8 green kitchen products

Bamboo serving dishes
By Precidio
Why all the hullabaloo about bamboo? Consumers are buying everything from cutting boards to floorboards made of bamboo because it looks great, lasts well and is a renewable resource. Make that very renewable, since stalks of the giant grass (it really is grass, not wood) have been known to grow as much as four feet in a single day. Take it from the Chinese, the first culture to put bamboo to good use: According to "Nova" Online, the Chinese character chu, loosely translated as "good sense," is depicted as two intertwined twigs of bamboo.

Precidio is one company that has made some great-looking serving dishes from spun bamboo. Check out its new line of platters, bowls and trays, which are backed with colorful lacquers. Good for indoor and outdoor use alike, these lightweight wares ease the conscience while indulging a taste for the exotic.

Green Works cleaners
By Clorox
A major challenge in getting people to go green is to overcome the perception that environmentally friendly goods don't work as well as conventional, nature-wilting products.

Clorox, having made its name in chlorine bleach, must be especially sensitive to that marketing hurdle. But the company stands by its claim that its new line of Green Works cleaners represents no compromise in performance. Made primarily from coconuts and lemon oil, cleaners in the Green Works line are formulated to be biodegradable and non-allergenic, and are packaged in bottles that can be recycled. Costing only about 50 cents more than old-school competitors, Green Works cleaners won't do much damage to your purse, either. 

MÜbamboo kitchen cloths
By MÜkitchen
One of the unexpected qualities of bamboo is how remarkably soft it is when woven into a cloth. Try on a bamboo T-shirt, for example, and you'll be amazed that the same natural material gnawed on by pandas feels soft as silk on your back.

MÜbamboo kitchen dishcloths and dish towels made of 80% bamboo and 20% cotton, have that lush texture while also holding up well to everyday use. The 12- by 12-inch cloths and 16- by 24-inch towels are absorbent, fast-drying and available in a variety of colors. Woven bamboo also has a nice scent and it's really nice when your dish towel doesn't smell like … well, a dish towel.

ECO10 air purifier
By Blueair
The new ECO10 air purifier features the same characteristics — fast and effective filtration, super-quiet operation — that have made Blueair a preferred brand among allergy sufferers, asthmatics and others desiring cleaner air at home. So, what's green about this Blueair?

The ECO10 is, by the Swedish designers' description, the world's most energy-efficient air purifier. Some other air purifiers can emit a ton — literally, an entire 2,000 pounds — of carbon into the atmosphere over a year of 24/7 use, while ECO10 emissions total closer to 120 pounds. Because the ECO10 runs on just 10 watts of power (and that's on high speed) it is nearly 10 times more efficient than the Environmental Protection Agency requires air purifiers to be. With a running cost of only about $10 per year to keep a 15- by 20-foot room in clean air, the ECO10 helps preserve the planet without busting your budget.

Lotus Sanitizing System
By Tersano
Eco-conscious consumers are increasingly concerned about their impact on the world outside. But what about all the toxins and microbes that make their way from the world into our homes? The Lotus system provides a means by which to sanitize food and household items using everyday tap water.

Edibles such as fruits and meats, or items such as sponges and baby bottles, are placed into a container that's filled with water and seated on the base unit. Lotus generates molecules of ozone, a natural sanitizer made up of three oxygen atoms, and then infuses the ozone into the water, lending the power to kill 99.9% of bacteria and destroy pesticide residue. Sanitize the contents of the container or carry a spray bottle of ozonated water around the house to kill microbial ick wherever it may creep and crawl.

GreenBulbs
By Amcor
LED lamps have not been widely available in the past, but they're starting to replace traditional bulbs thanks to their high efficiency, durability and impressive life span. Rather than using electrical filaments or halogen gas, LEDs shine using small clusters of light-emitting diodes. The bright, blue-white color shining on billboards is characteristic of LED lights, which are also used in traffic lights and the floodlights that illuminate commercial buildings.

Amcor's GreenBulbs are a full line of household LEDs, several of which fit standard screw-in sockets and outdoor floods. With no mercury or halogen gases, GreenBulbs recycle easily. But you won't have to worry about discarding them for a long time, since these energy-conserving bulbs can last several years. Now that's a bright idea.