Originally, jeans were dyed with the color of the actual indigo plant.

Today, natural indigo jeans can’t be considered metaefficient because they are expensive and only available as a kind of designer jean. Notwithstanding this, people admire these jeans because of their distinctive, deeply hued appearance. The story behind them is interesting too.

There are at least three companies making natural indigo jeans: Howies, Nudie Jeans and Studio D’Artisan (japanese only — for sale here).

Almost all blue jeans are chemically dyed these days. Unfortunately, chemical dyeing usually involves toxic fixing agents and heavy metals. Yet, even clothing produced with organically grown fibers using “low impact” dyes, requires the same toxic fixing agents. Here, “low impact” means the dye is absorbed better and chlorine is not used for bleaching (usually hydrogen peroxide is used).

So what did people do before these processes were even available?

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These bikes were designed by the British team Intelligent Energy. The ENV bike is fully-functional and is based around their Core Fuel Cell from the ground up. The Core, which is completely detachable from the bike, is a compact fuel cell, capable of powering anything from a motorboat to a small domestic property.

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Green Sage has towels available in two natural Fox Fibre cotton colors “sage green” and “cafe” — each created with fiber straight from the cotton plant — there’s no dyeing involved. Fox Fibre is a little scarce — its good to see the towels available here. The towel set is priced at $55.

Web Page: Green Sage

HybridCars.Com is a web site with a lot of up-to-date information on (you guessed it) hybrid cars, trucks and vans. The editor is Bradley Berman who has written a book entitled “An Insider’s Look at Hybrid Cars: How They Work and Why They Matter”.

The web site has an overview of what vehicles are available now and which ones are in the pipeline. They also cover the technology behind hybrids, the mileage numbers, incentives and laws, and a forum to discuss hybrids. Great site — easy on the eyes, easy to navigate.

Link: HybridCars.Com

More bamboo fiber clothing! This time made in the U.S. and organically produced. Bamboosa is an eco-efficient company based in Andrews, South Carolina. They blend bamboo fiber with organic cotton to make an innovative range of clothing.

The men’s short, pictured here, is made from 100% bamboo French terry fabric (i.e. extremely soft).

Bamboosa is a sweatshop-free company, they use eco-friendly dyes and 100% recycled paper in their packaging. In other words — they’re metaefficient.

Web Site: Bamboosa

Bamboo Textile sells clothes made out of bamboo fiber. Why bamboo? Well, its one of the softest fabrics in the world — softer than cotton, and it has a slightly silky sheen. It also very breatheable, which makes its great to wear in spring and summer.

The other advantage of this fabric is that bamboo is a readily renewable resource that does not involve pesticides to grow.

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Socks don’t get much more natural than this.

These socks are made of FoxFiber, a cotton that grows naturally in brown and green, so no dye is required to make these socks. The brown and green fibers will deepen with first couple of washings.

We are glad to have tracked these down at Good Humans — FoxFibre clothing is difficult to find. Priced at $12.50 for three pairs. They also have a shorter style available.

Available from: Good Humans

John T. Unger makes these vibrantly colored “Dot! Quadriped” chairs using over 50% recycled material.

The chairs can be used indoors or out, and are built to survive even the harshest weather conditions.

The powder coat enamel surface is durable and easy to clean.

Link: John T. Unger Studio

Ecoist makes bags and totes by hand with recycled materials used to make candy wrappers, food packages, and soft drink labels. This excess materials often ends up as waste in landfills. For each bag sold they plant a tree.

Each bag is unique, with patterns and colors that vary widely, taking each artist 2-5 days to produce.

Marisa Rey is the artist and designer behind Ecoist, she was inspired to start the company after traveling in Mexico. The bag sell for $25-$285.

Link: Ecoist

Not many print houses put much thought into making their production processes more efficient or non-toxic.

Ecoprint, based in the Washington DC area, is different. They have developed their own “eco-inks”. These inks are specially formulated to be free from toxic metals like copper and barium. The Ecoprint shop also runs on 100% wind power, and uses 100% recycled or tree-free paper.

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Apparently red LEDs are 60% more efficient than fluorescent light when growing vegetables hydroponically.

According to IEEE Spectrum Online: Of all the colors of the rainbow, red is lettuce’s favorite. Chlorophyll, the electrochemical engine of photosynthesis, runs on red photons. So if you are growing the vegetable indoors in a factory, why waste energy on colors you don’t need?

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The Oxygenics showerhead is definitely worthy of inclusion here. With a nifty design, the showerhead is able to take low pressure water and transform it into a forceful stream for showering. It does this while using just 1.5 gpm (gallons per minute). It adapts to variable water pressure, and any water pressure from less than 20 psi to 100 psi.

Internal mechanisms also enrich the shower water with oxygen. It also comes in a 2 gpm hand-held design. The hand-held version sells for about $45, the showerhead version sells for $30-60.

Available from: Amazon ($29.97)

BuildingGreen has recently released the GreenSpec Directory of environmentally preferable building products and materials. It includes more than 1,850 listings that designers, builders and building owners can use in identifying products to improve the environmental performance of their buildings.

This increased availability of a diverse range of such products and building materials is helping architects and engineers to take green design to the next level.

You can read a sample chapter here.

More information: Greenspec Directory

These shirts by Good Hemp are a blend of 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton. They are sweatshop and pesticide free, fairtraded and priced at $9.95 to boot.

We’ve worn these shirts and they are very soft and feel quite durable due to the hemp content — we’ll probably have these for a while before they wear out. Available in blue, black, sand and white.

Website: Good Hemp

The Sony DVP-NS955 DVD player, recently released in the UK, has 50% vegetable-based plastic parts.

The parts are made of a biopolymer called polylactic acid (PLA). The biopolymer was created by Cargill/Dow, and they have been criticized for using GMO (genetically modified) corn to create the biopolymer, because GMO crops could potentially have devastating effects on the earth’s biodiversity.

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Riverside Design Group produces elegant tableware, handcrafted in western Pennsylvania from post-industrial / pre-consumer recycled glass. Despite their crafted appearance, the pieces are highly durable and intended for everyday use, and are dishwasher and microwave safe. The pieces range in price from $26-88.

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Toshiba who have developed a high energy density lithium-Ion battery that recharge 80% of its capacity in one minute. This is sixty times faster than typical lithium-ion batteries (which among other applications are commonly used in cellphones).

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The Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC) is a Canadian outfitter that offers a range of organic clothing.

Pictured here is their “Matawin Organic Cotton Short Sleeve Shirt“, made of 100% organic cotton, and sold for $38.00 CAD.

Also available: organic cotton mens’ and womens’ pants, hoodies, hats and socks.

Available from: MEC

We’ve collected a selection of ergonomic mice designed to reduce fatigue and RSI (repetitive strain injury). If you are in front of a computer for long periods, these mice might be worth considering.

The Evoluent VerticalMouse2 has a patented shape that supports your hand in a relaxed handshake position, eliminating forearm twisting. The manufacturer says the mouse remains steady when you press the buttons because the thumb grip balances the clicking actions.

This mouse had an unfavorable review at CNET, although other comments from readers were more favorable.

Available from: Amazon ($59.88)

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