Enshrine Your Pet’s Ashes In A Recycled Glass Sculpture

It never ceases to amaze me the different environmentally friendly things that cross the Life Goggles desk and this is one of them – enshrining your pet’s remains in beautiful glass sculptures.

If you check out the Pet Cremains in Glass website you’ll certainly see they are beautiful – like the 12-inch Eternal Bloom Flower pictured. Not all of them are environmentally friendly however, you need to click on the link (here) to see them, and it would be nice for them to expand that. But it’s a good idea to have a art piece to remind you of your beloved pet and to put an eco-friendly slant on it is an added bonus.

Echo Paper – Recycled Paper Review

Echo Paper sells 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, in a variety of formats.

The paper is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Their paper is also 100% process chlorine free and acid-free archival paper that will not yellow over time.

So why use recycled paper? Using 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper results in:

• 45% less energy use
• 38% less greenhouse gasses produced
• 45% less wastewater generated
• 50% less solid waste created
• 100% less wood use

In fact, using 20 cases of Envirographic 100 paper that is made with 100% post-consumer waste rather than non-recycled paper saves the following resources:

• 2 tons of wood used (approximately 13 trees)
• 4,700 gallons of water (273 eight-minute showers)
• 9 million btu of energy (enough energy to power an average American household for 37 days)
• 548 pounds of solid waste (18.5 thirty-two gallon garbage cans)
• 1,039 pounds of greenhouse gases (equivalent of carbon sequestered by about 13 tree seedlings grown for ten years)

Also Echo Paper plants a tree for every case sold, in partnership with Trees for the Future.

Now if I could just find out why paper in the US is three hole punched and in the UK two or four holes and a slightly different size….

Recycled Paper Products from LetsGoGreen Review

I recently took the opportunity to test out some new recycled paper products from LetsGoGreen, the online only eco-friendly supplier.

We have previously taken a look at some of their green products here , but this time I wanted to check out the recycled paper sampler, and some other items.

I’ve tested the toilet paper before and pretty good it is too, indistinguishable from most other types, and certainly a lot better for the environment, being recycled without chlorine or bleaching.

The paper towels were of a handy size (we had some old ones from Costco that came off the roll about the size of a bath towel….) and cheaper when buying a single roll or 6-pack than that of Bounty from my local grocery store. With more sheets too, though I’m not sure of the size of the sheets.

The recycled facial tissues are good, though if you’re of the sensitive type, they are not as soft as other non-recycled brands. They’re perfectly good for me though, and again the price is good.

The recycled napkins – I can’t tell the difference between the other non-recycled ones we have. I’m sure not many people could and they, er, work perfectly well too.

While I was there I also bought a toilet tank bank for my new house (I didn’t take the old one with me….) and some more degradable trash bags, which at the moment of writing, are on sale.

Denim Jeans Cushion Eco Product Review

New friends to Life Goggles, Eco Emporia, sent us its Denim Jeans Cushion for review.

The company’s straplines are “desirable things from discarded objects” and “handmade by craftspeople with a passion for recycling”, and a quick look around the website you’ll find this to be true. Nothing exemplifies this more than this denim cushion. Basically it’s a pair of old Levi 501 jeans that has been made into a cushion cover.

And it works brilliantly well. The waistband of the jeans is the gap to get the cushion in and out so here aren’t any zips or buttons (unless they’re left on the jeans – each one is unique). Maybe it’s because of the quality of the source material but it’s also very soft and you don’t notice that you’re leaning on denim or anything different from a normal cushion really. It’s very well made too and when you buy one it comes with a gift card with an optional message if it’s a gift but also has something explaining who made it and their background. In this case it was Sarah Baulch.

Having something new made from something old means the quirks are incorporated into the product. For this cushion it means the pockets are still there and if you want you can put things in them, like er the remote control.

No matter how much I liked the cushion, I loved the surprise gift that came with it too. At the risk of spoiling the ’surprise’, I received a set of small envelopes made from old comics. They’re great, I don’t even want to use them to be honest, just show them off to people. It brings back great memories of my youth and while emailing is more eco-friendly than sending letters, it’s time to get that fountain pen out and send a few messages to people I think.

And finally, the packaging, gift cards and even the paper flower used in the packaging is all made from recycled materials, something all companies should aspire to do.

The Denim Jeans Cushion costs £30 from Eco Emporia.

Google’s Products Go Green

We’ve previously mentioned many of Google’s green projects, such as their ReChargeIT.org scheme, Summer of Green and their well-known commitment to solar energy.

Now their physical products have gone green, with their store launching The Green Initiative, selling their usual products that are now from sustainable sources, organic, recycled and/or, non-polluting. Their items in the eco friendly range include pencils made from recycled blue jeans, bamboo t-shirts, biodegradable lip balm and a cool hemp travel organizer (pictured).

It’s good to see a massive company like Google moving towards these products, and showing that there are equally effective ways of producing products than the current popular means.

[Hat tip: GroovyGreen]

Couronne Co Eco Product Review

Couronne Co make glass bottles, vases, jars, bowls and candle holders from recycled glass. I was sent some fantastic products, a gerbera bud vase, a blue glass ball vase and a diamond red bottle.

From their website they explain that Couronne prides itself on offering a vast selection of glassware and home décor products that are both eco-friendly and affordable. They recognize the importance of recycling glass, because it not only conserves the environment but it also saves energy. The process required to produce glass is quite simple as it is composed of sand, soda, lime and a lot of heat. The obvious benefits of recycling glass is to reuse and save our natural resources but the most important benefit of recycled glass is that it requires considerably less energy than that which is needed to melt raw materials.

As you can see I didn’t take the photos myself (their website already had them), but I do personally have them and they’re sturdy and stylish. They have some great other products on their website, some of which would make a perfect gift for the eco-aware birthday girl (or boy).

Stubby Pencil Studio Eco Stationery Review

My local Wal-Mart may spell it’s Stationery department “Stationary” (I’ve haven’t been in for a year until last week and it still hasn’t changed – or for that matter, moved), but I’m certain that stationery is the correct word for pens, pencils and paper.

Stubby Pencil Studio provide eco-friendly stationery and art supplies, 100% recycled cards and invitations and unique non-toxic gifts and kits. They sent us lots of great stuff for adults and kids alike.

Smencils (made by Smencil World) are gourmet scented pencils made from 100% recycled newspaper. They come in normal (#2 graphite) pencil versions and colored pencils. As you can see from the picture to the right they come in individual tubes, which does increase packaging (though is recyclable), but on the other hand stops you becoming overcome with fumes from the (environmentally friendly created) smell. The ones we got came with the following smells: chocolate, grape, orange, very berry, bubble gum, cherry, root beer, cotton candy, watermelon and tropical burst. And you know what? The kids love them. I mean LOVE them. The colored Smencils come in their own pencil case too (picture below), the color of the smell relating to the color of the pencil. I think I may be addicted to very berry flavor.

We also tested Prang Fun Pro Soybean Crayons that unlike traditional petroleum-based crayons, are crayons made from all natural pigments and soybean oil (AP certified non-toxic).It’s been a long while since I used a crayon last but apparently they’re great.

To test these products we were also given some fantastic color ‘n kids cards. These are eco-friendly cards for kids to color, trace the letters, and create their own greetings. Printed on heavy, 100% post consumer waste stock, they have cute black and white illustrations on the cards to encourage do-it-yourself card making for young children and grown ups alike. I didn’t feel at all embarrassed writing my age on the back! Interactive, educational, and green! There are ones for all occasions, thank yous, birthday greetings, get well cards, notes to teachers, valentines, Easter…. These were really fun too.

Another way of testing them was to color in a Made By Meâ„¢ kit, which is a do-it-yourself wooden toy kit. We had the bug, but they’re also available as a train or race car. The kit includes a 4″ long unfinished, sanded smooth pine shaped body, and 4 natural wheels and axles, all you need is some glue, a hammer, paints, crayons, markers, stickers and imagination (and to be over 3 years old).

Smencils cost $5 for 5, Colored Smencils $14 for 10, color n’ kids cards from $0.80 and sets for $7.95 and Made By Meâ„¢ kits only $4 from Stubby Pencil Studio. If you kids love using drawing and you want to do it in a green way, then give them a try. I’m off to try a watermelon smencil….