Last December, in Tokyo, the Eco-Products 2011 took place, and Sony has revealed its last creation: an organic battery that runs on waste papers. Energy is generated by the digestion of sugar molecule contained in papers. Inspired by termite, which eat wood to get energy, pieces of papers are put in water and enzymes that extract sugar. After having been mixed, the liquid is put in the “bio battery”. Then, it can be used to power a small fan or a mp3. Although this battery is too small to replace bigger ones used for our electronics devices, Sony intends sell them someday. No launching date has yet been announced, but, bio stack have a future, for sure!

www.sony.net

While an Eco-responsible revolution is coming, smallest gesture in favor of the sustainable development counts. So, the Gavarni hotel has decided to highlight the innovating concepts which make themselves a name in the Eco-citizen sphere.

Ejector Jack

Did you know that even when they’re off, electronic devices plugged still consume energy? Laziness or forgetting, our planet suffers. Imagined by Pumping Tap designers, jacks have a spring, which throws plugged devices out after 10 min of inactivity. Clever, isn’t?

Smart Trailing Socket

Odixion has developed a range of trailing sockect which saves energy. More than easy, they detect the sleep mode and turn the power supply off, even for peripherals. Over-consumption and electric chocs are over.

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A Britain wind blows on Parisian floor through Britanie, the new ethical brand that cause a buzz. Created in 2010, it suggests body and hair lotions Ecocert certified and Cosmebio labeled. All ingredients come from Brittany, from alga and blueberry to typical scents such as salted butter fudge. Britanie provides 4 collections each one named after an Atlantic Coast. Get pampered by the products of the Emerald Coast, Pink Granite Coast, the Bigouden or the Gulf of Morbihan. Change of scenery!

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Green consciousness seems to get into many areas. The city of London has decided to host and organize the 2012 Olympic Games under the sustainable development banner. Focused on five themes, namely biodiversity, waste management, climate change, healthy living and social inclusion, the ecological plan set up for the summer games is titanic but very well constructed.

To start with, the Olympic Park will be located on former industrial contaminated land. It will allow the city to have a new green space (the largest urban park created for these last 150 years) and to identify habitats and species to protect in priority, such as otters, kingfishers and others. Moreover, in its northern part, a pumping station will be set up to manage better rainwater; while in the West, an innovative energy center equipped with biomass-fired boilers, a primary substation and a gas-fired combined cooling heat and power will be installed. Don’t worry, the South will host gardens, events, markets and bars. In addition, 2000 trees were planted and more than 300,000 wetland plants will enhance the green touch of the park.

As for social matters, the Olympic Village, which will host 17,000 athletes and officials, will be transformed later, in 2,800 homes, including 1379 low-rent.

The Olympic Stadium is designed with 75% of lightweight materials. The upper level, made with recyclable polymer, will be dismantled at the end of games. Finally, even the Olympic flame will be “green” using a cleaner fuel than paraffin, but it will still burn day and night.

For any further information, visit the 2012 Olympic Games official website.

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Everyone has already had this frustrating feeling: seeing worn or unfashionable clothes piling up at the bottom of the wardrobe. With a good will, we often decide to put everything in a trash bag, and we swear to drop it at Emmaüs … knowing that three months later, it still dominates our hallway. This is why the Japanese brand UNIQLO has decided to introduce the “All Product Recycling” initiative, (since 2001 in Japan) in France.

Now simply go on a shopping spree in any UNIQLO store in France with your old UNIQLO clothes and leave them on site. In Japan, clothes are distributed through NGO in 12 countries (Africa and Asia) and in Georgian domestic or policy refugees’ camps, while in France they will be sorted and redistributed by Samu Social. As an example, since 2006, the company received more than 10 million garments which have all been dispatched. A nicer alternative than large containers on the supermarkets parking lots.

More : UNIQLO parent company has opened a subsidiary in Bangladesh (one of the poorest countries in the world) in association with the Grameen Bank, a microfinance organization. With a textile business, the brand will contribute to the fight against poverty and illiteracy, and improve hygiene conditions. Over three years, it plans to hire about 1,500 people.

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Most of the time we get ideas about everything, even on the environmental commitment of some companies. Some handle it better than the others, whereas, in fact, performance is not always there. To overcome this bad faith, Interbrand, a brand consultancy publishes the annual Best Global Green Brands. A ranking which highlights companies combining good environmental image among consumers with real environmental performance. This year, the big winner is Toyota, followed closely by Siemens and 3M. Unfortunately for some, good performance is not enough to get a good ecological image among the public, we think particularly of L’Oreal or HSBC. On the other hand, we also notice that “greenwashing” still popular, McDonalds and Coca-Cola for example, have a good reputation among consumers while their policies are not so much green… It is time for us, consumers, to learn to put things in perspective!

More : Greenwashing is a form of spin in which green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company’s policies or products are environmentally friendly.

See the complete report on the Interbrand website.

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Can we ever cook a vegetarian menu healthy and appetizing? Garance Leureux answers yes in her book : Ma cuisine végétarienne pour tous les jours. Eating vegetarian food is no longer a nightmare, simple recipes but sophisticated come to enrich your life. This book helps you combine the right food according to diet rules. It explains to you the characteristics of specific ingredients, such as pulses or grains and gives you 500 recipes, which, for some, are photographed step by step. How to make cereal pancakes, vegetable pies, unique dishes made of tofu and flavored sauces? All answers and more are in this culinary bible, many times reprinted. A real stimulus of creativity.

Ma cuisine végétarienne pour tous les jours, by Garance Leureux, Editions La Plage, € 19,50.

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Has the Fête des Jardins left its mark on you ? If so, this good deed has been made for you. The Palace of Versailles offers to adopt a tree for €1000. After the great storm of 1999, gardens have been seriously damaged. The heart of the central axis of the park, the Etoile Royale, was reduced to a vast stretch of lawn punctuated very sparsely by a few Italian poplars. A redevelopment program of the area has been set up and 446 lime trees were planted, according to the historical pattern, thought by Le Nôtre. Adopting a tree is a symbolic and historical act, including the purchase, transportation, planting and a year’s maintenance. A certificate of adoption will be made out in your name or the name of the person to whom you wish to offer it as a gift. Of course, any donation as a private individual gives entitlement to tax cuts. Thus you can have a clear conscience.

Photo credit : The big view – © EPV

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Everyone knows that: to travel green in Paris, nothing is better than using public transports or vélib instead of our car. The Paris City Hall has set up an application via its website, to make life easier for bicycle users! Géovélo suggests three route choices: the shortest, the safest and the proper balance. Easy to use, the site calculates your route according to your preferences and especially the way you go cycling. Cycle tracks and pedestrian streets are selected first to guarantee safety and calm. Géovélo also thinks about your legs saving you the coasts and other slopes too steep!

A big extra: Géovélo is also available on Smartphone, with real time Geolocation!

vgps.paris.fr

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46664. Behind this mysterious number, one of the suffering bore by the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, is hidden. During 18 years, it was the Nelson Mandela’s Robben Island prison number. He has finally decided to create a solidarity clothing brand for men and women, exclusively sells, for the moment, in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. However, an on-line sales site, is expected to be launched about November 2011. A part of benefits reaped, will be transfer to the Mandela Foundation, wich is fighting against HIV AIDS. Another nice enterprise from Nelson Mandela wich shows his amazing generosity of spirit.

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