Greenwala – Yet Another Green Social Network?

Greenwala is a green social network launched in November 2008. With many other green social networks out there, what’s does Greenwala have going for it?

The founders designed the community to be the first social network that brings people together with brands committed to living and fostering a sustainable lifestyle. It is (according to them) an online destination where people can learn to be green, brag about being green and share their actions with their friends, family and community.

“We developed Greenwala because too many other online and offline green communities are fragmented and disorganized, not to mention negative,” said Rajeev Kapur, founder and chief wala, Greenwala. “We’re excited about the opportunities to make the world a cleaner, sustainable place, and we’re not alone. We thought there was an opportunity to create a network where people could share that enthusiasm.”

Greenwala’s flagship product is a social community made up of “greenwalas” – people who share knowledge and help others live a greener lifestyle. Within this community, members can learn to be green, brag about being green and share their actions with their friends, family and community.

They aim to be different by also being able to work with brand marketers to create online viral campaigns that span the last green mile, via direct interaction with consumers in its network. “We wanted to provide marketing solutions to organizations looking for avenues to broadcast their green messages to a targeted base of influencers within and beyond the Greenwala community,” Kapur said.

Greenwala is open to anyone aged 13 or older with an e-mail address and access to the Internet. To become a member, create a profile, invite friends and connect with those around the world committed to sustainability.

You can also follow them on Twitter and on Facebook.

EcoDiscoveries Bathroom and Tub & Tile Cleaner Product Reviews

EcoDiscoveries (“Safe has an effective side”) sent me samples of their products to review, so with the amount of cleaning I’ve had to do since moving to a new house it was perfect timing.

My first test was in the bathroom. EcoDiscoveries have two products for there, bathroom cleaner and tub & tile soap scum remover, so it makes sense to take a look at both at once. Below is a picture of the bath/shower when I first moved it. To be fair on the previous owners this was actually caused by contractors and painters, rather than the occupants themselves!

At risk of spoiling the surprise ending, it all worked great. While looking and smelling the same, the two cleaning products do actually contain slightly different ingredients, with tub & tile containing organic salts to help remove soap scum (worked great on the shower door too), and the bathroom cleaner contains naturally-derived soil emulsifiers.Both contain water and plant-derived surfactants. And that’s the total of the ingredients, no ammonia, fragrances, chlorine, phosphates, dyes, acid, petroleum or animal testing.

EcoDiscoveries themselves won Champion Status for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative. They have established two categories for recognition under SDSI: Champion and Partner. Champion status is the highest level of recognition offered under SDSI and has been awarded to EcoDiscoveries for their continuing commitment to developing eco-safe products.

They also make other cleaners that I’ll be taking a look at, such as: Moldzyme penetrates to remove mold at the source, eliminating stains and odors; AirZyme fragrance free spray eliminates odor and protects indoor air quality; Multizyme, the only safe and effective multipurpose solution on the market (apparently!); Glass for ammonia free, fragrance free, and streak free windows and mirrors; Kitchen is safe around food and family; Nursery is especially effective, gentle, innovative, and odorless.

As with our reviews of other cleaners, it proves that you don’t have to have all that toxic, potentially unhealthy stuff in your cleaners to get things clean.

Another Place To Recycle Your Gadgets: Gazelle.com

Back in 2007, Joel wrote about BuyMyTronics, which takes broken and old iPods, consoles, mobile phones etc. It then fixes them and sells them, keeping them out of landfill.

Well there’s another company that’s launched a similar service in the US. Gazelle.com buys the same sort of stuff plus dvds, camcorders, cameras and all that sort of stuff. Not only does it promise to give an offer to anything you want to send it (it’ll pay for postage and packaging), you can choose to donate your money to charity rather than keep it too.

Seems pretty simple, just answer the questions it has for you online and a calculator will tell you how much it’ll pay for it. And it promise it won’t send a single thing to landfill.

Source: Springwise

How The Humble Cork Is Good For The Environment

You may have noticed that some of the products we review at Life Goggles are sent to us by Big Green Smile. Well the team there are always up to something and Ben Wrigley has written a ‘corking’ article for us (sorry for the bad pun!).

“The team at Big Green Smile it has to be said are rather fond of their wine and so with the subject close to our hearts we decided to find out a bit more behind the story of the cork, which it seems is fast disappearing from our favourite tipple and there is growing concern for the natural habitats from which the cork comes.

“Cork comes from the Cork Oak Tree, quercus suber, and they are harvested by hand by skilled workers every nine years once the cork trees have reached an age of 25. Large parts of the Mediterranean rely on cork for their income with Portugal accounting for 70% of world production of which over 80% is for wine stoppers – that is 15 billion stoppers!

“The habitat of the Cork Oak is a wonderfully diverse habitat providing a natural habitat for both farmers to graze their sheep and goats as well as for a large variety of insects, birds and mammals including Barbary deer, Europe’s entire population of wintering cranes and the endangered Iberian lynx.

“What is currently a poetic example of industry living in harmony with the natural world is under threat from the rise of the screw top and the synthetic cork. Where man has for generations nurtured and lived alongside the Cork Oak and realised an income for entire communities, the rise of the synthetic cork now places this at risk.

“The cork forests of Portugal, or Montados, are already in decline as income from cork farming drops and younger generations leave the countryside. When the Montados are no longer used for cork farming and land use changes, old pastures become scrubland, reducing bio-diversity and stealing valuable food habitat from some of the region’s endangered species.

“The rise of the synthetic cork has been down to them not drying out and that they do not run the risk of contamination and cork taint – trichloroanisole. In recent years however, natural cork producers have hit back and developed methods that remove trichloroanisole from natural cork. Although a screw top or synthetic cork may be perfectly suitable for corking wines, unless you wish them to age there are overwhelming environmental reasons for opting for the natural cork. Not only will your choices help maintain a fantastic example of sustainable farming and help preserve the habitat on which many species depend, the natural cork has uses when recycled and is of course bio-degradable, unlike its oil based cousin.

“With so much at stake we think the choice is simple! Next time you are in the wine merchants, supermarket or off licence opt for those wines with the natural cork.”

Surviving And Thriving On The Land Eco Book Review

Surviving And Thriving On The Land – How to use your time and energy to run a successful smallholding is written by Rebecca Laughton and published by Green Books on recycled paper, using vegetable inks. And the subject matter is as green as the book itself.

The author spent four years on an ‘ecological community’ called Tinker’s Bubble in Somerset, UK and before writing the book she visited other land-based projects in the UK and France. And it really shows. Just by flicking through the book you get a sense of the huge wealth of information and advice on the subject.

And while this encyclopaedic-type approach is the book’s greatest strength, it’s also its weakness. This book isn’t really suitable for the casual reader, while fascinating in parts, it’s more of a ‘how-to’ book and something you would refer to if you were planning on setting up a smallholding and starting to live off the land yourself. So if you approach it like that then I don’t think you’ll find anything with more information on the subject.

You might find a bit of a lighter and easier read as this is written a little like a university essay or thesis, starting with some historical background, theory and explanation of motivation, using human energy to produce goods and so on. As I said, it’s interesting stuff and doesn’t shy away from the fact it’ll be hard work to make a success out of your enterprise.

As Rebecca Laughton has experienced the process herself and visited many other places, the examples she writes about are real – both the successes and failures. This is invaluable to anyone wanting to set up their own enterprise. And it really does go into detail – from planning the farm, building a stove, selling goods, planning, employing people and generally making a success of your smallholding. At more than 300 pages I really don’t think it leaves any subject uncovered.

While text heavy and a bit of a daunting read, there are small pencil drawings and diagrams littered throughout, as well as eight pages of colour photographs in the centre which are quite inspiring. In fact the book very inspiring and if you have the time and the inclination then it’s well worth a read.

Surviving And Thriving On The Land – How to use your time and energy to run a successful smallholding is available from Green Books for £12.95.

Interview With Ford’s J Mays – Detroit Auto Show 09

J Mays, Group Vice President, Design, and Chief Creative Office for Ford Motor Company talks to Life Goggles and Ron Doron from The Drivers Seat.TV. Topics include the future of design for hybrid and electric vehicles, melding the Fusion and Mondeo together, and much more.

If you can’t see this video please click here.

Green Tech at NAIAS 2009

Our auto partners Ron Doron and James Bell from The Drivers Seat.TV take a look at Green Technology at the Detroit Auto Show 2009.

If you can’t see this video please click here.

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