Project Laundry List, one of our favorite environmental non-profits in New Hampshire, recently held a “A Touch of Color” clothesline competition in Concord.  This was the first year of the annual competition and 14 businesses participated, including our Goodwill store in Concord!

The purpose of the competition is to install creative window displays with clotheslines, educating the local  community of the many “green” benefits of clothesline drying.  We have written about clothesline drying in past blog posts, but here are some more facts we learned:

1. Dryers use 6-10% of total residential energy use.

2. Americans use more energy on drying their laundry than Africans uses on all their consumption needs.

3. Some communities prohibit clotheslines, ostensibly, for aesthetic reasons.

4. Hang drying your laundry is better on your wallet and on the environment

5. For many people, hanging out clothes is a therapeutic activity.

6. There are numerous different sizes and styles of drying rack/lines available for individual needs and accommodations.

7. April 19 is National Hanging Out Day, a day of recognition and celebration for hang drying.

8. Alex Lee, Executive Director of Project Laundry List lives in Concord, NH

We look forward to participating in the competition again next year!  Enjoy the pictures below!

This is the last post in our series highlighting green businesses in northern New England.  This is a feature we would like to bring back, so if you know of any businesses implementing green practices in Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont, please let us know or leave a comment!

Green Guides for Green Businesses

One of the great things about Vermont is the fact that there are SO MANY green businesses in the Green Mountain State.  This also makes it very difficult to pick three to highlight.  Instead, I found some great online directories (green!) that list local businesses who are implementing green practices into their business models.

First, there is the Vermont Business Environmental Partnership.  The partnership is a free and voluntary program run by the Environmental Assistance Office of Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the Vermont Small Business Development Center.  They help businesses “green” their operations and promote public recognition of “environmental excellence.”  You can find the businesses who members of the organization, with direct links to their websites.  There are a number of businesses involved in the partnership, including Compostable Goods, King Arthur Flour, and Vermont Green Cabinets.

Next, there is the Green Products Alliance.  According to their website, they are a “consortium of manufacturers and marketers who make and sell extraordinarily natural personal care products.”  They are based in Middlebury and have a significant number of Vermont-based businesses (though businesses in other states can join, too).  This is a great resource to find handmade, local personal care products like soap, herbs, lotions, candles, etc.  The alliance is spearheaded by Vermont Soap Organics and Seasoned Booksellers.

Lastly, and I thought this was really cool, is a guide to “green” hotels and b&b’s in Vermont.  Green Hotels in the Green Mountain State offers a complete listing of places to stay that are incorporating environmental practices into their businesses.   Whether you want to stay in Burlington or camp out on an organic farm, this is a great directory to find the ideal place for which you are looking!

Last week, I highlighted some new green businesses in Maine in honor of Earth Day.  Today I am looking at green businesses in NH that have been featured in the news in the last few months.   Do you know of green businesses in Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont?  Should we highlight them here?  Leave us a comment and let us know!

Greenland Bioplastics

Greenland Bioplastics is based in Greenland, NH, and they are a great LOCAL source for environmentally-friendly biodegradable packaging.  They provide products such as bags, take-out containers, deli tubs, spoons, knives, and forks.  While using durable wear is best, consider contacting Greenland if you or your organization is hosting an event or fundraiser.  Do you own a restaurant that offers take-out?  Greenland has compostable take-out containers you can incorporate into your business.  Check out an article about Greenland Bioplastics in The Wire.

Simply Green Biofuels

They have been around less than two years, but they went from having a small group of customers to more than 1,000.  Owner Andrew Kellar hopes to increase that number to 3,000 in the next year.

Simply Green Biofuels offers home heating oil with a percentage of biofuel. He also opened a “congrenience” store in Dover, the first of its kind in the state.  The store features LED lighting and rooftop solar panels.  And the best feature of all?  All items sold in the store are produced within a 100 mile radius!  Read a recent article on Simply Green on Seacoast Online and visit their website here.

ReStore

In last week’s blog post about Maine, we featured a new ReStore that recently opened up in Holden.  The Southeast New Hampshire chapter of Habitat for Humanity also opened up a ReStore in Dover, off Central Avenue.  This is the first ReStore in the state and features everything you need for repair and renovation.  They have doors, windows, light fixtures, rugs, sinks, ceiling fans, just about everything.   As an article on Seacoast Online points out, the prices are pretty good, too.

I have been reading about a significant number of green businesses in northern New England as of late, which is great news for the environment and local economy.

In honor of Earth Day this week, this is the first of three blog posts which highlight green businesses in our three northern New England states.  Do you know of any green businesses in your town or city?  Please let us know!

First up, Maine!

1. ReStore (Holden)

ReStore is a surplus building supply resale store.  They receive building supplies, architectural pieces, and other home goods that are left over from building projects.  Instead of letting these valuable resources go to the landfill, ReStore resells them at discount prices.  If you are renovating your home, or looking to install new cabinets or light fixtures, ReStore may be the place to check out!  ReStore is a project of  Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor.  Read a recent article in the Bangor Daily News.

I also discovered that there are three other ReStore locations in Maine:

Seven Rivers ReStore 108 Centre St, Bath, 386-5087

Andro Habitat ReStore 44 Strawberry Ave, Lewiston, 576-5286

Portland ReStore 83A Bell St, Portland, 221-0047

2. Sea Bags (Portland)

Sea Bags is a company based in Portland that makes reusable bags out of old sails!  Bags come in a variety of sizes and designs.  Every bag is handmade and the owners keep track of how much material they use on each bag to track waste.  Pretty cool!  Check out their website to learn more.

3. Hick-Chic Bags (Ellsworth)

Sea Bags are not the only ones incorporating used materials to make new bags.  The Maine Maven recently highlighted Hick-Chic Bags, which is a new company based in Ellsworth, Maine.  As their website proclaims, Hick-Chic Bags are made out of “recycled tarps and other cool junk.”  They even take your donations of old materials!  Find out more at their website.

Do you want to stay on top of the latest green events in Maine?  Check out MaineBusiness.com’s Green page.  You can find out about upcoming events, post events, and see what is going on with green news in Maine.

Stay tuned for Green Business highlights in New Hampshire and Vermont!