Social entrepreneurship is a way of using business to tackle social issues. Furniture on the Street is a social enterprise project that sells contemporary-designed pieces of outdoor wooden furniture. The key is that the tables and chairs are made by unemployed youth and the factory work prepares them for the job market. As part of the programme, students get a one-year carpentry course and are taught the design process. The good looking planters, garbage bins and benches are made out...(Read More)

There are so many good things happening on the transportation front in Omaha. Mayor Fahey recently announced plans and funding for an essential East-West link between the Keystone Trail and downtown which will use dedicated bike lanes. Everyone who lives here knows how important that is. The Young Professionals just completed their Bus Challenge and Activate Omaha has the Bicycle Commuter Challenge in full swing. Omaha recently announced their downtown master plan where pedestrians and cyclists are well accounted for....(Read More)

Apparently I’m in a visual mode lately. I promise that I do still read. But work has been busy and in my quick surfing I’ve been spending a little more time looking at bike sites rather than work or sustainability sites. I really should get out and ride. I thought this was fun. Be wary if you are sensitive to swear words. Thanks to No Ride Just Drive for the link.

Yesterday I found 2 links on Urban Velo that totally inspired me. I’ll put the ‘business-related’ one first. Geekhouse Bikes has an awesome HD promo movie that gets me excited about a project I’m working on with Tim Keen. The second video is just plain cool to a bike dork like myself. I watched it three times yesterday. Geekhouse: . Danny MacAskill:

My birthday is coming up and Corey treated me with an early present. She got me a Grub Hoe from EasyDigging.com. This thing is awesome. I’ve been obsessed with gardening tools for the last year, and since we expanded our planting area this year I really needed something for cutting into untouched soil. In a catalog last year I saw an Italian Grape Hoe being used and really wanted to find something like it. None of the local stores carried...(Read More)

Is anyone else finding themselves drowning in ‘green’ advertising? Over the last couple of years it seems like every company under the sun has capitalized on the elevated environmental awareness in the marketplace. Those of us who immerse ourselves in sustainability know how to spot greenwashing and are equipped to differentiate the truth from the lies. And more and more, advice from you and I which we post on the web has become accessible to anyone who keys relevant search...(Read More)

I posted a video about this system a few months back, but this updated vid is way better. Yesterday I rode to get my hairs cut and had to lock my bike to a planter near the front door of the salon. I had to wrestle my lock around the base of the cement planter and weave the cable through the rear wheel and frame. I’m not complaining, but I certainly didn’t look as dignified as the people in this video who are dropping off their bikes.

When Patagonia finalized its Common Threads Garment Recycling Program in fall 2005, is set out to make all its products recyclable by late 2010. With one and half years until it reaches that deadline, Patagonia has compiled a lengthy look at the Common Threads program. In short, the company has learned a whole lot about what it takes to make clothing and other outdoor gear recyclable, but it’s unlikely Patagonia’s entire catalog will be recyclable by fall 2010. However, it...(Read More)

Icebreaker offers an awesome tool for building your connection with the products you buy. With most of the things you buy, you’re told little or nothing about how they’re made. Icebreaker is different. Each product sold comew with an unique Baacode will let you see the living conditions of the high country sheep that produced the merino fibre in each Icebreaker garment, meet the farmers who are custodians of this astonishing landscape, and follow every step of the supply chain....(Read More)

This post was originally published on Eco-Libris’ blog on February 26. How green is your toilet paper? Not sure? Here’s the guide that will give you the answers: Greenpeace has just released on Monday its latest Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide. The report is providing customers with important information about tissue products and toilet paper using 3 criteria: usage of 100% recycled paper, at least 50% post consumer recycled paper and bleached without toxic chlorine compounds. Each category...(Read More)

According to Trendwatching.com, “while financial woes may hold back some green initiatives, the future has never looked greener.” Mainly because creating a more sustainable economy is not an option, but a necessity. And we all know that necessity is the mother of invention. Which is why this month, amidst crumbling banks, G20 meetings and stimulus plans, we highlight 12 eco sub-trends that any marketer or entrepreneur can act on today. Trendwatching refers to these opportunities as an eco-bounty, and they...(Read More)

With the help of UrbanVelo I was introduced to the Streetsblog Network. The network is a gathering place for web surfers from around the country to discuss and share information about sustainable transportation, smart growth and livable streets. Think of it as one-stop shopping for transportation policy goodness. The network is a daily news source, online community and political mobilizer for the Livable Streets movement. We are part of a growing coalition of individuals and organizations in cities around...(Read More)

This whole sustainability thing is in need of a major branding overhaul. When you let scientists and policymakers control the sustainability conversation you get definitions of sustainability such as “meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” Talk about boring. Talk about uninspiring. We need leaders who understand that creating an inspiring environmental vision and appealing to enlightened self-interested are the most effective tools for getting those SUV driving, McMansion aspiring mainstream Americans excited...(Read More)

The current economic crisis has caused some in the sustainable marketing field to wonder if companies are going to shift their focus away from environmental responsibility as money gets tight. Of course those of us in the field know that when done right, sustainable marketing can actually SAVE MONEY. Here are some ways to make lean, green initiatives part of your company’s belt-tightening efforts: Cut Waste It almost goes without saying, but now is a better time than ever...(Read More)