Project: Green Industry

Spray … just a little bit longer

Spraying is believing – at least where Liquid Fence’s award-winning containers are concerned. The National Association of Container Distributors recently awarded Liquid Fence’s Liquid Net for Pets a gold medal, noting that the 360-degree sprayer gives Liquid Fence a marketing advantage over its competition.

The revolutionary sprayer, developed by The Liquid Fence Company and distributed by Zuckerman-Honickman Inc., helps pet owners protect even the toughest-to-reach places on the four-legged family member.

Another Liquid Fence product, Yard Net, also received accolades for its innovative sprayer. This silver medal winner was praised for making it easier to use than trigger sprays. Judges noted that the hand-operated sprayer dispenses continuously without overkill. The container’s clear area on its label to show maximum fill level was also praised. Yard Net is an all-natural, outdoor insect repellent.

The National Association of Container Distributors (NACD) is a professional association of rigid packaging distributors who supply bottles, tubes, pumps, sprayers and other closure systems. Judging for the 46th Annual NACD Awards was based on packaging innovation, sustainability, graphics, decoration, shape, closure, texture, ease-of-use, consumer appeal and technical merit.

The Liquid Fence Company manufactures innovative, eco-safe and cruelty-free animal repellants and lawn products, including Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent, the No. 1-selling repellent in the country.

While there was ample whoopin’ and hollerin’ over the recent awards at both The Liquid Fence Company and at Zuckerman-Honickman, the Project: Green Industry blog staff could not get a firm confirmation that Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are in negotiations to play the lead roles in the upcoming blockbuster super hero flick, “Zuckerman & Honickman.”

-- Yale

‘And the Utah Innovation Award goes to …’

Fertile Earth Corporation’s WaterStik was one of nine innovations honored at the recent Utah Innovation Awards program, presented by Stoel Rives LLP and the Utah Technology Council.

The WaterStik, introduced in 2008, automatically informs homeowners when to water their indoor plants. The WaterStik monitors the water content in any type of soil, and using creative LED colors, tells you instantly when it’s time to water. After the success of the original model, Fertile Earth created an extra-long design and an outdoor model, both of which are being marketed this summer.

“The other finalists in our category were very high-tech, cutting-edge products,” said Dave Morton, president and CEO of Fertile Earth. “Winning this award is a tribute to the creativity and dedication of our entire Utah team, from R&D to product and packaging design to marketing.”

Fertile Earth specialize in creating products that make landscaping and plant care tasks easier, more cost effective and earth friendly.

-- Yale

Planter here, pal

What if you could find – or, better, sell – a 6-inch plant container that goes right into the ground and eventually biodegrades, thus nourishing the plant and saving the environment all in one fell swoop?

What if you could figure out how many times someone has referenced more than one fell swoop?

I don’t have an answer for the latter question. As best I can tell, fell swoops almost invariable fly solo, just as gamuts always seemed to be run and not walked. But on the former front, I’m virtually giddy to note that Ball Horticultural Company and Summit Plastic Company this month introduced the first plantable, 6-inch Rice Hull NetPot.

The new NetPot is composed of renewable resources made of sustainable, natural plant fibers that degrade in the soil over time. Summit produces PLA filling trays to fit the 6-inch Rice Hull NetPot. PLA is also made from renewable materials and is biodegradable and compostable. “We are pleased to provide our customers with practical, completely biodegradable, environmentally preferable choices,” says Norm Belliveau, CEO of Summit Plastic Company. “The plantable 6-inch pot addresses the desires of generation X and Y, not to mention landscapers – it’s quick and easy with no pots for the landfill.”

Greg Trabka of Ball Innovations sees Belliveau’s “yabba dabba” and raises it a “doo”: “Today’s consumers seek out sustainable options wherever they shop, and that includes their local garden center,” says Trabka.

So, if you’re a consumer, you probably should scurry to the local garden center to see if it carries the 6-inch NetPot. If you’re an operator of a local garden center that doesn’t carry the 6-inch NetPot, you probably should read the preceding sentence.

All in one fell swoop, of course.

-- Yale

To bee or not to bee

I recently read about the Mason Bee Nester Kit from Orcon Organic Control and have decided that, as buzzing, flying bugs go, the Mason Bee be okay. To wit: The Blue Orchard Mason bee, technically known as Osmia lignaria, is an excellent pollinator.

Indeed, Mason bees are very effective pollinators because they have a lot of hair on their body which picks up pollen. They even have special sacs to store the pollen. Also, unlike honeybees which clean themselves after each visit to a flower and lose 90 percent of the pollen, the Mason bees carry all of their pollen from flower to flower.

But that’s not the best part. The best part is that Mason Bees tend not to sting because they are not a social bee and do not have a hive or a queen to protect. The only way to get one to sting is to squeeze it, and even then it probably won’t sting.

So, basically, you get a bee that does a lot of good things to/for the garden and that doesn’t do a lot of bad things to/for you. So, you might want to look into the kit, which will help attract these beneficial bees to the garden.

That’s the buzz I’m going with, anyway.

-- Yale

Grower creates ‘green’ shipping carts

This, my friends, is a thing of beauty.

I recently received the following photos of a fantastic new contraption from Andy Krieger with Krieger Greenhouses in Jefferson, Iowa…

 

The company’s new GreenWay Shipper is billed as the first 100% recyclable, one-way plant shipper. Retailers can break it down, bale it and recycle it. Growers can eliminate all cart back-hauls.

“After spending the past 15 years purchasing, fixing, replacing and back-hauling over 700 carts, we decided to think ‘outside of the rack,’” Krieger said. “We spent the past three years developing and trialing various designs, and have settled on what we feel is the perfect, dependable and most affordable plant shipper available.”

One thing is for sure, this cart will definitely help lower a company’s carbon footprint. And it’ll offer a tangible way for the green industry to show its savvy about sustainability.

You can see the new GreenWay Shipper for yourself at the OFA Short Course, July 11-14.

-- Sarah

UPDATE 3/13/09: If you're looking to get more information about these carts, contact Andy Krieger at (515) 386-2948.

Overcoming the snags of success

Jeff Collard with Eberly Public Relations recently talked with Ed Overdevest, president of Overdevest Nurseries about the challenges he faced when developing Footprints, a line of sustainably grown plants.

Consumer demand for eco-friendly products and services from the horticulture industry is driving the exciting, rapid innovation and development of truly “green” plants and merchandising techniques. In keeping with this growing need, Overdevest Nurseries, the founder of the Garden Splendor brand of plants, just launched a line of sustainable plant products under its new Footprints brand.

However, with any new endeavor, there are hurdles. Footprints is considered to be among the first product lines in the industry to be fully sustainable, and Ed Overdevest, president of Overdevest Nurseries (Garden Splendor plant brand and Footprints plant brand), knows firsthand how a step forward in environmentally sound products must first be met with a few challenges.

So, naturally, we were curious to learn about some of the more difficult obstacles he faced while conceiving and creating the new program – truly developing a plant line that is green, from start to finish. Surprisingly, it appeared the most difficult obstacle was simply thinking outside the norm and reaching for untraditional, sustainable solutions.

One of the first obstacles was searching for the right biodegradable container source and the researching of potential manufacturers. The matter was not a shortage of sustainable containers or attractive pots. It was the combination of both that proved to be a matter of some time and energy. Overdevest worked to find an elegant natural-fibered container that would serve as an eye-catching draw for customers and still meet viable sustainability requirements.

Perhaps a more telling challenge which led Overdevest to think outside the box was settling on how to use and display the new Footprints tags. The original plan was to stick the tags in the potting soil for herbaceous items and hang them with string for woody items. But, for presentation’s sake, Footprints wanted to switch to utilizing label stakes similar to those used with other Overdevest Nurseries plant lines which have been successful in the past.

Unfortunately, using traditional label stakes was a short-lived plan. No sooner had Overdevest thought of this, he quickly dismissed it since that particular stake would have been an inherent contradiction of plastic versus sustainable. This led to the testing and use of a bamboo stake as a simple and striking alternative. The eventual inclusion of the bamboo tag stake simply added to the overall “all-green” concept. With creative brainstorming and innovative measures, the Footprints plant brand is one of very few fully sustainable plant brand options on the market.

-- Jeff Collard

Clemson University develops EarthBottle

Bottles made almost entirely from plants will soon be showing up on store shelves filled with nutraceutical products. They will be followed by pharmaceutical, functional foods and body-care products.

The compounded resin formula behind the EarthBottle is the brainchild of Danny Roberts, assistant vice president of Public Service and Agriculture, and David Gangemi, director of the Institute for Nutraceutical Research at Clemson. These natural polymer-fiber bottles are recyclable, biodegradable, petroleum-free and stronger, lighter than glass and more durable than most other bottles.

The materials have the potential to replace plastic for automotive parts, agricultural and industrial fabrics and biomedical parts. And the EarthBottle protects contents from spoilage.

-- Kelli

Overdevest launches sustainable plant program

New Jersey-based Overdevest Nurseries, the company behind the Garden Splendor plant brand, recently introduced a new line of eco-friendly patio plants. The company’s Footprints brand is available to independent garden centers in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Footprints plants are grown using sustainable elements, such as compost made from renewable soil ingredients and recycled irrigation water. Plants are potted in natural-component containers and labeled with biodegradable tags. Among the varieties included in the program are Pennisetum ‘Rubrum,’ Rudbeckia ‘Chim Chiminee’ and Knock Out rose.

-- Sarah

Colonial Candle recognized as green facility

Colonial Candle's Elkin, N.C., production facility has been recognized as an environmental partner in the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Environmental Stewardship Initiative. The company is one of about 40 organizations statewide recognized by the program. Colonial Candle's facility will be reviewed each year to make sure sustainable guidelines are being met.

How'd they get this designation? The folks at Colonial Candle were kind enough to provide a photo tour showing how they've created a more sustainable operation.

This high-efficiency turbocor compressor is used for air conditioning and process-water chilling. Its power consumption is 33% less than typical screw compressors.

A high-efficiency electric boiler reduces use of natural gas and fuel oils. It's used to create steam for heating applications within the production facility.

The highs and lows of FairTrade products

Recently while skimming Internet news sources, I stumbled onto an article that is both uplifting and frustrating.

Found on the Sustainable News site, the article on FairTrade products blew me away. It explains the concept of stores offering foods labeled with a special message that lets a shopper know the product was purchased at a price over what could be considered average. The additional monies are used by the farmers to feed their families and send their children to school.

It also promotes sustainability, as the majority of these products are organic in some way. Already items such as chocolate, coffee and tea are marked with the FairTrade Certified Logo. Bananas soon will be.

According to reports, shoppers are beginning to embrace and actively seek out stores and products with the endorsement. And some manufacturers have seen tremendous growth with the FairTrade products they’ve offered.

Fantastic!

The frustration part comes in when you realize that the U.S. lags behind the rest of the world in this venture. The U.K. alone has more than 3,000 items under the umbrella of this program.

We have coffee and chocolate.

But the movement is gaining momentum here, especially with the surge of eco-everything. It’s a small measure of helping, but it’s an easy way. Everyone needs to eat, right?

So check it out and pick up a FairTrade Certified product here or there. Whether to consume or to sell. Either way, you’ll be doing a good thing.

-- Jennifer