Youtube is a huge phenomena that has taken over the video world. Every aspect of your life can be taped and uploaded to the internet for the world to see. But, what if you were more specifically interested in videos that related to the environment? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a site that ran the same way as Youtube, but only discussed issues regarding the green side of life?
emPivot is just that! emPivot states that, “it is the online network for green video.” I would definitely rather watch videos about saving the environment than continuously reading articles relating to it. The site allows you to search for videos based on the most recent, most viewed, etc. along with specific categories including energy & climate, green building and the list goes on.
This site is its own little community. You can sign up to be a part of it as an individual, business or organization. All are welcome! Anyone can upload videos, but make sure that they are specifically green related media or the video will be flagged and removed. emPivot believes in their site and wants it to be used for what it is intended.
In particular, emPivot wants to represent choice; the choice to educate yourself to become part of the solution instead of the problem.
Today I came across a company that was really very unique, yet practical: Denim Therapy. Denim Therapy uses a process to repair old jeans and restore them back to their original condition. Everyone has that one pair of jeans that they just can’t bear to say goodbye to. However, that same pair of jeans could be deathly close to having seen its last wear as that “little” hole has suddenly grown. Denim Therapy “evaluates original denim material attributes: thread weight, fade / wash, grain / pattern / weave, wear / look. Each jean will require unique combination of repair material as all jeans, like fingerprints, are different.” Once this process is completed, they will repair the hole in your jeans as if it never existed. The estimated cost is 7 US Dollars per inch plus shipping. Note that this is only an estimate as each pair of jeans is different and may require more or less work.
You may ask yourself, why would I pay for a service to repair a hole when I can just sew it myself? The answer to that is simple…if you don’t mind the end result of stitching a hole together and the bunched material that results or if you just plain old don’t mind those holes then this service is not for you. However, if you wish to, for a small fee, have your holes patched and the result be that no one can tell where the hole used to be (notice the picture to the right) then this is just for you.
Why does this company belong on a site dedicated to green technology and environmental friendly ideas? In short, this process allows people to use a single pair of jeans longer and not worry about whether or not they have holes in them. In a sense, you are recycling old jeans that you may not have ever worn again. You are doing your part to decrease the amount of jeans that need to be made to satisfy the market demand.
The best part about this service is its ease of use. In 6 short steps you can have your jeans shipped, fixed, and returned back to you good as new. For further information concerning these steps, please see the following link, http://www.denimtherapy.com/default.asp?contentID=616.
Every few weeks, I plan to update my list of eco-friendly products and services that you see below. This list allows people to jump between my posts a lot easier depending on what they are looking for. The links next to the items will take you to my posts, but each post has links to buy the products or find further information on the services.
Again, I am just trying to make it as easy as possible to help you put a little green in your life. Enjoy!
One way that businesses typically use a lot of paper is through faxing. Not all businesses, but a good amount; especially large ones. So let’s look at ways to reduce the amount of paper used in the office.
1. Email instead of fax. Everyone that is anyone has an email. This way if it is absolutely necessary, they can print it. If not, then they can just keep it in their email records.
2. Make a reusable cover sheet. This is easy and saves you one piece of paper each time you fax. Print out a generic cover sheet with all the essentials and laminate it. Fill in all the important information with a dry erase marker and send the fax. Once it is sent, wipe the cover sheet clean and it is ready for reuse.
3. Look in the trash(recycling bin) for a piece of paper that has only been printed on one side. Print the cover sheet on the back of the trashed paper. No one sees the back of the cover sheet, so it shouldn’t matter what it looks like.
4. Have a label made with the pertinent information on it. Cut out the cover page all together and stick your label in the upper corner of the actual document you are sending. This saves two pieces of paper each time you fax!
5. For smaller businesses that don’t do much faxing, there is a great site I found that lets you fax 2 free documents a day. Just enter the sender information, receiver information and attach the document. Check out FaxZero.
Each of these helps out the environment and saves you paper, which in turn saves you money!!!
Everyone is plagued by junk mail. It is constantly there and constantly unwanted. So how do you get rid of it? Yesterday I signed our house up for a few different options to have our junk mail stopped! This will save paper and the environment!!!
GreenDimes is the organization I want to mention first because it specifically relates to my theme with this blog. They stop 90% of your junk mail guaranteed and make sure that you only receive the mail you want. There is a free option as well as a premium option. The premium option is $20 a year. Not a bad price at all and with the $20 they plant 5 trees!! If you decide to sign up for either option, there is another plus. First, you get to choose how you want to redeem your dollar FROM (your not paying a dollar) GreenDimes, just for signing up. Do you want them to use your dollar to plant a tree on your behalf, keep your dollar and send you an issue of Plenty, the magazine for green living, or mail you a check for $1?
After you verify your account and sign in, you have 3 steps.
Choose the catalogs you no longer wish to receive
Remove your name from common junk mail lists using the methods below
Track your progress toward a junk free mailbox
GreenDimes looks up the junk mail that typically comes to you house and gives you a list. Click on “read instructions” next to each direct marketer and it will tell you how to get off their list. Then on the pop up window click “take action”, it will immediately open a window to that site and you just fill out your address. Once you take the steps to one site, go back to GreenDimes and click that you did it. This will add it a completed list and help you keep track of what marketers you are blocking.
If you want to visit a couple more sites to get a rid of junk mail, they are below.
ValPak – According to their site, ValPak is mailed to 45 million houses in North America. Does that make anyone else cringe?? That pack they send out goes straight into my recycled paper pile and I’m sure it happens the same way with the majority of those 45 million households.
The DirectMail.com National Do Not Mail List – Uses their direct marketing expertise to get your name off of those lists for you. The mail-order companies don’t want to waste their money sending mail to people who don’t want to receive it. So they will take you off their list as long as you ask them too. Scoll down the page to fill out the form.
Opt Out – Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the opt-in and opt-out. Choose Opt-Out for 5 years or permanently.
Also, if you are getting mail from someone who previously lived there, instead of throwing it out, write “Return to Sender/Not at this address on the envelope and drop it in the mailbox.
I wanted to get rid of our junk mail and help the environment in the process, so I signed up for all of them. It only took me 15 minutes and they are all FREE!
I found this site and immediately thought of my boss and all the other people on the move. My boss just bought his first house and what do people that are moving almost always need? BOXES. I found a site called UsedCardboardBoxes.com that carries earth-friendly, quality used boxes for packing, moving, shipping and storage.
The unique aspect of this site is the moving kits. You can choose how many bedrooms/offices you will be moving, enter your zip code and they will tell you what is available. Since I am moving next year to who knows where, I tested it out. The smallest kit is the “Average Joe” which comes with 17 boxes. This package includes Medium boxes, Large boxes, X-Large boxes, 1 roll of packing tape, 3 pounds of packing paper, 1 permanent marker and 1 retractable blade box cutter. All that for $38.00!!! And if that isn’t good enough…the shipping is FREE. The same package at U-Haul would be $51.00 and $58.00 at BoxBros. Not including shipping of course.
You might be wondering where they get all these quality used boxes from? Well they contact large companies that come in contact with boxes that they recycle or simply throw them away. Want to know another way you can help? According to the site, if you are a business that collects at least 1,000 of the same size quality used boxes on a monthly basis, they can often purchase your boxes at a higher rate than your existing recycler. They have a form that you would fill out based on your company’s information and the owners of UsedCardboardBoxes would get back to you to let you know if you qualify and how much they would pay you for boxes you might otherwise just get rid of.
As with all of my posts so far, UsedCardboardBoxes is cheaper and recycled as opposed to the more recognized names of Uhaul and BoxBros.
Youtube is a huge phenomena that has taken over the video world. Every aspect of your life can be taped and uploaded to the internet for the world to see. But, what if you were more specifically interested in videos that related to the environment? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a site that ran the same way as Youtube, but only discussed issues regarding the green side of life?
