#sustaina

[sustainablelivingeco]

Sustainable Living : A New Way of Life

[containerstore]

Combine The Laundress Refill Pack with your own empty Sport Detergent bottles for a simple, sustainable way to restock on a favorite. This is the same formulation embraced by garment care perfectionists for laundering moisture-wicking, breathable, insulated and water-repellent fabrics often used in athletic wear. Sport Detergent can remove bacteria from perspiration, body oils and odors from cotton, nylon and spandex, leaving gear clean and smelling fresh - all in an easy-to-use resealable pouch

Combine The Laundress Refill Pack with your own empty Sport Detergent bottles for a simple, sustainable way to restock on a favorite. This is the same formulation embraced by garment care perfectionists for laundering moisture-wicking, breathable, insulated and water-repellent fabrics often used in athletic wear. Sport Detergent can remove bacteria from perspiration, body oils and odors from cotton, nylon and spandex, leaving gear clean and smelling fresh - all in an easy-to-use resealable pouch

[containerstore]

Combine The Laundress Refill Pack with your own empty Sport Detergent bottles for a simple, sustainable way to restock on a favorite. This is the same formulation embraced by garment care perfectionists for laundering moisture-wicking, breathable, insulated and water-repellent fabrics often used in athletic wear. Sport Detergent can remove bacteria from perspiration, body oils and odors from cotton, nylon and spandex, leaving gear clean and smelling fresh - all in an easy-to-use resealable pouch

Combine The Laundress Refill Pack with your own empty Sport Detergent bottles for a simple, sustainable way to restock on a favorite. This is the same formulation embraced by garment care perfectionists for laundering moisture-wicking, breathable, insulated and water-repellent fabrics often used in athletic wear. Sport Detergent can remove bacteria from perspiration, body oils and odors from cotton, nylon and spandex, leaving gear clean and smelling fresh - all in an easy-to-use resealable pouch

[tomomimiyalove]

野菜3種盛りと マグロと豆腐の麻婆丼 #バンコクミュージシャン #bangkoklifestyle #bangkokjazzsinger #jazzsingermimi #ジャズシンガーのスペイン旅行 #麻婆丼 #オーガニック #サスティナ#sustaina (at SUSTAINA Organic Restaurant)

[littlethingsaboutchange-blog]

Better Globe

Better Globe financed the renovations of Mboty Primary School through money donated to Child Africa coming from the Better Globe Donation Packages that members and Ambassadors are buying on a monthly basis.

To know more, click here

[slowcity-blog]

Germany journal: living in style, (almost) carfree, in Freiburg

Is it possible to create, from scratch, a thriving new neighborhood, not dominated by cars? Where the scale feels right and the buildings are interesting to look at and a pleasure to live in? Where people mostly walk, bike, and take public transport?

In Freiburg, a small city in Southern Germany, they have done it: Vauban is a neighborhood where flocks of “free-range” children run, skate and cycle without fear of getting run over, where buildings do not look like they were made in a cookie-cutter, but are varied in size, shape and color, where many people live close together but there is still plenty of green space. Pedestrian paths snake through courtyards, connecting people directly to their homes and creating a sense of intimacy and security at the same time. Noise levels are low and a tram whisks residents to the city center in 15 minutes. Restaurants serve delicious local delicacies, the kindergartens are full, and the supermarket is a five-minute walk away.

Freiburg on its own, without Vauban, is already a very interesting place. The first thing I saw when I got out of the train station was a wide, comfortable bike path:

   I then took a tram to the end of the line:

Vauban’s houses extend on either side of the tram line for two blocks. This is the way it should be; as several experienced urban planners and architects have pointed out to me (including David Sim of Gehl Architects and Gebhard Wulfhorst of the Technical University of Munich), transit lines should be “fed” from either side:

Transit corridors should also be at the heart of people’s origins (usually where they live) and destinations (where they are going – to work, study, shop, play, etc), as is the case in Vauban:

Tram station in the middle of Vauban, as always, with bike parking

Also, most sections of the tram line are green with grass; this reduces noise, is visually appealing, and helps prevent flooding by absorbing stormwater:

French soldiers lived in barracks at Vauban until the early 1990’s, and after they left, these buildings were turned into student housing. A group of Freiburg residents then organized themselves and began petitioning the city to let them build houses there, which they did, and most of the plots had buildings by 2009.

Because most of the plots were owned by different people, and these people designed each building differently, there is an interesting variety of architecture, so rare in these days of maximizing profits from urban development:

(notice the bike parking again)

Also, the buildings vary in size, from single family residences to apartment buildings, further adding to the area’s visual diversity and ability to attract different income levels and life stages (from young people to families and empty-nesters):

  Regarding the high level of architectural sophistication and low car use, it doesn’t hurt that Vauban has more architects per-capita than probably anywhere in the world, and that most residents are hell-bent eco-freaks. This, of course, brings its own set of problems, and Vauban isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty good. In fact, I liked it so much that I will spread out my observations over a few posts.    

Additional Relevant Links:

Info on Vauban:

http://www.vauban.de/info/abstract.html

http://dellekom.de/blog/vauban-district-how-it-happened

Institute for Transport and Development Policy (ITDP) report on Vauban: 

www.itdp.org/documents/092211_ITDP_NED_Vauban.pdf

[greendelia]

global green citizens

Chi frequenta i siti per maschietti fighetti conoscerà sicuramente il brand Apolis – global citizens. Quello che fanno non è propriamente green al 100%, ma la filosofia che c’è sotto ci piace molto. Si tratta di collezioni non necessariamente stagionali (e questo è un passo avanti rispetto al solito produci-consuma-produci-consuma) di capi e accessori dal look basic pensati insieme agli stessi produttori (spesso dislocati in paesi in via di sviluppo), con l’obbiettivo di sostenere iniziative che creino sviluppo e nuove opportunità. In parole povere si tratta di beneficienza fatta dando lavoro a chi non ne ha o insegnando a produrre con standard qualitativi di eccellenza. Un esempio? La Los Angeles California Bag è fatta in Bangladesh da una cooperativa nata per dare lavoro e dignità alle donne di Saidpur; il materiale è canapa naturale al 100% con inserti di pelle (concia vegetale) così siamo ancora più contenti. Green – Local – Global: così ci piace!

People who surf websites designed for camp guys must know the brand Apolis – global citizens. What they do isn't really 100% green, but we like the philosophy that is behind it. It' about collections that are not necessarily seasonal (and this is a step forward compared to the usual produce-consume-consume-produce), clothes and accessories that have a basic look and are designed with the producers themselves (who are often located in developing countries), where the aim is to support initiatives that create development and new opportunities. In other words it's a charity initiative, which is carried out either by giving employment to those who don't have a job, or by teaching how to produce with very high quality standards. An example? The Los Angeles California Bag is made in Bangladesh by a cooperative which was founded to give jobs and dignity to the women from Saidpur; the material used is 100% natural hemp with leather inserts (vegetable tanned leather) so we couldn't be happier. Green - Local - Global: we like it!

[greengurugear]

Seen this video yet?  Good thing there aren't any antelope in Boulder, or in the United States for that matter!