4/22/12 The national Green Festival, celebrated in major U.S. cities finally came to New York for Earth Day 2012!  25,000 people came to the Javits Center to learn about the latest environmental issues, hear dynamic expert speakers, see an ecofashion show, and network with like-minded entrepreneurs —see www.greenfestivals.org/nyc/updates/.

Here are a few of the coolest things I saw:

1)     My favorite: pot planters that are made from rice, wheat, and/or bamboo fibers so are fully biodegradable when buried in soil. The same small pots serve as soy candle holders, and the “wax” can be used as a skin moisturizer. So one product serves as a candle, lotion, then a planter, and finally biodegrades. Brilliant! See myfirstecopot.com

2)     T-shirts by Playback made out of the plastic originally used to make X-rays! The tag says “Transforming images of broken legs into clothing made better by recycling.” The company assures that it is radiation- free : ) They also make tees out of recycled plastic bottles. See playbackclothing.com.

3)     Why must birthday parties create waste? I love the idea behind Susty Party — bamboo party plates and tableware in pastel colors, that can say “Happy Birthday”, and colorful paper straws, all of which are biodegradable. If you need green party supplies, see www.sustyparty.com.

4)     A green Monopoly-type game called Green Business Owner (GBO) Hawaii. (See http://greenbusinessowner.com/about/gbo-hawaii/). The creator told me he visited a Green Festival 2 years ago in DC feeling cynical about the world, but was so inspired that he created his product and now he is an exhibitor!

Another cool thing I learned: Ford is using soy, corn, and even sweet potato to make plastics in their interior car parts. See my post about this at GreenLivingGuy.com.

But my favorite part—the Ecofashion—see my next post about that!