In New Hampshire, the frigid winter temperatures can always take a toll, even on the Seacoast’s finest. But when Portsmouth Police officers Bob Lukacz and Sean Evans came into work in late fall sporting new, black soft-shell jackets that were both super-cozy and made of 100 percent recycled plastic, Portsmouth’s finest finally had a new – and decidedly green – guard against the cold.

“The uniforms we had were starting to become pretty outdated,” says Evans, who had been an occasional customer of the Warehouse Clothing Outlet, where the jackets were purchased. “I started snooping around the Warehouse, and found the earth-tec jacket. It fit all of the criteria – it was light, it was warm, and it had a lot nicer, friendlier look than our regular jackets. And the fact that it was made from recycled plastic was really appealing too.”

Word quickly spread about the jackets. Sure it was warm, fit well and looked nice, but at less than $50, it was a serious bargain too. Made from a special yarn spun from recycled plastic bottles, the “earth-tec” line has been one of the Warehouse Clothing Outlet’s biggest sellers, and the pride of owner Dennis Randall. Read the full story in our blog.

 Join the GA and Get 15% off the earth-tech line at The Warehouse Clothing Outlets!  Learn more here!

Now Or Never's streaming interviews of green entrepreneurs

Being a seasoned yoga instructor, Jonas “Zev” Amberger considers it part of his duty to help students find and maintain the delicate balance between the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. Now he’ll have help in his effort from an unlikely place: his water cooler.

With the help of Michael Mark of Water Revitalization Ltd, who also happens to be one of Zev’s Students, Amberger recently installed a custom, state-of-the-art water purification system in his Market Square studio.

According to Michael, the device at Zev Yoga is really a two-part system: “The first thing that happens is a nano-filtration device incorporating activated carbon removes bacteria, viruses, chlorine, and other organics from the water,” says Michael. “And that part of it, as is the case in the studio, can be done straight out of any tap or faucet. But what makes this unique from other purification systems is the second step, where the resonating ‘Grander’ Energy Board revitalizes the water in the dispenser – improving its internal structure and ‘information properties’ to make it more holistically nourishing."  Read the full story here!

GA members get 10% off a Grander Water System with Water Revitalization Ltd.   Learn how by clicking here!

Simply Green's 'Ugliest Furnace' contest underway

Ever dream of winning a beauty pageant? How about entering your child or your pet? At the very least you’ve probably seen pictures of pageants from both ends of the spectrum – the gorgeous specimens that make up the cast of Miss Universe on the one hand, and the World’s Ugliest Dogs on the other.

A lot of these superlatives are out no doubt of reach for most of us. But what about the Seacoast’s “ugliest furnace”? Sound a little more attainable? Now through February 8th, Simply Green, in partnership with Key Heating, is offering a free furnace to replace the ugliest furnace on the seacoast, complete with a free tank of BioHeat.
To enter go to www.seacoastbiofuels.com/uglyfurnace, and fill out the entry form. The winner will be announced on Friday February 12th.  Read the full story here!

Mancusi's rise to green a family affair

The growth of Hampstead-based Mancusi Builders from traditional home construction company to local leader in green building was very much an inter-generational phenomenon. Owner Norm Mancusi’s son, Nick, had been attending the prestigious Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture for a few years, along the way learning the ins and outs of green building which he then started introducing to his father, who wound up taking a few courses at the school himself. Mancusi augmented these experiences by going to seminars, conferences, as well as conducting his own independent research, all of which culminated in the construction of the state’s first LEED certified home back in 2008. From there, Mancusi decided that making each and every home he built as green as possible would fall squarely at the top of the priority list. 

Mancusi and Company know a little something about quality home-building; they’ve been doing it for 25 years, framing and building hundreds of home in the process, along the way building a solid reputation for their quality and attention to detail. As a proud member of the U.S. Building Council, the Homebuilders and Remodelers Association of America, Build Green New Hampshire, and other groups, Mancusi plans on advocating and advancing green technologies, techniques, and services for every aspect of the home-building business.  Read the full story in our blog.

Receive Free LEED registration and certification on a new home contruction and 10% off all labor on remodeling or construction with your Green Card.  Learn more here!

 Jewett Farms, sustainable cabinetry with style

Jewett Farms & Company, Designers and Cabinetmakers, may be fast becoming a Newburyport staple, but when they decided to start advertising their impressive “green” credentials, they looked to that port city just north of the border for help. Jewett Farms designs and builds truly custom, furniture-grade cabinetry for all interior residential and commercial spaces – custom kitchens, baths, built-ins, libraries, offices, and furniture.

 Receive 50% off design services with Jewett Farms & Co. Cabinet Makers! Learn more here!

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Everyone knows it, everyone's heard it. But while many businesses may subscribe to or emphasize one of the "three Rs", for Portsmouth's Re-Enhabit, it's literally all in the name.

Re-Enhabit offers quality clothing, furniture, and accessories including cameras, typewriters, dinnerware, and much, much more -- mostly vintage, and almost all of it reconstituted or re-used. With a distinct passion for "finding beauty in the odd and the old", owner Jodi Curtis, who opened her doors on State Street in Portsmouth a little over a year ago (the store has, since moved to 15 Daniel Street), has in the process redefined "vintage" in terms that are distinctly green and sustainable. Much of the clothing has been repurposed, with old concert tee-shirts being remade into scarves and skirts, old album covers rendered into catchy notebooks, and old, seemingly out-of-date furniture re-touched and made new again. Curtis also works with local artists, displaying their work in her store; much of it equally re-fashioned or re-imagined. Read the completed Green Story, Evaluation, and Report card here!

Green Alliance members get 10% off everything at Re-Enhabit!