Friday, May 07, 2010

Eco Ideas Around The World

I love receiving my weekly newsletter from Springwise. Every week, KS and I would exchange notes on which idea excited us most. We have yet to come to a stage where we can emulate any of the ideas although we tried one idea but the initial feedback from a corridor survey revealed that it would be extremely niche and hence not profitable.

Perhaps what resonates with me are the many eco ideas that people are developing all over the world. It’s small but it’s budding. For example, this week’s newsletter highlights are Boxes made of cardboard laden with seeds. Once you receive your parcel, tear up the box into pieces, plant them and they will grow into trees!

Last week they featured seed “grenades” which you can buy off a vending machine, throw it onto any land and it will grow into a tree! I can just imagine someone dressed like a spy, hands in their trench coat pockets, flicking suspicious glances through dark glasses and throwing these “grenades” into unsuspecting yards or parks.

Then there’s another eco idea on greeting cards. To be honest, I dislike receiving greeting cards because most of the time, people just write your name at the top, let the printed message say what it needs to say and usually followed by an unrecognizable scrawl as a sign off. And what can you do with these cards after that? I throw all my Chinese New Year cards and feel terrible for the waste.

Now, this idea allows people to change the content of the card, encourages the receiver to use back the same card and send it to another person. Every recipient can even write their names at the back so you know how many hands they have passed through when it reaches you.

It’s so refreshing to see all these great ideas that are blooming all over the world.

So says the girl who is just about to buy a dryer for her new home in perpetually hot Malaysia. My excuses will take another blog posting another day.

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