DRYFAST works to reduce the time and energy of doing laundry

Jerry Brandenburg was always looking for new ways to save energy, but his latest product was actually created out of a need to keep himself on time.  “I was late leaving the house because the clothes I wanted to wear were still drying in the dryer,” says Brandenburg.  “That’s when I came up with the idea that if I added dry pants in with my wet clothes the water would have to find a medium between the wet and dry clothes—leaving the clothes I wanted less wet.”  Sure enough, the process worked and Brandenburg soon created the DRYFAST Blanket.  The outer material absorbs the moisture from the laundry while the inner material heats up by the heat of the dryer, drying the outer material.  This newly discovered technology creates a 25% reduction in energy and time.  But why a blanket?  “I decided to develop the blanket so it looked like something that never left the dryer,” says Brandenburg.  While the DRYFAST focus has been on reaching consumers, they recently signed an exclusive contract with Third Coast Partners to produce DRYFAST blankets for the commercial/industrial markets and recently participated in the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York.  “We are always researching new ideas to make DRYFAST even more environmentally-friendly including looking at ways to manufacture it all from recycled materials,” says Brandenburg.  “We are looking at ways to possibly add fabric softener to the middle of the blanket that would last through several uses as well as implant a chip into the blanket that could send a text message when your laundry is almost dry.”  Brandenburg and his blanket will be participating in this year’s Good And Green™ Conference and will also be part of the New Product Showcase sponsored by Ingeo from NatureWorks LLC.  

Hives For Lives founders honored by CNN

In early December, our friends Molly and Carly Houlahan, the teenage entrepreneurs who created Hives For Lives, a non-profit honey business, will travel to NYC to accept an award as two of eight women who inspire at the CNN Inspire Summit. Other honorees include Patty Hall, Founder H20 for Life; Majora Carter, Founder of Sustainable South Bronx; Eve Ensler, Playwright/Performer and Founder of the V-Day Global Women’s Foundation; Jessica Flannery, Founder of Kiva.org; Wendy Kopp, Founder of Teach for America; Jen, Creator of the Blog, “Millionaire Mommy Next Door”; and Doris “Granny D” Haddock, Political Activist/Advocate for Campaign Finance Reform. “We are so amazed to be part of this event and will be sure to put pictures up on the site after!” said Molly and Carly.

Esurance partners with eco-friendly band Cloud Cult for new promo

Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal auto insurance company, announced the release of a full length music video featuring the eco-friendly band Cloud Cult. The full-length video expands on the thirty-second version airing on select TV networks, and is an animated adventure featuring the band’s modern bluegrass ditty, “Lucky Today.” As part of the company’s “Get Animated” campaign, where real people are transformed into animated versions of themselves, the video features all seven of Cloud Cult’s members.  Esurance and Cloud Cult met at the 2007 Monolith Festival presented by Esurance and immediately found common ground on environmental interests. Esurance sponsored Cloud Cult’s Spring tour, helping purchase carbon offsets and bio-diesel fuel for the band’s tour transportation. Kristin Brewe, Esurance’s director of brand and public relations, stated, “When we were introduced to Cloud Cult at the 2007 Monolith Festival, we knew immediately we wanted to work with them. We loved their music, and we loved their environmental message. The partnership has been really positive, and we’re glad to showcase such great talent as a part of our efforts to raise awareness about safeguarding our environment.”  Esurance wasn’t the first company to reach out to Cloud Cult in an effort to license its music. “We’ve had a lot of offers over the past few years to use our songs in mainstream commercials, but we’ve always been forced to say ‘no,’” said Craig Minowa, Cloud Cult’s singer and songwriter. “We’re very particular about what sorts of products our songs are associated with, so it’s nice to finally meet and work with an environmentally conscious company that meets our standards.”  As part of the promotion of the partnership between Esurance and Cloud Cult, the auto insurance company created a micro-site: www.esurance.com/cloudcult The site features three free downloadable MP3s hand-picked by Cloud Cult.  Brewe stated, “When folks come and check out the micro-site, they’re taking the time to learn about the band and about how to help protect our environment. As a reward for doing so, there’s not much better than some free music from a great band like Cloud Cult.”