February 2, 2010 – 1:14 pm
by Sarah Fazio
What’s good for the earth isn’t always fun for your dinner party — hosting green friends can sometimes feel more like a guilt trip than a pleasure cruise. And the pressure from the environmentally sensitive Joneses is well documented. But now greener-than-thou tension is moving from interpersonal to intimate with reports of a [...]
January 8, 2010 – 3:01 am
by Sarah Fazio
WHAT’S HAPPENING
For most dinner party hosts, the evening requires a trip (or three) to the grocery store. But for Doomer Dinner Parties there’s no shopping required — actually, it’s forbidden. The entire meal must be prepared from what’s on hand in the host’s fridge, pantry or garden.
Doomers (a.k.a. peakniks) say society is entering [...]
By Iconoculture
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Also posted in Consumers
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Tagged Best of 2009, Consumer trends, Crunchy Chicken, Doomer dinner parties, Green, Iconoculture, Iconowatch, Peak oil, Peakniks, Prep practice, Sarah Fazio
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December 24, 2009 – 8:17 am
by Sarah Fazio
WHAT’S HAPPENING
As an alternative to felled foliage, some West Coast consumers are renting live, potted Christmas trees. The service started in Portland, OR, by the aptly named Original Living Christmas Tree Co. Eighty bucks brings a tree home with delivery and pick-up via Zipcars (LATimesBlogs.LATimes.com 11.30.09).
Last year we told you about the [...]
By Iconoculture
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Also posted in Consumer Trend
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Tagged Adopt a Christmas Tree, Consumer trends, Friends of the Urban Forest, Green Christmas, Iconoculture, Iconowatch, Ikea Seattle, Living Christmast Company, Original Living Christmas Tree Company, Renting Christmas trees, Sarah Fazio
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December 15, 2009 – 2:33 pm
-A self-proclaimed overly simplified—but admittedly welcome—cheat sheet for the climate conference.
-Yesterday’s news from the U.N.’s official site.
-Interactive tools: Google Earth shows climate change scenarios and “tours” the world; CNN and YouTube launched the COP15 channel taking questions from around the globe for a panel in Copenhagen to answer live today.
-President Obama has announced a nonbinding [...]
December 3, 2009 – 5:29 am
by Sarah Fazio
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Consumers wondering how much power is blowing in the wind now have an iPhone app from Mariah Power, maker of the Windspire turbine.
Users simply hold the phone skyward and the app measures wind speed and calculates how much CO2 could be offset if a small wind turbine were installed on that particular [...]
August 20, 2009 – 6:00 am
by Lisa Leonard
WHAT’S HAPPENING
In June 2009, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a proposal for the most comprehensive mandatory recycling and composting law in the nation — part of the city’s effort to achieve zero waste by 2020 (SFGate.com 6.10.09).
Beginning in fall 2009, every household and business must sort refuse into recycling, compost and [...]
Listen to packaging guru David Luttenberger talk about sustainability, the “green gap” and packaging’s moment of truth in our most recent podcast, Product Packaging and the Green Gap.
Iconoculture’s Global Packaging Advisory Service delivers packaging-specific knowledge in context with consumer insights, providing a holistic concept-to-consumer perspective.
Download the podcast here:
Product Packaging and the Green Gap
3 min., 20 [...]
by Josh Kimball
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Earthaid.net gives consumers a one-stop spot online to see how much juice their homes are using. The new service helps consumers monitor their home’s patterns, then pays them when they save energy.
Using the motto “Smart for Your Wallet. Smart for the World,” Earth Aid Enterprises also sells Earth Aid Kits for between [...]
by Lisa Leonard
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Fidgety feet? Now consumers can turn nervous energy into electricity with the help of the YoGen MaxT.
The device, from Easy Energy, sits conveniently under the user’s desk, harnessing foot-tapping power into electricity with a pedal that’s ergonomically optimized to prevent tootsies from tiring (Easy-Energy.biz 3.09).
People-powered energy sources for small devices aren’t new, [...]
By Iconoculture
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Also posted in Consumer Trend, Sustainability, Technology
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Tagged Boomers, Consumer trends, Gen Xers, Iconoculture, Iconowatch, Lisa Leonard, Matures, Millennials, people-powered energy
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January 2, 2009 – 9:35 am
by Sarah Fazio
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Baa, baa, Italian sheep, have you any appetite? Municipal gardeners in Turin, Italy, have been replaced by sheep for the summer. The flocks graze in fenced-off areas that rotate throughout city parks until the grass is trim and sheep are fat.
City officials predict that the two-month stint with 700 sheep will save [...]
January 1, 2009 – 4:28 pm
by Alexandra Smith
WHAT’S HAPPENING
White picket fence? Eh. Built-in iPod docking station? Yes, please! The Millennial dream home is green, wired and within walking distance from urban hustle and bustle.
Developers across the country are taking note. In Atlanta, home builders recently hosted a forum called “Impacts of Gen Y on Real Estate Development,” where they learned [...]
