We’re live at last!
Laptop not included…hehehÂ
Yay! I was able to work on this one despite juggling a full time job and a new business venture. We are still in soft launch. Don’t forget to participate in our Laptop Bag Survey to get a chance to win this fab fab laptop bag! We’re hoping to incorporate a e-commerce site in the near future. But do get stay tuned as we have GREAT and AWESOME things coming along this year, including a full featured online shopping site that features the country’s best designers and independent artisans. Watch out for that!
Bookmark! Bookmark!
Plastics
Me and my gang bought a few items today at SM. We took notice of the new color of the SM Plastic bag.
It’s now a bright cheerful blue instead of the old dark blue one. In fairness, this year’s big color trend is blue according to Pantone, so nakikiuso lang naman diva? Inscribed in all caps and bold letters in the plastic bag is the word - BIODEGRADABLE. Huh? Since when polymer become biodegradable? So I did some Googling and found out that there are indeed biodegradable plastic but as always there is catch:
From Wikipedia:
Research has been done on biodegradable plastics that break down with exposure to sunlight (e.g. ultra-violet radiation), water or dampness, bacteria, enzymes, wind abrasion and some instances rodent pest or insect attack are also included as forms of biodegradation or environmental degradation.
A potential disadvantage of biodegradable plastics is that the carbon that is locked up in them is released into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when they degrade, though if they are made from natural materials, such as vegetable crop derivatives or animal products, there is no net gain in carbon dioxide emissions, although concern will be for a worse greenhouse gas, methane release.
The real challenge lies in the discipline of recycling plastics and the accessibility of recycling technology locally. In the office, I’ve been wanting to put a separate garbage bin for the PET bottles. I just hope people will be caring enough to properly dispose it in the assigned trash bins.
Last Friday I scored this book from National Bookstore for P100.00. It originally retails for P1,700 so I’m more than thrilled to purchase the book:
It’s an interesting read about alternative sustainable materials that can be used for hundreds of products. Most, if not all the technology, like various types of recycled polymers are only available overseas in first world countries. But, but, but as a country bountiful in natural resources, a couple of materials mentioned in the book are coconut husks, hemp and abaca are widely available here! We just need a lot of research and most importantly, support from the government.
Remember our very own Coconets won the The World Challenge in 2005. Coconets are nets made from waste coconut husks and are proven effective for soil erosion. The production of this ingenious product also provides income and jobs to many of our countrymen in rural areas.
Located in Ibajay, Aklan is one of the companies pushing forward for promotion of coconuts in a variety of use such as biodiesel. If you take the scenic land route from Kalibo to Boracay you will pass by this town. Aklan is also my mom’s hometown. I have a few ideas of an alternative raw material for one of the products I will be producing soon. It’s a long shot, but I think it’s feasible. So probably on my next visit to relatives I’ll do some research of my own.