Look Again

Yurich Creative in the Press

2011-11-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

We were featured in GD USA highlighting our green practices we utilize in our firm. Usually we just do our thing without accolades because it is just part of our process, but it was nice of Gordon Kaye to recognize our sustainable practices.

Since we are tooting our own horn, we were also nominated for a national Green Plus award in the spring. Yurich Creative was up against some pretty impressive businesses. We are proud to have been nominated.

Cose, Council for Small Businesses did a case study on Yurich Creative.

Grow Fabric

2011-10-31T12:06:00.000-07:00

Clothing Designer Suzanne Lee grows her own clothing. Watch this amazing video to see how the fabric is grown in a few weeks.

BioCouture is a research project directed by Suzanne. Her blog will keep you up-to-date on her progress.

Here are some of Suzanne's beautiful creations:

Office supplies

2011-06-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

More office products that caught my eye, a staple-free stapler and a desktop sized dry erase board. Post-it notes be gone!

You can purchase the Stapler at Think Geek. The dry erase board can be purchased from Three by Three.

Desktop Waste Solution

2011-06-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

BASKETBIN separates waste material. The big basket collects sorted office paper, the removable small bin holds compostable waste. And fits in a dishwasher for easy cleaning. Plus, it is nicely designed so your office will still look hip. I love when form and function meet.

Second Case Study

2011-05-27T04:48:00.000-07:00

Arhaus Showcase Brochure

This environmentally conscious furniture store needed a concept brochure for the sales team to take throughout the country, to sell the business-to-business community on their overall store concept. This piece needed to tell the Arhaus story, be as environmental as possible, to prove they walk-the-talk, and also look creative and contemporary like their furniture. Also, it needed to be short and sweet, so the busy folks they were showing the piece to could grasp the concept in a short amount of time.

Yurich creative decided to make the piece slender (environmental and contemporary in approach). One of the materials the store uses for a table top is copper and reclaimed wood. We decided to use a metal and twigs to close the brochure as a method to communicate the materials Arhaus uses. We found Copper was too soft and hard to source so we used brass. The twigs are just found twigs. The paper is 100% post consumer.

Here are the stats:
• Smaller size means less paper used
• Paper had 100% post consumer waste
• Less paper used saves energy in shipping
• More white space in the design means less ink used
• Piece was printed at Great Lakes Integrated FSC certified
• Ink has a total bio-based, renewable raw material of 45%
• 29% of it vegetable base
• Printers were local, paper was manufactured in New York State
• Envelope uses no printing, just logo embossed

This piece continues to wow our clients and potential clients. One thing that helps in its wow factor, is the great job our writer Jimbo did on the copy. The partial success of the brochure was that he nailed the copy for the demographic. When designing green, thinking of the "whole system", design, copy, printing, shipping, recyclability... the list goes on, is essential, so not only is in itself green, but it is used by the consumer in a successful manner. In a graphic designers world that means it is communicated effectively. In an industrial design world it is form and function.

Case Studies for a UK Magazine

2011-05-27T03:36:00.000-07:00

We were asked to submit a couple case studies for a UK magazine, so we decided to include them on our blog.

SFC Portfolio (created instead of a binder)
In the original design request, the client asked for a three ring binder with dividers and inserts. This was for a new community so the only visual was this portfolio and the website. Knowing the environmental impacts of a binder (not recyclable, mixed use materials, vinyl which had toxins) we really wanted to talk the client out of a binder and into a greener solution. We came up with the "envelope" idea, which could still have the dividers, but utilize paper. The only non environmental piece is the attached Velcro for closure. Yurich Creative felt it was not necessary. We felt either a die slit or nothing at all was sufficient but compromise is sometimes necessary.

Here are the environmental stats:

• 30% post consumer recycled content
• Portfolio was printed at Great Lakes Integrated FSC certified
• Ink has a total bio-based, renewable raw material of 45%
• 29% of it vegetable base
• Printer was local, paper was manufactured in Ohio
• Some of the interior pages were printed B&W double sided on a toner based printer on an as needed basis
• Items that were general were in larger quantities, specific data was smaller quantities (because of changes) and digital printed

In the end it was a great success, for one reason because the consumers kept the portfolios and brought them back for holding items as their house was being built. Longer life and use is always a better idea in our disposable graphic design world. But at the end of its life cycle this portfolio can be recycled, except for the velcro dot.

Cheap Winterizing

2011-02-03T06:36:00.001-08:00

So, maybe I am a bit late with this post, but I am sure Feb. and March will still be pretty darn cold. A friend of mine on Facebook posted this this morning: "Woke this morning to find living room 58F on the thermostat and furnace not working. Sent Hubby to check and he figured out the kids flipped the "off" switch on side of furnace. It was completely off from 8pm until 7am and we only lost 8 degrees overnight in the middle of winter." That is good insulation!

Then I found this on Treehugger and thought I would share with you all the cheap ways to winterize your home.

QUICK RUN DOWN ON WHAT IS ON THE LIST
1. Lower water heater temperature (check to see what's safe)
2. Install a programmable thermostat
3. Stop the air leaks
4. Insulate your water heater
5. Insulate your attic
6. Install efficient showerheads
7. Winterize your windows
8. Install faucet aerators

Think of the lower energy bills!

Yellow Pages

2011-02-01T06:39:00.000-08:00

You can opt out of the Yellow Pages delivered automatically to your house. Click here and follow the directions. You should see a box to type your zip code into.

Eyeglasses vs. Contacts

2010-11-30T08:08:00.001-08:00

I found this interesting analysis this morning and wanted to share with you. It is a life cycle comparison on glasses vs. contacts, and which is better. In case you don't want to read through, it appears that glasses win if you keep the glasses 2-3 years. This is because of the heavy amount of items, packaging, around contact lenses. I wear glasses, but only because my eyes (mainly me) don't like fingers digging around the eye area.

Messanger Bag

2010-09-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

Staying with the bag theme, I found these great messenger bags made of plastic bottles. I am told 30 of them go into one bag. A stylish way to get rid of friends water bottles, because I am sure I have trained my readers to carry a refillable bottle. But even I run into times I am stuck with a bottle, so nice to see a use.

Paper Purses

2010-08-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

I bought two of these handbags almost two years ago. By the way, they hold up very well. I love the idea that they are made of recycled plastic and post-consumer paper. The first one I show is paper, the second is the plastic. I find the plastic one holds up the best. I use the paper one for "going-out" and the plastic for everyday.
For the guys out there, they have some messenger bags in the plastic version.

Produce Bags

2010-08-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yeah, a friend found re-useable produce bags. Not as inexpensive as the Crate and Barrel ones, but they look durable. You can order them at Bag The Habit.

Lakewood has a contest

2010-08-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Apparently, Lakewood had a call for designers to design new bus shelters. Instead of looking at design firms, then deciding who to hire, they had a contest. $5,000 to the winning design. Besides the fact that $5,000 would not necessarily cover the costs of a good design firm creating a useful and aesthetically pleasing solution, form + function, this is not the way to hire a design firm. Would you throw a contest if you needed heart surgery? How about a lawyer? Why do cities think it is ok to throw contest for designing. Listen to this West 65th and Detroit. You have the WORST bus shelters that could be designed. They may look good but nobody wants to sit on it. And did the designer think it was cool to have the people waiting in the rain get wet. I digress. The good news is Lakewood only got five submissions. I sure hope Cleveland designers are wising up to "contests". And maybe city officials will figure out the reason talented artists leave Cleveland is they can't make a living if they are busy doing contest!

Corporate Responsibilty

2010-08-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

I am reading the book "The Responsibility Revolution" by Jeffrey Hollender and Bill Breen. I found it interesting, that they take on the term Corporate Responsibility, as a negative or "dreadful term". Believe it or not, AIG had a Corporate Responsibility tab on their website. Same with Citgroup. AIG, Citigroup and Fannie Mae all issued corporate responsibility reports with no reference to the activities that caused the downfall we all know about now. It seems that it is easy to earn Corporate Responsibility awards from varies organizations, and Fannie Mae was the first on the 2004 list of "100 Best Corporate Citizens" by "Business Ethics" Magazine.

Hollender and Breen believe we have reached the end of the road for corporate responsibility and that CR will become a "baseline requirement in every companies license to operate". That consumers will not believe the corporate responsibility reports anymore. CR reports WILL NOT be an indicator of "doing good".

I like the idea that Hollender and Breen bring up - that companies will first ask "What does the world need most that our business is uniquely able to provide" And that if this is not the correct question, it might lead us to the right kind of conversation.

I also like the idea of calling the VP of Corporate Responsibility the "VP of Corporate Possibility" I think all companies should be transparent, think about the planet which includes all beings (their employees and all earth beings) and rethink and look at "themselves" constantly as to what they can do better. Better for the environment, better for citizens and employees and better for their bottom line. Not just one of them.

Class Comes End

2010-08-05T05:15:00.000-07:00

So, I no longer have class, but I am going to try to keep the momentum going with my postings - so I don't slack off. I was all excited to tell you about these awesome 100% polyester (they would be curb-side recyclable when you were finished using them) produce bags, but I noticed this morning they are discontinued. Why do the best products become unavailable? I was going to order my set this morning. So I could have organized fruits and veggies at the checkout. Currently, I don't use a bag, so it all flies all over while the cashier tries to weigh it. Well, actually right now I am farmer's marketing but these bags would have come in handy there as well. Sigh, I will keep looking. If any of my readers know of a product like this please post it.

CIA - Week 8 - Last Class

2010-07-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

So sad the Cleveland Institute of Art class came to an end. My students get A+ for effort, projects, and the amount they retained and learned in 8 short weeks. Our last class was a discussion and movie watching, to go over best practices, and an overall summary of what we learned and how to take it to their art practices. Highlights included this quote from Design e, a PBS program:

"We are not going to consume our way out of this problem"

I always say green bling is still bling. We talked about the responsibility of a designer to not only make smart choices but also to edit ones self. Edit away the poster if it is not the best way to communicate your message. We looked at a poster, created for a college, that just said "Recycle". Was a poster the best way to get students recycling? Was there a better way to get the recycling message out?

As artists/creators/messengers, we have a certain power, to tell the "green" message with the materials we choose. Just by designing smaller (both literally and figuratively), we can subliminally tell the sustainable story of that product. How great would have been if Moen would have chosen smarter packaging for their biomimicry inspired shower head? That shower head could have educated the people buying it. Instead it was only about saving water/money. Not a bad message, just not a complete sustainable one.

CIA class 7 Champions

2010-07-22T06:26:00.000-07:00

There are many champions involved in the sustainable movement. Ray Anderson from Interface is one that comes to mind automatically, but here is our list, and there are surely more.

David Orr
William McDonough
Janine Benyus
Rachel Carson
Jeffrey Hollender
Bill Mckibben
Paul Hawken
Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins

Sometimes it takes a famous person to get the word out.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Summer Rayne Oakes
Al Gore

And one of the students selected the Earth Day Organization as their champion, because when in school, the organization sparked their environmental spirit.

Nature's Rules

2010-07-20T06:52:00.000-07:00

From the book "Strategy for Sustainability" by Adam Werbach

Nature's Rules of Sustainability
• Diversify across generations
• Adapt and specialize to the changing environment
• Celebrate transparency
• Plan and execute systemically, not compartmentally
• Form groups and protect the young
• Integrate metrics
• Improve each cycle
• Rightsize regularly, rather than downsize occasionally
• Foster longevity, not immediate gratification
• Waste nothing, recycle everything, and borrow little

CIA Week 6 - Paper and Ink

2010-07-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Ink and Paper is a complex issue that takes volumes to explain. I will attempt to give an overview with the idea of going more in depth at a later time.

Each person in the US consumes 700 pounds of paper annually—more than five times the global average*. About half of the paper is recycled.
*Paper consumption data retrieved May 27, 2008.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, nonprofit organization that acts as a watchdog for the wood industry. Originally started for the construction industry, the paper and printing industry has adopted it as its own. For good and bad. A forest was not meant to be managed for a 5 second direct mail piece. Designers need to use common sense, as to what type of paper should be used for each project they create. This includes taking in energy use, company policies, bleaching processes (the most harmful part of the paper making process), recycled content and where the paper is manufactured. Many of the "cheap" post consumer papers are imports. That is a whole other topic.

Paper cannot be recycled indefinitely. The fiber begins to disintegrate and lose strength after being recycled four-six times. Paper, especially newspaper is compostable.

Paper made from 100% recycled content saves 1.32 tons of CO2 equivalent and uses less than half the energy of a ton of paper made from virgin pulp.

You should have a A Paper Management Plan:
1. Use less paper
2. Reuse paper
3. Recycle paper
4. Use ecologically preferable paper

Number One, use less paper, maximizing a press sheet is a great way to save paper. Work with your printer, to size your project, so you have virtually no waste. I will do another blog on press sheet planning.

Pantone Matching System (PMS) has many colors that are full of heavy metals. But so do other inks. Scorecard.org can help you determine which colors are the most toxic. But that can be a painful and arduous process. You cannot blindly just ask for soy based or vegetable based ink. All ink has about 10% vegetable base, not enough to pat yourself on the back for being environmental. Two ink companies I have researched, Superior (Super Tech 520 30%-45% renewable resource content) and Braden Sutphin (EcoSmart about 45% renewable resource content) because my printers use those inks.

In Australia, they have an ink that is in the 90% range and produces brilliant color. We can only hope that technology gets to the US. I will cover more about ink at a later date.

One more thing to add about saving paper, if a company is claiming zero waste as a company stance, and still have PDF's on their website, they are only shifting the waste to another person. If the PDF is particularly text heavy, it will get printed. The responsibility should be the companies, to make information easy and clear to read on their website. A PDF is taking what you had in print, and just shifting it to the web, not designing for the web. And stop offering a print button.

CIA Week 5 - Material and Product Selection

2010-07-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

What makes a product/material “green”?
How do you evaluate the relative greenness of different materials/products?
How do you find green materials/products?

• Recycled Content with a preference for postconsumer content.
• Natural, plentiful or renewable preferably have an independent certification
• Resource efficient manufacturing process
• Locally available
• Salvaged, refurbished, or remanufactured
• Reusable or recyclable, select materials that can be easily dismantled
• Recycled or recyclable product packaging
• Durable materials with long life expectancies.

Three basic steps of product selection
• Research
• Evaluation: life cycle analysis (LCA)
• Selection

You Should set up a data base to keep track of info as you gather it. Then update as you get more and more info. This can be done for plastics, inks, paper, suppliers anything you need to purchase for the design of a product or print materials.

When selecting materials, and even what you are designing, you want to keep in mind the entire life cycle. You can't design a bio-inspired product, then have it made out of non renewable or non recycleable materials, in layers of packaging, and think it is a green product.

CIA - Week Four Biomimicry part 2

2010-07-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Bulrushes are perennial grass-like plants that can grow to 10 feet tall in shallow water or in moist soils. Dr. Alfred Ernest Schuyler, curator emeritus of botany at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia says "Bulrushes are environmental workhorses, effectively used in sewage lagoons to purify water". Back in the 50s, Dr. Katie Seidel was working on a system of plant life that could purify waste water. She called it the Krefield System. She closed her research after running out of money. Worrell Water Technologies took the concept and started a company called Living Machines that uses living plants and beneficial microorganisms to turn wastewater into clean water. You can see an example of a Living Machine at Oberlin Colleges Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies.

Thanks to Matt, one of the students in the CIA class, for this wonderful information. This is a great example of Biomimicry. Worrel Water Technologies used natures system to solve a problem that traditionally is riddled with toxic chemicals.

CIA - Week Three Biomimicry part 1

2010-06-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

What would nature do? Biomimicry looks to nature to answer tough design problems. The key questions to ask:

How does life design things?
How does life make things?
How does life make things disappear?

Our old manner of making things is heat, beat and treat. A term used in manufacturing to describe the process they use. This creates 96% waste. There is no waste in nature. Waste = food. So, designers should look to nature when creating "things".

Janine Benyus started the Biomimicry Institute and Guild. They now offer a biologist at the table program where you can hire a biologist to help you solve a design problem using natures principles.

Here is an examples of biomimicry at work:

Many large-winged insects and many large leaf plant surfaces remain dirt-free without cleaning or using energy, because of how their surface interacts with water molecules. Lotusan® exterior coating uses these principles on building exteriors to clean automatically after a rain shower.

We continue next week with Biomimicry part 2.

CIA - Week Two

2010-06-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

Week two we focused on design for recyclability and design for disassembly. This was all part of an overall packaging discussion. Some key criteria for design for recyclability:

• Design products using materials that can be recycled and for which materials collection and recycling technologies currently are available and commonly used.

• Use recycled materials.

• Reduce the number of different materials used.

• Use compatible materials within an assembly.

When designing for disassembly remember to make it easy to take apart. If the manufacturer has a take back program, in order for it to be profitable and a success, it has to come apart fast. Each piece should be marked some how, so the person taking it apart (and the person putting it back together) can easily place items in like bins.

Sustainable Packaging Design 101:
• use the least amount of packaging as possible. Less layers.
• Use recycled materials as well as make it recyclable.
• Think about energy use during transportation.
• Design for use. Make the package usable for another purpose.
• Design for compostabilty.

Celery Design designed a wonderful LED light package that becomes the light shade.

CIA - Week One

2010-06-10T04:10:00.000-07:00

The three hours flew by last night, at least for me, hopefully for the students as well. We covered what sustainability is - may sound easy but it's not. There is a ton of incorrect definitions out there, here is one:

Sustainability = Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- an individuals email signature

The three R's are just a process you do to be sustainable. Here is wikipedia's version:

Sustainability, the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future.

Much better at explaining what sustainability truly is, but a little hard to put your arms around it, for the average person. Here is one from the 1987 UN conference:

Sustainability is meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

I like the simplicity of this one. Easy for anyone to understand.

And lastly, here is one from Crain's:

The commercialization or adaptation of processes and products which are both feasible, economical and make a positive impact on the triple bottom line: Profits, People, Planet.

This one is great for businesses to use but not that palatable for an individual or family.

Teaching

2010-06-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

I have been very neglectful of my blog, so sorry. I promise to at the very least, write once a week during my 8 week teaching. I thought I would write highlights of what goes on in the classroom. Tomorrow is the first class. Here is the highlights:

The Cleveland Institute of Art
Sustainability + Design = ReThinking
"Sustainability can be both complex and simple at the same time. We will discover ways to rethink everyday practices and choices, and then take that knowledge to your art practice or business. Each week we will present on a selected topic and then discuss the subject in depth. One week we will create art with found objects, other weeks we will discuss latest trends and pioneers of sustainable practices. My hope is you will discover how nature solves complex problems simply."

Paper

2010-04-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

I know I have been neglecting my blog but I have good reason, I am preparing for several gallery shows I have art in. I am very excited to return to the fine art world after a long hiatus.

I thought I would share an article a paper company wrote. This article really goes to the root of the environmental movement, and I was interested to find that a paper company wrote it. The company is out of Montreal and produces a nice paper called enviro100.

Grass not Greener

2010-02-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

Farmers tend to get a bad rap for pesticide use, yet it is individuals trying to have greener grass that are the real offenders.The EPA reports that households apply 85 million pounds to 17 million residential acres, or 5 pounds per acre. Farmers however use approximately 1.4 pounds per acre on 815 million acres of crops.

This spring, instead of running to the garden center to green your grass, why not look into some alternatives. I actually prefer less grass and hope to eliminate most of it in the coming years. Good Nature is a Cleveland based company that can provide lawn care or products. Here are some tips for organic lawn care. And this website is packed full of information.

Ink

2010-02-16T12:10:00.001-08:00

Ink for printing is a tough subject to cover. Mainly because the info out there is vauge, confusing, and contradicts. I am going to attempt to cover but if you have info please add in the comments.

Ink is made of a vehicle (what glues everything together), pigment (what gives it the color) and additives (to enhance). There is no such thing as soy ink. There is soy based ink, and just being soy based does not make it environmentally friendly. In order to carry the soy seal of approval it must have a minimum of 20% (in the 70s it had to be 30%). Vegetable based inks can have linseed, soy, corn, etc. Most inks are headed to low to no VOCs with UV inks being no VOC currently.

You want to avoid imported ink, the US has banned heavy metals from inks but other countries have not. Metallic and fluorescent inks tend to be more toxic even though they no longer have heavy metals. And they are usually not recycled. Heavy ink coverage is bad in that it uses more resources, and once again is not usually recycled. So give up those business cards with a flood of color on the back side.

Here is a website that can help with your projects. But be wary in that it is made up of ink manufacturers. I think they are headed in the right direction but they are governing themselves. And it is business.

When choosing inks be concerned with the bio-renewable content more than soy based etc. The higher the bio content the better. You can usually tell because it smells better. Unless you like the smell of chemicals. Here is the page on bio content.

Yoga Mat

2010-02-02T06:27:00.000-08:00

I have often thought about the yoga mat I use every morning and its impact on my health and the environment. I Suppose I could have gone without one, but when I started yoga over ten years ago, I was not as enlightened as I am today. I have found this alternative which is not perfect (I am not clear on what you do with it at the end of the lifecycle) but it seems better than the "regular" yoga mats. Check out it out.

I am very intrigued by this jute mat. This mat is made with a renewable resource and at the end of the lifecycle is biodegradable in a landfill. Well as much as a landfill allows for biodegrading. That is a whole other subject. Both these mats seem like a better choice than regular yoga "sticky" mats.

Yurich Creative Gets Press Time

2010-02-01T06:48:00.000-08:00

Yurich Creative is covered editorially in the GDUSA Green Enews.

Shopping: Clothing

2010-01-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

Last year, I made a commitment to buy "new" clothes from previously owned sources. I got some great new outfits and managed to do it saving money. Plus, found some new stores in and out of town, that I had not known about. As individuals, our choice in clothing is one of the largest impacts we make to the environment.
Impacts of non organic clothing:
• heavy use of pesticides
• bleach
• production is energy intensive
• toxins in the water
• petroleum used for synthetic fibers

Shoes and leather goods, on a per dollar basis, are more damaging than other apparel. Most of the damage comes from the cows who pollute the water, use land and other resources. Most people think the same cow they eat is the one they wear but this is not the case. But "fake" leather is almost worse, in that it is from a petroleum product.

Try it slowly, check out some resale or consignment shops and see what you can find. You might be surprised what great items people get rid of. My favorite find from last year is my Gwen Stefani scooter jacket. I think I am going to go another year buying previously owned since I am on a roll.

Hints for resale shopping:
• find a good tailor to help with repairs and alterations
• Invest in a sweater razor. As ridiculous as this seems for an environmentalist, better to make the sweater like new with the sweater razor, than to keep buying new sweaters. Obviously, the best thing to do is pick the pills off by hand but if that is too much for you, I feel better to buy your sweaters used and fix them up.
• Cut outfits you like out of magazines and take them with you. These are magazines you got second hand. You can usually find something similar and mimic the outfit.
• ask your friends, they probably have their favorite resale shop
• check out of town. I have found some great things by checking out shops while on business trips.

High-Impact Areas

2010-01-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately, and have come across information that shows areas of larger impact, as far as helping take care of the environment. Here are some big ones:

• Powerboats
• Pesticides and fertilizers
• Gas-powered yard equipment (can you say leaf blowers)
• Fireplaces and wood stoves
• Recreational off-road driving
• Hazardous cleaners and paints
• Products made from endangered or threatened species

I wanted to share this list because it seems like a pretty easy list to adapt. I know some people love their fireplace and yard equipment but eliminating the above really doesn't impact your life in a bad way. I guess it is easy for me to say, since car racing and boating is not my favorite way to spend my time.

Green America

2009-12-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

Yurich Creative was highlighted in the Fall 2009 issue of Green America magazine. On page 28, in the article titled "Green Businesses Lead in Going Car-Lite", Yurich Creative talks about how they have one day a week for meetings days. Unfortunately, the fall issue is not online yet so I have copied it below.

E4S 2009 Champions

2009-11-20T10:25:00.000-08:00

I was a panelist at the 2009 E4S Champions of Sustainability event. We had a great discussion led by Roger Saillant, the new director at the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) Weatherhead School of Management (now that is a mouth-full). Roger asked thought provoking, tough, questions and in my humble opinion, we did a bang-up job.

From right, Gene Matthews of CWRU; Rebecca Reynolds of Green Clean and Planet Green; Me; Doug Paige of the Cleveland Institute of Art; Chris Kious of A Piece of Cleveland (APOC) and Michael Dungan of Bee Dance. I was proud to be with such a distinguished group of Champions. Yes, we were all E4S Champions from previous years. Me, I was a champion of sustainability 2008, a tag I wear proudly and loudly!

Greening Your Office Conclusion

2009-11-18T07:40:00.000-08:00

Greening your office is much more complex than five blog postings can cover. It isn't as simple as changing light bulbs and printing on both sides of the paper — in fact, just stop printing on any side of the paper, do you need all these print outs? But I do have one more topic near to my graphic design heart — are pixels better than ink on paper? Unfortunately, the new wave of thinking is to throw everything on the website and pat yourself on the back for being environmental, but it isn't that simple.

There is the disputable data that pulp and paper uses less energy to produce than electronic data servers. Pulp and paper uses .7% (enough to power 2 million homes) while electronic data centers use 1.5% (enough to power 5 million homes). Trees are a regulated renewable resource, electronics have proven to be a dirty, unregulated recycling mess.

Some advocates of electronic delivery say the servers are already in place, so posting your PDF is a no footprint solution. Not really. In the past few years servers have doubled because of the amount of stuff online. I was just on a site yesterday, that had information from 1999, come on clean it off, take the site down, make room for more data so new servers do not have to be added. If we keep at the rate of electronic data increase, a new server will need to be added consistently in order to keep up.

Rule of thumb for now, long documents are better printed, shorter docs online. Why, because people print them out anyway. It is better to control the number being printed and how it is being printed. Because if (and that is a big IF) they are reading online the amount of energy used to power the computer out weighs the energy used to make the paper. So, if you have an annual report, print it, and then don't just post the PDF on your website. If you want web presence, then make the annual web friendly, so people don't feel the need to print it out. And certainly don't offer a print button along with the online version. If you need to do that you are just trying to save money, not the environment. I try to advise against posting PDFs as a general rule, it encourages printing at the desktop.

There is a place for print but you need a designer that designs the pieces wisely. It is more than ink and paper, it is looking at the size, how it fits on a press sheet and it is looking at the where it is printed. Is it compelling? How many do you need? There are many things to look at with every marketing piece you produce, whether it is on the web, or on a piece of paper.

Greening Your Office 104

2009-11-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

The hardest and most important item to do in greening your office, is to figure out your life cycle assessment on what you provide and what you buy. It is getting easier to do these days, with software programs and data sharing, but it is still complex and time consuming, but don't get discouraged, it is a process.

To show you what life cycle assessment (LCA) (also, chain of custody) is I am going to use a bottle of wine as an example. You would like to buy a bottle of wine to take to a dinner party. Do you buy California over French, Organic over non, a California wine in a Tetra Pak — lighter so less energy shipping — or local? If you are in Boston, shipping from France will be better than trucking from CA because the shipping containers come right into the Boston port. This is comparing a bottle of CA wine compared to a bottle of French wine. In Cleveland, Ohio where I am, both bottles are almost equal in energy use, between the shipping and trucking.

So do I get the CA wine in the lighter paper package? Not necessarily. Even though there is a ton of energy used to recycle glass, the Tetra Pak is not recyclable (yet or in a majority of cities) so you have a package to deal with.

There is obviously no perfect solution unless you go to the party empty handed but the local wine may be your best bet. There are books that dispute the local movement saying that it is not necessarily the best choice energy wise. But they are not considering the money into the local economy and the less trucking in most cases. Some anti-local say that more energy is used because of many people driving vs a distribution system. I am not a mathematician, but it just seems logical, that choosing a local wine would be a better eco decision in most cases. I know that some farmers may be more wasteful and use harsher chemicals but why not visit the winery and check out what they are doing? Plus, most small farmers I know are pretty efficient because of costs. Ultimately, you have to make LCA decisions for each and every instance and what is best at that moment.

Luckily there are companies and reporting devices beginning to emerge. With data sharing and reporting it will be so much easier to look into what we produce and buy. Good Guide is one of those reporting companies.

Here is one last example of looking at your companies practices. Increasing fuel efficiency in your fleet is just one portion of being greener. If you continue practices like idling and driving tons of miles, the efficiencies of a higher mileage vehicle will be null. Interesting, people who purchase Prius' tend to drive more miles than with their previous vehicle. The idea is to purchase a high mileage vehicle and drive less. Use public transportation and bike and walk places.

Greening Your Office 103

2009-11-12T05:35:00.000-08:00

To improve air quality in your office you need to watch what you clean with, the paint you use, the fabrics you choose, how you "freshen" the air and equipment you buy. Depending on the type of company you run, there may be more because of what you manufacture or produce and or store.

Starting with cleaning products, there are many on the market than ever before (Seventh Generation, Biokleen, Ecover are a few) but you can simply use baking soda and vinegar too. Beware of green claims, because just a few natural ingredients does not make for a green product. I have found most professional cleaning companies will use green products if you request them, but there are plenty of green cleaning companies now to choose from.

When painting you will want to use as low a VOC paint as possible. The color white is no VOC and as you add pigment you get VOC's. Most paint companies offer a low VOC product. There are also alternatives such as milk paint, solvent free paint and clay paints.

Fabrics, furniture, carpet and drapery or blinds all off gas chemicals into the air. Luckily there are options available such as carpet squares, fabric made from natural and organic matter and wood finished with low VOC finishes. There are so many products available now you really do get your choice of styles.

You will want to look at all things that effect air quality from vinyl products to air fresheners, just look on the internet for what Plug In's do to the air.

Greening Your Office 102

2009-11-11T05:41:00.000-08:00

Transportation - saving energy. There are many ways to handle transportation, and you can get really creative with your companies plan. I will outline a few basics and you can create ways you can implement them in your instance. Best way to have employees get to work is walking. It uses no energy to produce anything other than I suppose the shoes on their feet. But in most areas walking is not an option. When I was in Greenville, SC this past January, I picked where I would live based on the ability to walk downtown, never leaving this beautiful hike/bike path that ends up in Cleveland Park. As you can imagine the real estate in the area is quite expensive, and I do wonder if any of those people walk to work, but it is an easy, gorgeous, 5 - 10 minute walk downtown.

Biking to work is an excellent choice. You can offer employees incentives to choose a bike to transport themselves to work. Some of the more ingenious things I have heard are, giving company bikes (like a company car), offering primo parking, although when I commuted to Wyse in the 80s by bike, I just took my bike to my cubical. You can give the parking lot money to the cyclist, free lunch vouchers, and gift certificates for bike safety items such as lights, helmets,etc.

Taking a train is a great way to get to work. Some cities don't have subways so then a bus would be great. You can offer employees paid monthly passes or money towards passes, or have an employee of the month program that celebrates the public
transportation rider with cash prizes and incentives to participate. I am not a fan of bling because green bling is still bling. I think we need to move away from t-shirts, hats and bags as a "green" prize.

Carpooling is excellent and the employer can offer primo parking for carpoolers.

Last up would be single rider in a high mileage vehicle. Notice I don't single out hybrids. That is because hybrids in my opinion do not equal high mileage all the time. Sorry Lexus, your hybrid SUV does not fit the bill but the gas Corolla does. This would have to be any vehicle over 40 miles to the gallon to really celebrate the employee driving alone. That pretty much elminates many gas cars and many hybrids so not the best choice for employee transportation.

Now you can get creative. Maybe your employees could work at home a day or two a week. Maybe you could offer closing costs on a house within walking distance of your offices. Change the rules on where work happens. Maybe employees working on a project could meet in a central location that they can easily get to by bike or foot.

Here is a helpful site for figuring bike routes.

Greening Your Office 101

2009-11-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

I get asked about greening offices quite a bit. I think everyone is looking for a quick answer, that they can then use as a marketing message. I thought I would post about first steps to greening your office and it is not as simple as recycling, although commendable, that is just one area of an office greening plan.

No matter what your size you need a team of employees passionate about the topic, but if you are larger you may want a full time person that manages the entire workplace. If you decide to set it up as a "volunteer" type committee, meaning the employees have other jobs they were hired to do, then you will want a team. More than three people, because if an employee leaves you do not want the entire program to go under or be delayed. Three people so there are at least two left to run the program until the third position is re-filled. The larger your company the larger the committee should be.

Once you have the committee in place or sustainable director hired, have them come up with a plan that they present to the powers that be. The plan will consist of stages. Immediate things to do, year long goals and long term aspirations. Each stage will have energy saved (which means money saved), consumption reduced (which means money saved), implementation (what it takes for total company participation) and measurement strategy (so you know how much money is saved and how it is being received). This is a lot of work so it is always best to have incentives for the people doing all the work (extra time off, bonus, recognition)

You need to look at all areas of the business - operations, technology, employee behavior and design (how is the building/office set up). This may seem like a ton of effort, but it is proven that looking at all of your companies functions not only "greens" the office, but increases functionality, encourages employee interaction and teamwork, fosters innovation and ultimately reduces environmental impact.

I am going to spend a couple blog postings on this topic because it is such a complex one. That way the postings can be segmented and easier read. Look for further postings soon.

LOGO: Mayfly Capital

2009-10-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

Recently, we developed a logo for a new company out of Boston called Mayfly Capital. The company focuses on acquiring printers that are implementing practices that are "green". When mayflies are found around water it means that the water is good quality. Mayfly Capital is representing good, solid companies and helping them for a short period of time - until the company is funded and off to success.

We are showing the text in black here but it is actually embossed. Mayfly Capital wanted to use an "old school" approach with embossing and 100% cotton paper. Crane Papers uses recycled rag in the making of their paper. Not a perfect choice since cotton uses so much pesticide in growing, but it is a way to keep scraps out of the waste stream. This was a good solution for Mayfly Capital to show their environmental commitment.

The logo was developed using just the delicate tail of the mayfly with a slight uphill slant to signify growth. The logo purposely takes on a zen-like feel as to signify comfort for the prospective clients. That their company will be looked after well.

Fresh the movie

2009-10-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

The Rocky River Nature Center is showing movies related to food on Tuesdays. Last night I saw Fresh which is a wonderful exposé on the food industry. They interviewed my favorite farmer Joel Salatin and my favorite food writer Michael Pollan. The audience gasped as they showed little chicks being poured, very harshly, onto a barn floor. It was so sad to see how unhealthy these chickens became.

The movie talks about using nature's cycles to create food, instead of enormous monocrop farms, that have to fight nature in order to get inadequate food to grow. Nature doesn't have monocultures, nature does not like monocultures, it has defenses to fight against it. It seems like more, smaller farms, might increase the quality of our food system, especially if these farms were close to us.

We need to close the nutrient cycle, where animals feed the plants and then the animals eat the plants. The animals could be the farms workers by using the cattle, chickens, pigs to do what they naturally do. They become better food because they are healthier animals. Not that I eat animals but I do know some people do.

I hope that we move away from cheap food, in fact cheap everything (stuff) and move towards sustaining our lives by respecting nature. To find out where you can buy locally grown, organic food check out eatwild.com

The next movie is King Corn and it shows at 7pm on October 20. On October 27 you can see Fast Food Nation and remember these movies are free. You can see a free movie in a nice setting. It is right on Valley Parkway between Shepard and Cedar Point Road.

Green Corp Rankings

2009-09-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

Last week, I saw a copy of Newsweek Magazine's Green Ranking issue on a clients desk. Intrigued, I opened and glanced at the list. I was shocked at some of the companies high on the list and infuriated at some that were not there at all. Today I read Joel Makowers review of the list and I felt a bit better. Thanks Joel! I suppose it is good to start healthy competition with these big companies, so they want to gain on their ranking. I do however think Newsweek should have at least mentioned some of the companies REALLY making a difference - Interface, Pantagonia, Seventh Generation, etc. I know they did not fall in their qualifications of being one of the 500 top traded companies, but a mention would have helped to understand where the top 500 should be. I get tired of people giving Walmart credit for being green, when for as large as they are, they should be doing MUCH better. Check out the list in this weeks Newsweek and then read Joel Makowers review.

Planting Trees

2009-08-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Planting trees is great but hardly the cure for driving and flying all over. In order to offset an average persons carbon, you would need a lot of land and many years. Looking 50 years ahead, and say you are emitting 22 tons of carbon dioxide per year, that is 1,100 tons of carbon dioxide you have released into the environment. You would need to plant 270 trees in order to remove the carbon. And that is if all the trees live 50 years. Most likely only 35% will live 50 years, so calculating that into the equation, you would need to plant 800 trees and you would need 11 acres.

Another factor to consider is that the carbon stored trees is only temporary. Someday, they'll die and most of the CO2 will be released back into the atmosphere. It's possible that a portion will remain trapped in the soil but most will be lost. By carbon offsetting your travel by planting trees you have just delayed them.

A better way is to emit less carbon dioxide than the average person. Car pool, use public transportation, walk or ride your bike, get creative with your vacations so you aren't flying. Yurich Creative no longer flies for meetings. We utilize conference calls and distribute notes via PDF. We find this method much more productive anyway. We are more organized and have everything we need at our finger tips. We can instantly send files and notes.

More Stats

2009-08-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

10,400 - number of people who die in the U.S. each year from cancer related pesticide exposure.

14,000,000 - number of people in the U.S. who routinely drink water contaminated with carcinogenic herbicides.
90 - percentage of municipal water treatment facilities lacking equipment to remove these chemicals from the water.

2-3 pounds of pesticides used to grow the cotton for one pair of non-organic jeans.

A study by Emory University found pesticides in elementary-school children's urine. After four days of eating organic, only 1 child had traces of pesticides in their urine, out of 23 children.

Eco Bling

2009-08-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

Recently I have encountered many people who think the way to promote their environmental cause is with bling. You know, stickers, t-shirts, water bottles, re-usable shopping bags, you get the picture. The defense I get is "people love free stuff". But aren't we trying to get them to change behavior and not just collect stuff. I mean how many re-usable bags does one need. It is sending the wrong message for your eco cause. I think we need to re-think and loose the ego part of it - the part where the organization thinks it is really cool to see their logo all over the place.

When we are working with clients we try to get them to look at alternate ways to get the word out. Usually there are better more memorable ways to get a specific company or programs message heard. Just take the time to think about it.

Clevo Sustainability Cont. 2

2009-08-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

I have seen Ray Anderson speak many times, and this was one of his best talks. I loved when he said "you cannot be green with a brown supply chain". The other thing he said that resonated with me was "Don't wait. The longer the wait, the greater the solution". Mr. Anderson had some complex equations, explaining the problem of what we are currently doing, compared to an equation on what could be. Unfortunately, it has much to do with affluence and wanting stuff. I personally do not see the point of replacing stuff with "green stuff". I was telling the group I was in, that you need to think outside the box, not replace the box with a green box, but truly think outside the box. Yes, that means we may have less stuff, but Ray Anderson thinks we might be happier in the long run, and I have to agree.

Clevo Sustainability Cont.

2009-08-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

If You Make It You Own It Forever. A Peter Senge quote.

In Europe all cars have to be recycled by the manufacturer. That is right, when you are finished using your car you give it back to the car company. Design for disassembly is not a new concept but it is one we have moved away from. We need to look at the whole system:

•What is in it?
•Where is it from?
•What happens to it?

Starbuck's had a biocup cup for hot liquid, that looked to be a great eco-option as it could be composted, except it had such a large footprint it negated all the benefits. You need to look at the whole system.

Watch for words such as recycled vs recyclable.

Cleveland Sustainability

2009-08-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

I attended Sustainable Cleveland 2019: Building an Economic Engine to Empower a Green City on a Blue Lake last week. It took me until today to be able to recap what was an extraordinary three days. There were speakers, and almost 700 people, that went through an appreciative inquiry process, creating many ideas and dialog on taking Cleveland on a journey to become the greenest city in the world! The three days began with Van Jones.

He praised Ohio for:
• being number 7 in clean energy patents
• having the highest concentration of engineers
• being the top 20 in venture capitalists

Van said we need to turn the rust belt into the green belt. We just need the pieces in place to put it all together because as Van Jones said, "this type of summit is not happening in other cities". And of course he said "the best social organization or program is a job"

Renewable Resources

2009-08-07T06:52:00.000-07:00

While attending a meeting on selecting materials for signage, I got to thinking. There is a big difference in choosing wood for say flooring vs. direct mail (virgin paper), or say temporary signage. One lasts for hundreds of years, and one is 5 minutes, if you're lucky. If we have these FSC certified forests, which to me are intended for the building industry not advertising, it is easy to manage the forests in a responsible manner. Same thing with cork, if you are shipping it from Europe to use for flooring, then it isn't such a bad thing. I had cork floor in my old house, that was original to the house. It was built in 1948 and the floor was in remarkable shape. But if you are using cork for a kids room on the wall or for craft projects, shipping from Europe seems a bit much, even if cork is a renewable resource. So, my point is, even if you are considering a renewable resource, you still need to consider what you are using it for in order to consider it sustainable. It isn't all equal.

Met Home ECO TICKER

2009-08-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

I was reading the September 2009 issue of Metropolitan Home and wanted to share some facts they had in the ECO TICKER area. I for one would not think I would get this info from a home magazine. Way to go Met Home!

•In the U.S., air pollution claims 70,000 lives a year, nearly twice as many as car accidents.

• 36 U.S. states expect water shortages by 2013.

• The average car sold in America gets fewer miles per gallon than a model T Ford.

On Saturday, August 8, 2009, West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River will be showing the movie Addicted To Plastic. They show the movie right in the sanctuary which is a great way to view a movie. Hope you can join me at 7pm.

Light Bistro

2009-07-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday August 19th at 7 p.m., Light Bistro will continue its series of Vegetarian Dinners. Chef Matt will create a 5-course meal of fresh seasonal vegetables from his favorite local growers that is sure to please all. Cost: $35 exclusive of tax, tip and beverages. I have asked for a vegan meal ahead of time which was delicious. Just say you need a vegan meal when you make reservations.

For an additional $20, we will pair your meal with recommended wines to complete the evening. Reservations recommended.

Light Bistro • 2801 Bridge Avenue • Cleveland, OH 44113 • 216.771.7130

Sustainability+Design=ReThinking

2009-07-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

As I wrote before, I will be teaching a class this fall at the Cleveland Institute of Art on Thursday nights. This is an 8 week course starting September 24, 2009. We will explore all different creative disciplines. It is easy to sign up just go to www.cia.edu.

Blue Gold: World Water Wars

2009-07-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I saw the movie Blue Gold: World Water Wars as part of a movie series at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church (WSUU). The Social Action Committee has put together a film series, which shows once a month in the sanctuary for free. They even have cookies and coffee after the movie and once in awhile a guest speaker.

This movie is a must see for anyone who drinks water. So I guess everybody needs to see it. I really think my fellow great lakers need to see it so we protect our precious fresh water. Here is a link to the Blue Gold: World Water Wars website.

Next month WSUU will be showing Addicted to Plastic on Saturday, August 8 at 7 pm.

Friday: Book Club

2009-06-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

Making Sustainability Work, Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental, and Economic Impacts by Marc J. Epstein

Dry but packed full of useful information. This book outlines how to implement a sustainable strategy for companies and then how to report on your progress. Examples are given of world-wide companies, who have successfully integrated triple bottom line into their core values. Different segments are detailed such as shareholder value, risk assessment, involving the whole organization, etc. I particularly enjoyed the chapter Organizing for Sustainability, where the author outlines how integration should happen in all areas of the organization. The book ends with the benefits of implementing a sustainable model into your company. The benefits can be improved performance, a climate for innovation, financial payoffs, to name a few. If you are looking to take your company through a sustainable implementation process, I feel this book will be extremely useful.

Misc Facts

2009-06-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Each Year people use one trillion plastic bags.

If we continue to use fossil fuels at the rate we do today, oil will run out by 2030, gas by 2040 and coal by 2200.

Turning down your heat 1 degree cuts average heating bill by 10%.

About 1.5 acres of rainforest are lost every second.

The worst rate of deforestation was between 1980 and 1995.

Enough aluminum cans were recycled between 1972 and 2005 to stretch end-to-end from Earth to the Moon and back 170 times.

-from A Sustainable Future by Louise Spilsbury

Friday: Book Club

2009-06-19T04:23:00.000-07:00

Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, is one of the best books to go beyond reduce, reuse and recycle. The three R's do minimize impact to the environment, but Cradle to Cradle show us ways to actually manufacture goods in a way that after their useful life they provide nourishment for something new. One of my favorite chapter titles is "Why Being Less Bad Is No Good". Many people sell or talk about the reuse/recycle of items, for example bags/puses made out of billboards. All this does is temporarily take the materials out of the waste stream. A better solution is to design items smartly so they or their parts stay useful forever. This philosophy is cradle to cradle instead of cradle to grave. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in sustainability since it is an easy read and packed with good info. To learn more about William McDonough and Cradle to Cradle, check out the website.

Maybe you can find Cradle to Cradle on the Swap Tree website, where you can swap, books, DVDs and CDs. Check it out.

Canvas Bags

2009-06-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

I personally believe you should take canvas bags everywhere you shop. They are stronger, easier to carry and better for the environment. I have had three of my canvas bags since 1990 and they are still strong and able to be used. Here are some tips for shopping with re-usable bags:

• Have a few types of bags, large and small, canvas and nylon.
• Segregate your bags, have ones for groceries and clothing.
• Keeping them separate, keeps the non grocery ones cleaner.
• Use the smaller lighter ones for items that need to be weighed.
• Keep a few bags with you at all times (car/backpack/purse)

For bulk items check out these cool re-usable bags:

Enjoy this fun video about plastic bags:

Friday: Book Club

2009-06-12T05:24:00.001-07:00

On Fridays, I am going to talk about a book I have read, that helped me on my sustainable journey. Today's book is Natural Capitalism, by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, because it was the first book that I read talking about the triple bottom line — people, planet and profit. Since my job is to help companies get their story out, I always seek out business books that cover sustainability and making a profit. After all that is why my clients hire me.

What I find most appealing about Natural Capitalism is the optimistism about the future, plus it gives concrete examples of successes. I have read the book twice now, and I plan to read it again this summer. Even though I am far away from the economic department being a graphic designer, I find the book extremely helpful in understanding my clients needs, and telling their stories in an honest and transparent manner. To learn more about Natural Capitalism check out these two websites Natcap.org and Natural Capitalism Solutions.

Global Forum 09

2009-06-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

What a week last week. Then I came back to lots and lots of work, which is always good, but it has taken me longer to report on the Global Forum than I would have liked. Lot's to ponder, and more info than I can possibly share here, but I wanted to get you some highlights. Janine Benyus, of the Biomimicry Guild and Biomimicry Institute, is always an inspiration, and she did not disappoint when she spoke at the Peter B. Lewis building Thursday evening. What really hit me, was when Janine compared how long humans have inhabited the earth, 3.8 billion years, to the amount of money the president gave out in stimulus money, trillions. Looking at it that way, makes you realize how short of a time we have been on earth, and how the earth can easily exists without humans. She brought up when the most damage has happened during those 3.8 billion years, and I don't need to tell you, but the last 150 years have been the most damaging to the planet. She said "every certainty we have, has been challenged." then she went on to say "when certainty is crumbled, so is arrogance." Luckily, Janine has faith in human kind and feels with nature leading design, we can come up with solutions that can mutually benefit all species. Nature is a design that is generous, and with the right designers and leaders, we can come up with solutions that give us more than we need.

Check out the Biomimicry Guild and Biomimicry Institute for more information.

I will close with Bill McDonough's words that really spoke to me "how do we love all children, of all species, for all time?"

Global Forum 2009

2009-06-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

I will be attending the Global Forum 2009 At Case Western Reserve University this week. Hopefully I will get some inspiring thoughts to share.

Case Study

2009-05-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Vitamin’s needed a folder and fact sheets for their vitamins that were developed for surgical weight loss patients, but appropriate for celiac patients as well, due to the nutritional deficiency similarities. Instead of designing a 9x12 folder that would use twice the paper we designed a 5x10 folder. In order to get the longest shelf life, which adds to its environmental qualities, we put only general information on the folder, info that would not change. The information that changes frequently, we put onto 4.75x9.5, that we ordered in small quantities, from a gang printer like Jak Prints. This way Celebrate could get 200 cards at an affordable price. Jak Prints has its own environmental policy you can check out on their web site. Here are some of the environmental attributes of the piece:

• Smaller size means less paper used
• Paper had 30% post consumer waste
• Less paper used saves energy in shipping
• More white space in the design means less ink used
• Getting only the quantities needed saves waste
• Folder was printed at Great Lakes Integrated FSC certified
• Ink has a total bio-based, renewable raw material of 45%
• 29% of it vegetable base
• Jak Prints has many environmental policies in place
• Printers were local, paper was manufactured in Ohio

Each project you create, needs to be examined as to the best method to complete with the least amount of environmental harm, and staying within budget.

I'm Back

2009-05-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

I had to take some time off to care for my Mom. She passed away on Saturday, May 16, after a short battle with cancer. We were of course mother/daughter, but we were also best friends. It was just my Mom and I for years, after she and my father divorced, so we were tight. My Mom taught me my love of nature and encouraged my creativity. We both loved eating local food and trying new ethnic cuisines. Sometimes when I write you will hear Nedra's voice. She was a great writer, which I have learned as I go through her things.

I will be teaching a class this fall at the Cleveland Institute of Art on Thursday evenings, starting September 24th, for eight weeks. The class title is Sustainability + Design = ReThinking. During this 8-week course, students will discover ways to rethink everyday practices and choices, and then take that knowledge to their art practices. This course is not limited to visual artists’, it is also designed for business owners focused on triple bottom line, and writers interested in spreading the word. Hope you can join me.

Bear With Me

2009-05-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

I know I have been lax in writing lately, but I am caring for my Mother who is very ill. Between work and her care I have no extra time. I will make it up to you when I am able, with some great tips and articles.

Dining Vegetarian Style

2009-04-29T05:54:00.000-07:00

I am so excited, I was asked to be a guest editor on Laura Taxel's blog Cleveland Ethnic Eats. I will be talking about vegetarian/vegan dining in Cleveland. Laura has been reporting/writing/reviewing local food for years, so it is an honor to be asked to participate on the blog. The first entry will be about Lago's vegetarian Mondays and should be posted in a day or so.

Compost 5: Harvesting

2009-04-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

We have come to the end of Earth Week 2009, and the end of Compost 101. We thought ending with harvesting your compost was best. Happy diggin' in the dirt.

Your compost is ready to harvest once it has transformed into soil or humus-like material.

To harvest your compost, it is best to expose it to air for curing. You may want to spread it onto a tarp so it is easy to use.

Here are some ways to use your compost:

1. You can spread it onto existing soil for nutrients. You can do this in the spring or fall. An excellent use is vegetable or flower gardens.

2. Use the compost as you would mulch. Spread compost two to six inches thick around plants, trees and shrubs. This will deter weeds and provide nutrients for mother nature.

3. Compost can be combined with equal parts of soil and sand to create a potting mix. Be sure there are no large chunks in your compost.

Compost 4: Harness Heat

2009-04-23T05:39:00.000-07:00

The decomposition process created from compost creates heat. This heat can be harnessed to heat water, greenhouses and barns, pretty much anything that needs heated. Here is a description for heating water on ehow.com.

In the late 80s, Dan Peterman, created the Chicago Compost Shelter by covering a VW bus with compost earth. He used captured heat to warm the inside of the shelter, so Chicago homeless could stay warm all winter. The compost which was a mixture of leaves, grass clippings and horse manure, maintained a temperature of 75 degrees inside the shelter.

Artist Dan Peterman's continues to create works that reveal the impact of our generation's waste on the world. His work is created with re-purposed plastic, bottles, cans and garbage.

Compost 3: Make Your Bin

2009-04-22T06:20:00.001-07:00

Check out this California site for step-by-step instructions on building a compost bin using wooden pallets. Using pallets diverts them from a landfill. Digital Seed out of San Diego, provides useful information you will want to check out.

Lowe's has a slick compost bin you can build, with easy to follow directions, that are illustrated on their site or as a PDF download. Obviously, they would like you to buy the materials from their store, but I am sure you know I would prefer you use reclaimed wood and materials.

Compost 2: Bin

2009-04-21T05:23:00.000-07:00

You can purchase pre-made compost bins at places like Clean Air Gardening. This one shown above happens to be made with recycled plastic. Clean Air Gardening also have ones made with metal and tons of accessories for the avid composter. On the Clean Air Gardening website, they talk about ways to keep critters from being interested in your compost, but honestly, I have not practiced any of these, and not had any critters. As long as you only compost non-animal items, like fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, and don't compost eggs and meat scraps, you should be fine.

We have a rotating composter like this.

The concept is, that by being able to rotate your bin, it makes it easy to keep the compost turned and aerated. We found when it got full, it was too heavy to turn, so we ended up taking it off the holder and we roll it around. This heavy duty one might make it easier.

Check out the Clean Air Gardening website for lots of helpful tools.

Compost 1: Worms

2009-04-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

We have been composting for years. I haven't thought much about it until recently when I spoke at Baldwin Wallace College. One of the students asked if you can compost in an apartment, which of course you can. I have a couple of friends that have kept worm composting in their basements for years. Here is a description of worm composting on the City of Vancouver City Farmer site. This website has a great step-by-step guide for starting worm composting especially good for apartment dwellers. Check out their tri-fold brochure you can download as a PDF.

Composting is a great way to up-cycle your food waste. It is up-cycling because it becomes rich nutrients for plants. Every week I am amazed at how little garbage we have compared with out neighbors. We have a small, about 20 inches high, garbage can. Most weeks it is a half to three quarters full. I think this is because we compost and being vegan that is most of our food waste.

Alternative to Dry Cleaning

2009-03-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

Why show a vodka photo for an alternative to dry cleaning you ask? Because vodka is an excellent odor remover which helps you dry clean less. Here is how it works. Buy the cheapest pure vodka you can find. Get yourself a spray bottle and fill it up. Drag out a jacket or shirt and lightly spray the entire item, especially armpits and collar areas. If you have any spots or dirt marks, lightly soap (and some water) a washcloth and dab at the spot until it disappears. If it needs extra help, use a moist cloth and lightly scrub. A white shirt with marks can be helped by dipping a corner of a washcloth in peroxide then dab the mark.

Note to civic leaders

2009-03-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

This post is not going to make me popular among the traditional civic leaders, and it might cost me some future work, but I couldn’t let it go. I received TWO copies of the same 60 page RFQ (Request for Qualifications) document via mail last week. At least it was double sided. In order to complete their request, I need to submit a 40 page, one-sided report and a CD ROM. The 40-page document is to be bound with tabs for the sections and they want a total of 6 copies. This does not include another document they require in addition to the 40-page document. So, at a minimum, they are asking for 240 pages and a CD ROM. They included a list of all the firms they have asked to qualify, and there are 180 firms. If all 180 firms submit 6, 40 page documents, and remember this is at a minimum number of pages, a total of 19,200 pieces of paper will be used. When I get requests like this it gets me thinking of better ways to accomplish the same thing.

They can’t possibly want to work with 180 different firms, so why not ask each firm to fill out a short online questionnaire and narrow the field a bit? Once the playing field is narrowed, then send a lengthy PDF that has all required documents needed for completion. Have the firms chosen then fill out electronically, and send to one person, that distributes the PDF to those that need to review the documents.

There may be an even better way than I described. I just know organizations have to come up with a less archaic way to handle RFQ’s and RFP’s (Request for Proposals).

Green Building

2009-03-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Cleveland Green Building Coalition has joined with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and started a Northeast Ohio chapter. The sold out, membership kick off event, was held March 26 at Tri C's Corporate College East. Jason Hatke, of the USGBC, started the speaking portion of the evening with accolades to the state of Ohio, for their green policies initiated by Governor Strickland. He said he was moving to Ohio if Virginia didn’t start moving ahead with green policies.

There were many highlights of the evening but here are a few I noted:

• We are capable of great innovation, since in 66 years, we went from gliding off a hill in a first ever aircraft, to landing on the moon.

• 70% of the energy used is by buildings. Make existing buildings more efficient.

• In large apartment complexes start car-sharing programs.

• Find the inefficient areas of the city and make policies to help people become more efficient. Find the hottest areas of the city and plant trees or green roofs.

• The city of Chicago has a fantastic report online. Check out the report as well as their environmental section of the cities website. Chicago Climate Change Action Plan

Dining Options

2009-03-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

I love food, who doesn't, so I want to offer some suggestions to make your visit good for the earth. I am going to assume you are dining local. If you are in Cleveland we have an abundance of non-chain restaurants, many chef run. Check out the Cleveland Independents website for inspiration, but don't forget about our celebrity chef Micheal Symon's two restaurants, Lola and Lolita. He just needs to cater more to us vegans. For local food news join Local Food Cleveland.

Ok, so you are dining out and you can't possibly eat everything on your plate. Plus, you don't want to gorge when you can enjoy your delicious dinner another day. No problem. You brought your own reusable container. I have been doing this for years, and until recently, I had to sneak because restaurant staff would tell me I wasn't allowed to do it. Now they thank me. Heck it saves them 2¢, or so, not giving me a container. I keep a bag full of containers in my trunk, then when I need one, I grab it and stick in in my oversized purse or stylin' reusable cloth bag. My Mom has been trained and she brings a small, cute, blue tote.

So you decided to go for Chinese, and you want to show off your chopstick skills in front of all your friends. Disposable chopsticks are bad two ways — the wood that creates them and the disposal after just one use, not to mention that paper they are sealed in. You can get your own set of stainless steel chopsticks.

I am not a straw person, but if you are so inclined, you can get yourself a reusable straw.

I am certain to find more gadgets and tips for dining, but let's save some for another day. Enjoy eating!

Why Look Again?

2009-03-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

Why "Look Again" for the name of the blog?. That is because, I think it is what you should do BEFORE anything else. Everyone talks about reduce, reuse and recycle, but before you do any of the three R's, you should rethink or LOOK AGAIN at the problem. Yurich Creative has added reTHINK to the three R's and made it the granddaddy of them all. I believe that the first thing you should do is reTHINK anything you approach. Whether it is work or pleasure, you should ask questions to determine if you are doing what is best for the environment and your own well being.

But we also ask that you look again at Yurich Creative should you need strategic thinking for your marketing, especially when you are touting your green capabilities. It is important to match your marketing output with your companies green initiatives and many times that means more than choosing recycled paper. We can help you tell your story, but we will make sure that story gets out with the least harm.

Hello World

2009-03-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the all new Yurich Creative blog, where we will talk about ideas and findings in the world of sustainable design. Look for ideas related to communication design (graphic design), plus, all kinds of other ramblings and tidbits related to, or not so related to, communication design. All I know is, it will have to do with doing more with less. I hope you find it helpful in your quest down the sustainable path.