Green is Universal

Received an email this morning from a friend about Green Screens Electronic Recycling Event happening on Nov 15 and Nov 16. Several locations throughout the borough.

Quoted from the website about the event.
"Green your routine. Drop off unwanted computers, TVs, cell phones, radios, cameras, VCRs and other electronics for free at any of the locations listed below. This small step is an important one to reduce the estimated 87.5% of e-waste that goes to landfills."

Time to find dust off those old electronics in storage.

Cleanup Soap

Inspirational lecture from Hideaki Matsui of Cleanup Soap at the Japan-C event, Product Placement A personal, behind-the-scenes look at how things get made.

The issue of landmines throughout the world is an overwhelming problem. The idea behind Cleanup is to raise funds to aid in the removal and to raise awareness of this situation. Cleanup sells soap that is shaped like a landmine. Yes that's right, a landmine. A quote from the website below for the reason why.

" Since people use soap everyday, this product will serve as a constant reminder of the travesty of the landmine crisis. As people use the soap, they help clean the world of landmines. The soap diminishes and finally disappears with use; this is a metaphor to show that if people participate in this campaign, they will contribute to cleansing the earth of the landmines."

Brilliant! The whole aspect of this campaign is well thought out. From the product, informative packaging to the end results. To find out more about the product, landmine issues and how to help visit the cleanupsoap website.

PET pets at Guchifritos Art Gallery

While exploring the city with the UD team, we ventured into the Essex Street Market and stopped into the Guchifritos Art Gallery, where the work of artist Miwa Koizumi immediately caught our attention. The work, plastic water bottles artfully cut, melted and reconfigured into realistic looking jellyfish seemed to float in mid air in the small corner of the contemporary art gallery. This project is called PET pets where the former PET stands for (polyethylene terephthalate) the type of recyclable plastic the water bottles are made out of. The artist, Koizumi, writes on her website, "I love the idea of using liquid containers to make water animals. Contained/containing, trash/not-trash, like the jellyfish or anemone: living/non-living."

These days trash is not just treasure but art and these jellyfish bring out the true beauty of the plastic water bottle. If you haven't been to the Essex Street Market check it out the next time you're in the Lower East Side. 

POM Wonderful - New Bottle, New Look

POMx Iced Coffee was just introduced as the latest beverage from the makers of POM Wonderful, "The Pomegranate People." This new drink is decked out in a swirling full bottle graphic rap. Its bulbous shape and short stature has a resemblance to it's cousin, the mini POM Wonderful bottle. POM's original packaging utilizes the shape of the pomegranate in its design, allowing them to stand out among more traditionally shaped bottles. The new POMx Iced Coffee continues this innovation with eye-popping graphics that call to mind the feeling of caffienation.   

P.S.- Yes there are antioxidants from pomegranates in the iced coffee.

Check out all the new POM Wonderful Tea beverages. 

The original POM Wonderful and all the new combination flavors.

POM Wonderful also comes in pill form. Check out this site: pompills.com. 

Rabbit Yaki-Manju

Minamoto Kitchoan is selling rabbit shapped Yaki-Manju, a sweet pastry filled with bean paste. This is sold in celebration of the first Autumn full moon on August 15 also known as "Juugoya." In Japan rabbits have been associated with this lunar event.

To celebrate I purchased a box. The package design has beautiful art on the exterior with 12 tasty treats held in a hexagon tray. Almost too cute to eat. After one bite all I could say was, "Sujoi!"
They where delicious.

Green Machine

Saw this wonderful product at the Japan C show at the Felissimo Design House. This is the Green Capsule from Boford. Great design when the packaging is part of the product.

Pacifica Soy Candles

I was walking down the aisle of one of my favorite grocery stores and saw these Pacifica Soy Candles. I needed to stop, take a picture and pick one up. I smelled the packaging and it smelled so sweet and relaxing. Pacifica Soy Candles are made with a mix of natural soy and wax, which helps to hold and then release the fragrance while burning slowing. The packaging's graphic quality is strong, colorful and exciting; just like the product inside. 

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to the finalists and winners of the 2008 Adobe Design Achievement Awards! This year the award for best student Packaging category went to Lih Shi Tsen’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Gift packaging. Design by Tseng-Chih Huang, Yu-Hsuan Chou, Han-Wen Hsieh, and Wei-Chen Shen from the Mingchi University of Technology in Taiwan.

Chinese Medicine packaging designed with traditional Chinese calligraphy and the symbol of the five elements, gold, wood, water, fire and earth. Combined with the unique hexegon shaped packaging this design caught my attention during the presentation. Great work!

eBar Organic

eBar's are bite-sized organic energy snacks made with exotic Brazilian fruits. This healthy treat's open face window box allows for easy viewing and the uncoated cardboard packaging makes the recycling process much easier. eBars parent company, BioBrazilProducts, has created a name for themselves on the global marketplace by offering only organics goods and ebar's are one of their main brand ventures in the states. 

Green Depot

Last week on the Lower East Side I saw this store front for Green Depot. Quoted from there website, "As the largest supplier of environmental-friendly building materials on the east coast,..." Well informed site for homeowners looking to design with green in mind.
I'll have to stop by and check out the packaging.

While on the site I also saw a listing for Green Drinks NYC event on August 12, 2008.
6-10 PM at the Frying Pan
Chelsea Piers, Pier 66.

Sanbitter Italian Soda

Sanbitter Rosso is a red bitter aperitif soda created in Italy. I first spotted this bright red label-less bottle at Cafe Capri, a Brooklyn coffee shop frozen in time where Frank Sinatra is always playing and the Italian ice-coffee is like no other. I had never seen Sanbitter products before; the bottle shape reminded me of 1930's American streamline design, like the Raymond Loewy locomotive. Not only is this little red beverage good looking but it also has quite a following. Check out this italian Sanbitter ad on YouTube. 

Taza Chocolate

Taza Chocolate "is the only maker of 100% stone ground chocolate in the United States."

I first saw Taza Chocolate at Urban Rustic, an organic grocery store in Brooklyn which features many local and independent merchants. With so many interesting and original products, Urban Rustic keeps customers in the know with descriptive signs and images that explain many of their unique items. I was looking at a color diagram hanging above Taza Chocolate and then came across the round bar. I had never seen a round chocolate bar before and that alone was enough to get me interested. Later, thanks to their website, I found out that the shape of the bar is made to mimic the circular shape of the grinding stone used in producing the sweet treat. This circular packaging, (made from post consumer recycled materials) as well as it's distinctive shape, allows the chocolate bar to step "outside the box."

Taza's informative explanation of their round chocolate bar, featured at Urban Rustic.

ME

Recycling plastic bottles today I noticed that the state of Maine had a refund on various bottles. With most soda bottles there is a refund in the following states CA, ME, MA, NY, OR, IA, MI, VT, and CT. But the only state that has a refund for bottled water according to the label is ME.

Curious about this I quickly typed in the search engine, "recycling in Maine." A few clicks late I'm reading on the SERC webpage about the Returnable Beverage Container Law. "In 1976, Maine enacted the Returnable Beverage Container Law. Maine was the first state to expand its deposit law to include juices, juice drinks, teas, sports drinks, and bottled waters. The law was expanded in 1989, after a brief campaign led by the Natural Resources Council of Maine and supported by Governor John McKernan. The expansion, implemented in 1990, covers “new age” drinks as well as wine and liquor containers."

I wanted to see what NYC laws where and came across the New York State Returnable Container Act. There was useful information but no leads about refunds for water bottle. I'm looking to find out why. More to research about this and to add in future posts.