GHPS's Guide to Green Gadgets & Other Cool Stuff
Some of our favorite cool green gadgets and other items that make living green easier. Sometimes useful, sometimes not. Always energy-efficient and fun!
Luci Inflatable Solar Lanterns from MPOWERD: A new startup company, MPOWERD, has introduced a line of innovative and affordable solar-powered lantern lights. These lightweight, collapsible lights were designed to provide reliable, inexpensive and clean lighting choices for people in remote areas of the world without access to clean or electric light. The Luci line of solar lanterns provide bright, long-lasting light powered by the sun. They are great for entertaining, emergency light during an emergency, decorative lighting, or just as a renewable alternative to electric light.
Learn more about the exciting Luci solar lanterns from MPOWERD HERE.
Dirtball Clothing: 100% Recycled, 100% Made in the USA: Dirtball is a small American company that's trying to do business the sustainable way. They have an entire line of clothing geared towards active people. Not only are their products attractive and fashionable, they are all made from 100% recycled materials (cotton and plastic water bottles) and as an added bonus everything they make is manufactured right here in the USA.
Check out Dirtball Clothing here.
Detroit Bikes: There's no more eco-friendly mode of transportation than bicycling. With zero pollution and zero carbon emissions, biking is THE way to get around town! Ditching the car and climbing on a bike is a great way to shrink your environmental footprint, and have fun and get in shape all at the same time.
Detroit Bikes is a new Kickstarter-born company headquartered in, you probably guessed, Detroit. Today, almost every bike sold in the U.S. today is made in China and shipped all the way here, which takes a little bit out of a bikes' eco-friendly sails. Detroit Bike is doing things differently: they are designing and manufacturing every bike they sell right here in the U.S., in downtown Detroit, bringing much-needed, good paying manufacturing jobs back to Detroit. We can't find anything we don't like about that idea!
Detroit Bikes makes a couple simple, well-built, easy to ride bike models. Riding a bike that's built domestically? That's about as green as it gets in our book!
Check out Detroit Bikes Here.
The Solarade Portable USB Solar Charger: This Kickstarter-funded solar charger makes it super easy to charge any USB-powered device (phone, camera, GPS, whatever) using the clean, free power of the sun!
The Solarade charger's difference is its ability to charge as quickly as plugging a device into an electrical outlet! It can fully charge an iPhone in two hours with full sunlight.
As devices become more and more prevalent in our daily lives, they're using a lot of energy, creating the potential for lots of pollution and climate-changing gas emissions. Being able to charge our things with this small but powerful solar charger lets us use our devices to our hearts' content, while being clean and green at the same time! Win-Win!!
Check out the Solarade Portable USB Solar Charger here.
Detroit Bikes: There's no more eco-friendly mode of transportation than bicycling. With zero pollution and zero carbon emissions, biking is THE way to get around town! Ditching the car and climbing on a bike is a great way to shrink your environmental footprint, and have fun and get in shape all at the same time.
Detroit Bikes is a new Kickstarter-born company headquartered in, you probably guessed, Detroit. Today, almost every bike sold in the U.S. today is made in China and shipped all the way here, which takes a little bit out of a bikes' eco-friendly sails. Detroit Bike is doing things differently: they are designing and manufacturing every bike they sell right here in the U.S., in downtown Detroit, bringing much-needed, good paying manufacturing jobs back to Detroit. We can't find anything we don't like about that idea!
Detroit Bikes makes a couple simple, well-built, easy to ride bike models. Riding a bike that's built domestically? That's about as green as it gets in our book!
Check out Detroit Bikes Here.
NOx-Out: Many of us have homes with lawns that require care and attention to keep them looking nice. Unfortunately, most of us use gas-fueled lawn mowers to do so. These mowers emit a lot of air pollution, up to 11 times more than an automobile.
Engineering Students at UC Riverside have created a unique new device, dubbed the 'NOx-Out,' that they claim will reduce the air pollutants spewed by lawn mowers by up to 93%. The device will soon be used on campus lawn equipment, with the hopes of offering it to consumers in the near future at a cost of only around $30.
Learn more about NOX-Out here.
UrbMat by UrbnEarth: For many, growing a garden has been impossible, due to space restrictions.
The new UrbMat by UrbnEarth makes growing your own food fun and so, so simple. It's an all-in-one garden system that comes with everything necessary to start growing your own nutritious, fresh food just about anywhere. Perfect for urban gardeners with limited space, or for anybody who wants an easy-to-use introduction to gardening.
Learn more about UrbMat here.
S'Well Bottle: We all want to do our part to reduce the amount of plastic thrown away each year. Americans toss about 30 million plastic bottles away each and every day. S'Well Bottle thinks there's a better way, and we agree!
S'Well Bottles are made from clean, non-toxic stainless steel. They're insulated, keeping cold drinks icy cold for 24 hours, and hot drinks hot for over 12 hours. Each S'Well Bottle purchased supports a charitable organization doing good works to protect the planet and strengthen communities. S'Well Bottles are one of the things we love.
Learn more about S'Well Bottle here.
WakaWaka Solar Smartphone Charger This cool little device allows you to fully charge your smartphone or other electronic device using nothing but the free, clean power of the sun.
The WakaWaka Charger is a rugged, portable solution to your charging needs, whenver and wherever you are. Perfect for camping trips or power outages, you'll never be without the use of your electronic devices again. It also has a useful LED light.
Learn more about WakaWaka Solar Smartphone Charger here.
SnapRay LED Guide Lights replace traditional night lights or wired guide lights to give you light wherever it's needed: childrens' rooms, stairwells, hallways, kitchens, baths...wherever.
The SnapRay LED Guide Lights replace regular outlet covers. These unique covers require no batteries or wiring to power the bright LED lights. The posts on the cover come into contact with the outlet's wiring, drawing the tiny amount of power to light the bulbs. These LEDs use only about 5 cents worth of electricity a year.
Learn more about the SnapRay LED GuideLights here.
Whirlpool EveryDrop Water Filter Clean water is essential for good health, and it's never been easier to get it than with the new Whirlpool EveryDrop portable water filter.
The Whirlpool EveryDrop water filter creates a solution to both the cost and the ecological issues associated with plastic water bottles.
By refilling reusable containers with water filtered through the EveryDrop, you get the same healthy water, and the same portability, at a fraction of the cost. The EveryDrop microcontaminant filter needs to be replaced only once every six months, or after filtering 60 gallons of water. This is equivalent to about 450 water bottles.
Learn more about the Whirlpool EveryDrop Water Filter here.
Pikolinos Shoes While not a gadget per-se, Pikolinos Shoes are definitely on the list of our favorite things.
The products we use in our lives are as important from a 'green' perspective as the homes we live in. Pikolinos embodies the qualities that all good companies should strive for: Beautiful, durable, high-quality products made with respect for the planet as well as for the people who make them and their communities.
Pikolinos shoes are unbelievably comfortable, and with several pair in our collection (some as old as 10 years!) we can vouch for their durability.
Learn more about Pikolinos Shoes here.
Tesla Motors Bringing much-needed innovation and style to the nascent electric car market, Tesla Motors is the official vehicle of Green Home Source and Gen1 Architectural Group. Hey, we can dream, can't we?
Tesla is pushing electric vehicle adaption on two fronts: first, by doing extensive research and development into battery technology. The result? Their current model, the Tesla S, has a range of up to 300 miles per charge.
The second front is Tesla’s heavy investment in a worldwide network of Supercharger systems. With over 80 Supercharger Stations already in service around the nation, Tesla is aiming for 80% U.S. coverage in 2014, increasing to 98% in 2015. These Supercharger stations, conveniently located near restaurants and shopping, they can provide a 50% charge in just 20 minutes. Free to Tesla owners.
The Tesla Motor S was recently given the best review ever given for any automobile by Consumer Reports magazine. With Tesla pushing the envelope with their outstanding design and technology, the future of electric vehicles looks bright.
Learn more about Tesla Motors.
Klean Kanteen Bottles are a perfect replacement for disposable plastic water bottles. Stay hydrated, or simply enjoy your coffee wherever you go, and never have to worry about contributing to plastic waste.
Klean Kanteen products are made from BPA-free, non-toxic stainless steel to last for years.
Learn more about the Klean Kanteen here.
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