Caleb Laieski is an advocate for the environment as well as civil rights. As a teenager who experienced bullying, he became involved in meeting with many members of Congress as well as other legislators regarding anti-bullying legislation. At age 17, Caleb was the Youth and Diversity Liaison in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Today, he continues to advocate for LGBT rights, public safety, and the environment.
1. How did your experiences growing up inspire you to become involved in political advocacy?
After receiving death threats and being severely bullied for being openly gay in high school, I ended up dropping out of school. Believe it or not, that was my only birthday wish, and fortunately it came true. About a month later, I quickly obtained my GED and went into advocacy work to make sure other young people wouldn't have to experience what I had to.
2. What projects are you currently working on?
I just joined the effort to challenge Tennessee's recently passed law that allows counselors' and therapists' religious beliefs to be an excuse for terminating care or referring clients because of moral objections to how the client identifies. In summary, this allows mental health professionals to put their own beliefs above and before the needs of their clients.
3. What is the hardest part about your work?
That's a tough question... I would certainly say that sometimes it's hard to stay energized 24/7, and advocacy can be extremely tiring. However, seeing the impact of my work and hearing that I have made a difference in someone's life is what gives me that continuous spark of energy and enthusiasm.
4. Do you think that the national conversation on LGBTQ rights has changed at all, in the wake of Orlando?
Absolutely. This shooting was the most tragic in not only LGBT history, but in U.S. history. It reminds the members of the LGBT community that hate still exists, and we must always be aware of what is going on around us. This hate crime also highlights the importance of passing legislation to ensure basic background checks are performed and make sure that guns stay out of the wrong people's hands.
5. What are your plans for the future?
I have had the honor to get involved in many amazing gigs with activism and worked as a 911 Dispatcher for several years. I am now looking to become a police officer and continue serving my community in that capacity.
Healthy Built Homes is a free price quote service for people in the United States who are building or renovating their home and are looking for local contractors who use green materials and practices. The site emphasizes the importance of making sure your home is healthy as well as energy efficient.
The site is really easy to navigate, and there are two ways to go about it. You can click on the city index site map and view a list of US states and then a detailed list of cities within each state. The list includes suburbs and smaller cities--I come from a smallish city and found that city listed in the index. Once you've selected your city, you can find a list of categories for different types of home building and repair work.
The other way to navigate the site is to click choose a category, and then once you find your category and subcategory, you submit your details to receive quotes from local contractors. Part of what you submit is your zip code, which is what narrows the quotes to locals.
I tried out the site by searching for someone to paint the outside of my house. I found my city, selected the "exterior" work category, and then selected "exterior paint contractors." I only had to answer a few questions about the size of the job and any special conditions about my house (cracked or peeling paint, type of exterior surface such as siding or stucco, etc).
This is a cool and free site that is easy to use. Sometimes I can get referrals from friends for work on my house, but other times I can't. It's nice to answer a couple of quick questions and have contractors contact me, rather than making a lot of phone calls myself. The site is definitely worth a try, whether you're looking to get an energy audit for your house, having work done on your HVAC system, having an addition put on your house, or remodeling a single room.
The inventor and designer of ATRE Power Stations is Leon Barnard, who resides in Surrey, BC, Canada. Leon was a mechanical engineering technician who moved up the ranks to Commodity Manager for a Fortune 500 corporation.
His interests in development of the ATRE Power Station started after a purchase of solar panels which did not perform under short and dark winter days in BC, Canada. He wanted something that delivers power in all weather, 24 hours a day.
Leon is just launching an IndieGogo campaign to fund the production of an Earth Ambient Temperature Resistant Power Station. Learn more at https://www.indiegogo.com/at/ATRE.
Leon also has several videos posted on YouTube to give you more of an idea of how this green technology works.
1. For laypeople, could you tell us what Earth Ambient Temperature Resistant Electricity (ATRE) means?
If one to watch the video here at http://igg.me/at/ATRE, the crowdfunding campaign site, you can see how the ATRE Power Station uses earth metals shaped by design into an antenna-like array which is then brought into contact with the earth to "electrify" the small galvanic cells at the rate per surrounding temperature. If the temperature increases, the flow of electricity increases, and if temperatures drop, the opposing electron charges in the crystals increase. In each panel, we use batteries to control the resistance of voltage buildup, and from there we derived the name Earth Ambient Temperature Resistant Electricity.
2. What are the benefits of ATRE compared to the green energy sources of sun and wind power?
ATRE Power Stations use water as input source, a relatively free energy source. ATRE Panels produce an electrical current 24 hours a day, independent from sun, wind, or other energy inputs. ATRE Panels do not use oxidation as a process to charge electrons, making this a natural and emission-free source of power.
Since water is relatively "free," and the ATRE Power Station does not need "clean" water, this form of electricity is considered continuous and free.
3. How did you first come up with the idea for creating your battery design?
My experience with solar panels in BC, Canada on many short and dark rainy days during the long months of winter was disappointing, and it triggered my research to find an electrical source where sun and wind does not matter. I also had the criteria of emission-free power, and a natural and clean form of energy.
4. How big will the power station be, and do you know where it will be located?
The technology is absolutely scaleable, which means that laptop computers, cell phones, and other small equipment could potentially become self-powered with tiny ATRE Power Stations. For the purpose of the campaign fundraiser, the model proposed will be as large as a medium fridge that one would purchase at your local appliance store, but at least at half the cost of your fridge due to the simplicity of the technology used.
My plan is that the initial commercial unit will be purchased like a fridge, installed in a corner of a room, and plugged into the grid--and then you can immediately save on your energy bill. It's a plug and play type of technology.
5. Why did you decide to pursue a crowdfunding campaign for your project, and is there anything else you'd like readers to know about it?
The Indiegogo.com platform requires us to explain the use of the funds and the reasons for the crowdfunding campaign, so you can learn a lot more about it by visiting our page there. Anyone interested in this project can visit the site and watch the videos and visit links to other sites that display prototypes in action and illustrate the design progress for the commercial unit.
Debra Roberts is an international honeybee educator and advocate. She teaches natural, compassionate beekeeping, and sacred relationship with bees. She stewards her bee sanctuary in the Appalachian Mountains. Learn more about Debra and her Sacred Path of Bee series of classes by visiting her website, HolyBeePress.com.
1. How did you first become a beekeeper?
Beekeeping was never a plan, but it was clearly a call. I sort of stumbled into it in the remarkable way that life sometimes unfolds. In 2004, my health crashed and I took a six-months' sabbatical that changed the rest of my life. As I was recovering, I felt inspired to take a pilgrimage to Hopi to pay my respects to the family of Thomas Banyacya, an elder who had passed and had touched my life profoundly at an earlier time in my life. I had gotten guidance to bring honey as a gift to his family. I wasn't a beekeeper (and I wasn't thinking about being one at the time), but a neighbor of mine sold some honey to me. Off I went from North Carolina, across US Route 40, arriving days later at the Banyacya family door in Arizona, quart jars of honey in hand. Thomas' daughter-in-law, whom I had never met, greeted me at the door. I said I was Debra Roberts from North Carolina and I had just come to pay my respects because of how Thomas Sr. had touched my life. And I wanted to give them a gift. She welcomed me in, received the jars of honey I gave her, and said, "Why I was just telling my husband, Thomas Jr., that we were out of honey and I needed to go to the store to get some more..."
So when I look back, there was something about that moment that marks when bees came into my life... something bee-ish, full of grace, quietly slipped under my radar and into the heart of my life. By the end of that year, I ended up in bee school, and I have been at the feet of bees ever since.
2. What is your goal or intention with your honeybee sanctuary?
I am a honeybee educator, speaker, and advocate. I teach and travel around the world, and I am totally bee-sotted. I am not commercial and rarely harvest any honey. My bee sanctuary is right next to our house in the mountains of Western North Carolina. It is a place that is holy to me. I spend time there every day that I am in town. My path is to explore sacred relationship with the bees, to learn from them, and to inspire and support others in doing the same, and it is also to provide a safe place for bees to flourish in the world. The bee sanctuary is a place I express my respect, love, reverence, devotion, and gratitude for them. This place and space is also to honor others. The sanctuary is filled with precious objects that are meaningful to me and other people, placed mindfully around the bee sanctuary to represent prayers for the well being of the bees, particular people and animals, and for the benefit of all life. As I move around the yard daily, these prayers are regularly enlivened. More than anything, the bee sanctuary is place of expressing and sharing my love for these precious wing-ed ones and for creating a healthy place for them to thrive, especially in these times where their health and well-being is so challenged.
3. What inspired you to create your Sacred Path of Bee series of classes?
I fell into friendship years ago with a wonderful woman named Layne Redmond, who was a renowned frame drum teacher, musician, researcher, and artist. She and I discovered, in our unfolding friendship over the years, that many of the experiences I was having in my sacred-in-the-ordinary bee-tending life were resonant with some of the ancient ways of the bee priestesses that Layne had been exploring while researching what later became her seminal book, When the Drummers Were Women. Neither of us called ourselves bee priestesses, but nevertheless, those words help describe a sacred territory that was so enlivened in our lives. Layne invited me to share about bees and the sacred many times in her gatherings and conferences, and we went on to create a free public offering on bees and the sacred with the intention of later co-creating a multi-part online series. Unfortunately, Layne passed away in 2013 so I went on to create the series myself. I launched The Sacred Path of Bee in August of this year, and it is offered in her loving memory. The other source of inspiration for this series are the honeybees who have colonized my mind, heart and consciousness and inspire me every day of my life.
4. Who are some of your special guest collaborators in The Sacred Path of Bee?
I have invited ten remarkable people from around the world to join me in this series. Each are a world and a wonder. To describe just a few of them, I have invited Jacqueline Freeman to join me, a visionary who communicates with bees and who wrote the widely acclaimed book The Song of Increase, Returning to Our Sacred Partnership with Honeybees. Also invited is Horst Kornberger, who wrote Global Hive, Bee Crisis and Compassionate Ecology, who teaches at the Rudolf Steiner College in Perth, Australia. And there is Kaylynn Sullivan TwoTrees, an artist, educator, activist, and elder who has spent her life at the crossroads, where species, cultures, beliefs and the unknown intersect, collide, and evolve. All ten guests bring a unique perspective to our understanding of bees and their vast blessings in our lives.
5. Why is it important for us to forge more connections with bees in our world?
Since Colony Collapse Disorder reared its head in 2006, it is now much more widely and commonly known that we depend on honeybees for over a third of the food we eat (and I would add, food we really enjoy eating). From my years with the bees, I think the opportunity they bring in helping us to understand some of the deeper issues and opportunities in life is even more important. It is my belief that many of the challenges in this world stem from our disconnect with nature--both within us and outside of us. When we steward bees in a bee-centric rather than bee-business-centric way, there is an opportunity to learn about the interconnectedness we share with all life. A higher consciousness naturally is awakened and enlivened when we spend time with honeybees in a respectful way (rather than treating them as livestock). More women than ever have stepped into the world of bees in unprecedented numbers. This started around 2007, and I believe it represents a compassionate response to the challenges bees are facing. I see this compassionate expressed in both the men and women I teach in the world and who are participating in the Sacred Path of Bee series. I celebrate the growing numbers of beekeepers and bee appreciators that are taking an interest in the bees with a primary intent to help them. If there is any one simple thing I could say about my own life with the bees, it's realizing that love itself is the ultimate activism. The Sacred Path of Bee is my offering to the world and to the bees, in the hope that more love can come their way and spread around to the rest of life. For it is sorely needed... and it's time.
Young entrepreneur Mayer Dahan is CEO of Prime Five Homes and Dahan Properties, full service real estate development companies that specialize in building modern, sustainable homes in Los Angeles. He is also the founder of The Dream Builders Project, an action based charity. The DBP hosts charitable events to fund and raise awareness for several of Los Angeles' key social issues, including child abuse and neglect, education, homelessness, and severe illness and disease.
1. How did you first become interested in sustainable building practices?
I first became interested in sustainable building practices and building eco-friendly, modern homes when I started thinking about wanting a home of my own. When you are buying a home, you want quality materials, sturdy infrastructure, and reliable and sustainable design. I realized how much LA is lacking this type of housing and decided to make it my mission to provide and educate people about the importance of building this way. At Prime Five Homes, we pride ourselves on utilizing only sustainable construction, solar energy, eco-friendly materials, and smart home technology. As the green building code becomes stricter and more apparent in the residential market, we strive to exceed these standards and make our houses even better and more beautiful.
2. In what ways do you find that being an L.A. native influences your work?
I was born and raised in LA, so this city is my home. Making LA the best that it can be is my passion, and my worldwide travels have taught me that we do live in a great city, but there are things we can improve on, such as housing and sustainability. Seeing and exploring various architectural innovations and design styles around the world is what inspires me to continue building modern homes and educating Angelinos on the future of building and housing.
3. When it comes to the homes you've built through Prime Five Homes, do you have any favorites overall?
432 S. Citrus is most definitely my favorite so far. Not only is the look of home modern, beautiful, and distinct, but the design and architecture is what I am incredibly proud of. The open floor plan completely blurs the lines between indoor and outdoor environments, establishing a style of living that some can only dream of.
Although it was one of our more challenging builds because we wanted to create an aesthetic that would stand out from the competition while still maintaining a modern and eco-friendly design, the final product was well worth the challenge. The big, luxurious windows allow so much natural light to filter into the home's interior and the refurbished wood that adorns the ceiling of the upstairs balcony, as well as the kitchen cabinetry is are why I love 432 S. Citrus so much.
A current project that we are working on right now on, N. Curson Ave, will be incomparable to anything I've ever done before. Stay tuned! It will be well worth it!
4. What inspired you to start The Dream Builders Project?
After the death of a close friend from unfortunate circumstances in 2013, I realized how important it is to offer a helping hand to those in need. I didn't just want to help on a small scale. In her name, I wanted to make a real impact on our community, and for this reason, I founded The DBP. Replicating Prime Five Homes' philosophy of making LA a better place, the goal of The DBP is to give back to the community with a focus on homelessness, child abuse and neglect, education, and human trafficking. In its history, The DBP has hosted over 12 Charity Flash Mobs, two Charity Galas, and one orphanage remodeling, and supplied more than 600 school children with school supplies.
5. For people who are reading this and nurturing their own entrepreneurial dream, what's your advice for getting started--or taking their dream to the next level?
You don't need to know everything in order to get started: you just need a good idea, passion, and a whole lot of drive! And don't be afraid to take risks. Just believe in yourself and dream big!
Are you in the greater Seattle area? Do you want to raise money for a nonprofit organization? Are you looking for a project that requires minimal time and effort in arranging? We all love car washes to support charitable organizations, but here's a cool twist on that classic fundraiser: CharityCarWash.org lets you raise money for your group by selling tickets for professional car washes.
So instead of spending hours signing up volunteers and washing cars, you can simply sell these vouchers to your family, friends, coworkers, and anyone else who wants to get their car professionally washed, save money, and support a local nonprofit at the same time.
And even better, you're promoting an environmentally friendly way for people to wash their cars, so in addition to supporting nonprofits, you're helping to protect the Puget Sound, too, as the water from the car washes (with all the dirty residue from your car, including oil, wax, etc!) is piped to treatment centers rather than being washed down storm drains.
When you order a block of tickets, they are customized with two lines of text with the name and a brief amount of information about your charity. There are tickets for attended car washes and tickets for self-serve car washes in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area; see a list of participating car washes here.
Basically, the way that your nonprofit group makes money with these tickets is that you're able to purchase the tickets for less than half of their recommended resale value. The CharityCarWash.org website includes a lot of good hints for having a successful fundraiser, including doing a ticket pre-sale, making a video about your sale to share on social media, and selling your tickets at high-traffic sites like grocery stores.
Remember, this is what happens if you wash your car in your driveway:
For a unique and green fundraiser, check out CharityCarWash.org, a project of the Puget Sound Car Wash Association.
Are you interested in finding the best green cleaning products? EcoSierra, a company based in Madison, Wisconsin, has a great-looking line of eco friendly cleaning products, and they specialize in reusable, refillable products. Check out this video to learn more about their cleaning products such as all purpose cleaner, kitchen cleaner, bathroom cleaner, and glass cleaner.
I used to work with a woman who had spent many years as a chemist, and she was very careful about her choices in cleaning products because conventional products could send her into a terrible reaction because of her chemical sensitivity. It makes me glad to see this line of health-friendly products made from natural ingredients because they not only help us maintain our physical health, but they also help us preserve the environment.
EcoSierra is known for their custom "squeasy pouch" refills for their cleaning products. This system saves money and resources and sends fewer materials into landfills. The series of photos below shows how the squeasy pouches work.
I've always liked the convenience of spray products, and EcoSierra has developed their line of cleaners so that you can use the optimal product for each of your cleaning needs. Or if you prefer to just use one cleaner throughout your home, they have an all-purpose cleaner, too. The products come in gentle scents such as cucumber and grapefruit. Visit EcoSierra's website to learn more.
Enviro First Solutions is an Australia-based company which sells creative, affordable, environmentally friendly products suitable for individuals and governments alike.
Some of their most popular items are oil spill kits and absorbent kits which are designed to help with the cleanup of different sizes of oil spills. The kits are designed with environmental regulations in mind--for example, if you are a recreational boater, you still need to be responsible for any oil spillage when fixing your engine, etc.
The spill kits on the site include compact, easy to use kits for hobbyists as well as larger kits suitable for municipal use. There are spill bags, spill bins, and a product called Envirohold allows for easy removal and disposal of the spilled oil by making it mass together when in the water. The products are designed to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
The Enviro First Solutions website also includes a detailed description of silt fencing and how it helps prevent soil loss on construction sites or other areas where the land is being disturbed. This type of fencing is important in protecting habitats and keeping waterways and sewers from becoming clogged with sediment. The site gives details on design and placement of fences, and you can contact the company for more information about silt fence installation on your building site.
Personally, as I browsed the company's website, I was impressed with their biodegradable alternative to sandbags. Their Easy Bags come flat packed and contain a polymer which absorbs water and inflates so that it functions like a sandbag, but you don't have to shovel sand and haul heavy sandbags to build a barrier to protect yourself from flooding. As the video below says, "your threat becomes your solution" when water-filled Easy Bags function as a protective wall.
If you are in Australia and are looking for a friendly, knowledgeable group of people who are creating products to help protect the environment, check out Enviro First Solutions' website, or just give them a call or an email.
Dr. Hicham Riba is a practicing dentist in the United States who graduated from New York University in 1994, and from Tishreen University in Syria in 1989. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Riba has also been a realtor in the state of Illinois since 2007 and is certified in real estate investments from various real estate institutions in the United States. He is an avid sustainable living enthusiast and author of Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Design: The Riba Green City Model.
1. How did you first become interested in sustainable design?
I've always had an interest in architecture and design. Of course when you have children, if you weren't before, you become much more concerned about the environment. I became hyper-aware of the environmental messes my children would be forced to deal with in the future, not to mention their children, my grandchildren--everyone's.
2. What inspired you to write Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Design: The Riba Green City Model?
It was the war in Syria. Amidst the heartbreaking daily reports of loss of life and devastating destruction, somehow green ideas began to sprout in my mind. These ideas multiplied by the day, and soon I simply could not shake the hope for a new, green, thriving Syria. In time, the opportunity to rebuild would present itself. We needed to be prepared. Instead of consumers, I sincerely believe each one of us possesses the ability to become a producer utilizing the best technology available and shedding our dependence on fossil fuels.
3. Would you tell us a little bit about your "green city model"?
It's a practical guide to creating a completely sustainable and agricultural city. I thoroughly explore all aspects of renewable energy and how we can apply them in every area from the individual housing units to the blocks, neighborhoods, communities, and throughout the entire city.
4. What are some things you do in your own life to be mindful of the environment and live in a more sustainable way?
I recycle, buy local whenever I can, blog, talk to my kids about the environment, and try my best to be a good example, because that is what they'll remember above all else.
5. How do you combine your work as a dentist with your interest in sustainable design?
In the workplace we are paperless. Everything is digital. The office design is also very agronomic, and we use green companies whenever we have the opportunity.
Today I learned about a unique project with the biggest goal I've ever seen when it comes to crowdfunding: saving the planet. Crowd Energy is gathering donations to help fund the production of a prototype of an ocean energy turbine and laminar flow test tank. The idea is to utilize the power of deep ocean currents to produce a clean and renewable energy source that could eventually replace fossil fuels and nuclear power.
The project coordinators describe the project as a commercially viable alternative to current energy sources. Rather than seek corporate funding which could have strings attached (for example, what if corporate funders with ties to competing energy sources bought the project with the intent of shelving it?), funding will come from individual supporters who pledge what they can to help.
In addition to producing a limitless supply of clean energy, the deep ocean current turbines could also be used to produce fresh drinking water, as the excess torque of the turbines could drive desalinization pumps.
Who is behind Crowd Energy? The participants describe themselves as "a small collection of Engineers, Inventors, and Scientists... specialists in SubSea Engineering, Oceanography, Marine Ecology and Conservation, Electrical Engineering, Fabrication, and Design." They are dedicated to using eco-friendly materials, with mindfulness toward marine animals and habitats.
For more information, check out the "donate" page which goes into more detail about Crowd Energy and includes some videos, too.
Below is a guest post from Leo Group, a recycling company based in Halifax.
The Benefits of Proper Waste Management in the Home
Household waste can be a nuisance to say the least. Accumulating it is easy; it is getting rid of it in the right way that can be difficult. This is why it is so important that you have a proper waste management strategy in place. Recycling your household waste is, by far, one of the best things that you can do. This is because there are so many benefits. Companies like Leo Group are there to help you to recycle your household waste in the most efficient manner possible. Here are some of the benefits that come with proper waste management in the home.
Keep the Home Germ-Free
One of the problems that many people face is having rubbish lying around the house until the council come to collect it on a weekly basis. If you recycle your household waste, then you don't need to worry about this. The great thing about companies like Leo Group is the fact that they are able to collect your rubbish efficiently, meaning that you don't have to have it lying around until it can be collected. This makes the home much healthier, and also germ free.
Create a Healthier Environment
The environment is constantly being damaged. Although we are all aware of this, very few of us will actually do our bit. What you have to remember is the fact that household waste that is not recycled will inevitably end up in a landfill. When this happens, the government has to pay for it, and it causes huge amounts of damage to the environment. However, by recycling your household waste with a company like Leo Group, you are able to really make sure that you are not contributing too much to global warming.
Protect the Earth for Future Generations
If you have children, then you will obviously want to make sure that they are given the best future possible. Obviously, some aspects of their future are out of your hands, but by recycling your household waste, you are able to do your bit to preserve the planet for future generations.
Recycling really does need to begin at home. Many of us find ourselves ranting about large manufacturing firms that are destroying the earth, when we are not doing anything from the home. If you want to make sure that you do your bit for the planet then start recycling today.
Adam Green loves saving money and goes hunting for bargains every week on websites such like Macirculaire.com. As a citizen of Canada, he feels an obligation to save the planet as Canada is the number one resource for water in the world. That's the main reason why he created www.macirculaire.com to help avoid unnecessary paper use.
1. When did you start Macirculaire, and how did you choose the name for the site?
Macirculaire was launched back in November 2011, so we'll soon have occasion to celebrate our second birthday with some new features which will be revealed by end of October. The name is pretty simple as "circulaire" means in French--especially in Quebec, Canada--the flyer every store releases on weekly basis in order to let their customers be aware of the latest discounts and offers. "Ma" is for "My," so the website could be named in English "Myflyer," but as far as our target is speaking more French in Quebec, we preferred to name it "Macirculaire.com."
2. What will visitors find at Macirculaire?
Visitors typically are looking for discounts and offers from their preferred stores for shopping offline. They can find the addresses of stores in their neighborhood and the store flyers online, while browsing all flyers and stores available on Macirculaire.
3. What are some suggestions you have for people to reduce their use of paper?
Fortunately we have an organization here in Quebec, REQ, which is doing a great job that way by sensitizing the citizens to the big loss of paper and difficulty/cost to recycle it. For instance they offer a sticker that you can pick up at their locations or print online in order to unsubscribe from all this lot of useless circulars printed and other unsolicited advertising. The latest stats show that more than 30% of citizens do browse their flyers only online, but this is not sufficient. We encourage people to use websites online and even keep their preferred flyers on mobile phones or devices while shopping.
4. Do you have plans to expand Macirculaire to reach other areas beyond the Quebec area?
Right now there's lot of work that needs to be done right here in Quebec, as illustrated in an article in a local news highlighting the flyers problem in Montreal. Ideally Macirculaire should address the same problem met in France where also people browse flyers whether they are called catalogs or brochures. To be concrete there's no plan in the near future to expand the offer to other countries. We'll continue rather to adapt our offerings and user experience to Quebec citizens.
5. What response have you received so far about your site from consumers and from businesses?
As you know, with actual website usage tracking we can have all these responses directly on our analytics dashboard. Actually, we have the bounce rate decreasing significantly as people have more confidence in the website. In the mean time, we have noticed more subscribers to our newsletter and more people who create accounts in order to keep track of specific flyers they're interested in. On the other hand, we can also monitor users sentiment over social media, and we're proud to see that it's more than positive.
Fun Panda is a company that makes iPhone cases that are both fun and eco-friendly. Their most popular products are custom iPhone cases where customers can upload an image of their choice and it will be laser engraved onto the case.
The people at Fun Panda also donate a portion of their proceeds to worthy causes like The Beautiful Dream Society.
1. What are some of the benefits of working with bamboo?
Well, bamboo is a highly renewable resource and very eco-friendly and can be made into all types of things, even clothes. To be honest I'm surprised bamboo is not more popular that it already it is.
2. What are some of the options available for people who want to customize their cases?
If you're interested in customizing your case, all you need to do is upload your image to our website and you'll get to see a preview of what it's going to look like. You can use any type of image you want. We've seen a lot of interesting things come through here, and it's cool to see people's creativity.
3. Do you sell locally or only online?
Both and we've also had some interest from people wanting to sell our products on their site or to get custom cases done to sell in their store. In that case, those designs are exclusive to that store and we wouldn't sell them on our website.
4. Could you tell us a little bit about the charitable organizations your company supports?
Currently we are mainly focused on the Beautiful Dream Society, which is a great organization dedicated ending human trafficking both in Oklahoma and Uganda. Human trafficking is a worldwide problem and they need all the help they can get.
The two other charities we like are much more well-known, and they are The Nature Conservancy and St. Judes. We alternate donations every so often and give at least 5% of our proceeds to them. More info can be found at http://www.funpanda.com/charities-we-support.
5. Are you envisioning additional creative products for the future?
We will be adding iPad cases in the near future and possibly the iPod Touch. We've also been planning a design contest to help add more designs to our collection. The details aren't in stone just yet, but it's something we're really excited about doing. As I said before, I really love seeing other people's creativity and the things they can come up with.
In my previous post about Suzanne Holt's blog, I focused on Suzanne as a blogger. But her website also offered me an interesting introduction to Norwex products, so this post focuses more directly on that topic.
Suzanne is an Executive Vice President Sales Leader with Norwex, which means that she helps guide a team of Independent Sales Consultants who sell Norwex products. On her website, Suzanne features information about many Norwex products. Two recent posts focused on a makeup removal product and a bathroom cleaning product, for example. In this way, readers learn about products but through the lens of Suzanne's own perspective.
To purchase Norwex products, rather than shopping on the corporate website, you shop on the website of a specific sales consultant. The company has developed a relationship-based method of sales while at the same time allowing customers to shop online, a unique combo which distinguishes it from many companies.
When you click onto the Norwex corporate website, you're greeted with an image of a blue lake, the blue sky, and a lush green field. The company, which originated in Norway in the 1990s, describes their work as follows: "radically reducing the use of chemicals in personal care and cleaning to promote health." They do this through a vast product line of items you can use for taking care of your home, as well as skin care items, shampoos, soaps, etc. They also have a special line of products developed with kids in mind. If you want to learn about those products, you need to return to Suzanne's site (or another site maintained by and Independent Sales Consultant).
Norwex is hiring consultants in the United States as well. Suzanne also provides information about working with Norwex on her blog, and she invites people to contact her personally, saying that, "you will not receive a sales pitch from me."
I've been in many stores--plus museums, government buildings, etc--which share information with customers/visitors using TV or computer screens. I never really thought about the set-up required to do this until I read about Monitors AnyWhere and the company's simple solution to a situation that is more cumbersome for a lot of businesses than it needs to be.
Turns out that many businesses who are using digital signage are placing a PC or media player (which is basically a PC) behind each screen that they want to use to broadcast their informational and/or ad content. Another large number of businesses are using solutions that use video extenders over Cat5 cables (network cables), which requires the business owners to run a proprietary network infrastructure just for that cause.
If this seems like a lot of hardware and infrastructure to share information digitally/visually with customers, the people at Monitors AnyWhere thought the same thing! So they have developed a method which allows you to use a single PC and your existing network infrastructure to broadcast up to 20 different content channels by utilizing the VGA over LAN technology.
Well, the easiest way to understand it is to watch this animated video from Monitors AnyWhere...
The best part about the product developed by Monitors AnyWhere is that it's a green solution because it saves businesses the environmental impact as well as the expense of running a bunch of PCs to display digital signage; instead, you can run your content with the resources you're already using. Pretty cool!
In "how-to" articles about blogging, you'll generally be advised that a huge key to successful blogging is providing interesting and useful content. Suzanne Holt provides just this sort of content on her blog, littlegreencloth.com. She focuses on giving information about healthy consumer products as well as resources for natural methods for cleaning and personal care. For example, her recent posts include advice on natural ways to reduce your family's chances of being bitten by mosquitos, and a series of tips for promoting skin health by avoiding toxins in everyday products.
Suzanne is and Independent Norwex Sales Consultant and Executive Vice President Sales Leader for Norwex, and she's based out of Minneapolis / St. Paul, Minnesota. Her blog includes information about the Norwex line as well. Personally, as a reader, I feel she does a good job of balancing information that's specific to Norwex with information that has broad application and isn't brand-specific; in other words, you will find useful information on her blog whether you're looking to buy (or sell) Norwex products or not.
Check out the category listings for previous posts along the left-hand margin of her blog. You'll find useful information on everything from kids and the environment to gluten-free living.
In my previous post about biodegradable and compostable bags for dog waste, I was interested to learn about some environmentally friendly options from a Canadian company to help pet owners reduce their impact on landfills. Now I've learned about another Canadian company producing biodegradable bags for a different market: printed poly bags for a variety of business needs.
These bags are made near Toronto, and there are designs for a range of purposes, such as garment bags, garbage bags, and custom-printed bags for both retail sales and shipping. I've noticed that customers like biodegradable bags so much that they will often reuse them, which is an extra bonus for the business owners who have their business names printed on the bags as this results in lots of free advertising as people carry the bags around town.
Global 1 Packaging has a nice array of customizable shopping bags and other reusable bags that make excellent giveaways, too. With many cities enacting plastic bag bans, who doesn't like a free shopping bag? If I were a retailer, I'd definitely give the idea some thought!
Sometimes I think about landfills and certain things that surely account for a lot of the trash that adds up, and bags of pet waste always come to mind. In search of a solution, a Canadian company founded by animal lovers began selling two types of dog poop bags, some which are biodegradable and some which are compostable.
Their affordable bags are made in Canada while other competing products on the market are made in China, and they promise that the bags are sturdy enough that you don't have to be "afraid your hand might rip through."
They also sell compostable kitchen bags, and I'm curious to try their products because in my previous attempts at buying compostable bags, the bags were too thin to withstand the contents (not that I think I had a bunch of heavy kitchen waste, but the bags thought so!).
One other note: the bags are dark in color, so you and your dog can feel discreet about what you're carrying around on your walk!
