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Posts Tagged ‘green products’

Earth friendly products are goods and services that don’t have a negative impact on the environment either in the manufacturing process or the consume. The eco-labels on such products tell consumers that the items are organic or natural. In some countries the very concept is pretty vague and people lack the basics of green education. Plus, the present international standards do not allow for a standardization and the implementation of an all green regulation. The regulators are meant to provide guidance because the single specification of environmentally friendly on a product label is not enough.

Earth friendly products do receive a better exposure on the market. The consumers’ awareness increases slowly but surely, which means that in time, lots of environmentally harmful products will be banned for good. Momentarily, organic food is probably the most advertised because of the benefits it provides for health. This seems to be the right alternative to the conventional food saturated with chemicals, pesticides and additives. Nevertheless, the range of earth friendly products is a lot wider than we may ever suspect, and the complexity goes a lot farther than the bio-degradable bags we get at the supermarket. Save energy!

You can shop for earth friendly products according to a multitude of categories such as green building, clothing, green living, green cleaning, bath and body, natural pet care, appliances, toys, gifts, furniture, food and a lot more. Most of the items are available online, but many earth friendly products have also entered the shelves of supermarkets and hypermarkets. All you need to do is search for them. It is worth checking with local suppliers first and then turning to the Internet. Learn about Green Power!

To sum it up: there is no toxicity for body or environment in earth friendly products. Raw materials, no toxic dies or toxic chemicals: this is what defines such items best. Although we can only speak of diversity but not of predominance on the market, earth friendly products do have a promising future. The higher the demand, the more generous the offer. Plus, eco-friendly products receive full support from international organizations such as Greenpeace that contribute to the conservation, regeneration and protection of the planet’s environment. Save more energy!

As promised here are a few of my favorite products and services I met at the Everything Green Expo:

1) EcoStone -Eco-Friendly pavers made from reclaimed granite.

Ecostone Booth at the Everything Green Expo

EcoStone is a Portland based company that manufactures tile, landscaping pavers and interior/exterior stone from reclaimed granite and other natural stone. A typical kitchen granite counter install results in a 30% waste of material, most of which ends up in landfills. EcoStone collects this “waste” material from several stone fabricators in the Portland area and uses a patented hydralic press to tranform it into solid granite tile and pavers of various shapes and sizes. Any resulting waste is crushed into gravel and used as aggregate with zero net waste ending up in ladnfills. Thier goal is to keep 1,000,000 pounds of waste out of Oregon landfill each year. I hope they exceed this goal. In fact we will be installing an EcoStone patio to replace our existing ground level deck that is in it’s last years of useability. I will definately be posting more about this product, and the installation of our patio in the near future. Check out http://www.ecostonenw.com for more information.

The Solar Oregon Booth at the Expo

2) Solar Oregon – Good Energy for Oregonians, is there slogan. My first question to them was: Is Oregon sunny enough for solar?The answer a resounding YES! Even portland and the rainy Willamette Valley recieve as much sunshine as the average US city. In fact, solar is Oregon’s most abundant renewable resource. Today, more than 17,000 Oregon households use solar energy systems to generate electricity or heat water. Suprisingly half the power we use in Oregon is generated by power plants that contribute to climate change and pollution. the sun is a clean, renewable source of energy that can help us reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Okay, great we can do solar in Oregon, but what does Solar Oregon do? They make it easy for homeowners to install solar energy systems. They are a nonprofit organization that offers free workshops, expert advice, cash incentives from the Energy Trust, State of Oregon Tax Credits, information about Federal Tax Credits, referrals to qualified contractors and access to affordable financing. To learn more or attend a free workshop go to http://www.solarnoworegon.org Their Solar Now! campaign connects Oregonians with the resources and assistance they need to choose solar energy.

3) McGee Salvage- Purveyors of quality reclaimed hardwood floors. Their business is reclaiming hardwood flooring from gymnasiums, homes, hotels, churches, dance halls, etc. around the Pacific Northwest. They then sell the reclaimed materials to customers who are interested in hardwood flooring that is unique in character, antique out-of-production, and green eco-friendly. You can visit them online at http://www.mcgeesalvage.com

The Master Shield demo at the Everything Green Expo

4) Master Shield – Gutter protection that actually works. the single largest problem with gutters on my own home is pine needles. They clog the downspouts, fill the gutters, and always seem to somehow overcome any device designed to stop them. But, believe me this system actually works. We are having them installed on all our gutters. I will be writing about the install with plenty of photos.  They say it keeps ALL debris, including leaves, pine and fir needles, twigs, seedpods, oak tassels – you name it! And after seeing the product I believe it. They give an unconditional 100% money back warranty if it ever clogs. They say they have never had a gutter clog, anywhere, nationwide.

This makes the water in the gutters the cleanest of any gutter system, and eliminates all debris. Which brings about the real importance of this system, it makes rainwater cistern projects much simpler. And this is why we are so excited to install the system. Our hope is to soon be installing a gray-water system for the toilets and gardens using the rain water from the 8000 gallon cistern.

You can learn more about Master Shield and find a local contractor to install the system at their website http://www.mastershield.com

5) Skylights NW- Adding light to your life. Skylights are less than exciting. Though, we will be adding a few to our home to allow more natural light. What is exciting is this 65 year old, established company is now selling and installing Velux Solar water heating systems. On average, installing a solar water heater, your water heating bills should drop 50%-80%. Also, because the sun is free, you’re protected from future fuel shortages and price hikes. On average it takes 3-7 years to payback the system in most areas.

We have not yet chosen a solar hot water system or contractor, but this Velux system is one of the more interesting ones. You can find more information at: http://www.veluxusa.com/solar

In the next part of this series I will be talking of several photovoltaic systems, and  more from the Everything Green Expo.