Have you seen the most recent issue of Newsweek? The issue is entitled The New Greening of America. I’m not a subscriber so I don’t have an issue but much of the material is here. If you peruse the photo gallery (front and center as the page loads) you’ll find lots of cool new products you may not have known about. One of the things I found interesting was home insulation made from recycled denim; it’s a pretty blue too. The website doesn’t list the manufacturer but I’ve found two companies that make this stuff. The first is Recovery Insulation in the UK. The other company is Bonded Logic. Bonded logic is interesting in that they’re actively working with Polo/Ralph Lauren to collect used jeans on college campuses. The goal is to recycle the donations into insulation for Habitat for Humanity homes. To find out more on the denim collection project, select G.I.V.E Campaign at the Polo website or visit Bonded Logic. At last count, they’ve collected 13,000 pairs of jeans. One last note; I realize that home insulation is not a topic of thrills and chills but it’s estimated that the half the energy used in the US is used in homes and buildings.
Another interesting product highlighted in the article was a solar powered purse called Power Purse. The bag uses solar cells to recharge electronic devices like cell phones (below). Pretty cool huh?
As it turns out though, solar powered bags aren’t a new idea. I found a backpack from Reware with solar cells too. I think this item has greater potential than the purse since it isn’t limited to women’s accessories. With a back pack, men can use it too -and men tend to be more active adopters of new technology.
I’m sorry this isn’t much of a post today but I’m driving to Sally’s to pick up a sewing machine and that is an all day affair. And yes, l need another machine like I need another hole in my head. Actually, I do need this one to replace one I accidentally sold a couple of years ago. By the way, Sally is purging because she is moving to Albuquerque. Once she’s settled in, she’ll be back in business.
When I remodeled in 2003 I used the Blue Jean insulation which I purchased from Golden State Lumber in California. It was wonderful to put in, and very effective. I found it much easier then spray in, and I am able to remove and replace it if needed, and it is not toxic or dangerous. My one concern was that rodents would like it, but that has not been the case. I had to go up in the attic and the insulation had not been disturbed. I recommend this product.
I’m actually very interested in home insulation, having, at one point in my life, spent seven East Coast winters without heat (long dull story). And textiles have a long and respectable history of being used in various ways to help keep in heat and control drafts; castle living would have been even more uncomfortable without the various hangings and tapestries used, and portieres can still be useful, whether or not you’re doing a stint of dressmaking, a la Scarlett O’Hara.
Did you read the piece on organic cotton in today’s WWD?
Well insulation thirlls and chills me right now. My whole family ripped out the 2nd bathroom last year. The bathroom is a wreck!!! Dh and I last month were talking about insulation and what kind to put in the bathroom. We did not want to put what was put in the house in 1958. We do not know what to put in. We also are going to take out the living room, dining room and kitchen ceiling. Then we are going to put insulation in the walls that need them. We dont think the house is insulated very well. A guy came to our house looked at our demolished bathroom discussed remodeling with us. He told us the insulation we have is good. He told us to buy that again. I would like to know more about this blue jean insulation. Does it cost more???
According to Newsweek it costs about 25% more. If you get the most current issue (The Greening of America) you can get more info from the article.
Btw, Beverly has a very very interesting story up on a guy named Jon Cloud who’s producing organic undies (Clean Undies). My description is terribly boring (sorry) but her article includes this whole discussion on how underwear -particularly the panty between the legs- is so poorly designed and how Jon has gone about reengineering that entire aspect.
John is a man who researches what needs to be changed and then changes it, and to hell with what the mainstream thinking is. For example, he interviewed “real” women on their panty preferences and generally asked for their wish lists regarding the products. One of the things that resulted; was to change the width of the crotch, which as we all know, are often way too wide for the area that needs to be covered.
The crotch width only needs to be about 2.5″ wide, yet I have seen some that are 4″ wide! And some designers out there (if you are one, listen up!) actually make the crotch width wider as the size of the panty increases! If you take a moment and think about it, that particular part of a woman’s anatomy does not increase. The pelvis and the thigh bones determine the width, and once the bones have grown through puberty, that is it.
After reading Beverly’s post, Danielle followed up with an interview with Jon.