NEW CHEMICAL FREE FIRE STARTER MAKES A GREAT GIFT!
Working with one of the customers for our packaging, we have developed a new product we are happy to announce.
In addition to our PrairieEcoPak, (earth-friendly, degradable packing material) we are proud to announce the creation and availability of Prairie Bug Firestarters(tm) . These natural, chemical-free firestarters are patented and made from recycled cardboard and natural hand-poured soy wax. They are great for fireplaces, firepits, campfires, wood stoves, chimnera and bonfires. And they are easy to use as well as good for the earth.
You place the soy wax end of the firestarter among the kindling or logs, up and at an angle, with the cardboard end down and facing towards you. You light the cardboard end which acts as a quick-burning fuse. When the flame reaches the soy wax end you obtain a sustained burn of approx. 20 minutes....long enough to 'catch' any wood that's not green or wet.
Most commercial firestarters are made from some kind of chemical. They contain toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, arsenic and they usually leave behind some kind of greasy residue.
Our Prairie Bug Firestarters leave no residue, so they are safe for fireplaces and wood stoves as well as outdoor fires. And with no chemicals whatsoever, they are safe for cooking over too. They release no carbon monoxide as they burn, which is an improvement on most commercial starters.
Because there are 12 little bugs in a single package, that one 12-pack contains starts for 12 separate fires. The retail price is $12.95, which is just about a dollar a fire.... as opposed to a single big chemical filled log that offers you one single fire. It's a good deal.
Our firestarters, made from a recycled cardboard, reuse a material that would otherwise be clogging landfills. So we are recycling and reusing cardboard and reducing both the chemicals released in the air and the carbon monoxide released by most commercial fire starters.
Prairie Bug Firestarters are made in the US, in America's heartland, by US workers.
In addition to selling these cute, attractively packed (gift-worthy) boxes of firestarters, our company WHOLE EARTH PARTNERS, based in Newton, Iowa, is also selling the experience of sharing stories around the fire, gathering to celebrate family and cherishing the night sky. Our website (www.PrairieFireBugs.com) invites folks who use the firestarters to share their stories.. the stories they tell around their own fires, the recipes they use on camping trips, songs they sing around campfires, and their favorite locations for camping.
Prairie Bug Firestarters can also be purchased at that website or on Amazon.com. Gp ahead and order a box to try. Start something warm and wondrous tonight!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Greetings from Green Prairie.
This is the first entry into what I hope will be a continuing look at green efforts, sustainability and green political commentary here in the Heartland.
I'm an unabashed tree-hugger who's also an activist. A few years ago I had the opportunity to get into a green business which offers an alternative to plastic petroleum-based, non-degradable packing peanuts. I leaped in without a really good idea of all the obstacles that lie ahead. This is a manufacturing business, and I knew nothing about manufacturing. We compete with plastic packaging companies including manufacturers and distributers of peanuts, bubblewrap, foam, air bags, chemical foam-in-place and of course some of the more sustainable packing materials too.
We are a standalone protective packaging product with superb protection capability.
I completely underestimated the tenacity with which petroleum-based packing product manufacturers and distributors hold on and over power sustainable alternatives... but now with the price of petroleum rising, along with the price of the plastic packing, we're gaining a bit of traction for our product among volume shippers who want to use a packing material they can feel good about.
There are plenty of environmentally responsible companies who would rather not use the petroleum-based packing, but habits on the packing and shipping floors are hard to change. Over time we hope they'll be brave enough to shift to a more sustainable product. It would be great if they chose ours, but ANY sustainable alternative would be an improvement over sending billions of non-degradable peanuts out into the world...into waterways, landfills, and who knows where else.
Lately people are looking more seriously at the peanuts made from corn, potatoes, sorghum. And my response is that we need to use food stocks for food. People all over the planet are starving for lack of food and for the higher prices of food. That's because if we put more pressure on those crops and are willing to pay more for them as packing material, for instance, the price of food will rise dangerously for 3rd world folks who are living through war, famine, draught. Caring about other human beings is part of a sustainable outlook. Aren't we tired of easy answers that hurt people? Short term profits over long term sustainability has taken us to where we are now.
Packing material that performs well, that is made (as mine is) from a recycled/used product that would otherwise be in the landfills...... that makes a lot more sense to me than sacrificing food crops. Even though they are renewable... they are FOOD!
When I first started calling on companies and talking to big burly guys on loading docks I did so with trepidation. It wasn't long till I realized those guys are just like me. A lot bigger and a lot stronger, but with all the same concerns for the environment that I had. It didn't start that way though. Four years ago I encountered a number of business people, purchasing agents and yes, dock workers, who thought I was crazy to put effort and money behind an alternative to peanuts. "Here comes the tree-hugger" they would joke.... as if that was a bad thing!! When I took the time to explain how important sustainabilty was to our lifestyles, our environment, our local communities... they got it. Of course it helped that in the last few years more and more information has been coming from all sorts of places about why conservation and sustainability are important for dealing with or preventing climate change, peak oil impact, and the decline of local manufacturing, trade and jobs right here at home.
Now more and more folks are realizing that supporting local businesses and manufacturers is suppporting our community.... and that keeping America strong means making sure we can manufacture things from equipment to energy right here at home.
That's all for now, but you'll be hearing more about green products, green sustainability, green jobs and green policies. Thanks for listening!
This is the first entry into what I hope will be a continuing look at green efforts, sustainability and green political commentary here in the Heartland.
I'm an unabashed tree-hugger who's also an activist. A few years ago I had the opportunity to get into a green business which offers an alternative to plastic petroleum-based, non-degradable packing peanuts. I leaped in without a really good idea of all the obstacles that lie ahead. This is a manufacturing business, and I knew nothing about manufacturing. We compete with plastic packaging companies including manufacturers and distributers of peanuts, bubblewrap, foam, air bags, chemical foam-in-place and of course some of the more sustainable packing materials too.
We are a standalone protective packaging product with superb protection capability.
I completely underestimated the tenacity with which petroleum-based packing product manufacturers and distributors hold on and over power sustainable alternatives... but now with the price of petroleum rising, along with the price of the plastic packing, we're gaining a bit of traction for our product among volume shippers who want to use a packing material they can feel good about.
There are plenty of environmentally responsible companies who would rather not use the petroleum-based packing, but habits on the packing and shipping floors are hard to change. Over time we hope they'll be brave enough to shift to a more sustainable product. It would be great if they chose ours, but ANY sustainable alternative would be an improvement over sending billions of non-degradable peanuts out into the world...into waterways, landfills, and who knows where else.
Lately people are looking more seriously at the peanuts made from corn, potatoes, sorghum. And my response is that we need to use food stocks for food. People all over the planet are starving for lack of food and for the higher prices of food. That's because if we put more pressure on those crops and are willing to pay more for them as packing material, for instance, the price of food will rise dangerously for 3rd world folks who are living through war, famine, draught. Caring about other human beings is part of a sustainable outlook. Aren't we tired of easy answers that hurt people? Short term profits over long term sustainability has taken us to where we are now.
Packing material that performs well, that is made (as mine is) from a recycled/used product that would otherwise be in the landfills...... that makes a lot more sense to me than sacrificing food crops. Even though they are renewable... they are FOOD!
When I first started calling on companies and talking to big burly guys on loading docks I did so with trepidation. It wasn't long till I realized those guys are just like me. A lot bigger and a lot stronger, but with all the same concerns for the environment that I had. It didn't start that way though. Four years ago I encountered a number of business people, purchasing agents and yes, dock workers, who thought I was crazy to put effort and money behind an alternative to peanuts. "Here comes the tree-hugger" they would joke.... as if that was a bad thing!! When I took the time to explain how important sustainabilty was to our lifestyles, our environment, our local communities... they got it. Of course it helped that in the last few years more and more information has been coming from all sorts of places about why conservation and sustainability are important for dealing with or preventing climate change, peak oil impact, and the decline of local manufacturing, trade and jobs right here at home.
Now more and more folks are realizing that supporting local businesses and manufacturers is suppporting our community.... and that keeping America strong means making sure we can manufacture things from equipment to energy right here at home.
That's all for now, but you'll be hearing more about green products, green sustainability, green jobs and green policies. Thanks for listening!
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