Useful Recovered Ocean Plastic

 This is a tribute to the good people at METHOD. They are doing truly admirable work with the drive and passion to make things right.
Once again demonstrating what innovation can do, they have launched a new range of dish+hand soap bottles using recovered ocean plastics.

Visit their website to find out more: http://methodhome.com/ocean-plastic/


By the way its not a new company, they've  been around in the US for some time now. We need to spread their work to the rest of the world. Below is their journey from the start which i can copied from their website.

Their Journey...

 
2000: eric’s wondering why cleaning products are so poorly designed, and adam’s dreaming of green cleaners that actually work and aren’t stinky. together, these two childhood friends come up with an idea to revolutionize the cleaning world with stylish, eco-friendly products made with non-toxic ingredients that clean like heck and smell like heaven.
 
2001: method is born and eventually lands its first sale: four cleaning sprays to Mollie Stone’s grocery store in Burlingame, Calif. note method’s primitive early invoicing process, held by adam. also note tie worn by adam. both items have improved over time.
 
2002: after enlisting designer Karim Rashid to help design packaging, method convinces Target to test its cleaning sprays and dish soaps in 90 stores. seven months later, method launches in Target stores nationwide.
 
2003: method debuts its first hand wash in the brand’s iconic teardrop-shaped bottle, which becomes one of method’s most popular products and a best-smeller.
 
2004: method launches the first triple-concentrated (3x) laundry detergent in the US mass market.
 
2005: method launches in Canada and the United Kingdom.
 
2006: Inc. 500 ranks method as the 7th fastest growing private company in America. And PeTA announces eric and adam as its Men of The Year.
 
2007: method becomes a founding B Corporation, formally making social and environmental change a company objective. check out what it means to be a B.
 
2008: method begins making bottles from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic.
g’day mate! method launches in Australia.
 
2009: method becomes one of the first Cradle to Cradle endorsed companies, with 37 Cradle to Cradle certified products at launch, among the most of any company in the world (now up to 60 certified products and counting).
 
2010: method launches method laundry detergent with smartclean technology® – a powerful, patent-pending, plant-based detergent that’s 8x concentrated and packaged in a handheld pump bottle. say hello to our little friend at methodlaundry.com.
bonjour + konnichiwa! method launches in France and Japan.
 
2011: method celebrates 10 years in business, with thanks to everyone who made it possible.
 
2012: method ties the knot, joining forces with Ecover to create the world’s largest green cleaning company.

Future uses of silk

Silk Material Science

I came across this field of Silk material science a few weeks ago. When i read the articles and reports on some of the amazing stuff coming from TUFTS University, i had to share it with the world.

The main person behind this research:

Background
Fiorenzo Omenetto is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and leads the laboratory for Ultrafast Nonlinear Optics and Biophotonics at Tufts University and also holds an appointment in the Department of Physics. Formerly a J. Robert Oppenheimer Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory before joining Tufts, his research is focused on interdisciplinary themes that span nonlinear optics, nanostructured materials (such as photonic crystals and photonic crystal fibers), optofluidics and biopolymer based photonics. He has published over 100 papers and peer-review contributions across these various disciplines.

Since moving to Tufts at the end of 2005, he has proposed and pioneered (with David Kaplan) the use of silk as a material platform for photonics, optoelectronics and high-technology applications. This new research platform has recently been featured in MIT's Technology Review as one of the 2010 "top ten technologies likely to change the world."

Read more about his research by clicking the link here. They are specifically interested in engineered and biomimetic optical materials (such as photonic crystals and photonic crystal fibers) and novel/unconventional organic, sustainable optical materials for photonics and optoelectronics.

In particular, there is close collaboration with their own biopolymer expert, they have pioneered silk optics and are re-inventing silk as a green material for photonics and high technology applications.

TED Talks video

The video below shows Fiorenzo Omenetto  who shares 20+ astonishing new uses for silk, one of nature's most elegant materials -- in transmitting light, improving sustainability, adding strength and making medical leaps and bounds. On stage, he shows a few intriguing items made of the versatile stuff.

I think we have a promising future ahead of us, we need to spend more effort and time into research that could revolutionize the world we live in. Tell me what you think?

P&G expands sugar-packaged Pantene sale

Some great news for all you green-conscious consumers out there. Procter & Gamble is now heavily marketing its sugarcane-based packaged Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion hair care products starting in Western Europe this summer.

Previously, P&G announced in August last year its intent to use Braskem's sugarcane-based high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic for packaging on its Pantene Pro-V, Covergirl and Max Factor brands.

According to Braskem, P&G is a long-time customer of the company's traditional PE plastic products. P&G said the newly packaged hair care products will be marketed to the rest of the world over the next two years.
The company noted that sugarcane-derived plastic consumes over 70% less fossil fuel and has over 170% less greenhouse gas emissions per ton compared to petroleum-based plastic.

"The use of sugarcane-based plastic in our Nature Fusion packaging allows us to offer the same performance consumers expect from Pantene but in a more sustainable way," says Hanneke Faber, P&G's Vice President & Brand Franchise Leader for Global Pantene. "We're thrilled to be the first hair care brand to use this technology on its packaging but we also recognize sustainability is a journey and we're fully committed to it."

Maybe the retail expansion of the green PE-packaged Pantene products is one of the reasons why Braskem recently announced in New York City during the company's investor/media day that it is thinking about expanding its current 200,000 tonne/year sugar-based PE production in Triunfo, Brazil, by building another plant.

According to ICIS News (subscription only), Braskem is thinking of building a worldscale green PE plant with around 400,000 tonne/year capacity, which will be fully integrated into sugarcane ethanol production plant. The second plant could be completed by late 2014 to 2015, according to Braskem CEO Carlos Fadigas.

I think its a great step towards reducing our dependance on petroleum based plastics packaging. Hope P&G brings more of their green-product line to its Asian consumers.