One of our sister companies, Transprint, has just released a groovy new collection: Love 60’s. The designs speak right to the message of love, peace and happiness with newly imagined peace signs, butterflies, and paisleys. Perfect for a night out to see the upcoming Woodstock movie or the revival of Hair on Broadway.

I spoke to the lead designer, Acharee Apibunyopas, about her inspiration for the new collection. Acharee said that the world we are living in now reminds her of the 1960s. The U.S. is engaged in unpopular wars, there’s a social movement (this time it’s about the environment instead of civil rights), and the recession has everyone feeling down. At the same time, she says, “We want something bright and to feel like a free spirit again. The fashion and design industry can provide that outlet. When you are wearing a swim suit or shirt from this collection, you can’t help but feel happy.”

Naturally, these designs can be used in a variety of fabrics and applications. Of course, we’d love to see brands use AirDye® technology so the color and designs last forever.

It’s a common misconception that bottled water is cleaner and healthier for you than tap water. In some cases bottled water is cleaner, in others it’s far worse, and in about a quarter of the cases it’s exactly the same. The non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that a staggering 25 percent of bottled water comes from municipal sources—the very same sources that deliver water to your tap each day. With no information on the bottle itself and vague marketing slogans like bottled at the source (which source would that be?), consumers are left to a lot of guesswork.

In a recent article for SF Gate, water conservation expert Dr. Peter Gleick probed the requirements for bottled water labeling, arguing that the problem starts with how water is categorized.

Bottled water is currently considered a food product and, as such, falls under FDA regulation—meaning bottled water requires the same nutritional label as any other food. The difficulty with this classification, of course, is that we don’t need to know the fat or caloric content of water: It’s always zero, so nutritional data is completely irrelevant.

The facts consumers need about water—the water source, how it’s been treated and cleaned, and which minerals are present and at what levels—aren’t currently required for labeling. The iffy regulation process often leaves consumers confused about the cleanliness of bottled water and misled about the source. Until label requirements change, Gleick advises a buyer beware policy.

If you’re still drinking bottled water, what do you want to see on the label?

The government and the Environmental Working Group claim that consumers know far less about the contents of bottled water than they do about tap.

Treehugger tips us off to showbiz’s eco-scorecard. Find out who aced the green test and who earned Fs.

Admittedly a little self-promotional, nevertheless we were super excited to see AirDye® coverage on the New York Times’ green business blog.

Michael Pritchard demonstrates his newest invention—the Lifesaver water bottle—on TEDGlobal conference attendee Chris Anderson.

Historically, Wal-Mart hasn’t exactly been the poster child for social responsibility, but that may soon change. As we reported last week, Wal-Mart announced plans to provide sustainability labels for every single product in their stores. The company is pioneering a “sustainability index,” which weighs several environmental and social factors, including carbon footprint, packaging, water use, waste, and life cycle of a product. The big box retailer will work with NGOs, universities, scholars, suppliers, and government agencies to develop a global database that measures the complete life cycle of a product and passes that information on to the consumer in a standardized, easy-to-read label.

Needless to say, the initiative is an enormous undertaking, but one that could set a new standard for accountability. Ironically, Wal-Mart’s complete omnipresence—which has been so heavily criticized in the past—may be the very factor that makes this program a success. Wal-Mart’s long-term plan is for other major retailers to adopt the index. The method will evolve into a universal measure to evaluate the sustainability of any given product. Wal-Mart may very well be the only chain large enough to pull it off.

Wal-Mart has proposed a five-year timeline for executing this project, outlining three key steps: First, they’ll send out a survey to 10,000 retailers to evaluate the company’s own sustainability. The second phase will be actually building the database. And although Wal-Mart will initially foot the bill for this project, they’re hoping to partner with major technology companies to execute the database portion. The final phase will be delivering information to consumers.

For a complete report on Wal-Mart’s plans, read through their fact sheets and watch videos of last week’s sustainability summit.

What do you think of the new initative? If you’re not a Wal-Mart shopper now, would this get you into the store?

More and more broadly available, recycled PET is a growing trend in eco-friendly fabrics. We’re taking a look at the process and advantages of recycled plastic fiber.

Read part 1: how plastic trash becomes fabric

landfill to retail

Once a drink bottle is collected, it is sent off to a processing facility. There, the bottle is cut into small pieces called flake and then washed. PET flake is then melted into a liquid and shaped into a long, thin fiber. These fibers are spun into yarn in the same manner as materials such as cotton, wool, and other natural products. These yarns are now 100 percent recycled polyester.

By using recycled plastic instead of new petroleum, over 60 percent of the energy is saved without any additional harm to the environment. No other fiber is produced with less impact.

Recycled polyester can also help the environment through the use of AirDye® technology. This process uses no water and much less energy to add color and designs to the fabric. Conventional dye and printing methods pollute over 15 gallons of water for a simple t-shirt in addition to introducing a number of hazardous chemicals and by-products into the environment. AirDye technology makes a great looking product without all those problems and the color lasts as long as the garment.

Manufacturers of apparel and other products are beginning to look at recycled polyester as not just the best alternative to natural fibers, but a better choice. This material is available, easy to work with, affordable, and provides consumers with the better environmental product.

Better for the Planet and Better for You

Another area where recycled polyester can help make a positive change is in the use and care of a garment made from it. A cotton shirt holds water. A lot of it. And if you are wearing it during a workout or caught in the rain, you know what we’re talking about. Polyester sheds the water. This is makes it more comfortable to wear. But consider what happens in the wash. A shirt that holds less water is easier to clean and dry. It takes less than half the energy and water to wash a shirt made from polyester as it does one made of cotton.

Polyester is also tougher than cotton. A polyester shirt lasts longer; up to five times longer. A longer life means buying fewer shirts, which means less resources consumed. Not to mention the money you save.

Lastly, what do you do with your shirt when you can no longer use it? The first and most obvious choice is to pass it on to someone who can. So, a shirt that lasts longer is even more important. But, what then? The ability to recycle that same shirt into yet more RPET and recycled polyester and back into a new garment is key. No products going to landfill.

How many times can a product come back again and again? We honestly don’t know–generations, at the very least. This brings new meaning to the term “hand me down.”

Recycled Polyester and You

Each shirt, bedspread, or handbag we make is one less made from the earth’s very limited resources. We know that not everything a person buys can be made from recycled trash. But for those products that can be, and that not only work as well, but even better; it seems obvious to us what to do. And we think that many of you agree with us.