In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

In Business, September-October, 2005, Vol. 27, No. 5, p. 8

WORN-OUT CLOTHING TO BE RECYCLED INTO NEW GARMENTS BY APPAREL COMPANY
Michael Crooke, president and CEO of Patagonia, Inc. - a leading apparel company - is asking his customers to return worn-out clothing which can then be made into new garments. Starting this month,

old Patagonia clothing can be mailed back to its Ventura, California headquarters or taken to any of the firm's 20 retail stores. According to Crooke, energy use could be cut about 75 percent along with carbon dioxide emissions by recycling, compared with what it takes to make clothing from virgin materials. As planned, Patagonia will ship returned apparel to the Teijin Group, a fabric manufacturer in Japan which will then make new polyester fiber. More details are available from Patagonia. Visit www.patagonia.com.

CLEANTECH COMPANIES WIN GREATER MARKET SHARE
In mid-September, eight CEOs of innovative green companies participated in a Cleantech venture capital forum arranged by SJF Ventures and Deutsche Bank in New York City. According to David Kirkpatrick of SJF, investments in these kinds of companies increased in each of the last four quarters and totaled $1.2 billion in 2004. Companies presenting at the meeting were:
Under the Canopy, Boca Raton, Florida - Providing the $165 billion U.S. women's apparel market with fashionable, hip clothing that is made from organic fiber, with distribution at premium outlets nationwide. www.underthecanopy.com.
Green Apple Cleaners, New York City, New York - Offering nontoxic CO2 based dry cleaning in the $1 billion New York market as an alterative to the currently used perchloroethylene, hydrocarbon and silicone methods which are known carcinogens and ground water contaminants. www.greenapplecleaners.com.
IceStone, Brooklyn, New York - Producing beautiful countertops made from recycled glass with no VOCs for the $12 billion countertop market. www.icestone.biz.
Recycle Bank, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Utilizing a proprietary technology that identifies how much a home recycles and then pays the home for the amount recycled. (See article in this issue.) www.recyclebank.com.
EvCo Research, Atlanta, Georgia - Providing paperboard coatings made from recycled plastic which replace nonrecyclable wax cardboard, with potential savings at U.S. grocery stores $500 million annually in landfill disposal fees. www.evcoresearch.com.
Gaia Power, New York City, New York - Producing “powertowers” which offer solutions to unreliable and high cost electric service - including back up, power quality, peak demand charge reduction - while also integrating with renewable and fuel cell systems. www.gaiapowertech.com.
B. B. Hobbs, Darlington, South Carolina - Implementing engineered irrigation and fertilizer systems which increase yields and reduce input costs and run-off for large farms - a $370 MM market in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida alone. www.bbhobbs.com.
GreenOrder, New York City - Providing large corporations with strategy and marketing solutions to maximize their return on investment in sustainability. www.greenorder.com.
The next issue of In Business will have a report on the venture capital forum and the companies that presented.

CULINARY ARTS ORGANIZATION EXPANDS THEIR “GREEN SERVICES”
The Institute for Culinary Awakening in Portland, Oregon provides consulting in the Organic, Vegan Culinary Arts. ICA offers custom programs and consultations to businesses, food and health professionals, restaurants and the public in Organic, plant-based cuisine and sustainable living from garden-to-table-to-compost. Chef Al Chase, Founder and Culinary Director, states that “participating in the vegan lifestyle is one of the most sustainable ways of preparing food and living on the planet.” Working with the approach of farm-to-the-table food preparation is fun, enlivening and provides many health benefits not to mention economic benefits to organic farmers and health food purveyors. Donna Benjamin, Marketing Director, is excited about the new direction ICA is taking in offering an “overall greening approach to living and working in the world from what to put on your plate to how to provide a healthy working environment”. Website: www.chefal.org; Phone: 503-235-0108.

ON THE WAY TO GREEN TECHNOLOGIES
Weyerhaeuser, Inc. has become the first company to offer products meeting the new Sustainable Forestry Initiative chain of custody standard. ... Safeway Inc. has announced it will purchase 100 percent renewable energy - wind power - for its fuel stations, stores and corporate offices. The wind energy will power Safeway's 270 fuel stations in the U.S., 15 stores in San Francisco, and the corporate campuses in Walnut Creek and Pleasanton, California. ... Cornell University will be getting $8.2 million in federal funding over four years as one of five Sun Grant Centers of Excellence - regional research centers that will take the lead in expanding use of green technologies.

WHAT'S NEW AT THE ORGANIC CREAMERY?
Albert Straus, owner of Straus Family Creamery in Marshall, California sends this update of what's happening with biopower and products on his dairy farm:
“One of the questions we ask people who tour our dairy when we stand by the manure pond is: 'What do you smell?' The answer is always 'Nothing.' We believe that if you do not smell the manure, it is being treated properly.
“The way we treat our dairy manure is with an anaerobic digester, which we began using about a year ago. This is one more step toward my goal of having our farm become completely self-sufficient in energy with minimal environmental impact. We generate up to 600,000 kWh/year - working with the utility PG&E. This is the first system to utilize the net metering legislation which allows the on-site power to run meters in reverse as energy is sent back to the grid - saving our dairy $6,000/month in energy costs.
“Not only are we powering our dairy with electricity generated from the methane digester, we are now running our feed truck on vegetable oil - also converting our back-up generator to vegetable oil. The diesel powered truck has been retrofitted to accept it, and we plan to convert all farm vehicles - replacing 500 gallons of diesel per month. In our case, we are using coconut oil as the biodegradable, nontoxic vegetable oil. Particulate matter, carcinogenic compounds, carbon monoxide and total hydrocarbons are all reduced.
“Our yogurt is now available at all Wild Oats in Southern California and the Southwest. Ice cream and butter are at Whole Foods in the Southwest, also at Ralph's Markets in Northern California.”

DIVERSIFIED PRODUCT LINE BUILDS SALES FOR COMPOSTER
“We've created a one-stop convenient location for professional landscapers … a place where they can drop off green waste, buy greenscapes, irrigation supplies, and even gloves and a raincoat,” explains Beng Leong Ooi, one of the owners of Organic Recycling Inc. (ORI), a composting company based in Tappan, New York. The idea to sell more than compost and mulch at ORI's 30-acre compost facility was based on the fact that to strengthen and ensure a long-term, sustainable outlet for compost and mulch sales, ORI had to go the extra yard and create a quality status for products. A diversified product line was the perfect solution.
The company expanded its horticultural customer base by providing a consistent demand for the compost and mulches produced from two other nearby compost facilities it manages, as well as maintaining a concerted focus on developing products from natural, clean feedstocks. Both aged and colored mulches are offered, and landscape products such as shrubs, flowers, seeds, decorative rocks, paving stones, and tools are also available to customers. To go one step further and guarantee landscapers can accomplish everything they need to do in one stop, ORI has expanded its front-end service and accepts for tipping leaves, grass, mixed garden debris, brush, sod, root balls and all commingled landscape organics. Another program that keeps landscapers coming back is the facility's educational workshops, which range from creating patios from paving stones and building retaining walls to pesticide management and basic agronomic principles.

CATTLE MANURE TO BE CONVERTED INTO ETHANOL AT ENERGY COMPANY FACILITY
A 100-million-gallon fuel ethanol plant that will use one billion pounds of cattle manure annually to power the facility is being built by Panda Energy International in Haskell County, Kansas. The refinery when complete will convert corn and milo into ethanol, replacing the need to import 100 million gallons of gasoline each year. Based in Dallas, the energy company is developing ethanol plants, biomass electric generating facilities and biodiesel projects.