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iZen Bamboo Keyboard Saves Tons of Plastic. And Looks Really Cool.
Made from 92% bamboo, the new iZen keyboard and iPad stand has the potential to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by reducing our consumption of plastic. That's great, but how many green products have we seen that fail the ultimate consumer test: they forget to include aesthetics, so only the most dedicated greenies purchase them. This one clearly went the extra mile and designed a gorgeous and functional product that can replace other, less eco-friendly electronics.
The keyboard works wirelessly with Bluetooth technology for Androids, Macs, iPhones, iPads and other tablet PCs, and many other devices. It has a built in rechargeable battery as well. Colorado-based iZen is looking to raise the next round of capital for a second round of production after an initial product release. They are running a Kickstarter campaign and pre-selling the keyboards for contributions of $85.
Having conducted a successful Kickstarter campaign for our green economy board game GBO Hawai'i, I have seen the power of crowdfunding first hand, and think it's a revolutionary concept capable of really changing the course of business history. After all, who would ever give advance money to a company like Monsanto or Halliburton? It's this kind of grassroots change that will help bring sustainability to the fore.
iZen creator Robin Behrstock said, in a press release: "Every year, more and more new tech gadgets are manufactured and consumed, using high levels of energy, rare earth metals, and precious crude oil. After people are done with them, they sit in landfills for thousands of years. iZen Bamboo's mission is to help this situation in every way possible."
Check out the Kickstarter campaign for the iZen. When it comes to aesthetics, they definitely did their due diligence. The company is also committed to giving 1% of their profits back to environmental causes.
---------------------------------------- Follow Scott on Twitter, and if you're interested, please share your opinion in this 1 minute survey on the best practices for companies to engage employees and customers to reduce plastic bag use.
Scott Cooney, Principal of GreenBusinessOwner.com and author of Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur (McGraw-Hill, November 2008), is also a serial ecopreneur who has started and grown several green businesses and consulted several other green startups. He co-founded the ReDirect Guide, a green business directory, in Salt Lake City, UT. He greened his home in Salt Lake City, including xeriscaping, an organic orchard, extra natural fiber insulation, a 1.8kW solar PV array, on-demand hot water, energy star appliances, and natural paints. He is a vegetarian, an avid cyclist, ultimate frisbee player, and surfer, and currently lives in the sunny Mission district of San Francisco. Scott is working on his second book, a look at microeconomics in the green sector. In June 2010, Scott launched GreenBusinessOwner.com, a sustainability consulting firm dedicated to providing solutions to common business problems by leveraging the power of the triple bottom line. Focused exclusively on small business, GBO's mission is to facilitate the creation and success of small, green businesses.
