I am very excited to let you all know that Benjamin Moore's newest line of eco-friendly paint, Natura, offers no volatile organic compounds (VOC's). Volatile organic compounds are the chemicals, usually found in paint, that toxify your indoor air quality. I've been waiting for this day because while other no-VOC paints are available on the market, I don't think that you can beat the quality of Benjamin Moore.
Eco-friendly hardware can certainly be a challenge to find, but Eleek Incorporated of Portland, Oregon offers a hip line of recycled metal hardware for your home. Their offerings include door handles, door pulls, switch-plates, house numbers, and signs in addition to unique lighting options and beautiful recycled metal sinks for bath and kitchen.
For the seventh year in a row, BuildingGreen has just announced their list of Top-10 Green Building Products. The products, as you will note, have various and multiple environmental attributes. BuildingGreen culls the ten products from new additions to the GreenSpec Directory, a print and online guide that organizes green products according to LEED credits. Although the GreenSpec Directory has over 2,000 products in total now, BuildingGreen is selective in choosing those that get in. As a result, Top-10 selections are regarded as the cream of the crop. Without further ado, here they are:
Meyer Wells Furniture, based in Seattle, Washington, is an impressive model of sustainable business practices. Owners John Wells, a furniture designer, and Seth Meyer, a master craftsman, teamed up to start this company which produces beautiful furniture from reclaimed local wood. This reclaimed wood has a unique story -- it comes from "urban trees".
I've just recently come across an interesing company, Way Basics, that's making eco-friendly furniture blocks called zBoards. zBoards are made from post-consumer recycled paper and can be recycled with no waste when their use is over. Their website markets the zBoards with one, main, simple statement: No Waste. No Rules. No Tools. And it's a compelling premise, especially if you've ever spent some time putting together an IKEA drawer or something. zBoards and blocks are put together using a super-strong adhesive tape (not sure whether the tape is low-VOC or anything like that).
Based in Portland, Oregon, Stardust Glass is offering recycled glass tiles with a hip style. The company is owned and run by artists Megan and Jason Coleman. Their mission is to protect the earth's resources by creating tiles from 87%-100% recycled glass while producing completely hand-made, boutique-style pieces.
I really enjoyed West Coast Green. After spending several hours helping with the Innovation Pipeline, promoting the conference through our website, and flying down to participate as a second-year media sponsor, I'm certainly happy I was able to hang out on the exhibit floor and view the Harbinger house. I met some very nice people and left with the feeling that the best and brightest are hard at work trying to market products that can help everyone live healthy, sustainable, and comfortable lives. Although you may have seen a few of these companies previously, they all caught my eye. They're all very cool.
Check out this video with Rob Watson, a green building leader often referred to as the Father of LEED. Watson discusses general green building and current market trends. Towards the end of the video, he kind of eases into a discussion of Serious Materials, but that's okay because Serious Materials is a legit company in terms of sustainable building materials. Most recently, Serious Materials took the category award at 2008 GoingGreen 100 for green building materials. I've transcribed some of the interesting quotes from this video below:
Remember earlier this week when we talked about the Margarido House, you know that posh, modern home that's about to be the first LEED-H Platinum home in Northern California? Well, the always entertaining Sally Kuchar of SallyTV has just posted these videos and we thought it'd be fun to share. You might know Sally from her recent work designing the Silicon Valley Dwell Nexthouse, but she's also a regular contributor to Apartment Therapy SF and MoCo Loco. I can't help but watch these videos and think about the endless possibilities presented by thoughtful design and modern green materials.
I like to think that the smartest, most entrepreneurial people are reading this blog and making a difference in their own sphere of the world. Actually, I know you are because I get your emails and comments and am always encouraged by the information sharing. So I'm thinking we should kick it up a notch and someone out there, some Jetson Green reader, needs to win this Urban Re:Vision Re:Construct Competition. The general goal of the competition is to uncover and reward innovation in sustainable materials and building practices. Anything seems to be on the table, from planning codes to toilets, dry walls to moveable walls, etc. You may create some new way to create a structure, a new technique, or a something else.
Submissions are due September 15, 2008 and winners will be announced at West Coast Green. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:
