I love nature-inspired accents in my home, they soothe my soul and keep me in touch with my surroundings.

As the seasons change, I like to make little changes in my space.  Throw pillows are a simple way to alter my perspective and perk things up. I just came across these eco beauties for a touch of fall, but their elegant design is timeless.

Soft to the touch, this fabric is a blend of hemp and organic cotton, and printed by hand with non-toxic, water based inks. For the insert, you can choose from two different eco friendly options:  either a high-quality fiber generated from spun recycled plastic bottles or a natural, downy fiber from the seed pods of the kapok tree. Kapok is a sustainable, pesticide-free and hypoallergenic product.  An organic cotton shell encases the fill.  Designed by, and available @ Amenity Home. (printed and sewn in the USA, machine washable)

Related:  previously on altCon – amenity for the modern eco home

Last week, the world class Frankfurt Motor Show served as the proving grounds for a line-up of efficient electrics. And topping the list of glitzy unveilings with four, all-electric cars was none other than Renault, Nissan’s sister company, with the Twizy Zero Emission (Z.E.), Fluence Z.E., Kangoo Z.E. and Zoe Z.E.

Designed to come to market in the next three years, Renault is making a punchy statement about their plans for (more…)

• Strange bedfellows…China and U.S. Try to Jumpstart U.N. Climate Talks – rueters
• Before we get all Kevorkian – where would we get all those cute photos? ‘Pull the Plug’ on Giant Pandas, Naturalist Says – msnbc
• They must have photoshopped big ‘ol Rush into that Smart Car…Rush Limbaugh to Take Green Car Challenge on Leno – ecorazzi
• Talk about getting ‘plugged-in’. U.S. Lends Plug-In Carmaker $529 Million – npr
• From the ‘they can’t make this stuff up’ file…Miss. Police Use Taser, Handcuffs on Wayward Emu -myway
• Which came first the brain injury or the tequila…Booze: Possible Treatment for Brain Injury – livescience
• Non-invasive monitoring…‘Fingerprints’ Identify Cheetahs – bbc

An interesting example of a stylish, fully functional product created out of a renewable, recyclable, natural material.  This collapsible, accordion shaped bag is made from laminated banana leaves.  Folds flat or expands to carry your vital junk.

(L40 x D21 x H23 cm)  £56 @ greenhaus.co.uk

Innovative electric bike maker PEDEGO has gone and made electric bike riding a communal endeavor by creating – what they claim is – the world’s first tandem electric bike.  The electric two-seater, which will feature a 750 watt motor and a battery that will last for 15,000 miles, will cost as little as 10 cents to charge.  The tandem bikes will be available by the holiday season, starting at a price of around $2,300.

source: prnewswire

Related:  previously on altCon (8.7.09)  Comfort Cruiser from PEDEGO

Last week’s TheGreenShows 2-day event in NYC was the place to be during fashion week.  Amidst the usual fashion runway buzz, a cool vibe permeated the King of Greene Street space.

Brooklyn-based designer Bahar Shahpar was edgy and sharp, we loved those fetching hair adornments and Cri de Coeur shoes.

Russell Simmons popped in, apparently to show support for new BFF Ashley Dupre (of Eliot Spitzer fame), who strutted her stuff down the runway in a tight-fitting number.  When Ashley (pictured at left), appeared on the runway, I didn’t recognize her but I was struck by her physique, (unlike the other models, she was voluptuous and not quite as tall).  When her photo appeared the next day in The New York Post, all became clear.

House of Organic (Ekovaruhuset) is headed up by the sweet and talented, Stockholm-born, Johanna Hofring.  Her line is eco fashioned from all organic materials, fair trade made, naturally.  Accompanied by a very groovy live band, this catwalk show was totally hip.  I slipped into her little shop on Ludlow Street the next day, (that’s Johanna, above).

STUDY is a creative collective run by designer, Tara St James.  Crafted from cutting-room scraps, Tara upcycles fabric and transforms pieces into totally wearable fashion, (above). more @ 4equalsides.com

I also loved Chicago-based Lara Miller‘s line, created from certified organic cotton, wild-harvested bamboo, raw silk and recycled cotton fibers. (Related: peek at our runway video, Lara Miller and Cri de Coeur)

Although I didn’t catch the live show, Mr. Larkin is by San Francisco based designer, Ms. Casey Larkin. (more…)

Many of us struggle with the amount of room we have to successfully garden. If you have a do-it-from–scratch handicap, then you can thank the ingenious people who thought to mass produce ready-made raised beds. Raised beds have typically been one layer, however, now innovation has produced three tiered and four tiered beds that give you that much more space to grow things. All without taking up  precious extra space.

In planning for next year, if you are squeezed for land in which to garden, you might want to consider the following products: the Four Level Garden Pyramid and the Strawberry & Herb Terrace Kit.

The Four Level Garden Pyramid is actually made from HDPE (HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE) recycled milk jugs – yay! Another use for milk jugs. It comes in four different colors: white, green, weathered wood, and cedar. This eco friendly raised bed saves on our trees, reduces landfill waste and recycles a much-used item. It also (more…)

Financial services company, PNC, has found a way to save energy and make a big green marketing statement with a massive green wall installation on the south-facing wall of One PNC Plaza at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street in downtown Pittsburgh.

The 2,380 sq. ft., soil-based wall – think doubles tennis court – features a variety of regional plants grown into living art on its 602 panels.  The 24 plants in each 2×2 sq. ft. space are estimated to offset the carbon footprint of one person.  The vertical garden, similar to a green roof, will help to cool the 30-story building.  Preliminary studies show the south-facing living wall will be 25 percent cooler behind the wall than ambient temperatures.

(more…)

Art Haines, a mechanical designer from Maine, came up with the idea of building a solar powered car.  When he pitched the idea of having local high school students help him build the car to his local civic group, it was well received.  He and eight students from the local high school discussed the project and the students came up with a list of the specifications for the solar car.  Mr. Haines then designed the solar car’s prototype on his computer, and the Sunnev – Solar Neighborhood Electric Vehicle was born.  Though not all of the original specs were implemented in the final version of the Sunnev – it turned out to be (more…)