Design 21: Social Design Network

GREEN ECO-tips galore!

The National Environmental Health & Safety Conference takes place March 16-19, 2009 in Indianapolis. The conference will focus on how to become a Sustainable Green Printer (SGP) and best practices to create a safe, cost-effective and employee-friendly work environment. How printing peers are championing sustainability in the workplace will also be discussed.

The conference will span all printing processes, from commercial printing to specialty printing and flexographic printing. General sessions, roundtable discussions and half-day in-depth pre-conference workshops will cover topics such as:

Responsible Sourcing: Inks, Chemicals, Substrates, Oh My! This session is for those that are confused or are just not yet familiar with terms like VOC and phthalate free. Knowing exactly what environmentally friendly means can help printers source inks and other materials that are green. The session will focus on questions printers can ask suppliers to make responsible decisions.

Understanding Green Paper Choices With all the info about green paper floating around, it can be hard to decide on which paper is best for individual printers. This breakout session will sort through environmental issues surrounding paper and will help printers pick the paper that meets both the printer’s and customer’s requirements. State-of-the-art liquid toners, adhesives and other new eco-friendly materials will be covered.

Meeting Environmental and Safety Compliances Robert Fricke will focus o...

Our most recent partner event was co-sponsored by The NYU Stewart Satter Program in Social Entrepreneurship, StartingBloc, Pure Project, Green Leaders, NYU Reynolds Program for Social Entrepreneurship and Stern Social Enterprise Association.

For those of you who missed Woody Tasch, Chairman of Investor Circle, on "Slow Money" please visit the following links to catch up: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Please click here to see the highlights of our most recent gathering.

We are looking forward to our next which will be hosted by Tree in the East Village in their beautiful outdoor space. We will be featuring Mitchell Joachim, who was named in this month's Wired Magazine as one of "15 People the Next President Should Listen To." Learn more and click here: Mitchell Joachim: Redesign Cities From Scratch.

THE TORREY BOTANICAL SOCIETY PRESENTS NEW YORK CITY’S INAUGURAL WILDFLOWER WEEK MAY 4-10th, 2008 (http://www.torreybotanical.org)

For more information please contact Marielle Anzelone at marielle@drosera-x.com.

Green Leaders – Cocktail Hour at The Rainforest Alliance January 24th, 2008 7-8:30pm

Tensie Whelan serves as Executive Director of the Rainforest Alliance. With nearly 20 years at the organization, she was named Executive Director in 2000. Whelan also served as the executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters from 1992 until 1997, prior to which she was Vice President of Conservation Information at the National Audubon Society. Whelan's published work includes one of the first books on eco-friendly tourism, Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment.

The Rainforest Alliance is a global organization supporting biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. They ensure quality standards through certifications such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which has certified over 104 million acres of forestland in 61 countries.

Appetizer and Drink Sponsor: WHOLE FOODS, Chelsea
RSVP: jennienevin@gmail.com Featured Speaker: TENSIE WHELAN , Executive Director, Rainforest Alliance Location: Rainforest Alliance Headquarters; 665 Broadway, Suite 500 NYC

Wishing you warm holidays and a Happy New Year!

Jennie, Marissa and Micah

Fair Trade in Bloom Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times

The fair-trade market is still small, but fast-growing, and it has been a boon in places like Varginha, Brazil, where coffee roasters like Café Bom Dia, above, work directly with small farmers.

By ANDREW DOWNIE Published: October 2, 2007

VARGINHA, Brazil — Rafael de Paiva was skeptical at first. If he wanted a “fair trade” certification for his coffee crop, the Brazilian farmer would have to adhere to a long list of rules on pesticides, farming techniques, recycling and other matters. He even had to show that his children were enrolled in school.

“I thought, ‘This is difficult,’” recalled the humble farmer. But the 20 percent premium he recently received for his first fair trade harvest made the effort worthwhile, Mr. Paiva said, adding, it “helped us create a decent living.”

More farmers are likely to receive such offers, as importers and retailers rush to meet a growing demand from consumers and activists to adhere to stricter environmental and social standards.

Mr. Paiva’s beans will be in the store-brand coffee sold by Sam’s Club, the warehouse chain of Wal-Mart Stores. Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s and Starbucks already sell some fair trade coffee.

“We see a real momentum now with big companies and institutions switching to fair trade,” said Paul Rice, president and chief executive of TransFair USA, the only independent fair trade certifier in the United States.

The Internation...