Author: ModernArts

Iris Apfel for MAC

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” At 90 Iris Apfel becomes the latest star to collaborate with MAC to produce a bold 20-piece collection.

Born Iris Barrel in 1921, MAC’s latest collaborator worked at Women’s Wear Daily and for interior designer Elinor Johnson before launching a textile firm with her husband, Carl Apfel, called Old World Weavers in 1950. Up until her retirement from interior design in 1992 she worked on many projects, including work at the White House where she crossed paths with nine presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton. The things she must have seen…(read more)

source: http://www.elleuk.com

A Sack Standoff in the Checkout Aisle

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The plastic bags shoppers use to carry their goods home from the store have become an environmental battleground, and statistics are a key weapon in the fight.

Cities around the U.S. have banned or considered banning the bags because of their environmental impact. Manufacturers of the sacks have dueled with environmentalists and makers of reusable bags over carbon footprints. And last week, a maker of reusable bags settled a lawsuit filed by a plastic-bag manufacturer over competing numerical claims on bags’ imprint on the environment.

Reusable-bag makers, which market sacks made of sturdy canvas or recycled plastic meant for years or a lifetime of use, claim disposable plastic bags impose a big burden on the environment and deplete fossil fuels. Plastic-bag makers counter that a large proportion of their bags are reused or recycled, and that reusable bags must be washed frequently, diminishing their green credentials.

NUMBGUY

Associated PressA recent suit laid bare how much remains unknown about plastic and reusable bags’ environmental impact.

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New Synthetic Paper YUPO

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100% waterproof, tear and stain resistant, prints beautifully, available in opaques and translucent. Ultra smooth Polypropylene makes incredibly strong and reusable shopping bags.

Environmental considerations:

No Ozone layer threatening emissions resulting from the manufacturing process. It is  100% recyclable and generates no detectable amounts of sulfur, chlorine, nitrogen or dioxide gas when properly incinerated.

Modern Arts and DuPont Partner on Tyvek Shopping Bags Project

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Only now are we realizing the tremendous advantages of using Tyvek for shopping bags.  Tyvek is considerably stronger than non-woven base material so it is much more “reusable” and has a much longer usable life.  And Tyvek is washable in a way that non-wovens aren’t.

Tyvek can be printed in sophisticated designs and a full spectrum of colors.

So we at Modern Arts are teaming up with our partners at DuPont, and our colleagues at a manufacturing plant south of the border, to experiment with making Tyvek shopping bags in exciting shapes, new sizes and vibrant colors.

We’ll keep you posted on how it works out.

Mayor Bloomberg Wants a Plastic Bag Tax

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Mayor Bloomberg Wants a Plastic Bag Tax

New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg wants to raise money to help offset the current financial crisis. He has proposed a 5 cent tax on every plastic bag, following in the footsteps of San Francisco and Seattle. New Yorkers use an estimated 1 billion plastic bags a year. The tax could raise an estimated 16 million dollars a year.

San Francisco bans plastic bags unless they are biodegradable, while a proposed 20-cent fee in Seattle is on hold pending a challenge. In Ireland, a 33-cent fee pushed plastic bag use down 94%.

New York considered a plastic bag tax earlier this year but settled for a mandatory recycling program, figuring most stores would just switch to paper, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) said.

Ikea tried charging customers a nickel per bag, but when demand for its 70 million bags a year dropped 92%, the chain just eliminated them.

“There’s a positive impact on the environment,” spokesman Joseph Roth said. “It certainly has not hindered our sales, and it has helped our reputation.”

Some grocery chains already give customers a discount for every cloth bag they bring. Whole Foods switched its stores to paper bags this year, even though the plastic industry insists paper bags are worse for the environment.

Virginia Considering Plastic Bag Ban

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The Washington Post reported last week that the Virginia state legislature is considering a ban on plastic bags. Hoping to become more environmentally forward thinking, the state commented to the Post:

The ubiquitous bags are blamed for choking birds and fish, floating into trees, rooftops and streets and sticking around years longer than paper.

“We’re wasting energy. We’re polluting,” said Del. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria).

Virginia is not known for progressive environmental policy, but some lawmakers want to help the state find a place in the green movement.

One proposal would force stores to ban thin, single-use bags and allow only sturdy, reusable bags. Others would require stores to recycle plastic bags or charge customers a nickel for every bag the customers receive, and the money would go toward cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay.

The Reusable E-Bag

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E BAG DESIGN

* Folded Pocket Size: 6″ x 6″
* Size: 6″w x 10″g x 16″ tall -bags suggested 1 size only
* Base Material: 75 gram PP Black non-woven
* Construction: Bottom gusset with two reinforcements and the bag has 2 pleats (of 3″ each) and a front and back – opens
* Handle: 5mm PP soft rope handle weaves in and out of entire top

The “E” Bag is the best designed reusable bag in the world! These facts about the “E” Bags were considered in its design:

1. For maximum reuse, bags must be easily carried and accessible.
2. The “E” Bag is designed to fold easily in a pocket or a purse.
3. The “E” Bag is light, yet very strong. Its patented design allows it to expand in to a large carrier, similar in size to a Jumbo shopping bag
4. Durability tests show that “E” Bags can be carried each day for over a year.
5. It can be carried in three ways: Over the shoulder, as a backpack or hand held
6. The bags are washable
7. “E” Bags are a great and valued promotional tool, a walking billboard in the form of reusable bags that keeps on walking!