DaDa and Quarterly Underwear Club

DaDa is a men’s underwear brand based in Scotland using sustainable materials to develop comfortable underwear. Fabrics such as organic cotton, bamboo rayon, seaweed, coconut shells and even coffee grinds have been developed and combined with stylish patterns and fits. Their first collection has focused on developing three distinct styles, which can be found as a part of their Kickstarter …

Eco Friendly Bamboo Clothing and Fabrics, or is it?

Bamboo is one of the most sustainable materials available today, but does that sustainability and eco-friendly label extend to bamboo clothes? The sad truth is, mostly no. The process to transform bamboo into clothing involves quite a bit of energy and produces chemical waste with environmental and health concerns. Bamboo is turned into yarn by cooking the bamboo plant in …

Learning From Bamboo Village – Part 3

The factory is up and running, albeit very inefficiently laments a native Keralan turned fortune 500 CEO turned self-help writer (who happened to be touring around with us, viewing the facilities). He ran Phillips, the appliance/TV company and quit after working to outsource production of Phillips products – and seeing the negative effects his work was having locally and globally. …

Life at Bamboo Village – Part 2

The mission at Bamboo Village is to preserve a way of life (agriculture-based) in the face of a changing world where local village economies are subject to global economic changes. Much more than that – it is to create something for this area to live sustainably and healthily and to prevent brain drain; to keep young people there, rather than …

Finding Bamboo Village – Part 1

Not long ago, my sister embarked on an extended traveling adventure with the goal of experiencing science in a variety of cultures to develop new educational curriculum in sustainability. This 3 part article series is about her experiences in India. Enjoy! -Jean-Paul Discovering India I had been in India 3 weeks before I discovered Bamboo Village. Prior to leaving, I …

Surfing Firewire – Eco Friendlier Surfboards

If you haven’t been up on surfboard technology, things have changed. In 2005, Clark Foam, the largest foam blank supplier closed its doors citing new environmental regulations which would have crippled its business. The standard for surfboards since the late 50’s when polyurethane foam and fiberglass-resin boards replaced wood boards, had come to an end. Opening up the market to …

Plyboo Bamboo Plywood and Durapalm Palm Tree Sustainable Flooring

I love bamboo. Its beautiful, its durable, and its a great sustainable and renewable resource, so I am pretty excited about Plyboo by Smith and Fong. Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and available for LEED credit by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), these surfaces and flooring are all about sustainability. Made from FSC certified bamboo and palm, …

Eco Game of High Low – Green-ish Turntable Record Players for all you Vinyl Lovers

I am starting a little game of High/Low which will bring both the “high-end” expensive items with more reasonably priced counterparts for the rest of us. I’m going to start this game off with something a little old school- turntable record players. Eco Chic High The “High” comes to us from German-based company Montegiro, and is quite beautifully built with …

I Bet You Can’t Make That Out of Bamboo! Green Gone Mad

I wasn’t sure to file this under green design, or an attempt at sustainable design gone bad. As we all know, Bamboo is the darling of the sustainable green movement. It grows fast, requires no pesticides, is very hard and durable, and grows just about everywhere. With that in mind, bamboo can be found in all kinds of products that …