When Aquafil began manufacturing carpet fiber almost 50 years ago, sustainability wasn’t an option but a must.  Doing business in the Lake Garda region of Italy, where environmental protection has always been top priority, meant constantly innovating to keep up with strict mandates on noise, water, and air pollution. “Preserving the environment is in our DNA,” says Giulio Bonazzi, President and CEO of what is now the second largest worldwide supplier of Nylon 6 yarn for carpet producers like Interface and Desso. A timeline of unprecedented milestones, including the recovery and reuse of all their own internal production waste, has led to their most important environmental undertaking to date: the Econyl Recycling Project.

Read more »

It turns out that a green, energy efficient home built with sustainable materials is “most wanted,” according to a Yahoo! Real Estate survey of 1,500 current and aspiring homeowners.  Homeowners prefer a green home (50%) over a custom home (38%), water view (38%), suburb (31%), or living on the beach (27%).  Yahoo! found that homeowners don’t want urban locations, gated communities, or castle-style homes.

Read more »

• Green home complete in PA.
• Are green homes always better?  Depends.
• Seattle 2030 District is the next big thing.
• Congress neuters bulb performance standards.
• How to make a simple vertical garden.
• Being green helps the value of your home.
• Cleantech illuminates green building.
• Green appraisal?

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates, article summaries, newsworthy links, and other site news. Also, check out the latest green jobs in our list.

Here’s a beautiful garden studio in Oxford overlooking the Thames River.  The custom and contemporary structure was completed by in.it studios with a special plinth foundation, birch ply interior walls, a green sedum roof, and sustainably harvested timber.  The design allows natural light through bi-folding doors, while insulated walls and a glass-panel heater keep the warmth inside in the winter.  The tiny studio has a bathroom and kitchen for use as a guest house and an extra deck space for entertaining.

Read more »

This is the first prefab by Canada-based SMPLy Mod.  The Model 984 was built on an engineered concrete pier foundation and has 984 square feet, two bedrooms, and one bathroom.  The siding is a blend of corrugated steel and concrete board, while the inside is flush with bamboo floors and Kohler and Moen fixtures.  The construct features a 2×10 R38 floor system, 2×6 R22 walls, and an 18″ r50 parallel chord truss roof — all built for a little less than $135,000.  SMPLy Mod is available in the US and Canada.

Read more »