Electrolux will be announcing the winner of its 2010 Design Lab Compact Living competition later this month.  Here’s a look at the eight futuristic finalists:

• You can pop over to the Design Lab site to vote for your favorite.  I could probably do without the virtual reality cooking gizmo.

There’s a new green fashionista on the block. To celebrate the Grand Opening of Melissa Dion’s ecolissa.com, an eco and vegan conscious fashion site for women — you’ll receive 10% off your first order of already reasonably priced threads.  Some personal faves (above) – Cholla Elroy dress and Second Eco Denim jeans.  Just enter GO10 at checkout.

Tired of mass-produced, sterile fashion?  Need an edgy accessory to help you regain some of your lost street cred.  Maybe this industrial looking ring can help recapture a little of that ‘Trent Reznor’ vibe that used to be part of your appeal.

The adjustable ring, designed and created by Revonav, is made of recycled sterling silver and has been oxidized to show its character and detail – and hey, it’s only 33 bucks.

For this Tried and True Green Product Review, a complimentary Baringo messenger bag was provided to us by GreenSmart.

Check out GreenSmart’s new Baringo messenger bag — it’s good looking and has a lot of great features.  Every time I use it I tell at least one person, “it’s made from 31 recycled plastic bottles.”  Inevitably, it gets a “wow, cool” reaction.

Rather than create waste in their manufacturing, the innovators at GreenSmart are literally making new material from waste.  All fabrics used for their Bottles 2 Bags are derived 100 percent from recycled plastic bottles (rPET Polyester).  The recycled plastic bottles are first ground into chips, then spun into yarn, woven into fabric and finally sewn into bags.  This process uses less energy than making polyester out of refined petroleum.

Well-conceived and executed, it’s designed to hold a lot of stuff — laptop, notebooks, books, small packages — and keep you organized.  The material is soft and lightweight yet durable.

There are several well-placed pockets (you can stash a slim reusable water bottle & your cellphone in the end pockets) and a front outside zipper compartment gives you easy access to small essentials.  Tucked under the front flap is a front panel storage area with allocations for pens, business cards, notepads & other small to medium sized items.

The interior has a divider/padded laptop bay and two handy mesh pockets (sunglasses, keys, wallet).  Along the back is a full width slash pocket for lightweight papers or folders.

I really enjoyed using it on its maiden voyage from West Palm Beach to NYC – I was able to place my laptop sleeve (coincidentally, also made by GreenSmart), cables, my handbag, reading material, etc. as carry-on.  It felt great to have so many extraneous things all together…Pardon the pun, but I guess you could say, this eco messenger bag really delivers high quality + low environmental impact.

If you’re wondering about the name, it’s named after Kenya’s Baringo Giraffe, an endangered species with only a few hundred members.  With each GreenSmart purchase, 10% of profits are donated to the World Wildlife Fund and other organizations helping to create a greensmart planet.

They’re available @ greensmart.biz for ($99.95).

Voltaic Systems looked at there competitors in the compact, portable solar charger marketplace and said, “we can do better.”  They’ve intro’d three new portable 4 watt chargers that far exceed the 1 watt of power provided by many popular competitors.  These compact chargers will transform 1 hour in the sun into 3 hours of cell phone talk-time and a fully charged battery will yield up to 19 hours of talk time or 48 hours of music playback on an MP3 player.

The Fuse (above left) attaches to your existing backpack, while the Switch Solar Bag (above right) can carry bigger stuff like a Kindle or iPad.  Each charger features (2) 2-watt solar panels, as does the very compact Amp standalone charger (pictured on right).  Each charger will fully charge their on-board battery in 7 hours of direct sunlight, additionally, each charger features an outer shells sturdily constructed of recycled PET bottles that’s waterproof, lightweight and UV resistant.  The solar panels themselves are designed to take a beating and each charger comes with all manner of adapters to keep all your small gadgets and gizmos charged.

Sending your precious progeny off to college?  Is that fruit of your loins pressuring you for a car to tool around campus?

Maybe you should rethink getting them that car, and get them a fully electric, zero emissions e-bike, like the G-Bike City.  You can avoid costly insurance and registration (this electric bike meets federal guidelines for bike designation) and the worry of your kid getting pressured into picking up the booze for the next kegger because he’s got that roomy Prius.

The G-Bike City can be operated fully electric or pedal assist, has a top speed of 20mph so it maintains its ‘bike’ designation, but will still let you get places easier than a traditional bike with added speed, safety and maneuverability.  On second thought maybe you should get one for yourself – it only costs about 29 cents to charge.

Comes in a variety of colors and features:

• top speed of 20mph
• 500Watt brushless motor
• a range of 35 to 42 miles on a 4 – 8 hour charge
• 260 lb load limit
• shocks, mirrors, front + rear brakes, lights and turn signals
• dashboard + controls
• alarm

all that for $1,099.99

A beautifully designed, modern bamboo bowl.  Create a fruit-filled, edible still life in your eco-friendly home with this sweet-looking bamboo fruit bowl from designer Jee Bundy for Oryx + Crake.

• (photo above) They leave a trail – but no one sees them move…Death Valley Mystery: What Makes Rocks Wander – livescience
• Earl looks to be losing some steam and staying out to sea…Hurricane Earl Threatens East Coast – cnn
• Tea Party fallout – corporations will now fight environmental regulation by claiming infringement on individual rights and blaming ‘big government’…Calif. Rejects Ban on Plastic Shopping Bags – msnbc
• I’ve always had a soft-spot for the retro-looking horseshoe crab…Climate Change Implicated in Decline of Horseshoe Crabs – sciencedaily
• Good but not great…UK Biofuels ‘Falling Short’ on Enviro Standards – bbc
• Famed Tasmanian Devil Euthanized After Tumor Found - myway

We’re always on the prowl for great green roof designs, earth-friendly designs that add a touch of green to the urban tundra or the cookie-cutter world of suburban subdivisions.  NYC headquartered Goode Green are green roof designers and installation experts.  They work on both residential and commercial project.  Here are some pix of their various projects.

Some of the benefits of a green roof installation:  provides insulation that can dramatically reduce heating and cooling costs, reduces and regulates storm water run-off and associated pollution, protects the roof’s membrane and provides a green space in an otherwise barren, heat creating environment.

Just a thought – if you own a restaurant or hotel you might want to contemplate growing your own organic veggies on the roof.  See below for more:

Related:  previously on altCon

yes, a sod roof can be sexy (8.17.10)

symbios eco-tecture green roofs & design (8.12.10)

rooftops & walls go green (4.2.07)

In honor of Labor Day, Better World Books is featuring this special all week:

Starting today Tuesday, August 31st (and ending September 8th), books in the Bargain Bin will be 4 for $10. And there’s always free shipping … @ BetterWorldBooks.com.