Author Archives: quest

Surfer Dudes make Rapanui Eco Fashion Cool

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martin drake knight Surfer Dudes make Rapanui Eco Fashion CoolRapanui has just won the UK 2010 Sustainable Business Awards and now employs 12 full time staff in its office in Bembridge. This achievement is even more remarkable considering the brand was founded with only $316 of savings in University halls; recognized when Rapanui won a runners-up place at the 2010 Enterprising Young Brits Awards. The Brothers’ ethos of ‘doing business the right way’ won them a finalist place at the 2010 RSPCA Good Business Awards. Rapanui was set up by brothers Mart and Rob Drake-Knight in early 2008 now aged 23 and 25 respectively. Through surfing they saw and experienced the changing environment and climate at their local beach and as inspired, unemployed graduates in a recession, they took a different path; if you can’t find a job, make one. The aim still is to inform through the brand and mix eco with trend – to make it fashionable for people to go green.

Rapanui makes clothing from natural organic fabrics in a Fair Trade audited, wind powered factory. They say it’s not that people don’t care about child labor, the environment, our climate, it’s just they don’t know. They make it easier for people to see where clothing comes from and how it is made so they can make informed choices. It’s called Traceability. The brand’s forte is its radical approach to Sustainability: Rapanui take a total life cycle approach to their product’s human, environmental and climatic impact, and address each aspect. This is not a clothing company ticking the green box. This is a company aiming to change the entire fashion industry. Rapanui uses Certified Organic fabrics, Fair-Trade labor and Renewable Energy.

Rapanui has held Seminars and Lectures at UK and EU universities and multinational companies such as Centrica PLC on Sustainable Business and sit on the Panel at Plymouth University’s All our Futures Conference. These events have helped Rapanui share their Eco-Labelling idea, a way of packaging textiles products to communicate the effects caused by their buying action, essentially a way of forcing and regulating transparent business ethics in textiles. Rapanui also hosts the national petition for Textiles Eco-Labelling at 10 Downing Street. Rob and Martin Drake-Knight are listed on the Future 100 List of Top young Ethical Entrepreneurs.

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Green Drive Expo new to Bay Area

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Green Drive Expo new to Bay AreaHere’s another first for the Bay Area. The 1st Green Drive Expo. The Green Drive Expo  held tomorrow October 9, 2010 is an opportunity to see the latest clean energy and fuel efficient vehicles. Toyota, Ford, and Nissan are some of the Sponsors of the event. Which will be held at Craneway Pavillion 1414 Harbour Way South, Marina District of Richmond, California. At the Expo you’ll get a chance to explore the full range of green alternative transportation from concept cars to purchase-ready vehicles including electric cars, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, biodiesel, diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), and more. The Admission: $10 and Full expo access to Test drives, a full spectrum of green and clean vehicles from experts and enthusiasts and informative exhibits and vendors.

The show will also present The MPG Challenge which is a friendly competition that Green Drive Expo Bay Area VIPs can compete in, pitting themselves against others to see who can use the least amount of fuel on an open course route. This is the first time the Green Drive Expo MPG Challenge has been run in the Bay Area, so it will be interesting to see who will come out on top.  Overall it is meant to be a friendly competition and it is fun to compare yourself against others. Everyone is encouraged to bring their vehicle and do their best.
Whether you’re experienced with electric vehicles or simply considering your family’s first hybrid, Green Drive Expo Bay Area presented by Autobytel is the place to explore technology, fuel efficiency, cost savings and eco-conscious transportation.

Solar reaction

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alan friedman1 strip 150x150 Solar reactionNever under estimate the power of an idea whose time has come. Such is the way with solar and renewable energy as Los Angeles prepares for Solar Power International next week (10/12-14) the largest solar show in the US. Recently on the other side of the globe as part of the 350.org Global Work Party to held on 10.10.10, President Nasheed of the Maldives personally got on the roof of his official residents’ to help do the installation. This is a remarkable gesture and one that governors and mayors around America could heed now that President Obama has said he will put solar panels back on the White House roof. Reactions are coming in around the country including one from Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.
“Putting solar on the roof of the nations’ most important home is a powerful symbol calling on all Americans to rethink how we create energy. It’s an example of how each one of us can improve energy security, employ Americans and cut energy costs. I can speak from personal experience that taxpayers will benefit. In the four years since I’ve had solar on my house, I’ve gotten a better return on my solar system than on my 401(k). SEIA has been working with the Obama Administration to install money-saving solar energy on government buildings across the country.

“Earlier this year, in a meeting with President Obama in the Rose Garden, I had the opportunity to point out to the President the large amount of available roof space on top of the White House, baking in the sun,” Resch notes about his direct appeal to President Obama to put solar back on the White House at an Earth Day ceremony in April. This appeal has been echoed by thousands of Americans across the country.
The Obama family joins the Resch family and hundreds of thousands of Americans who have already gone solar, including dozens of members of Congress, former presidential advisors like Reagan Secretary of State George Shulz and former CIA director James Woolsey. “Right now, solar energy is being manufactured in the United States. It is being installed on tens of thousands of homes each year across the nation in all 50 states. And it is creating jobs for hundreds of thousands of Americans. Obama’s decision to install solar on the White House is a prominent example of how solar is working for America today.”

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Blue jeans go green

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green jeans 300x205 Blue jeans go greenLooks as if everyone’s getting into going green. Gap has just announced from Blue to Green. Gap wants  shoppers to gather their old jeans and bring them to a local Gap store where they will  receive 30% off new “1969″ jeans purchases just in time for fall.

Today through October 20, Gap and Cotton Incorporated are teaming up to collect old denim, which will be given a “new life” by being converted into UltraTouch Denim Insulation and donated to communities in need. Shoppers can recycle their denim at more than 1,000 Gap stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Gap North America President Marka Hansen said, “Earlier this year, we partnered with Cotton Incorporated on their first ever national denim drive with a retailer, and it was met with such success that we wanted to give our customers another opportunity to recycle their old denim, help communities in need, and update their fall wardrobe with the latest 1969 jeans. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.’ merges the ideas of fashion, environmental sustainability and helping others.” I still want too see if you can get solar power from jeans.

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Northface seeks Eco Champions

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cliffhanger mountains water 300x225 Northface seeks Eco ChampionsOutdoor apparel, equipment and footwear maker The North Face, and Polartec, the creators of  performance textiles, today announced the launch of their ‘Eco Champion’ program. The campaign, is designed to recognize passionate people improving the environment and will honor an ‘Eco Champion’ with a $15,000 donation made in their name to a chosen green cause and a $1,000 gift certificate to The North Face online store.
“The Eco Champion campaign is a celebration of those individuals who dedicate their lives to making a difference in our world,” stated Nate Simmons, Director of Marketing for Polartec. “Both Polartec and The North Face are committed to reducing their environmental impact through programs like the recycled Polartec fleece in The North Face Denali jacket, and we are thrilled to recognize others who embrace the world we live in.”

The ‘Eco Champion’ program is a two-round campaign. The program invites entrants to submit videos or blogs showcasing people who deserve special recognition for their efforts to improve the environment. Twenty-five finalists, selected by The North Face and Polartec from round one, will advance to round two. Of the twenty-five finalists, one grand prize winner will be selected by The North Face and Polartec from the top ten entries in round two, to receive a $15,000 donation made in their name to a green cause of their choice plus a $1,000 gift certificate to The North Face online store. “The health of our planet and the outdoors is an integral part of The North Face brand,” said Letitia Webster, Director of Corporate Sustainability for The North Face. “We are thrilled to partner with Polartec for the ‘Eco Champion’ campaign to offer such a powerful program in recognition of the individual contributions of committed people and to demonstrate the tremendous collective input we can all have.”

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Wells Fargo offers new solar incentive

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Wells Fargo offers new solar incentiveFinancial services company Wells Fargo today announced a new incentive solar program to make it easier for home owners to go solar. As  you begin to stack on the federal, state and local incentives adding this additional plan makes installing a system even more attractive. As for Wells Fargo this latest initiative is aimed at helping its customers and the nation take advantage of clean renewable solar energy.

Mary Wetzel Wells Fargo Director of Environmental Affairs said, “As a community-based financial institution, one of the ways we can help is by offering financial solutions that help our customers save not only time and money, but also protect our environment.”“Through everyday actions and being aware of the ways our decisions affect the environment, we can all contribute to environmental protection and regeneration,”

The promotion is for qualified  Southern California customers who advance $15,000 or more from a home equity line or line of credit to finance a solar energy system for their home will receive up to $1,000 in incentives. Three solar companies are participating in the incentive – Acro Energy, REC Solar and Verengo Solar. Complete details of the California promotion are available at all Southern California Wells Fargo stores. Working with Colorado solar installers, the company is also presenting its Colorado customers with the $1,000 incentive through the end of the year.

Wells Fargo also provided more than $2 billion in tax equity financing projects around the country. It has installed solar panels in 10 Well Fargo Stores in Denver and supports the Environmental Finance Group, National Cleantech Commercial Banking Group, Clean Technology Investment Banking Group and the Sustainable Public Infrastructure Group; who are dedicated to developing opportunities and supporting businesses and municipalities in the growing clean technology sector.