bGreen: Thoughts On Green

Congressman Barney Frank Visits the bGreen Mobile Showroom

The bGreen Mobile Showroom was one of the main attractions at the Newton Harvest Festival Green Solutions 2010 yesterday in Newton Centre, MA.   The Showroom was open for business and drew a large crowd, including our first celebrity/politician visit.



Congressman Barney Frank, of the Fourth Congressional District of MA, took the time to stop by the bGreen Mobile Showroom and learn about our business and products.  It was great to have Congressman Frank in and he was quite interested in hearing how bGreen came to be.



Learn more about Congressman Barney Frank here.



Learn more about the bGreen Mobile Showroom here.

Boom! Boston.com video and article!

We have been featured in Boston.com’s Innovation Economy section.  We visited Scott Kirsner, technology and innovation writer for boston.com, earlier this week to show off the bGreen Mobile Showroom.  Full article and video here.

bGreen Weekly Deal will return July 1

We’re taking a bit of a hiatus (really just 2 weeks) with the bGreen Weekly Deal.

We’ll be back on July 1 with a new deal and a couple exciting changes.

Are there any products you’d like to see featured as a bGreen Deal? Just drop us an email or leave a note in the comments.

Stay tuned.

bGreen’s Top Sellers Through 6/14/2010

We’ve been busy working on the bGreen Mobile Showroom and hope to have another progress update later this week.  (Hint: you might see some pictures of the bGreen team getting down and dirty installing some cork flooring, putting in eco friendly lighting, and doing clay plastering)  Rest assured our online store is still booming.  We’ve been adding more products and you can see some of them have already become top selling products!

• Chico Bags



• Solar Hybrid Flashlight



• BioBag Waste and Compost Bags



• Twist Loofah Sponges



• FlameDisk Charcoal Alternative

[nggallery id=10]

Update on the bGreen Mobile Showroom

Dear bGreen friends, followers, customers & future customers,



We want to provide you with an update on the much awaited bGreen Mobile Showroom.  Things are moving along!  By now you’ve all seen pictures of the outside of the showroom and maybe even seen the truck around Boston.  The reaction has been nothing short of awesome.  People love the paint scheme and concept.



We’re happy to report that we are making progress on finishing the inside of the showroom.  The materials have been ordered and have started to arrive.  The plans have been finalized, tweaked, and finalized again!  As we’re learning, even the best laid out plans and schedules change, so we’re working hard to adjust accordingly.  We’re anxious to get the inside finished and bring you the latest and greatest eco friendly building materials.



It won’t be long now.  In the meantime, why not try our bGreen Home Consultation?  Let us come to your home and discuss how you and your family can live a more eco friendly lifestyle.  If you’re considering a home renovation or just want to incorporate more green products into your daily routine, we can help you.  We’ve got the knowledge and expertise to help you make smart, healthy choices for you and your family.  If you’re interested, please contact us via email or at 617-910-0880.  We appreciate your support and continued business.



-The bGreen Team

Your counter is made of what? Part 1 - Material Selection

[caption id=”attachment_699” align=”alignleft” width=”148” caption=”Maggie the Dog”][/caption]



A short time ago, we posted a video about our first bGreen building project.  This being our first major project, everything has been a learning experience.  From establishing a relationship with our fabricator to realizing home construction scares Maggie the bGreen dog into pooping in the house.  All in all this process has been a tremendous learning opportunity for bGreen.  So how did it work out?  What was the process and what can you expect if you choose bGreen for you next home renovation project?



[caption id=”attachment_700” align=”alignright” width=”197” caption=”Old Kitchen Counter (excuse the mess)”][/caption]



Let’s start with the basics; define the project.  We wanted new counters. Our apartment in Boston’s North End came with plain white Formica counters.  They had no character, were hard to clean, and worst of all, ugly (no offense Formica people).  The Formica counters were put in by the builder solely based on the fact that they were cheap.  At bGreen we are big believers that you can have nice looking materials in your home and not have to break the bank. This is  a topic for another post, but there is no real advantage to using cheap materials in a home project.  The bottom line, quality products will last you longer.



[caption id=”attachment_701” align=”alignleft” width=”152” caption=”Richlite - Chocolate Glacier”][/caption]



We settled on counters from Richlite.  Richlite is made of compressed paper that comes from pre/post consumer waste and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified lumber.  Richlite is stain resistant, heat resistant, and denser than some wood counter tops.  It also comes in a variety of great colors.  We went with Chocolate Glacier - yes, it sounds more like something you’d want to eat on but it’s a nice looking counter.  Look-wise, you can compare it to slate or soapstone - really stunning.



Prior to our project, the walls in the kitchen were just painted.  We wanted to do some sort of back splash throughout the kitchen to set it apart and because it is easier to clean then a painted wall.  Luckily we had leftover subway tile from a previous project.  The actual title is not green in any way.  However, using leftover materials is green.  If you are starting from scratch obviously we think you should use all green materials, but if you have something you want to reuse bGreen won’t stop you! In fact, we’ll help you figure out how to reuse what you already have and incorporate new green materials into your projects.



Now that the materials have been selected (Richlite counters and a Subway Tile back splash) we move onto the next step, Part 2 - Templating/Fabrication/Sink & Faucet selection.

Top Sellers Through 5/17/2010

As always, we present to you our top selling items for the prior two weeks.  Enjoy a 10% savings on these items (and everything else) using code BLOG10 at checkout.  We look forward to your business!

• Skoy Cloths



• F. Rock Bags - Custom, Sustainable Men’s Carryall



• HYmini Wind and Solar Charger



• Klean Kanteen 27 oz. Bottles



• Vers 1.5r iPod Player

[nggallery id=8]

What’s the deal with SKOY Cloth?

We’ve been using this great product called SKOY Cloth for a while now.  We use it instead of paper towels and even as an alternative to our Twist Sponges.  The beauty of SKOY is that they’re reusable.  You can use it, wash it, use it again, wash it again, and so on and so on.  You can use a SKOY cloth for up to 1 year.  Imagine, an entire year without using paper towels.



Once your SKOY has out lived it’s useful like in the kitchen (maybe it’s too dirty, maybe it’s a little worn), just downgrade your SKOY to rag status.  Use it in the bathroom, the garage, or even the car.  Once it’s done there, it’s time to consider sending it to that big SKOY apartment in the sky.  Simply toss it in your compost heap or toss it in the trash.  Either way is perfectly fine.  SKOY Cloths are biodegradable.  So have no fear.



Want to know how to care for your SKOY Cloth?  It’s really easy.  Just rinse it out with a little soap and warm water after each use.  If it’s getting a little grungy, just toss it in the dishwasher.  It’ll come out looking as good as new.  If your SKOY starts to smell a  little, just wet it, and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes.  Really.  But make sure it’s wet!  We don’t want you burning your house down.



So ditch the paper towels and stock up on SKOY Cloths.  You’ll wonder why you didn’t make the switch sooner.

How long does it take…

Our good friends at Practically Green wrote a post today about the Boston Water Crisis and the Gulf Oil Disaster.  It’s a good piece, and I suggest you give it a quick read.  One paragraph really grabbed my attention:

How long does it take to form a healthy habit? I estimate it has taken me a year to switch to using cloth bags for grocery shopping 100% of the time, without a second thought. How many times did I spank myself and trudge back to the car to get the bags (“the walk of shame,” one friend calls it).

What I found troubling was how quickly people bolted for the grocery stores to load up on cases and cases of bottled water.  We’ve all worked so hard to break the habit of using bottled water and switch to reusable bottles.  It doesn’t take much to fall off the wagon.



We’re happy to say we made it through the water crisis with only one 6 gallon water cooler of clean water.  We didn’t buy any individual bottles of water, and we didn’t have to boil any water either.  Good thing we had a lot of Klean Kanteens to get us through the mess.

BostonEco TweetUp

We’re going to be at the BostonEco TweetUp Wednesday. Are you? We have attended all of the BostonEco TweetUps and highly recommend you do too! It’s a great chance to check out a new Boston venue and connect with eco minded people. In fact, it was at a BostonEco TweetUp that we found our Mobile Showroom. So come by and maybe you’ll leave with a 27ft truck…



To sign up click here



For more information on the event click here



Where: Cafeteria Boston

279a Newbury Street

Boston, MA 02116



When: Wednesday April 28th



Why: Stop asking so many questions