ecobly blog

"This is a revolution!"

 That's what I kept hearing from vendors at GreenFest yesterday -- an inspired group of creators who are figuring out how to make amazing products from our trash-stream. That's right -- some of the best green stuff goes beyond the curb and finds great raw materials in the trash bin.

 I really enjoyed speaking with these entrepreneurs. Instead of the gloom and doom economics I hear on the talking head news shows, these business people were brimming with excitement and optimism! Must be because studies show that despite the economic problems, green products are still going strong, and there is renewed interest in products Made Locally.

 Here are some of the vendors I spoke with -- all fit within the ecobly.com family:

* Genevieve Church of recycledloot.com makes glass jewelry. The glass is better-than-recycled -- she takes the waste glass from art glass, which cannot be recycled, and turns it into beautiful glass jewelry that "mirrors the strivings of the human spirit."

* A great use for old technology: clocks from album covers, notebooks from old floppy disks. Check out "Green Wisdom" at floppydiskjournals.com. Bryan B is part of the "revolution" -- everything "made to the highest eco standards" (sounds like ecobly to me!)

* Anna Winifred makes recycled metal jewelry - with lots of whimsy (love knuckles) and dark humor (skull ice cream pendents). Everything's made in Portland from recycled gold and sterling silver.

* Goodwill Industries was also there -- surprised? Think about how green they are -- everything is reused (not even requiring the energy to "upcycle.")  And their representative told me they are also taking back hard-to-ditch electronics, and recycling them responsibly.

* And, speaking of Goodwill, I encountered another member of the revolution at the Ballard Farmer's Market last Sunday. Jenny at MadroneBerries makes gorgeous clothing for kids and adults from upcycled clothing. She gets it from Goodwill -- but not the store, she uses their remnants (they stuff they can't sell and will throw away.) A great way to keep things out of the trash stream!

 Find these and many, many more sustainable companies on the ecobly directory! Hope you have a chance to go to GreenFest today, or at a town near you soon -- there are so many great vendors, speakers and food. Not everything is ecobly -- some is fairly traded and imported -- but it's all very cool.

 What an easy way to get a sneak peak at The Revolution!