Home & Garden

Science Friction

Paper is hands down one of the biggest success stories when it comes to recycling. We are slowly gaining ground with aluminum, plastic and textiles but we still have such a long way to come. Designer Merryn Haines-Gold has come up with a way to recycle paper other than throwing it into the blue bin, he made a chair. To make this great chair he used the recycled wooden frame from an old directors chair and old magazines along with loose bits of paper to remake it into a functioning chair.

Friction from the design holds the chair together, not glue. Each piece of paper is laid over each other, similar to like when you are shuffling a deck of cards wrapped with a a single strip of plastic. The seat bonded to the chair by tie wraps that are connected through small holes that are drilled into the paper.

The design is a available for sale, but the designer also presents it as a DIY project for you go getters out there.

That is the beauty of the idea, it is very simple and can be recreated anywhere with any magazine you wish, it also does not even have to be a magazine, it can be loose bits of paper, as long as they are roughly the same shape and the surfaces are able to engage with each other, the friction will do the rest…..just don’t leave it outside.

This looks like a fun weekend project for just about anyone out there. Next time you see a beat up directors chair at a garage sale or flea market keep this idea in mind. With a collection of some old magazines you can have a cool green project to work on. At the very best you will have a great new art piece that people can sit in, at the very least you will learn a little bit about how friction works.

Source courtesy of Treehugger.com and http://www.mezhg.com/
Image Courtesy of http://www.mezhg.com/

Earth Day Coming Soon – Now Make Something Happen

Well tomorrow on April 22 we celebrate another Earth Day. For those of you that do not know, Earth Day is a day that was set aside to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment. Earth day was founded by a United States Senator as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970. The first Earth day was celebrated in the United States in 1970 but by 1990 Earth Day was being celebrated in over 141 Nations World Wide. Numerous communities today celebrate what they call ‘Earth Week,’ an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues.

At Dust Factory every day is earth day for us. We are thankful for our opportunity to be hands on in the recycling and re-purposing process of textiles and other common goods. It is estimated that over one million tons of textiles are thrown away every year in the United States alone. Because of this each month we attempt to save over 75k lbs of clothing from entering our landfills. This is only a small amount in comparison, but we understand that everything starts small. We are only able to do this through the help and support of those that we work with.

We have spent the past 15 years developing a green business as well as educating and supporting others who are interested in doing the same. It does not matter if you are professional mother or a student, each person can make a difference in their community or neighborhood.

The Following are five simple ways that you can make a difference this Earth Day with your clothing alone.

1. Hand-me-downs This may be easier for the younger readers, but you can give your unused clothes to your younger brother or sister. Moms call this Hand-Me-Downs. It is a very simple concept but very effective if used properly. If you don’t have a younger brother or sister, give your old clothes to a smaller  neighbor or cousin. See…very simple.

2. Resale Shop If you are the thrifty shopper or if you think that your are a trendy diva that doesn’t really know that many people possibly due to living in a new location or having a sour attitude, then why not take your old clothing  to the resale shop. Beware, there is a good chance that there might be a  chubster(1) behind the counter at the resale shop waiting to dish you out a piece of humble pie. This could bring some back down to the reality possibly realizing that their washed up style might not be so unique after all.  However, it is worth the chance to make some money on your old finds, and it shouldn’t stop you from moving on.
3. Donate Your Clothes After picking up whats left of your ego, and your entire collection of last seasons rags from the by  counter at the resale shop, the chubster behind the counter will tell you that if you want you can donate your clothing to their clothing bin, and they will see that it gets to a charity. Of coarse you will want nothing to do with them,but they do bring up a good point, you could donate your clothing… maybe just not to them. If you don’t care either way leave your clothing at the resale donation bin, or if you want, there are plenty of other local charities that you can drop your old clothes at. Many of them will even pick them up from your front porch if you take the 1 minute out of your day to call them. They will see that your clothing is getting re-used. Just google local charities in your area.
4. Local Clothing Swap If your hurting for cash , and you still cant get over the fact that the re-sale shop didn’t want a single item out of your collection, you could try a clothing swap. Most cities have volunteers that organize clothing swaps. You can find them by Google..ing “Local Clothing Swap” or checking your local Craigs List listings. A clothing swap is a gathering where a bunch of like-minded people bring their old clothing and trade out their old garments for others. If no one in your area is hosting a clothing swap then why not put together one for yourself. It can be done with neighbors and friends, or a through a church or local charity.
5. Repurpose Your Clothing Ok I may have lied, I said that I had five simple ways to recycle fashion and this last one may or may not be that simple. This will depend on how creative you are, and how good you are with a sewing machine. If you don’t know how to sew, it is worth learning , if you do know how to sew then this will be simple. Any dress can be turned into a top or skirt. Any t-shirt can be turned into a bathing suit or t-shirt for a kid. Any pants can be turned into shorts.  It is a simple concept, but so often over looked. Sometimes you don’t even have to know how to sew, you just need to be able to use a pair of scissors.

Now make it happen. Next time you go through your closet and clear out two pieces or five bag fulls of clothing think about these five options that you now have before  putting them into the trash.

Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Garden : Season Two

The Worlds Largest Rooftop garden has just kicked off it’s second growing season.

The second season is in full swing for the rooftop urban farmers at Brooklyn Grange Located atop a six-story 1919 warehouse. Krista Leahy at Inhabitat just did a great piece on this 40,000 square foot organic rooftop farm built by Bromley Caldari architects on a random rooftop in Brooklyn.

“After a successful first growing and selling season that began last spring, the farmers at Brooklyn Grange are continuing their production of organic produce that includes 40 varietals of juicy tomatoes, peppers, fennel, salad greens, kale, swiss chard, beans of all sorts and a variety of delicious root vegetables like beets, carrots, and radishes, as well as plenty of herbs.”

Brooklyn Grange’s organic produce is grown in 7.5″ deep beds with rooflite soil. This soil is produces by Pennsylvania soil company Skyland, Rooflite. This special soil is a lightweight soil composed of organic matter compost and small porous stones wich break down to add trace minerals that are needed for the produce to grow into a healthy mature state. The farm has a nine month growing season and everything that they grow is sustainable and good for you. In the winter time they used cover-crops like rye, buckwheat, vetch and clove to produce year around.

Brooklyn Grange is looking to expand to many more rooftops in an attempt to increase the education and training available to those interested in urban farming. Check out their website at brooklyngrangefarm.com

Source & Images Courtesy of Inhabitat

Functional Food and Sustainable Packages

This weekend was the annual gathering of ancient grains, coconut water, fair trade chocolates, protein bars, and organic pet food in Orange County, that is at least where where baobab and sea buckthorn joined acai, goji berry and chia seeds, the reigning antioxidant-rich superfoods. There was overwhelming sea of 3,000 exhibitors, displayed across the exhibit floor of enticing organic foods, healthy items and green goods at the annual Natural Products Expo West convention and conference, March 10-13, seemed like all the world eats well and lives sustainably. But then reality struck.

There are mMore than 56,000 gathered for this 31st fest, with an increased visibility on non-GMO foods and eco-packaging. With aisle after aisle of vendors from Nature’s Path to Earth Balance, from omega-rich supplements to “pure” and “smart” items, it’s clear the message was healthy and environmental. Compared to two years ago, it was hard to find a plastic bottled water booth, through other drinks overflowed from teas to brain tonics, digestive beverages to chillout elixirs.

To us, one of the big hits of this event was Seventh Generation’s new cardboard bottle for its Natural 4X Laundry Detergent. We love great designs, but green packaging is just one small part of a sustainable design and product. Designed with Ecologic Brands, it features a recyclable and compostable outer shell of recycled newspapers and cardboard and a recyclable monopolymer film pouch inside with no nylon or laminates. It reduces the plastic by 66 percent and when empty, it’s stackable. so nine times more efficient to ship.