Light Emitting Diodes (LED), which are extensively used in various gadgets like watches, clocks, traffic lights will now be available for domestic use. With the prices of the semiconductor materials dropping, LED light bulbs can be used to light up our homes, but how economical and useful are they going to be? Let’s see…

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You always want to give the best to your children. Perhaps, that is why even the most thoughtless of people become conscious about eco-friendly baby products when they have a young one! The same situation was confronted by Shital Mehta when she gave birth to her son Krishna.

From the very start, Shital was very keen to use only the most natural products for her bonny boy; but was disappointed when she couldn’t even find baby bottles made of BPA-free plastic in the market. So as a desperate measure, she got in touch with a distributor of the bottles and placed an order for a case to share with friends who too were tired of looking for the elusive bottles. Even other chemical free infant items were hard to find.
So, the enterprising mom came up with a website called ‘Generation Orange’ which provides one-stop shopping for exciting baby products. Everything from clothes to toys to foods can be found here. Plus they are assuredly made from the most natural materials available.

By the way, 90 per cent of the companies selling products through this site are giving a portion of their earnings to charity.
Via ecofabulous

It is wonderful when two good causes come together to make the world a much better place. It seems that the designing innovators of the world are coming together annually to create both better products and to make sure they raise money for charity by selling these unique pieces of work. The Botanist Blank Canvas project is the brainchild of Dario Antonioni and Brandon Lynne and aims at exactly that. notable designers such Yves Behar, Margo Chase, Milton Glaser, Kahi Lee, Karim Rashid, Joe Ricchio, Claude Zwelleger and Massimo and Lella Vignelli work together to produce amazing designs that are used to raise funds for the charity that they wish to donate the money to.

The benches and aluminum table collection from this year?s Botanist stint are a true delight to take a look at. They are constructed from a single sheet of aluminum, with an eye toward minimizing waste. The manufacturer uses recycled and recyclable aluminum to produce their super thin, yet surprisingly strong, modern and eco-friendly furniture. Wooden veneers that cover them are harvested from a sustainable forest and even the paint used is toxic free.

The amazing collection can be both inside the home and even for outside use. The collection not only promotes eco-friendly furniture, but it also makes sure that the money raised by these custom crafted pieces goes to those who need it the most.

Via: Trendir

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Green rules the roost these days when it comes to colors, technology, fashion, lifestyle etc. Then why should cellphones be trailing behind in the green bandwagon? Electronics giant Siemens has roped in Formwelt Industrial Designs to come up with some innovative green models. The creative inputs of Hans-Henning Brabänder were also pooled in to produce the “Gigaset Eco Visions” “Leaf” and “Solar”. Looking elegant and eco-chick, these ultra-light models are carved out of 100% recyclable materials viz. liquid wood and eco-plastic. Formwelt Studio has kept in mind the eco-friendly quotient of each cellphone thus taking care of the components and materials (organic of course!),� energy consumption, natural energy source for handsets (which comes from sunlight) and emissions (during production processes and post production as well). All in all, the designer firm has taken care that the two phones be designer yet recyclable.
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Features of both the designs:
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LEAF phone - reminds you of a lovely young leaf in spring! An invisible OLED display is present. Embedded in a translucent case, it provides the cell phone an unparallel finishing meant for futuristic products. Sensational haptics and substantial convenience are provided by eco plastics used in the frame.
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SOLAR phone – cool concept, uses all-over solar cells on the surface. Absorbs energy directly from the sun thus being self-sustainable! Besides eco-plastics, the frame is made up of glass and metal as well. The design also combines OLED touchpad technology to give user a function-depending key indication on the cell phone’s display.

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Million dollar question is – When are these hitting the market? I am sure Siemens will come up with an equally interesting eco-friendly ad campaign for these brilliantly green phones!
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Via: yankodesign

The fun of trekking fades away when right on the destination you want to capture a splendid view and the battery of your camera runs out. The safe bet is to travel with a solar charger (of course there are easily available these days!). The latest addition in the market is the Power Monkey Explorer Solar Charger. This gadget is accompanied by a Solar Slave solar panel. With these two at your side, you don’t have to worry any more about low batteries for you are equipped with anytime, anywhere solar re-charging! The water-resistant Solar Slave can juice up your iPod/ digicam etc. in a matter of few minutes. It stores the Helios power and directs it to the Power Monkey Explorer’s Battery.

This smart solar charging device works well with smartphones, mobile phones, PSPs and PDAs as well! A quick re-cap of all of its features:� �

The Solar Slave panels can be used to recharge the Monkey if you’re running low on juice.
The kit contains a Power Monkey Explorer unit so you can keep all of your gizmos charged when you’re stuck in the back of beyond.

Compatible with Nokia, Mini Nokia, Motorola V66, Samsung E900, LG Chocolate, Sony Ericsson, Motorola RazrV, Blackberrys, Bluetooth Headsets, Smart Phones, PDAs, iPod, PSP.

It is capable of powering (but not charging) most models of digital cameras.
The Solar Slave and the Power Monkey are encased in a tough water resistant shell so it’s perfect for all your adventures.
Can be yours for only $116.98 from IWantOneofThose.com�

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Via: Goodcleantech

The concept of eco-interiors was talked about at great length by Jeanie Pyun, editor of Sprig along with famous eco-interior designer Kelly LaPlante on Discussion on WashingtonPost.com. The strongest point of the show was the little tips that were offered to help you green your style. And that was not all as the hosts gave guidelines on finding healthy food and products. Even FAQs like “What is a green roof” and “What does VOC mean” were answered by them. Since the discussion was hosted online, the two eco-friendly women could post web-links directly to the chat to give readers easy, direct access to the tips being discussed. Other areas of concern were, “why it is still so difficult to find healthy products and why are they not cheaper?” as well as “what is a single mom hoping to green on a limited budget?”

Now isn’t Washingtonpost.com really cool as the discussions there are like an interactive blog, where readers can ask questions in real-time to experts on a variety of subjects.� For those of you who did not know, Pyun was the former editor of Organic Style magazine and co-editor of In Style Home magazine. LaPlante owns a furniture showroom in Venice Beach, CA, is the host of Brilliant Green on Ovation TV, and recently published her first book Ecologique.�
C’mon let’s go green because the experts say so.
Via treehugger

One look at the Daan will get your eyes popping out in amazement for this sleek-n-sexy air purifier doesn’t look like one at all! The stylish design befools you and you may wonder is it’s one of those uber-glam lampshades found in the market these days?
The Daan means ‘Column’ in Korean and is designed by Joseph Kim. It’s shape and structure and ability to occupy minimum space reveals the tremendous changes that have occurred in the air purifiers in past few years. So far, these purifiers just got better with the efficiency but were still unable to dynamical adapt to different size spaces. But Daan rectifies those problems by its unique and delightful design. The product improves your health and imparts green goodness to your living space, yet sets a perfect example of ergonomics.

Its disk sized units are small in size but have powerful air purifying capabilities. It is flexible and occupies a small little corner in your living space and you can detach it and take one unit for your travel! For a bigger room just stack together more units and there you have got a fresh and purified room for your self. This product is simply great for people who have nasal allergies for they can purify their house at any time of the day and any season of the year!

Via: Yankodesign

Makeup is an essential part of our lives today. When we wake up exhausted or hung over from a late night party, we all reach out for the bottles of colour and sprays on our dressing table to make oneself look good. But at what cost do these little extravagances of good life come from? C’mon none of us wants to enjoy something that may impact our health as well as that of our planet. Come to think of it, aren’t the two one and the same!

It is a good thing that the beauty industry has taken its fare share of responsibility to prevent the environment from further damage. Providing fashionable yet less-toxic makeup has become a popular trend with all major brands. But Kaia House, Futurenatural and Beautorium lead the pack. We have already seen how consumer pressure can encourage companies to consider the impact of their products. But there are professional makeup artists whose say also influences rest of the pack. The owner and founder of Futurenatural Emma Pezzack claims that the days of organic and natural makeup being hippy-dippy are long past. There are now plenty of products that are as amazing as conventional stuff. And to create awareness about the same she is having talks with Sarah Brown at Vogue, as well as editors at Body and Soul and Lucky.

Via Eco-chick

Featured above is a weird yet wonderful creation all set using bamboo. Finished through a natural green resource, the Bamboo Brelli is capable of being recycled barely within 5 years. The apparent covering of this eco product is sole bioplastic with the framework having an absolutely stunning design. Although the concept behind this innovation is solely green and ecological but the stuff of this umbrella is so frail and weak that even a small blast of air could twirl it. For this reason this inimitably designed biodegradable umbrella would of course create a center of attention for every one of us but it doesn’t seem to have a long lasting future.

Accordingly along with an elegant design we call for a sturdy essence which could be competent to shield us against blustery weather in every state. So our green brains must look out for added options akin to Bamboo Brelli but with enhanced handling and modeling features.

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Being sincere towards nature was never this easy and colorful! Now, you can carry sun on your back / shoulder & get charged up (literally!)… Swiss company Sakku specializes in making solar bags from recycled stuff thereby setting an example among companies aspiring to be truly environmentally conscious.

Sakku’s latest solar bag range called Buddy is available in many cheerful shades & patterns. The company believes in Best-out-of-waste and thus produces eco-empowered bags that won’t let you down when it comes to being fashionable!
Each bag in the Buddy collection is crafted carefully to maintain its distinct identity. No duplicates please!

By using recycled fabric from sun umbrellas and sunshades Solar buddy is the best eco-cum-solar product that comes with a small 2.5W solar panel making it a fabulous 2-in-one product. The Buddy bad acts as a solar charger as well! Buddy comes in 2 variants –

•� Buddy Direct: charges portable devices directly from the flexible solar panel AND
•� Buddy Akku: comes with an integrated rechargeable battery and stores the solar energy continuously

These vibrant solar Buddies can be yours at €175 and €245 (direct and akku respectively). You can purchase them from Sakku’s Swiss site and also, from its U.S. online store.

Via: talk2myshirt