Aesthetically pleasing as they may be, windows are typically a drain on a building's energy efficiency. Enter Smart Energy Glass, a new innovation from Dutch Peer+ that turns windows into solar energy collectors with a customisable appearance.

Not only are Smart Energy Glass windows available in several colours, but they can switch between three modes: dark, bright and privacy, which scatters the light passing through. Even better, the glass serves to collect solar energy, which can then be used directly or fed back to the grid.

Users can control the darkness mode of the windows at will, depending on light conditions and energy concerns. Privacy mode generates the most energy, while bright mode is the least productive. Corporate logos can even be incorporated into the glass, Peer+ says.

Peer+ is currently working on its first pilots in the Netherlands, and is seeking further projects for testing. One to get in on early for a little eco-bounty of your own...? (Related: Thin, flexible solar paneling — Solar panels shaped like clay roof tiles.)

Website: www.peerplus.nl
Contact: t.wagenaar@peerplus.nl

Spotted by: Simonn Jagers

We've seen eco-minded laundromats before—including Toronto's Beach Solar, which we covered last fall—but when pickup and delivery are included, the greenness can only go so far. Unless, of course, you're the Laundry Company of Buenos Aires, which uses pedal power to collect and return its deliveries for free.

Clothes washing and a variety of related services are all available from the Laundry Company, which supports a tree-planting program to keep its business carbon-neutral. All customers are given a reusable fabric bag for their clothes, thus eliminating the disposable plastic coverings that normally get used. The Laundry Company also uses low-temperature machines and detergents designed for minimal environmental impact, resulting in energy savings of 40 percent, it says. Best of all, pickup and delivery—available at no extra charge—are made on foot or by means of the company's bright red tricycles.

If laundry, produce, groceries, furniture and assorted cargo can all be delivered by bicycle—much to the satisfaction of legions of green-minded consumers around the globe—there's probably no reason your product can't be too. Or did you want to let your competitors be first to tap those particular eco-bounty rewards? ;-)

Website: www.laundrycompany.com.ar
Contact: info@laundrycompany.com.ar

Spotted by: Verge Manuel

As the popularity of bikes for transporting people and products grows, innovative pedal-powered designs continue to pop up. Our latest spotting? Vrachtfiets, a new concept by two students at the Delft University of Technology. Primarily created to help people move house without renting a van, the Vrachtfiets is a two-person vehicle. As explained by the bike's designers, moving furniture usually isn't a solo effort, so why not have two people work the pedals, too? The bike also includes an electrical assist, which will be solar-powered in upcoming versions.

Having worked on Vrachtfiets for two years, Onno Sminia and Louis Pierre Geerinckx recently presented their final design to their first customer, the city of Delft. Quiet, emission-free and capable of hauling substantial loads, cargo bikes like Vrachtfiets will no doubt become increasingly popular for short-haul urban transport. One to get in on now? (Related: Waitrose using bicycles & carts for greener grocery deliveries — French cargo bikes embark on international expansion.)

Website: www.vrachtfiets.nl
Contact: info@vrachtfiets.nl

Spotted by: Martijn Turkenburg

As consumers see domestic refuse grow and their spending budgets shrink, making do with less becomes increasingly attractive. Aptly-named Make Do from Australia shows that this needn't be doom and gloom: their product enables people of all ages to make fun stuff out of waste materials such as cardboard, plastic and fabric.

A Make Do "Kit for One" (USD 25) consists of a construction tool that cuts and perforates materials safely, 8 hinges and 30 connectors, which use a ziptag-style mechanism to fasten pieces together. As for what can be made, the imagination is the limit—suggestions on the site range from cufflinks to stage sets, and all manner of toys. Although such items can also be made using traditional glue and sticky tape, the focus of Make Do is on ensuring that everything involved is reusable. Packaged in a recycled cardboard tube, the components are designed to last, and are made from materials that can be recycled.

The people behind Make Do aim to "inspire social change through playful creativity". That's social change on two counts: sustainable living and (re)kindling the imagination. Make Do adds value in the form of community workshops, educational resources for teachers, a newsletter/blog for inspiration and—with a nod to the open-source zeitgeist—downloadable construction plans.

Website: www.makedo.com.au
Contact: someone@makedo.com.au

Spotted by: Justine Hofman

We've written about several food brands that provide consumers with detailed information on the sources and background of their jam, bananas, coffee and other foods. Now, a premium chocolate company has taken product life stories to the next level by incorporating a transparent commitment to rainforest conservation. Launched in 2008 and now expanding worldwide, San Francisco-based Original Beans offers a direct link between its customers and the conservation work it supports.

For each bar sold, Original Beans plants a tree in the rainforest where the bar's ingredients originated. Each bar carries a certificate inside the wrapper with a lot number that designates the location of a new tree. By entering the tracking code on the company's website, customers can not only trace where the cacao beans in their individual bar were grown, but also what their contribution is to the chocolatier's rainforest replenishment efforts. Hence the company's mantra: "One bar, one tree, go see."

Original Beans offers three varieties of single-origin chocolate, from Ecuador, Bolivia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The company is allied with farmers' co-ops in these areas, who plant rare cacao trees plus a mix of trees necessary for lively biodiversity. Incorporating ecological and social costs into its pricing model means each 3.5oz (100g) bar of Original Beans chocolate is steeply priced at USD 12. Even for an indulgence that helps the environment, it remains to be seen whether customers will be willing to regularly pay double digits for chocolate bars.

But there's no doubt that it's smart to empower consumers to see a direct, measurable positive effect on the environment with their purchase, especially when brands find engaging ways to share those benefits. How else will companies experiment with, and up the ante on, "life story labels"?

Website: www.originalbeans.com
Contact: info@originalbeans.com

Spotted by: Roelof le Roux