Our editor sent me a link to a Time Magazine article titled “Asia Challenges the U.S. for Green Tech Supremacy”
I was enraged at the shallowness of this thought process. Having worked within global manufacturing for over fifteen years. I have seen the “new pink,” the buzz words that become the focus of corporations.

Spoken by the CEO’s to boards, stockholders and management; like “outsource,” ‘DIVERSITY,” “Supply Chain,” all of which have been great ideas that turned scapegoats; used for the purpose of getting a tax advantage, saving money, all about the stock price today. Nothing considered as to the long term ramifications. And this article is that one-dimensional.

With this knowledge, knowing others have similar insights I am throwing this out there to start a discussion. …read more of “Does Asia really challenge the U.S. for Green Tech Supremacy?!” here

In this tough economy people are forced to cut expenses to the very basics of lifestyle choices. It’s gone beyond eating out less and not going to the cinema.

More time is now spent deciding on how to curb our drive time to save gas. Turning off lights when not needed – and sometimes even when we normally would think we need them on – can be an obsession.

Gas and electric bills are closely monitored so that maybe we’ll put on a sweater or open the windows rather than spending the extra dollars on our utility bills. …read more of Recession is Boon for Green Movement here

Green news has been inundated of late with warnings to consumers to be aware of greenwashing. While consumers should read labels and be certain the products they buy are truly green, these warnings seem almost frantic in nature.

Greenwashing is when businesses label their products as green or eco-friendly when the products don’t actually meet these standards. It is about people being fooled into buying products that are not really good for them, or for the environment.

Consumers today should be savvy enough to navigate through advertising hype. How many people really think that sugary cereals are nutritious? Yet TV commercials and cereal box labels still want us to believe that sugary frosted cereals are “part of a nutritious breakfast.”

There are of course many more examples of advertising hype as we all well know, so shouldn’t the same hold true for eco-friendly products? …read more of The Hype About Greenwashing here

Fair Trade fashion is eco-chic, and trendy fashion designers are forging a number of strategic partnerships that will increase visibility and distribution.

Bono, activist and U2 lead singer, introduced Edun last year, a Fair Trade fashion brand that sells high-end goods through upscale stores like Saks and Nordstrom. American Apparel is a publicly traded basics brand that is best known for tee shirts and underwear aimed at young urban buyers. Their Fair Trade clothing is made in Los Angeles and sold internationally.

Fair Indigo is a young company founded by a handful of Internet retailers that relies mostly on the Web and catalogs to sell its reasonably priced upscale casual clothing line.  Industry veteran and Chief Executive Bill Bass said that Fair Indigo was the first mainstream clothing line made in accordance with Fair Trade practices.

Mercado Global recently announced a partnership between a line of Fair Trade fashion accessories and Levi’s …read more of Fair Trade Fashion Marketplace here

The Freecycle Network is a grassroots Internet movement that connects people who want to give away unwanted items to other people who need those items.

Committed to the notion that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, freecycle has built a worldwide gifting community that reduces waste and conserves precious resources.

Members of the free web site, www.freecycle.org give and receive items for free. Freecycle members post offers for stuff they don’t want anymore to a listserv in their local group. If a member replies, the poster arranges for the pickup. …read more of Freecycle: The Gifting Economy here