current to make them work. They work with both electricity and solar power and light up, but don’t get hot. They also last for years and years, further cutting your maintenance bills. In fact a single LED should last for at least 25 years. Another thing to remember is that solar powered Christmas lights aren’t only used to decorate Christmas trees. Unlike tinsel and baubles, ceramic stars and plastic angels, these lights can be used to create fun and effective lighting at any other time of the year as well.”

Here are some of the pros and cons of switching over to the more efficient version of the holiday light.

Pros

• They save lots of money on your energy bill.
• They are easy to install since you won’t need to run power cords to them.
• They are eco-friendly.
• They last for years.

Cons

• They are powered by the sun so inorder for them to charge properly they have to get ample amounts of sunlight.  Daylight savings can affect how charged the lights are.
• They are more expensive that non solar powered lights.

Although there are a few drawback in switching to solar powered lights there are more advantages in the long run.

Solar String Lights

Christmas Solar Lights

Many look at cardboard and see it as a simple packaging material.  To often it finds its way to the trash instead of being recycled.  But as the cliche goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  This is the case for Mark Langan, who is an artist based out of Ohio that has made his life’s work out of corrugated boxes.

As his website states;

…I see it as an endless supply source that I purge from my trash and neighborhoods, reusing it towards my creations.  Artwork that is intriguing to the viewer whereas one might ponder quite some time over. A form of green art, that makes a definitive statement with its contribution to the recycling movement.

With a touch of brilliance Mark takes “reuse” to a new level.  Revamping simple cardboard into breath taking works of art.  Here are a few samples of his work.

http://keetsa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/langan3.jpghttp://cwoca.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Salutation-Mark-Langan1.jpg

For more information visit:

Langa Art

Google Images

Tree Hugger

As always, with news trends come new terminology. When researching products and companies its important to understand the meaning of common green phrases.  From Green Living Tips, here are a few words and acronyms used within the industry that will help broaden our vocabulary.

• The 3R’s -Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

• Carbon Footprint - This measures your impact on the environment based on how much carbon dioxide you produce to support your daily activities.

• Alternative Energy- Energy that is considered clean because it isn’t taken from fossil fuels such as coal and oil.  Wind is an alternative energy.

• Renewable Energy-Energy that is generated from resources that are naturally renewed.  Common examples of these are wind and solar.

• Greenhouse Effect-Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun resulting in warmer global temperatures.

• Greenhouse Gas- Any gas that contributes the the greenhouse effect of our atmosphere.

• LEED- This acronym stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  This is a green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.  Buildings can be varying levels of LEED certified.  The levels from most efficient to least are platinum, gold, silver, and certified.

These are some of the common terms and phrases but there are many more out there.  If you are interested in further familiarizing yourself with these terms visit:

USGBC

Live Science

Green Living Tips