New Green Businesses

John Barobs

Blue Sky Guide

As the green movement flourishes, so does the green retail sector. Stop by to visit some of the new green businesses throughout the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota to find some new, hip and green goods, carbon saving devices for your home, new modes of transport, and tasty treats!

Twin Cities Green and Sunny Day Earth Solutions. These new green stores offer a wide array of recycled, reclaimed, and earth-friendly products for home, play, and a green lifestyle: wallets and bags made from recycled inner tubes, solar powered electronics, green cleaning products, and low VOC paints, just to name a few. While both stores carry a similar cross-section of green basics, each specializes in their own niche.

Sunny Day Earth Solutions, 1000 26^thAve SE, Minneapolis
612-455-1355
sunnydayearthsolutions.com

Twin Cities Green
2405 Hennepin Ave. S, Minneapolis
612-374-4581
twincitiesgreen.com

Zenn Motor Co. / Cushman Motor Co. The Zenn is a “zero emission, no noise,” street legal (up to 25 mph) Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). The ZENN recharges by plugging into any electrical outlet for a four-hour charge, costing just pennies per mile to operate. While economical, the ZENN offers the comforts one expects for a typical sub-compact car. This product from Canada can take on a Minnesota winter.

Cushman Motor Co. is the local dealership, 2909 Franklin Ave. E, Minneapolis
612-333-3487
zenncars.com and cushmanmotorco.com

freEner-g. A one-of-a-kind solar electricity leasing company. freEner-g designs solar systems for local homes or small business, and then installs and maintains the system for the duration of the lease. Homeowners avoid the significant up-front cost of owning and maintaining a photovoltaic system while enjoying emission-free electricity.

freEner-g, 2740 S 31^st Ave., Minneapolis
612-605-5228, freener-g.com

Sweet Cheeks Baby Food. A healthy diet is one of the keys to a happy, healthy baby. Sweet Cheeks Baby Foods uses organic fruits and vegetables and Minnesota-grown organic grains for foods that cover all stages of a baby’s development. Raw ingredients are sourced directly from local organic farmers. Batches are made weekly for freshness and frozen in individual servings for convenience.

Find Sweet Cheeks Baby Food at the St. Paul Farmers Market year-round
sweetcheeksbabyfood.com

Freewheel Midtown Bike Center. The Freewheel Midtown Bike Center is located on the Midtown Greenway and provides a full service bike transportation station. The station includes bike lockers, rentals, repair shop, classes, bicycle sales, showers, cafe, and community center. Freewheel Midtown Bike Center also offers the Commuter Club, where members use the bike center as a transit hub to park their vehicles, store their bikes, and finish their commute to work via bicycle.

Freewheel Midtown Bike Center,
2834 S 10^th Ave., Minneapolis
612-238-4447
freewheelbikecenter.com

ecoEnvelopes. More than 80 billion reply envelopes are mailed annually in the US-most of them ending up in landfills. Coordinating with the US Postal Service, ecoEnvelopes patented an envelope that zips closed, eliminating the need for a separate reply envelope. ecoEnvelopes are manufactured with paper from managed forests and contain up to 100 percent post-consumer waste content. ecoEnvelopes can be re-mailed many times over-ideal for consumers and businesses alike.

ecoEnvelopes, 212 N 3^rd Ave., Suite 354
Minneapolis
612-605-4885
ecoenvelopes.com

Blue River and Verde Strategies. Catching the wave on the rain barrel revival, Blue River and Verde Strategies are two companies that offer the urban gardener nice options to collect water, reduce erosion, and save money on the utility bill. Verde Strategies offers reused barrels from multiple sources while Blue River has options ranging from the original wooden whiskey barrels to modern recycled plastic tubs. All you need to provide is a roof!

Blue River, St. Paul
651-238-5332
bluerivermn.com

Verde Strategies
2216 Snelling Ave.
Minneapolis, MN
verdestrategies.com

Be’Wiched Sandwiches and Deli. Nothing beats a good sandwich, and Be’Wiched takes good to a whole new level. This chef-driven deli offers sandwiches and other deli favorites, emphasizing fresh, local, and sustainable ingredients. The divine made-from-scratch deli embraces the philosophy that “a gourmet meal [can come] between two slices of bread.”

Be’Wiched Sandwiches and Deli,
800 Washington Ave. N, Minneapolis
612-767-4330
BewichedDeli.com

New Green Businesses

Green Tips

Host an Art Night

Looking for a new way to connect with your neighbors, get free life advice, and spark your creative juices? Consider hosting an art night at your house, complete with paints, modeling clay, colored pencils and art smocks. Get messy, be creative, and let the conversation flow. For inspiration and resources, check out this article.

Choose Safe Art Supplies

Arts and crafts materials can be hazardous to your health and the environment. Even though the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act of 1988 requires stringent labeling of hazardous materials in art supplies, many materials are out of compliance. This article offers tips to help you choose safe art supplies, plus substitutes to harmful substances.

Support a Local Business

Did you know that roughly 73 cents of every dollar spent at a local business stays within the community, compared to 43 cents for non-local chain stores? When you buy from local businesses, you help that business employ community workers, support other local businesses, and contribute to the community’s overall health. Read more here about the benefits of buying locally.

Buy Green Office Supplies

“Green” doesn’t necessarily mean “good” when it comes to so-called green office supplies. To help your office green up, consider durability, natural resource and energy use, recycled content and recyclability, toxicity, biodegradability and packaging before you purchase supplies. You can also set up a reuse system for the supplies you already have. For more tips on green office products, check out this article.

Think Twice About Bottled Water

If you live in an area with clean drinking water, fill a reusable bottle with tap water and bring it with you wherever you go to avoid buying bottled water. The U.S. sends 2 million tons of plastic water bottles to landfills each year—and producing those bottles requires oil and emits carbon dioxide. Some restaurants in the Twin Cities feel so strongly against bottled water that they refuse to sell it. Learn more.

Contact Your State Legislator

As a constituent, you are your local legislators’ highest priority. Why not share your views with them and ask them to support your position? It may seem like your letters and emails will get lost in a deep, dark political hole, but don’t despair. Whether you call, fax, email or visit in person, this article offers tips on how to effectively communicate with your elected officials and get them to listen.

Get Engaged!

Individuals’ actions are important in setting sound policy, so become an engaged citizen. Whether you call your legislator’s office, testify in a legislative hearing or attend a rally, you can make your voice heard. Still doubt that you can make a difference? This article addresses couple common concerns about whether civic engagement is worth it.

Take the Energy Challenge

The fastest, cheapest, easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint is through energy efficiency and conservation. Plus, you’ll save yourself money in the process! Need a little boost to get started? Join the Minnesota Energy Challenge and learn from thousands of Minnesotans who have pledged to reduce their energy use—and are finding fun, creative ways to do it. Read more about the Challenge here.

Make an Action Plan

Wait. Scratch that. Don’t make your own list of simple things you can do today to make a positive difference for the climate—use ours! This list offers 20 easy things you can do that will help you and your family lighten your load on the environment, keep more money in your pocket, and inspire you to find even more ways to tread lightly on this earth.

Check Out This Template for Action

Scientists say a global warming “tipping point” in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes. Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second lowest level in about 30 years. These news flashes are just some of our climate’s changes happening daily. You and your kids can help. Read more here, and then check out Climate Generations’s Take Action! Guide, which offers hands-on activities for grades 3-12.

How Our Food Choices Effect the Planet

How Our Food Choices Effect the Planet

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