Three NY NOW Exhibitors Earn Eco Choice Awards

Three companies – Calamarie, Potting Shed Creations Ltd. and WorldFinds – are winners of the eighth semiannual Eco Choice Awards for Most Innovative, Most Sensitive Use of Materials and Most Sellable, respectively, for products to be featured at the summer 2013 debut of NY NOW.

“These companies represent multiple product categories, but all are committed to running sustainable, socially conscious businesses,” said Christian Falkenberg, NY NOW director and senior vice president of GLM, the parent company of NY NOW. “From 10 finalists in each of the three competition categories, these eco-friendly products were determined as winners by popular vote [online].”

The winners and finalists of the summer 2013 Eco Choice Awards are:

• Most Sellable: Potting Shed Creations Ltd. Of Troy, Idaho, for its Moss + Sedum Terrarium growing kit made by hand from reclaimed, regionally sourced wine bottles. Once the tree grows large enough to be transplanted, the bottle can be washed and used again as a planter, or recycled and melted down to make more glass; and culled products are utilized in-house for germination testing and growing samples. FINALIST: Ortolan Organic of New York, for its Bat Pillow made locally from sustainable materials. FINALIST: Tea Forte of Concord, Mass., for its Skin-Smart Loose Leaf Tea Canisters.
• Most Innovative: Calamarie, based in Miami, for its Three-Rose Braided Necklace created from natural seeds and dried orange peels collected from Colombian juice vendors. Designer Catalina Lemaitre works closely with women artisans in Colombia to create thoughtful designs that incorporate traditional techniques and recycled materials. FINALIST: flip & tumble of Berkeley, Calif., for its 100 percent recycled Felt Pods. FINALIST: Stikwood of Sacramento, Calif., for its Reclaimed Weathered Wood.
• Most Sensitive Use of Materials: WorldFinds of Westmont, Ill., for its fair trade Recycled Kantha Wrap Bracelet handmade from re-purposed Kantha quilts and scraps left over from making larger bags. Artisans work from their homes and a local village workshop, outside of New Delhi, India. FINALIST: Made by Survivors of East Sandwich, Mass., for its recycled silver Free Bird Pendant. FINALIST: Merrily Made of Cromwell, Conn., for its Gourmet Pens handmade from natural materials.

NY NOW, the Market for Home & Lifestyle, will run Aug. 17-21 at New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Pier 94, and will encompass 100,000 products in 400-plus product categories.