A New Greener Cleaner for your Wash

method ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent is now available at Amazon.com and many supermarkets and home centers. The 20 ounce bottle is good for 50 loads of laundry. Smaller bottle = less cost = less fuel burned in shipment. They claim a 35% smaller carbon footprint than conventional 2x concentrated detergent. It is also Dye-free, hypo-allergenic, and its plant-based formula is made using 95% natural and renewable ingredients. It’s readily biodegradable and non-toxic in use, for skin-friendly clean clothes. They are so sure you will like it they are also completely transparent about our ingredients for you to check out.

Their ultra concentrated formula, allows a teeny package design that requires less energy to produce and creates less waste as the bottle is also recyclable. Their bottle uses over 36% less plastic compared to traditional 2x detergents and 50% of that comes from recycled plastics. They claim to be the world’s first Cradle to Cradle certified laundry detergent, thanks to its comprehensive green design. And like other method products, it’s recognized by the US EPA’s DfE program for its safer chemistry

RCA Airnergy Pulls Power From Thin Air

RCA Airnergy is a small USB device that harvests electrical power from Wi-Fi signals. Anytime the device is in the vicinity of one or more Wi-Fi sources, the Airnergy is Minor Limitation

The Airnergy unit, expected to hit the store shelves some time later this year (~ $40) is expected to only have a USB connection, meaning it won’t sync with a lot of devices like your iPhone or iPod without using a connection converter. So this means you will have another piece of gear to take with you. We hope RCA realizes this short coming and takes an appropriate action. We would also like to see the USB port also accept power input so it can be charged from your laptop or PC.

Who thought we would see such innovative products from a an old time company like RCA, the inventors of the 7″  vinyl single well it turns out RCA is actually now a brand from electronics giant AudioVox… who knew!

Charging Your Electronic Devices on the Road

Luggage-maker Samsonite is released a new line of solar bags this past summer aimed at on-the-go green eco-phile.

A link-up between Colorado-based Ascent Solar and luggage firm Samsonite could mean an end to running out your phone or laptop batteries. The companies have partnered to launch a new range of solar-integrated travel options set to hit the market early July, making use of Ascent’s flexible, lightweight CIGS modules.

For more information see Ascent Solar or Samsonite

A New 60 watt LED Bulb

Lighting Sciences Group Recently  introduced an Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulb designed as a replacement for a 60-watt incandescent which will be available next month for under $30. The LED light from Lighting Sciences is a 60-watt equivalent LED which consumes only 13 watts.

Their 40-watt equivalent LED bulb has been available through Home Depot since earlier this year and costs just under $18. The 60-watt replacement category is one of the most popular bulb categories as hundreds of millions of light products are sold every year. Lighting Sciences said that the new LED light will last 50,000 hours about 23 years assuming 6 hours a day of use.

It will be available under the Definity brand through lighting distributors in late January and be available in Home Depot stores in March and Amazon, according to a representative from Lighting Sciences Group.

It is Back to school Time

Millions of people flood the stores to buy new clothes, backpacks, binders, computers, etc.  Below are some tips to save money and to be a little more green.

Stick with the same clothes. Buying a new wardrobe just to wear something new is wasteful.   Also try hand me downs from friends and Kids used clothes  shops.

Reuse school supplies by trading with others for things you may need.  Look through your junk drawer and dig up those old pens, markers, backpacks, binders, etc that can be reused or traded.  Donate unwanted items so others can reuse them.  If you need a new backpack buy one with natural fibers and skip PVC based ones.

Buy or use a re-usable lunch bag/box.  Also pack items in washable plastic containers, reusable utensils, not throwaway plastic bags. Thermos work great for drinks. Forget about juice boxes, use refillable BPA free beverage bottles. Avoid lunch boxes with lead paint, PVC, BPA, or antimicrobial chemicals.

Upgrade rather than replace your computer by adding RAM  or a bigger hard drive.  Clean off junk files from the disk drive that are not necessary. Defragment your hard drive or better yet have it reformatted and its performance will be fast like when you bought it.

Bike, walk or take a bus to school. Even carpool with a friend if it is available. Buy paper goods with a high recycled content. Buy plastic Binders, Binder paper, manila folders, notebooks, etc. with at  least 30% post consumer waste.

See Amazon.com for some other great deals on school supplies.