California Suing Bottlers Over Biodegradability Claims – October 28, 2011

The State is Enforcing a 2008 Law Designed to Stop Greenwashing in Bioplastic Containers

In Breaking Down Bioplastics  (Summer 2011 issue), we took a close look at the pros and cons of a range of packaging materials called bioplastics. This week in California, Attorney General Kamala Harris filed a lawsuit aimed at addressing one of the cons: false advertising.

The suit says that "claim of recyclability on these bottles is deceptive and
misleading to consumers."

A 2008 California law makes it illegal to print the word "biodegradable," "degradable," or "decompostable" on a plastic food or beverage container. Any container will biodegrade eventually, but it could take thousands of years. If a packager has designed a material to break… more

by: Mary Catherine O'Connor

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Gaming Environmentalism – June 22, 2011

Recyclebank says its members eat up online gaming, but less than 60 percent of the players said it makes them greener.

The past April, Recyclebank—a company that encourages recycling by rewarding members with coupons and other special offers based on the frequency at which they recycle—launched a new gaming platform. This effort, called the Green Your Home Challenge, enticed users to play along with the month-long online game by offering a chance to win a kitchen make-over (valued at $18,000) as well as coupons from its network of more than 3,000 consumer products companies, such as Ziploc, Pampers and Coca-Cola.

Photo by by Bruce Clay, IncNearly 49,000 people tried out the Green Your Home Challenge online game

Recyclebank its gaming partners, consumer insights agency… more

by: Mary Catherine O'Connor

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Peddling Up Power in the Developing World – March 17, 2011

Fenix International looks to spark a new small-scale power infrastructure in the developing world.

The problem is not just that there are roughly 500 million cell phone subscribers in the developing world who do not have easy access to a power grid*. One solution to this conundrum – using a car battery to juice up phones – creates its own problems. The lead acid inside the batteries can leak and burn users. Plus, users often must lug the battery a long way, into town, to recharge them.

A San Francisco-based company called Fenix International is rising (har!) to the occasion by producing a safe, rechargeable battery system, called ReadySet, designed for charging phones (or other small electronics or lights) in off-grid parts of… more

by: Mary Catherine O'Connor

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Major Clothing Lines Launch Sustainable Apparel Coalition – March 1, 2011

Many of the world's biggest clothing manufacturers are banding together to measure and manage the environmental and social impacts that stain their industry.

Of all our possessions, clothing may seem largely benign in terms of environmental impact. Alas, it is not. From the water that goes into growing fibers to the fuel used to ship products to the working conditions in the factories and the waste that's left behind, our garb has a sometimes ugly backstory. In an effort to address, and clean up, this backstory, a number of major apparel companies, including VF Corp (The North Face, Wrangler, 7 For all Mankind and many other brands), Nike, New Balance, H&M and Patagonia, launched today the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

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by: Mary Catherine O'Connor

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Saving the World, One Made-Up Word At a Time – January 12, 2011

The Plastiki crew is setting sail on a new adventure. Will it prove seaworthy?

Saving the world—or rather, trying to save the world—can be rather tedious and difficult and boring. It’s not so sexy or compelling to your average Joe or Jane. But when a charismatic, handsome, worldly (read: rich) individual puts his resources (and charisma and long flowing hair) to the task, people take notice. And if that person does something audacious, like build a boat out of plastic bottles and sail it from San Francisco to Sydney, well, it attracts attention.

The 12,500 bottles that went into the Plastiki, David de Rothschild’s boat that he and his crew took on said adventure, haven’t made… more

by: Mary Catherine O'Connor

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