Hasta La Ideas

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, an estimated 14.3 million tons of textiles waste were generated in 2012—that’s not necessarily something you think about when trying to wiggle into a pair of jeans in the fitting room. There have been great creative…

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All-natural cleanliness with 100% chemical-free products for home and pets

Nearly every brand in the cleaning business offers an “eco-friendly” alternative to the harsh chemicals found in conventional disinfectants, but few can make this their main premise and even fewer do it with the discerning standards found at Eco-Me. Robin Kay Levine and Jennifer Mihajlov—childhood friends and the duo behind the line—pack each effective cleaning product with nothing more than food-grade ingredients and essential oils.

The contents are so simple, you could actually make many of the solutions at home. Eco-Me not only understands this, but began by selling DIY kits containing vinegar, baking soda and olive oil. When numerous customers asked for a ready-made product, the Pasadena, CA-based company began packaging the formulas in PET-1 plastic, and soon in PCR (post-consumer recycled) bottles. Both women are as personally passionate about decreasing the amount of toxins polluting the air as they are professionally invested in the business. Sitting on the board of the Natural Products Association, they proudly push for stronger regulations that would require brands like Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers and Method to become 100% chemical-free.

Eco-Me’s range of preservative-free products spans toilet-bowl cleaners to dish soap, as well as a line of pet products. We’ve tried out several—including the concentrated laundry soap ($13), foaming hand soap ($5) and all-purpose spray ($6)—and found that they really do stand up to the classic cleaning products found under most sinks. For the denim-obsessed, the detergent cleans without fading jeans, much like a Woolite powder.

The EPA confirms that impurities in the air indoors can be more harmful on your health than those occurring outside, so Eco-Me cleaners are an easy way to eliminate some common pollutants in the home. The full family of products sells online and at most Whole Foods or health stores.

The many shades of Brazil’s more sustainable cotton movement

While most think of caipirinhas and Havianas when it comes to Brazil, you might not know that the country leads the environmental movement in several areas. Already home to a nation of flex-fuel cars and Osklen’s fish-skin shoes, a new fashion brand, Natural Cotton Color, has made their focus using the spectrum of cotton colors that exist naturally. If, like me, you thought cotton only came in white, you’ll be surprised to find out that there are 40 different natural colors of cotton.

Original varieties come in a range of colors: mocha, tan, gray, brown, black, mahogany, red, pink, blue, green, cream and white. Colored cotton has become obscure because shorter fiber lengths make it unsuitable for industrial milling, but it’s in fact more robust and sustainable than commercial white cotton, which requires an enormous amount of pesticides to keep it viable.

The cotton for Natural Cotton Color was developed with the support of the Brazilian Agro company. It eliminates the need for chemical dyes and uses 70% less water than conventional production. Grown on small farms to support local agriculture, the collection also uses accessories and needlework produced by local artisans from the poorer Northeast area of Brazil. Local prisoners also provide product for the collections; for every three days worked, their sentences are reduced by one day.

Retailers in Japan, Spain and France, as well as the U.K., stock the collections.

North Carolina’s oldest microbrewery churns out tasty beers and more from their eco-farm

After leaving his home in Germany to study large-scale farming in England, Uli Bennewitz moved to the U.S. to work in agribusiness. His beer-brewing hobby soon became an obsession, and 25 years ago he started Weeping Radish, now North Carolina’s oldest microbrewery. The craft beer project has since grown into a fully-developed brewery and nitrate-free farm, serving up award-winning charcuterie (handcrafted by their master German butcher, Frank), alongside an assortment of German-style beers.

Weeping Radish brews their beer according to the Reinheitsgebot Purity Law of 1516, a regulation made by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria stating beer could only be made using malt, hops and water to maintain quality. Later amended to include yeast, Bennewitz and his team include the fourth ingredient in their recipe.

Bennewitz, passionate about utilizing local North Carolina ingredients, is a working example of value-added agriculture. Not only does the brewery’s pub menu follow a “Farmer to Fork” ethos, they also add the beer to ‘brats and use watered-down distilled beer to fertilize crops. They also work with the small farms that supply them beef to create sausages and charcuterie products at Weeping Radish that are then sent back to the farms to be sold.

For their 25th anniversary this year, the “hobby out of control” incorporated cascade hops grown on a farm in the mountainous region of Ashville, NC into their India Pale Ale. Bennewitz says eventually they will, “go to the next level, grow our own barley, have it malted and bring it back.” While we found the that the IPA could have been hoppier, the mild flavor was still palate-pleasing. Their current lineup of regionally-inspired flavors includes OBX Kölsch, Radler, Corolla Gold, Fest and Black Radish. The creative chefs behind nearby Boot Local Kitchen & Wine Bar told us they made regular trips to Weeping Radish for their Altbier brew, a “top notch” top-fermented beer with a slightly crisper taste.

Weeping Radish brews sell from their online beer store for $39 per case of 12 swing-top bottles.

Images courtesy of Boot

New Al Gore app spearheads the future of interactive books

Based on a fantastic user interface designed by Mike Matas, co-founder of Push Pop Press, Al Gore’s 2009 book “Our Choice” has been reinvigorated for the iPad as an app that launches today. We previewed the new version, produced by Rodale and Melcher Media, which lays out Gore’s take on the looming global climate crisis in a beautiful interactive format that allows the user to pinch and swipe their way through pages, infographics, videos and images.

The app opens with an introduction from the former Vice President who also offers a brief tutorial, which is helpful but inessential, thanks to the intuitive controls built into the application. A simple swipe left or right navigates between chapters and also turns pages within the app. Enhanced by a continuous bar along the bottom, you can quickly skip to interesting pages or images that catch your eye.

You can interact with any element within the pages; a quick two-finger pinch will pull out infographics or pictures, expanding them to full-screen. All of the expandable elements also contain geotags that display on a global map, giving the user a vision of how the facts presented fit into the big picture. Some infographics and videos contain further interactive features, letting users focus on certain areas or concepts.

A shining example of the potential of interactive media on the iPad, the dedication of the development team shows in how the app clearly presents the story, while enhancing the user experience with simple, elegant elements, without being overbearing or sluggish. In all, it’s an excellent demonstration of how to merge old and new media to produce an engaging, informative publication.

Pick up your copy from iTunes for $5.