Some 42,000 people die each week for lack of clean water, and the majority of them are children under 5 years old. Aiming to help alleviate this problem, online wine vendor CellarThief donates 100 days' worth of clean water for every bottle of wine it sells.

Launched earlier this year, California-based CellarThief sells only three wines on its site at any given time, and they're typically available for just 48 hours or until they sell out. All wines are hand-picked from world-class wineries by industry veterans, and CellarThief presents the story of each vintage as well as suggestions for food pairings. Prices are heavily discounted, CellarThief says, and shipping is USD 5 for any order of at least three bottles. Most interesting of all, however, is that the company has partnered with Charity: Water to provide clean water to those who need it. In addition to the donation made each time a bottle of wine is sold, further donations are made each time a wine sells out.

CellarThief's corporate generosity will surely please the discerning palates of the members of Generation G, who increasingly expect such benevolence in return for their business. Currently the company ships only within the continental United States. One to partner with or emulate for the ethically minded oenophiles near you? (Related: Pepsi asks crowds which community projects to fund — Buy a onesie, donate one to a baby in need — Buy one house, give one free.)

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

Spotted by: Brent Samuels

Toddlers and young children are notorious for their desire to grab whatever might be dangerous for them, and hot beverages are no exception. In fact, some 100,000 children each year are scalded by hot drinks and foods in the United States alone, according to the American Burn Association. Enter the MummyMug, a new innovation that uses a lip-activated lid to prevent drinks from spilling.

Parents simply fill the MummyMug with their favourite hot drink, secure the screw-on lid, and start sipping. The pressure of the drinker's top lip against the top of the lid causes the valve to open. It automatically closes up after every sip, ensuring that the MummyMug remains safe if accidentally knocked over.

Made from a material that gives the look and feel of ceramics but with shatterproof durability, the patent-pending mug is recyclable and guaranteed BPA-free.

The Swedish-made MummyMug, sold by the Dutch company of the same name, will hit European stores this autumn. There's no word yet on pricing. Parenting and baby retailers around the world: better sign up now ...

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

Back in 2008 we wrote about Arne Hendriks's plan to create a crowdsourced restaurant in Amsterdam. As of December, the resulting eatery—called by its founders "the world's first open source restaurant"—has now opened.

At the Instructables Restaurant, which launched as a pop-up event at the historic Theatrum Anatomicum of the Waag in Amsterdam, patrons receive not only creatively-cooked food but also instructions for preparing everything they see, eat and use—including the furniture. For example, someone seeking the recipe for the Tom Kha Gai soup they just enjoyed can either claim it at the restaurant or download it online; and anyone interested in making their own versions of the restaurant's recycled 50-gallon barrel chairs can do likewise.

Everything in the restaurant derives from Instructables, a web-based documentation platform where people share their expertise with others, whether it's cooking, pottery or woodworking. Even the instructions for creating the restaurant itself are now available on Instructables.com.

Is this a model to emulate for MIY (make-it-yourself) fans in your part of the world? (Related: Crowdsourced restaurant taps local community — Restaurant lets patrons make their own pancakes — Open source eco-car, designed by wiki.)

Website: www.instructablesrestaurant.com
Contact: arnehendriks@yahoo.com

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

'Try before you buy' is an ages-old maxim that's at the heart of the tryvertising trend we write about so often. It's a tough one to apply to books, though—beyond enabling browsing—and even tougher when it comes to cookbooks. That's where 25° Celsius comes in. First, it's a bookstore that sells only cookbooks. Second, it features an on-site test kitchen and café that lets patrons sample from the recipes served up on the shelves.

Singapore-based 25°C aims to offer a wide variety of cooking-related titles, browsable by region or ingredients as well as special interest topics like travel. Even more interesting, however, is that 25°C has created what appears to be the first bookstore-owned test kitchen in Singapore. On a regular basis, the 25°C staff will pick a book off the shelves and test out a few of the recipes it contains, making a point to closely follow the prescribed steps. Those recipes are then included on the menu of the month at the 25°C Café.

The lesson to be learned? All those who think the tryvertising trend doesn't apply to you, think again! With a little ingenuity, you may just hit upon a way to make it happen—and to build a loyal community while you're at it. One to emulate as soon as possible! (Related: More meal prep and cooking instruction, this time by Jamie Oliver — Tasting bar for babies serves up tryvertising for tykes.)

P.S. Many thanks to Malika for pointing out a similar concept in London: Books for Cooks.

Website: www.25degreec.com
Contact: ask@25degreec.com

Spotted by: Sharon Sng