A sustainability contest, The Igniting Creative Energy Challenge, sponsored and funded by a grant from Johnson Controls, Inc., with support from Philips and the United States Energy Association awarded a sixth grader with the winning entry. Matthew Belz, a sixth grader at Hastings Middle School in the Upper Arlington (Ohio) City School District, was one of three students that won for his sustainable ideas in this educational competition. Matthew provided an environmentally friendly alternative to his schools use of polystyrene trays - the alternative proposed by Matthew is sugar cane fiber trays which are more environmental and cost approximately the same as the current polystyrene ones. Matthew stated that, "I was motivated to enter this challenge because I have a passion for recycling," and he accurately point out that "... the project has had an impact on my life. I learned about polystyrene, landfills, biodegradable products, cost analysis, and even how to make a movie on my computer!" Unbelievable what a sixth grader can accomplish. Matthew's ideas are now being reviewed by School officials to see if it is viable to have the school trays changed. 

On June 2-5, 2008, Sustainable Brands '08 Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort in California and there are close to 100 sustainable leaders that will be participating. Leaders are coming from large corporations, government and NGO reps, communications consultants, think tanks, research houses and media. The agenda for the conference will focus on current practical applications and best practises and insights into future trends in three key areas: Market Drivers & Emerging Opportunities, Brand Inside, and Brand Outside. 

FutureFashion was recently held in Gotham Hall, NYC and exemplified sustainable fashion. The runway fashion show was graced with top designers that promoted sustainability by designing their clothes out of sustainable materials. The materials included sasawshi, pina, bamboo, organic cotton and wool, corn based fibers, recycled fibers or fabrics and biopolymers.The show featured top designers: Behnaz Sarapfour, Bottega Veneta, Boudicca, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Derek Lam, Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Doo.Ri, Doro Olowu, Giambattista Valli, Givenchy, Isabel Toledo, Jil Sander, Marc Jacobs, Marni, Martin Grant, Martin Margiela, Michael Kors, Moschino, Narciso Rodriguez, Ralph Lauren, Rodarte, Rogan, Stella McCartney, Thakoon, Threeasfour, Versace, and Yves Saint Laurent.

Catchword Branding recently compiled statistics on Green names and found some interesting trends. It seems that everyone wants to use the word "green" to describe themselves so much, that trademark filings that incorporated the word "green" jumped 143% between 2006 and 2007 where as the trademark filings for "red" and "blue increased 5% during the same time period. Other names that have become more popular include "eco" and "earth" - they almost doubled in usage, where as words such as "nature", "natural", and "pure" increased in demand by 20%. 

On August 2 and 3, the citizens of Port Gamble, Kitsap (Washington) will be entertained at a new festival focused on sustainable living. The festival titled The Great Peninsula Future Festival will focus on energy conservation, environmental preservation, transportation, green building and recycling. And just like at any festival and fair you will be able to be delighted by entertainment, crafts and local food. 

Whole Foods Market has reported that by April 22, 2008 (Earth Day) they will no longer carry plastic grocery bags. The retailer owns 270 stores across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. will instead encourage their customers to bring their own reusable bags. The stores will still offer paper bags made from recycled fibre content. Customers who bring their own bags however will continue to receive the nickel or dime refund the retailer has implemented as incentive.