RSS
Merida Home Logo
 

Tag Sustainability

Green Gifts for Mother’s Day

By Cameron Filed in General, Sustainability Tagged with , , , , , May 7th, 2010 @ 10:59 am

It’s that time of year again! Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 9th, but before you head off to CVS or the Hallmark store to buy a card, keep in mind that Mother’s Day is an easy time to get something eco-friendly. There are green gifts out there for all interests and budgets, you just need to know where to look.

First, of course, check out the Sale section of MeridaHome.com. Starting at just $49.99, a new stylish and sustainable area rug is perfect for a mom that likes to decorate, or just keep a cozy home. Cute sale designs for spring include the sisal Parquet area rug in Spring Green and the soho wool area rug.

Parquet Sisal Area Rug in Spring Green

If a new rug isn’t in your Mother’s Day budget this year, make sure to enter your mom’s e-mail address into May’s Free Rug Giveaway for a chance to win a 4×6 jute area rug.

Another green gift idea is a piece of jewelry from any one of the twenty major jewelry retailers that are funding the protection of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Zale and Tiffany are among the major jewelers that pledged in April 2010 to no longer use gold from controversial Alaskan mines including Pebble Mine. By purchasing a piece for your mom from these jewelers, you are indirectly helping maintain healthy salmon populations and protecting the natural beauty of Bristol Bay.

Is your mom a working woman? Help her pack her lunches in a green way by giving her a sandwich bag from ReUsies.com. The stylish sandwich bags are under seven dollars and come in an array of cute patterns. I know my mom would love the Garden Floral Snack bag for $6.75. Not only are the bags adorable and stylish, they also eliminate the need for hundreds of plastic sandwich bags per year.

Finally, when I need some new green gift ideas, I check out Green Your Decor’s Green Gift Guide. The guide is separated into categories: women, men, kids, teens, anyone, for the home, pet lovers, stocking stuffers, and gifts that give back, making it easy to browse for the perfect present. My mom would love the Azuri Organic Cotton Scarf on the women’s gift list; it comes in 110 different colors and is just $29.00! Green Your Decor provides a diverse list that is sure to satisfy all your Mother’s Day needs.

Azuri Organic Cotton Scarf

Have a Green Mother’s Day!

Factory Scrap Furniture

By Cameron Filed in Interior Design, Sustainability Tagged with , , , April 30th, 2010 @ 5:18 pm

Recently in the “Architecture and Design” column of Treehugger.com (one of the best environmental blogs on the web), there was an intriguing article about coffee tables that were made almost entirely of wood scraps from door and window frame factories in South America. The tables were designed by Chilean design students for Remade in Chile. Remade is a South American program in seven countries that promotes the reuse and recycling of everyday waste to create new desirable and fashionable products.  Founded by Marco Capellini, Remade in Chile encourages aspiring artists and designers to use waste materials in their work by hosting international design contests. Most recently, the Animal Gallery in Santiago, Chile held its third Remade in Chile Contest in the heart of the city’s capital.  By the deadline on March 17th, 2010 the contest received 250 entries! Other projects included a line of dresses made from old Puma sneakers, waterproof sheaths for electronics made from wool and fiber wastes, and children’s’ chairs made from tights and nylons just to name a few.

These scrap-based coffee tables are beautiful examples of Merida Home’s mantra “sustainability with style”. While the coffee tables are chic and polished, owners can rest easy knowing that they prevented more materials from ending up in landfills or littering Chilean streets. Marco Capellini says projects like these that use waste materials also help keep end costs down which make eco-design affordable, since raw materials would have been more expensive. I look forward to see more innovative products that come out of Remade in Chile.

Earth Day 2010

By Cameron Filed in General, Sustainability Tagged with , , , , April 23rd, 2010 @ 2:02 pm
This year marks Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary. The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970. The day truly marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement in the United States, and inspired a new awareness for millions across the country. Society was coming to realize how strongly the health of the environment correlates with human health. Eight years later, in 1978, Merida Meridian was founded.
In celebration of Earth Day, I thought it would be nice to take a look back at Merida Meridian’s thirty-two year history of working towards sustainability. Since the company was started, Merida has been working towards three different types of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental. By combining these three avenues, Merida is ensuring that consumers are purchasing a responsibly created product.
Since the beginning, “Sustainability with Style” has been the true goal of Merida. Traditionally, the rug and carpet industry uses petroleum based products and harsh chemicals which means that the flooring industry is dependent on fossil fuels and that the products could potentially be harmful to human health. Furthermore, these traditional types of flooring usually are not biodegradable, so, when people are done with their rugs, they will sit in landfills for generations to come. Merida is constantly working to create change in the industry. Our Jute and Wool rugs are biodegradable and Merida uses natural and renewable materials whenever possible.
Merida has been praised for its efforts, especially over the past few years, when the environmental movement gained new momentum. Merida products have been featured in Real Simple Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Elle Decor, and even ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Over the years, Merida has also become a member to many influential organizations including: The International Interior Design Association, The Sustainable Furnishings Council, The Carpet and Rug Institute, The American Society of Interior Designers, and Wools of New Zealand.
Merida looks forward to many more years of working towards 100% sustainability and creating positive change in both the flooring industry, and consumer purchasing decision process. Happy Earth Day!

Fun Friday Find: Reknit reinvents your old sweaters!

By Whitney Filed in Fun Friday Finds, General, Interior Design, Sustainability Tagged with , April 2nd, 2010 @ 12:42 pm

The first time I heard about Reknit I fell in love with the concept behind it.  Reknit features a mother/child duo that is giving a whole new meaning to the age-old concept of reusing clothes…and we’re not talking hand-me-downs!  Launched in the beginning of this year, Reknit turns your ragged old sweaters into coveted new items for a minimal fee ($30.00).

Sounds great, but how does it work?   Each month there is a featured item, from gloves to hats to….thongs!  You can have a say in what you want next month’s item to be by voting between four or five suggested items on the site.  Whatever the month’s item is, you then pick one of your old sweaters and mail it in to the website founder’s Mom.  His/her Mom then unravels it and uses the yarn to knit something new and beautiful!

Reknit: How it works!

Reknit: How it works!

The only catch is that you have to act fast.  As pointed out on the site, the founder only has one Mom, and since all items are hand-knit they cap orders at a mere 30 per month.  Fortunately I got my order for a new laptop case in for this month.  Now I just have to decide what color I want it to be and which corresponding old sweater I can do without.  Just in time to free up some precious closet space for my spring wardrobe…

A New Room for an Inspirational Blogger

By Cameron Filed in Interior Design, Sustainability Tagged with , , , March 29th, 2010 @ 5:37 pm

If you are a green interior design enthusiast, you have probably stumbled upon a blog called Green Your Decor.   Recently I was visiting the GYD site and came across founder and primary blogger Jennae’s very personal piece about her four year old daughter’s heartbreaking battle with leukemia.  In the article, Jennae touches on the difficulties that come along with battling a  serious disease and the tremendous strength that her beautiful daughter Ja’Naya has exerted to overcome it.

Ja’Naya is now in remission, and Jennae and her family are celebrating the good news, however, they are still moving closer to Ja’Naya’s doctors.  Uprooting your home is difficult under any circumstance, and since Ja’Naya will be spending much of her time home recovering, Jennae decided to make the most of a tough situation by surprising her daughter with a beautiful, positive and (of course!) sustainable new bedroom.

Jennae put a lot of time and effort into planning Ja’Naya’s new sanctuary and knew that she wanted a colorful, uplifting wool rug.  After doing some research, she was particularly attracted to Merida’s Letter Lines wool kids area rug in Marker because of the fun vintage chic look, and also because she felt comfortable with the natural wool rug fibers and the socially responsible choices that were made to craft the area rug.  When approached to contribute a Letter Lines kids wool area rug to Ja’Naya’s new room, Merida Home gladly accepted and we are proud to be involved in such an inspiring project.

We can’t wait to read about Ja’Naya’s reaction to her new room (how could she not love it?!) and see photos documenting how the room turns out!  To read about the design and see mock-ups of Ja’Naya’s room design, click here.

Employee Spotlight: Sustainability Director

By Cameron Filed in General, Sustainability Tagged with , March 26th, 2010 @ 7:54 am
So how does a company go about becoming sustainable? What exactly does “being sustainable” entail, and whose job is it to coordinate all of these efforts?

Well, at Merida its Zairo Cheibub, Sustainability Director. Zairo travels the world to make sure all aspects of the Merida rug supply chain are both socially and environmentally responsible. Recently I was able to ask Zairo for a few more details on his job and his role at Merida.

Me: What initially sparked your interest in sustainability?

Z: Having grown up in Brazil which has serious issues of social inequality and poverty, I have always been very concerned about  social justice and economic development. I’ve always wanted to make a difference in these areas, and this was the main motivation for my first professional career as a political scientist/sociologist. In 1992, Rio de Janeiro, my home town, hosted the first Earth Summit with more than 100 heads of states. It was a big event! I immersed myself in the discussions and events of the Earth Summit and was truly struck by the dimension of the environmental issues the earth faced. It was a huge wake up call for me. Later on, during the Sloan Fellows Program at  MIT, I as able to integrate and articulate the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability in a coherent and systematic way.

Me: Why were you drawn to work at Merida?

Z: I took a class at MIT Sloan called Sustainable Business Laboratory (S-Lab) that required that a team of students worked with a company on a sustainability related project. Merida applied to get a student team for a project and my team chose to work with the company. During the work for this project I got to know Merida’s product, processes and people quite well. I was very impressed with the sustainability of Merida’s products, with the partnership the company established in developing countries and the commitment the company had with becoming increasingly more and more sustainable in all aspects. The people at Merida were nice and the work climate was very good… I thought it would be a fun company to work for and I was right!!

Me: Why does Merida Meridian need a Sustainability Director?

Z: Sustainability should be understood as a process and not as a defined, one time result. It is also multidimensional  as it implies a diversity of social, environmental and economic issues. Companies have to constantly strive to make their products more and more sustainable was well was to improve their operations, reduce their energy and material consumption, assure supplier’s compliance with standards and values, etc.  My role at Merida is to coordinate all the different actions directed toward making the company more and more sustainable as well as to make sure that the process is advancing.

Me: What are some current initiatives you are working on at Merida?

Z: The three main initiatives currently are:  working with the Sustainable Business Leadership Program to make our operations even more sustainable; putting together a Life Cycle Assessment project for Merida’s main products; working with our smaller suppliers to help them make their operations more sustainable.

To read more about Zairo and what he has been up to at Merida and at MIT, visit Merida’s Sustainable Design and Manufacturing Blog: http://www.insidesustainabledesign.com/ (Zairo is the main contributor to the blog).

Not Just for Sweaters

By Cameron Filed in Interior Design, Sustainability Tagged with , , March 19th, 2010 @ 7:33 am

The first rugs ever made were most likely of sheep’s wool between 3-5 BCE in Central Asia. Many different types of rugs have been woven out of wool all over the world in the following centuries. Rugs are often still made from wool these days, but not all of them are environmentally friendly because the wool is often woven in combination with synthetic fibers. These fibers can be made out of materials that don’t biodegrade or even fibers derived from non-renewable resources. However, wool on its own is a durable yet biodegradable material. Wool, since it comes from animals, is somewhat more expensive than other fibers, which is why it is often blended or woven with another material to help bring down the cost. However, Merida has both pure wool rugs and wool rugs that are blended with other sustainable materials like paper and sisal.

Merida’s wool rugs are made from New Zealand wool. New Zealand is one of the world’s largest wool exporters, and sheep herding is an asset to the culture there. The peak of wool production was in the mid 1980’s, but continues to be a vital part of the economy in New Zealand. New Zealand is a largely rural country and is dedicated to environmental sustainability. The wool industry, following suit, is constantly working to become as sustainable as possible. Which means you can feel confident when walking on your wool Merida rug that you have something beautiful, sustainable, and socially responsible.

Composting with Style

By Cameron Filed in Interior Design, Sustainability Tagged with , , March 15th, 2010 @ 11:58 am

Its no secret that composting can be a dirty, stinky business, but the truth is that it doesn’t have to be. Composting allows people to take recycling to a whole new level – recycling food to become rich soil to be used in gardening or to simply return to the earth! However, many people, even avid gardeners, sometimes shy away from composting because the idea of keeping rotting food around is, well, gross. However, if properly done, composting won’t smell and can even be stylish. The key is to have a large outdoor bin or pile if possible, so that the decomposing food won’t taint the smell of your living space. Inside, keep a small fashionable compost bin to periodically be emptied into your larger outdoor bin.
These small indoor composting pots can even add a little something to your decor. Check out these stylish composting pots I found:

With these pots, composting quickly goes from yucky to fabulous!

For those of you who are new to composting, here are a few quick tips:
-Never put meat or dairy in compost.
-Add leaves and yard scraps to your outdoor bin or pile.
-Coffee grounds and filters can be composted, tea bags too!
-Shredded paper and cardboard can be added as well
-Occasionally turn your pile or mix your bin

For more about composting and for a more complete guide on how to start composting at your home, check out these blogs: http://blog.composters.com/
http://www.thecompostbin.com/

Trashion

By Cameron Filed in Sustainability Tagged with , , March 11th, 2010 @ 3:34 pm

Trash Fasion!

On the west coast of Africa in Accra, Ghana, 85% of the city’s waste is old discarded plastic bags and sachets. Water and frozen treats are sold in small plastic bags on the city streets, but the city does not have very extensive trash collection and recycling infrastructure so most of these bags end up as litter. But, there is one group that is trying to turn this trash into treasure. Trashy Bags is an NGO (non-governmental organization) that hires people to collect plastic off the streets, clean it, and then sew it or weave it into messenger bags, totes, duffel bags, and more. These items are then sold to consumers for around $12 each. Trashy Bags is hoping to expand their consumer base and eventually export them to sell in stores around the world like Trader Joe’s and Wholefoods in the United States. So far the project has been successful – the group has pulled approximately 10 million plastic sachets off the streets of Accra, and has helped employ about a hundred people, many of whom would not be able to find work in the city otherwise.


Trashy Bags also uses their products to educate people of the dangers of littering and pollution. Along with each bag they sell comes an informative brochure about the trash problem in Ghana. This brochure includes eye-opening statistics like: in Accra 60 tons of waste is produced from plastic products each day, yet only 2% of this plastic is recycled. Organizations like trashy bags are slowly changing these statistics, and I for one am excited to one day purchase a trashy bag for myself!

http://www.trashybags.org/
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/ghana/100225/ghana-trash-fashion

5 Easy Ways to Reuse Glass Bottles

By Cameron Filed in Interior Design, Sustainability Tagged with , , March 7th, 2010 @ 11:58 am
1. Create an easy, casual yet delicate tulip vase
Its just about spring which means flowers flowers and flowers! Old wine or liquor bottles are great flower vases because they are long and can prop up a droopy flower for longer. For example, I received a beautiful bouquet of tulips for Valentines Day a couple of weeks ago, and they are just starting to sag. I picked the droopiest flowers out of the bouquet and put one or two flowers in various old wine bottles around my apartment. They no longer look droopy, and the bottles add an elegant (and green) surprise to our decor.
2. Candle holder.
If you have skinny candles, they can fit right into the top of a wine bottle, which create the perfect impromptu candle holders. They can also be quite pretty if you peel all the labels off the bottles. Since wine bottles come in all different shapes and colors, you can create your own arrangement to suite your style.
3. Piggy Bank/Motivation Bottle.
I recently came across a neat idea in Shape Magazine, every time you go to the gym, stuff a dollar in an empty bottle. Like many, I struggle to get myself to go to the gym, but if I can save money by going to the gym it helps create that extra incentive I need. Then, hey, if you go to the gym everyday for a month, you can (safely) cut or break open your bottle and you have $30 to spend on a new, smaller, pair of jeans! Nice!
4. Water Carafe.
Bring a little European style home by cleaning out and peeling the labels off an old wine bottle and using it as a water carafe. I can just picture it – white table cloth, soft candlelight, and a green glass bottle as the water carafe – how Parisian!
5. Spice your own Olive oil.
Clean out a an old wine bottle, but keep the cork. Sprinkle in some of your favorite dried herbs and then fill the bottle with olive oil. The herbs will infuse the oil with flavor over time and add a new delicious taste to your cooking. One important thing to remember is that you should always use DRIED herbs or peppers because anything with traces of water in it could grow bacteria in the oil over time. If you do want to use lemon peel or fresh garlic, or other things that may have traces of water, you have to make sure that you refrigerate it.
Voila, 5 new ways to reduce, REUSE, and recycle!
Read previous entries

Copyright © Merida Home Blog

Built on Notes Blog Core  |  Powered by WordPress