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.

Ikea Packaging as Advertisement

Ikea is known for both their inventive advertising campaigns and for being the pioneer of flat-pack designed furniture. Here is an example of one of Ikea's flat-pack boxes used in a commerical advertisement. The box was hung behind glass at Brooklyn bus stops, informing locals about a new store opening in Red Hook. This advertisement catches your attention and provides an innovative use of packaging.