April showers bring May flowers.

Elements of Green is giving away Forget-Me-Not flower seed packets this 1st Friday to our first 100 guests. Each flower packet will also have a coupon good for an additional 5% off on your order of FLOR carpet tiles redeemable on the 40th annual Earth Day, April 22nd. Actually we are honoring the coupon the full week of April 20-24th. Be sure to stop in for yours while in the Crossroads tonight.

Are you enjoying this sunshine - see us for a SolaTube and let the sun shine in

Put the sun to work for you, light up your home or business with a Solatube.  What are Solatube's; they are much more than skylights, they are high-performance daylighting systems that use advanced optics to significantly improve the way daylight is harnessed.  Ideal for bathrooms, hallways, closets, laundry rooms, dens or home offices and even kitchens, family rooms or dining rooms are appropriate.  See the Solatube brochure  for all the options.

Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite!

Here we are owners of a sustainable building product store full of the 'greenest' products we can find for the finishing, remodeling and building of a home, but when it comes to products we don’t offer at the store or we can’t find a green product to use, what can we do? We do our best to buy local fruits and vegetables, and by think about the sustainability behind what we are buying. Let’s for example say that we need a new yard rake; we go to the local hardware store and we are offered a rake with green plastic or red plastic tines. In the recent past we could have selected from metal and before that our choice would have been a bamboo rake, but neither of these can be found. Should I pass on the plastic rake, drive back home and jump on the internet searching for a bamboo rake and order from who knows where, or should I buy the plastic rake from the local harware and then go home and get the lawn raked so the grass can flourish? I bought the rake --- I feel like a hypocrite.

I wonder what the demand is for bamboo rakes? Should we offer them at Elements of Green?

To Be Green - 2bg cabinetry announced in Kansas City Star

Did you read the House and Home section of today's Kansas City Star, if not no worries I will keep you current with the important news: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/02/27/1768756/kcs-green-cabinets.html

2bg cabinets website at Elements of Green is up - check us out

2bg cabinets now have a place of prominence displayed on the Elements of Green website. This is one of the most exciting initiatives we have put forward in the first 18 months of our companies existence. We start with the raw materials in sheet form. From Skyblend®, we use the FSC certified, 100% recycled material, finished with Thermally Fused Melamine to build the cabinet box and then the cabinet fronts are made of either Smith & Fong, FSC certified Plyboo® (rapidly renewable) or Environ Biocomposites, BioFiber® Wheatboard (rapidly renewable). But it’s not just the materials these cabinets are made out of it is also how they are made, this is premium cabinet box construction that will last 30-40 years! At this price, the quality that is in this cabinet is unexpected, by why would you want or accept anything less. If you need cabinetry you owe it to yourself to take a close look at 2bg, you will be glad you did.

2bg sustainable cabinets now available

We are extremely excited to announce a new addition to the offerings at Elements of Green - 2bg sustainably built cabinets! 2bg is a local Kansas City company dedicated to producing earth-friendly kitchen cabinets with a build quality designed to last for decades, at a reasonable cost.

We have been studying the market and realized there was little choice in environmentally friendly cabinet options that are not only 'green', but durable, and reasonably priced.

On the left are lower cabinets made from Plyboo® bamboo while on the right is a close up of the BioFiber® wheat board cabinets.

Product benefits:

1. Every product used in the building of 2bg cabinet boxes are 100% recycled fiber, FSC certified, formaldehyde free and designed to last 30-40 years.

2. All materials used in the construction of the doors as also formaldehyde free and earth friendly using either FSC certified Plyboo® bamboo, or BioFiber® wheat board that utilizes a raw material left-over during the harvesting of wheat, which is usually discarded, plowed under or burned.

3. Our kitchens are produced with a focus on minimizing environmental impact. The use of high-tech computer software reduces production waste and water based zero-VOC finish will improve the air quality of your home. Locally crafting the cabinets along with responsible materials purchasing from once per month production of all ordered cabinets will reduce start-stop processing. And finally, delivery to clients will be combined via same-area-schedules to further reduce emissions and fuel consumption again promoting energy conservation.

4. All finished products are LEED® compliant.

You may select from our base offering of unfinished BioFiber® wheatboard, or (optionally stained) and prefinished BioFiber® wheatboard or move up to your choice of unfinished Plyboo® bamboo, or prefinished Plyboo® bamboo for your cabinets. All cabinets are premium grade box construction with European frameless fronts. Your final decision will be to install your new cabinets yourself or to have them professionally installed for you.

When you are ready for your new kitchen contact Elements of Green so we can quote you the new 2bg cabinets, just call 816.842.0500 or email sales@elements-of-green.com – you will be pleased that you did.

The American Royal Center, Remodeling Show and Green Zone

February 12, 13 & 14 our showroom will be closed.  Please come see us at the Green Zone:

Special Features at this year's Kansas City Remodeling Show:

Are you looking for environmentally friendly products? Then it's time you entered THE GREENZONE! The GreenZone is a 50,000 sq. ft. area of products, services and ideas for eco-conscious living and sustainable living. Non-profit organizations will be on hand to promote everything from recycling and energy conservation to sustainable lifestyles and alternative fuels. Commercial vendors will showcase products ranging from solar collectors and wind energy generators to thermal windows and high-efficiency home appliances. The GreenZone will also feature several educational exhibits on experimental programs and theoreticl projects to support eco-conscious living.

The featured speaker at this year's GreenZone is the ever popular Ed Begley, Jr. Ed is a leading proponent of living an environmentally friendly lifestyle and practices what he preaches. He and his wife Rachelle are the stars of the HGTV show "Living with Ed" where they bring us into their home and show us ways to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. For more information follow the link: http://www.patrihaproductions.com/RemodelingShow/speaker_bios.php.

It is the goal of the Remodeling Show's GreenZone to become the largest yearly exhibition of "green" products, services and ideas in the Midwest. We encourage non-profit organizations, commercial vendors and educational institutions who are interested in or promote related products, services or ideas to contact the Remodeling Show to participate in the GreenZone exhibiton.

When it comes to taking personal responsibility for the environment, few individuals can match the record of actor and activist Ed Begley, Jr. Known for turning up at Hollywood events on his bicycle, he has served as chairman of the Environmental Media Association and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. He serves on the boards of organizations including the Thoreau Institute, the Earth Communications Office, Tree People and Friends of the Earth. His work has earned both praise and awards from numerous environmental groups including the California League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Coalition for Clean Air, Heal the Bay, the Santa Monica Baykeeper, the Southern California Gas Company and the American Lung Association. Currently, he is the co-star of the hit Planet Green series Living with Ed, a look at the day-to-day realities of "living green" with his not so environmentalist wife Rachelle Carson. His book Living Like Ed is currently available nationally from Clarkson Potter / Random House, and his new book Ed Begley, Jr.'s Guide to Sustainable Living also from Clarkson was released September 2009. He continues to tour the country giving speeches about his sustainable living practices.