And here’s some green stuff for the eco-fashionistas who wouldn’t want to trade in their haute couture lifestyle to soothe their eco-conscious. Salvatore Ferragamo has unveiled a new line of handbags for the spring. Aptly named, Eco-Ferragamo, the line consists of environmentally friendly bags. These eco-handbags are dyed using tannins derived from tree bark. Crafted out of such metal free colored leather, the bags are lined with handwoven hemp too. Though green at heart, these biodegradable and water resistant, uber chic fashion bags don glamorous shades of tobacco brown, lemon yellow, and grapefruit pink. For $1,190 to $1,890, dangle one on your shoulder to prove that green stands for high-end fashion too.

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Witnessing many highs and lows though the 2008, our globe can look forward to a greener 2009. Sky-rocketing gasoline prices and alarming CO2 levels in our atmosphere has pushed many airliners to experiment with alternative fuel options. One such successful airline has recently completed a two-hour flight in New Zealand. One engine of a Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel. Air New Zealand intends to wear the crown of world's most environmentally sustainable airline by pursuing such eco-friendly flights options.

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Red is the new green for the New Year……at Times Square at least. Coca-Cola Company’s green move has aided a green tinge to the red bill board at this iconic location. The company agreed to pay a 10 percent premium on its bill to select clean, renewable wind power to light up the billboard located at 47th and Broadway. Following the cola giant, the sponsors of all 29 neighboring billboards on three buildings around Times Square agreed to do the same. This green leap will lead to a reduction of about 2,056 tons of carbon dioxide per year. With the bike-powered lights and the wind powered billboards, Times Square is slated to ring in 2009 in clean green style.

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I sincerely don’t promote talking on the cell phone while driving but if you really have to answer that call then hands free is the safer alternative. But again you need to be alert to keep the batteries in your hands free juiced up. And if you want to avoid this stress then the Nextar NXBT-001 and/or the NXBT-002 are the optimum alternatives. Both have one thing in common and that is they are run on solar energy. The NXBT-001 is capable of 250 hours of standby time and 10 hours of talk time while the 002 can last 150 hours of standby time and 6 hours of yakking.

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A Korean car maker is waiting to zoom in U.S. territory with its electric vehicles as well as zinc air-fuel cell battery for such gas-free vehicles. The company, Leo Motors, primarily intends to focus on EV components for hybrid-electric vehicles like the Toyota Prius. It also claims to be in authority of several technological breakthroughs that will enhance the performance of the highest-end EVs, including super cars such as the Tesla Roadster. One of such breakthroughs is a zinc air-fuel cell, or ZAFC, battery, which the company aims to commercialize by late 2009.

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Though it isn't that time of the year when talking about air-conditioning will make my readers comfortable, I couldn't give this news a miss. Renowned piano maker, Steinway & Sons cools or heats up their plant at Queens with solar panels. At the cost of $870,000, this alternative energy system will help to keep the factory cool. This move is to cool air will be helpful to dehumidify the hammers and other small moving parts that can be affected by changes in the moisture in the air. The fitted mirrored solar panels are automated and can twist to follow the path of the sun.

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As the temperatures plummet lower with each passing day, staying indoors also cannot get comfortable without the central heating systems. However this comforting heating system plays havoc on our energy consumption and escalating bills. For such disturbing dilemmas, the Vent-Miser Programmable Energy Saving Vent steps in to save energy as well as money and at the same time keep your room cozy. Specifically programmed, you can heat only that section of your den that you intend to. This helps to save energy on not heating the rest of the unoccupied rooms. Simply program the temperature you would like the room to be and Vent Miser will allow or restrict airflow to keep that specific room at the desired temperature.

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Instead of getting rid of rodents, why not employ them for an eco-friendly task? Tom Ballhatchet from London has precisely done that and is boasting of the most unusual paper shredder. He has come up with a hamster powered paper shredder for an industrial design project. With an aim to address issues like identifying fraud and recycling, Tom borrowed his friend's hamster to power his eco-friendly paper shredder. It works on simple principle: The rodent has to run flat out for 45 minutes to shred one sheet of A4 paper. This shredded paper in turn becomes the fresh bedding for the helpful pet.

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Liven up your bath area or jazz up the kitchen wall with these glass mosaics recycled out of waste glass products like bottles and more. Ideal to add a touch of glamour to your patio too, the latest green Calliope series by Hakatai will help to rejuvenate your décor in an uber-chic eco-style. These tiles comprise of approximately 50 percent of waste glass which is a mix of approximately 90 percent post-consumer and 10 percent pre-consumer material. Such a recycling does help to reduce the burden on the landfill and at the same time add a spark in to your home décor.

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Christmas is here and we want to wish all our readers a safe and happy holiday. Spread the jolly cheer for the moment… In our effort to bring you the best, we started two new blogs this year, Designlaunches.com and Greenlaunches.com and we are glad that they are being received so warmly by you.

The future holds a promise of success.

Striving to keep you abreast with latest in the field, the team hopes to embark on a literary feast and bring to you more new blogs to read.

Till then, have a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

It is human nature to be in check (about any misuse) only when constantly hammered about a certain fact. And so the Efergy Smart Electricity Meter has introduced the Efergy meter that constantly brings to notice about the misuse of the energy. It is effectively designed to let the user know about his/her power consumption every six seconds. Along with this the damage to your electricity bill as well as environment also comes to light. When lights are turned ON/OFF, the meter will display its effect on the energy utilized. Such a data is stored daily in an easy to access CPU memory. This helps to keep a regular tab on power consumption and accordingly change to eco-friendly habits. A must have for every house, for $145, such a meter will help to cut down on energy consumption, mounting electricity bills and also carbon footprints.

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As the hour demands functional, running electric vehicles, why are the car makers still toying with conceptual green cars? We need more of them hitting the production unit to hit the roads before it's too late. To sync in with the current demand for green vehicles, Toyota too is intending to display a small battery electric-car concept at the forthcoming North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Based on a subcompact model the Japanese auto maker asserts that the production model will be ideal for city limits. Designed for short-range driving such as everyday shopping and other errands, it isn't fit for long-distance driving. With an estimated tag of $20,000, eco-city-drivers may need to wait for long to sit behind the wheel of this 'small battery electric-car'.

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Along with other products, iGo, the leading developer of multi-device chargers for laptop computers and mobile electronic devices, is all set to unveil the first green laptop charger that virtually eliminates vampire power. Fine tuned with iGo Green Technology, users can charge their laptop and other devices from any standard wall outlet, including automatic shut-off and recovery to reduce vampire power. Such a green charger will help to cut down standby power consumption by 80% in comparison to the standard power products. This in turn reduces the burden on electricity bills too! You can watch out for this and more of iGO's green products at the impeding 2009 International CES.

[Engadget] And [PRnewswire]

'One man's junk is other man's treasure' Excuse me for repeating this adage again, but I couldn't describe this news any better. However re-read it as one man's fat is other man's fuel and it will make more sense. Most of us know that liposuction is the easiest way to flaunt a svelte toned figure and right from celebs to layperson, every body has been through it. And Dr. Craig Allen Bittner, a plastic surgeon, who earns his bread and butter by sucking out fats from under the skin is using that same fatty trash to run his car. Inspired by his patients to do so, the doc fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator with the biodiesel derived from the blubber. It's the triglycerides in the fat that can be extracted and turned into diesel.

image for representational purpose only

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The fame adage, 'One man's junk is other man's treasure' stands the test of time as we bring to you five outstanding clocks recycled out of old discarded stuff. Time is the only factor that cannot be recycled and these recycled clocks distinctively demonstrate this hard-hitting fact of life. Uncommon Goods has a vast collection of functional products tailored out of trash and we picked out the five remarkable time telling devices that promise to tick away with green style. And since we cannot buy time, we can at least pay money for these recycled clocks that tell a story along with time.

5) RECYCLED YEN CLOCK ($40) - "Time is money" hold true for this clock as it is actually made of recycled yen. Made up of approximately 50 bills, a combination of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen bills, each clock will showcase a different range of colors, as the Japanese bills come in green, yellow, and blue.

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