SANTA CLARA, CALIF.—A new company, ecoLiving Essentials, has launched to provide consumers and the travel and hospitality industries with biodegradable products made locally from sustainable resources. Established by two moms with a shared respect for the planet and a passionate concern for their children’s future, the founders have rolled out Biodegradable Travel Booties and the Biodegradable Shower Cap. As frequent business travelers, the founders were inspired to start the company because they felt unprotected when required to remove their shoes when going through airport security checkpoints. According to doctors in a recent WebMD article, taking your shoes off at airport...

WINCHESTER, VA.—Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP), a leader in durable facility maintenance solutions, introduces the Rubbermaid HYGEN System. This new microfiber cleaning system provides innovative solutions designed for proven superior performance in maintaining healthy, safe environments. The Rubbermaid HYGEN System delivers three critical components to ensure optimal cleaning for health: proven performance, a complete system, and training and support. “By providing a complete solution set, the Rubbermaid HYGEN System helps ensure that users derive the full benefits of microfiber cleaning,” said Mark Hoyle, senior product manager for Rubbermaid Commercial Products. “Rubbermaid’s comprehensive solution includes textiles for dry...

CHARLESTON, ILL.—Modern Traveler Magazine (MT) recently debuted its first digital issue with a focus on responsible and experiential travel and voluntourism. Geared toward the “enlightened explorer,” MT encourages readers to become a part of the places they visit, in turn giving back to the communities they visit, whether they be around the block or around the world. MT provides readers with the resources they need to become responsible travelers, while at the same time experiencing extraordinary vacations. Writers from around the globe tell of adventures that help preserve the environment and culture and sustain the local economies of the places...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Hotelslippers.com as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. The company’s Eco Slippers are the first in-room slippers made of starch-based biodegradable resin soles and 100 percent cotton material. They were created to reduce environmental impact and preserve the planet. Eco Slippers® is a registered trademark of Hotelslippers.com. For more information, call (305) 507-4281, e-mail info@hotelslippers.com, or go to www.hotelslippers.com.

ADAIRSVILLE, GA—BOLYU Contract introduces Flair, a versatile and environmentally responsible commercial carpet style manufactured with MBDC Cradle to Cradle Certified Zeftron nylon. With a visually compelling design, this new style is available in broadloom and tile, allowing end users to customize looks and ensure ease-of-installation for virtually any interior space. All Flair colorations are made with Zeftron’s nylon 6ix and are Enviro6ix designated, which guarantees a minimum of 25 percent recycled content in every color. Flair’s tile version is made with BOLYU’s award-winning Nexterra, a carpet tile backing made with 85 percent post-consumer recycled content. It also carries...

KENNER, LA.—Pellerin Milnor’s V-Series washer-extractors, with 40-160 lb. (18-72 kg) capacities, now feature NEW RinSave™ water saver software that eliminates excessive rinse and intermediate extract steps. This innovative process allows a precise high G-Force to “sling” the wash liquor (including water, chemistry, and soil) out of the goods between the last wash step and following rinse cycle. Milnor’s V-Series washer-extractors with RinSave software conserve water use without compromising superior wash quality. RinSave water saver software replaces as many as two rinse steps and saves up to 10 minutes per load. No matter what capacity, Milnor’s V-Series washer-extractors with RinSave...

MURRIETA, CALIF.—Green Globe International, Inc., the worldwide owner of the Green Globe brand, announced an agreement with Sustainability Intelligence for use of its Index Tool, which will be branded as the Green Globe Index and will be used as part of the Green Globe certification and benchmarking program as well as offered as a standalone online resource for Green Globe International clients. The Green Globe Index tool will allow clients to calculate their CO2e footprint, the financial cost of that CO2e, and to track their performance of energy and water consumption and non-recyclable waste production. Sustainability Intelligence is a...

NEW YORK—With eco-friendly hotels in various stages of design and construction across the city, New York’s hotel scene is finally going “green”—and Manhattan-based Stonehill & Taylor is heavily involved. With no less than four LEED-certified hotel projects on the boards, the firm is working on a greater number of green hotels than any other in the city. Stonehill & Taylor’s specialty is incorporating state-of-the-art technologies, materials, and techniques into its fashion-forward hotel designs. Stonehill & Taylor is at work on the following LEED-seeking or LEED-certified hospitality projects in New York: • The NoMad Hotel (fall 2009); • Crosby Street Hotel (fall 2009); • The 94th Street...

BOSTON—EnOcean announced a fundamental commitment to protect the environment by becoming an Energy Star partner. EnOcean, through its voluntary partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Program, is helping to sustain green initiatives by fitting energy-inefficient buildings with self-powered wireless controls. EnOcean’s energy harvesting and wireless technologies simplify the installation of the energy-stingy wireless controls (sensors, switches, gateways and actuators) by replacing wires and batteries with self-powered wireless links. “The Energy Star partnership clearly communicates to architects, contractors and building owners that EnOcean is committed to protecting the environment and strengthening the economy,” said Jim O’Callaghan, president of...

EUGENE, ORE.—Sustainable Foodservice Consulting has launched, www.sustainablefoodservice.com, a resource for food service owners and operators interested in adopting sustainable business practices. The website is a free resource promoting environmentally sound food service operations by providing practical information on energy-efficient kitchen equipment, green cleaning products, food waste management, links to private and public sector websites providing technical help, rebates and tax incentives, product information, and energy efficiency information. The “Tools” section offers energy efficiency calculators, energy tracking spreadsheets and a variety of forms and checklists to help implement sustainable business practices. Paul Kuck, the owner and founder of Sustainable Foodservice Consulting,...