Archive for reusable stainless steel bottles
Valentine’s Day Paper Towel Wreath Eco-friendly Craft for Kids
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome back to Planet Forward blog, today we’ll be making an eco-friendly craft for kids in celebration of Valentine’s Day that doubles as a decoration. Our eco-friendly craft today is a Valentine’s Day paper towel wreath. Though the craft may seem daunting at first, it is super easy and something you will treasure for years to come. The Valentine’s Day paper towel wreath is great to hang on your front door or the door of a classroom. This fun and earth friendly project comes by way of thethriftress.com. Let’s get crafting.
(Image Credit: thethriftress.com)
Tools:
• 2 paper towel rolls
• Scissors
• Spray Paint or regular paint
• Paint brush (if using regular paint)
• Glitter
• Hot glue gun
• Ribbon
Instructions:
1. Save up two paper towel rolls.
2. Flatten out the tube and then invert one side so you have a heart like shape.
3. Cut the tube into roughly equal parts.
4. Round out the sharp points so you have nice heart shaped pieces.
5. Spray the cut out heart pieces with spray paint of choice. While the paint is still wet liberally apply glitter.
6. Use hot glue to piece together wreath.
7. Adjust as you glue so that you have a round wreath shape when finished.
8. The finished wreath is on the small side so [you can] decide to add another row of hearts.
9. Tie a large piece of ribbon through the wreath and hang on your door
(Image Credit: thethriftress.com)
Though this eco-friendly craft calls for the use of spray paint, it’s not necessary. You can easily paint the paper towel roll heart using whatever paint you have in the house. In fact, decorating is the perfect way to get children involved in their craft. Also, the wreath does not have to simply be red, as it would look great if done in shades of pink, red, and white. If you want to be really creative (or if you have various shades of leftover paint), paint the inside and outside of each heart a different colour. The sky is the limit when you are crafting and the only thing holding you back is your imagination.
Remember that children should always be supervised when crafting. It is probably a good idea if an adult cuts out the heart shapes, as the cardboard is difficult to cut through. The Valentine’s Day paper towel wreath is a wonderful way to spend a snowy winter day. Not to mention that eco-friendly crafts for kids allow you to spend creative time with your family while making memories that will last a lifetime. Also, this is perfect craft to stow away and reuse for years to come. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
Welcome back to the Planet Forward blog for another edition of our weekly green news highlights. This week: Masdar, the World’s First Sustainable city in United Arab Emirates, located seventeen kilometres from Abu Dhabi; the Grand Canyon is cleaning up and banning bottled water in favour of reusable bottles at refill stations; and Kraft accomplishes zero waste at 36 plants. Just click on the links to learn more.
(Image Credit: LAVA)
Let’s begin with Masdar: The World’s First Sustainable City. The first sustainable city called Masdar, which in Arabic translates as ‘the Source’ will be located in United Arab Emirates, seventeen kilometres from Abu Dhabi. The design behind Masdar will be developed by Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA). The plan to build the city will occur in seven stages and it’s targeted for completion sometime between 2020-2025. Six buildings of stage one were completed in 2010 with the balance suspended until 2015. Once completed, Masdar City will accommodate 40,000 residents, 50,000 commuters, and over 1,500 companies. No cars or personal vehicles will be permitted within the city. Masdar will be a tribute to sustainability with the following “design elements:
• Zero carbon, zero waste, zero emissions transportation system
• Fossil fuel free
• Powered 100% by renewable energy sources
• “Sunflower” umbrellas that can mediate outside temperature
• Wall surfaces that adapt to changing temperatures
• Rooftop gardens
• Adaptive building facades that adjust to capture sunlight
• Underground water storage
• Sustainability-minded five-star hotel, central plaza, convention center, entertainment complex, and shops”
At a hefty $18.7 billion (US) pricetag, the city footprint will extend 6 square kilometres. “Sunflower umbrellas (see image) will create shade, reflect desert sunlight, and store heat during the day. At night in Masdar, the umbrellas will close, releasing the heat stored during the day and opening up the space for shopping, dining, luxury lodging and even the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency.” Incredible, and hopefully this will inspire future urban developments to follow suit. Watch the video below.
Grand Canyon to ban bottled water sales. Visitors expressed concern that empty plastic bottles scattered around the park are spoiling views of one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The ban was proposed previously and “became controversial when it was delayed in late 2010 after what the public interest group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility charged was pressure by The Coca-Cola Company. The company and park officials have denied such a claim.” Now the ban is coming to fruition, according to Reuters. “The National Park Service has approved a plan that would eliminate the sale of bottled water within 30 days, after nearly $290,000 was spent to install 10 water stations inside the park.” This means that visitors will use the 10 water stations available to refill reusable water bottles. Clearly refilling reusable water bottles over buying plastic bottles is a more sustainable solution and will help preserve the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon. “Our parks should set the standard for resource protection and sustainability,” John Wessels, the park service’s intermountain region director, said in a statement. With 4.5 million tourists visiting the Grand Canyon annually, it’s estimated that “disposable bottles account for 20 percent of the park’s waste and 30 percent of its recyclables.”
Kraft Foods Wages War On Waste, One Plant At A Time. The Kraft corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability program hones in on six areas: waste management, agricultural commodities, packaging, energy, water and operations related to transportation and distribution. By the end of 2010, Kraft had eliminated 42 percent of its wastes. In a press release, Kraft explained what they’ve done (and are doing) to reduce waste. “We’re waging war on waste, one plant at a time,” said Christine McGrath, Vice President, Global Sustainability. “Today, we have 36 facilities in 13 countries that send zero waste to landfills, and we’ve reduced our manufacturing waste by 50 percent since 2005. Our strategy is simple: generate less waste and find new uses for the waste we do produce. And our employees are doing just that.” Approximately 90 percent of Kraft’s manufacturing waste is recycled or reused.
Stay tuned for more green news.
February 9, 2012
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
Betty Crocker’s Win One Give One CSR Initiative Benefits Kids in Africa
Posted by: | CommentsA tenant of having a successful corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative is to somehow link your product with a cause that is associated with your field. Education and children’s snacks have proven to be a link that many companies have used when designing such campaigns. There are many examples of this working such as Box Tops For Education or Campbell’s Labels for Education campaign. These initiatives have created a joint fundraising promotion between the company involved and its consumers, which uses either special labels or UPC codes that makes the donations possible. Betty Crocker® understands the success of this style of CSR campaign and is building upon it with their Win One Give One initiative.
Win One Give One is a two fold initiative where by consumers enter the UPC codes from various Betty Crocker® Fruit Flavored Snacks to their site winonegiveone.com . For every 100 UPC codes entered Betty Crocker® will donate an XO laptop™ to a child in need in Africa. They will donate up to 1,725 laptops until July 31, 2012. The campaign was launched on November 15, 2011. There is further incentive for consumers to enter their UPC codes other than altruism, every day that they receive 100 UPC codes, they will give away a laptop to someone participating in the program. The raffle will go until March 18, 2012.
(Image Credit: winonegiveone.com)
Obviously Betty Crocker® understands that their target demographic is parents and education is something that most parents value greatly. They have found a means to allow parents to become conscious consumers. Conscious consumerism is an ever-growing retail trend and people want to support companies that are doing their part to make the world a better place. They are allowing parents to feel that they are doing something productive with their shopping choices. A CSR initiative like this one can even help bring in new consumers as they will try the product out just to participate in the campaign.
The other aspect of this CSR initiative that will draw people in is the chance for their own child to win a laptop. However the XO laptop™ they are giving away is not just any laptop, it’s durable and has a plastic exterior, the screen flips around, it’s loaded with educational software and has built-in wireless so that it can connect to the internet from anywhere in the world. It is a perfect learning tool for children anywhere.
A CSR initiative that gives back to those in need while keeping the bottom line in mind just makes good business sense. Betty Crocker® has obviously put a lot of thought into their campaign as it appeals to both new and repeat customers on many levels. By using education as their focus, it appeals to their target demographic: parents.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
