Amazon has just lunched Amazon Green, "a cross category program that includes a list of products that customers have selected as the best green products offered by Amazon.com". Basically it's just a big list of everything that is somewhat green in Amazon's extensive inventory.

One nice features of Amazon Green is that to make the green list, Amazon.com customers have to vote for it. This should keep the phony green products off the list. Another added benefit is the customer reviews that accompany every Amazon product at the bottom of the page. Customer reviews are the first thing I look at; fellow customers don’t hold anything back compared to corporate marketing staff.

With the launch of Amazon Green also comes the Amazon Green Blog. Although it is currently short on articles it has the potential to be a strong contender in the eco-blogosphere.

I like Amazon's new green initiative, the only way it could be better is if they would promise to put a certain percentage of each "green" sale towards a worthwhile cause.

Pura vida,
Matt

Moodhosa's, a Kook Wear Team Member, is releasing their first CD on Friday August 29th at the Common Grounds in Gainesville, FL. Kook Wear will be there to support Moodhosa as well as to show off some product. If you with in driving distance you should make the trip, this will be a night to remember.

The Common Grounds is located at:

View Larger Map

Here is the Facebook event URL:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=62802665642

Pura vida,
Matt

The new PayItGreen Alliance encourages consumers to turn off the paper bills to save trees and money. The alliance is a coalition of financial services companies such as Bank of America, Wachovia, and Citi that are committed to changing the way we pay bills.

It makes sense…

By receiving statements and paying bills online you can save trees and money by not using postage stamps. If it hasn’t clicked yet look at these numbers:

Pura vida,
Matt

Did you know that there is an island the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is full of trash? When I heard about this a couple of years ago I just thought it was some reporter with an extremist point of view. But over the last couple of months more and more news article have been covering it and now I'm convinced. I found a great video documentary made by the VBS.TV crew, here is episode 1 of the 12 part series:

All 12 videos can be found on the VBS.TV Garbage Island website. There is also a great article on Wikipedia.

I hope this inspires you to stop using plastic bags and water bottles!

Pura vida,
Matt

With the recently popularity of the environmentally friendly movement "green" things are popping up everywhere. You can even go into debt the "green" way. Although this isn't really new news, most people still don't know about environmentally friendly credit cards.

The basic principle of all of these cards is that for every purchase you make, a certain percentage goes toward carbon offsets, planting trees, or recycling programs. The two most popular green cards are from General Electric and Bank of America.

GE MONEY Earth Rewards Card

• 0% Introductory APR on purchases for up to 6 months
• Paperless Statements
• 1% of your total Card purchases go towards emission reduction projects. Or make the split and contribute 1/2% to the climate projects and get 1/2% cash back through your monthly statement
• No annual fee

BOA Brighter Planet Visa Card

• 0% introductory APR on cash advance checks and balance transfer for the first 12 months
• No annual fee
• Earn 1 EarthSmart point for every $1 spent in net retail purchases
• Earn 50% more points with a match from BOA for a limited time
• Earn 1,000 bonus points after your first transaction to fund an estimated 1 ton of carbon offsets to offset the creation and delivery of your credit card

So which one do I recommend? NEITHER. I think these cards are a waste of time and money and will only increase American’s debt. I would much rather get 5% cash back from an AMEX card and use that money to plant a tree, buy carbon offsets, replace my light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, and so on and so forth. Becoming environmentally friendly does not mean you need to sacrifice your personal finances.

With all of the above being said, if you pay off your balance in full every month and don’t want to mess with cash back or rewards cards, this might be the card for you.

Pura vida,
Matt

A new cable network called Planet Green is starting to be rolled out across the US. Planet Green is the first 24-hour "eco-lifestyle" television network with a robust online presence and community. Chances are you already have the new channel but didn't even realize it. Just visit the Planet Green channel finder to see if your local provider is carrying it.

I was fortunate enough to watch a couple hours of the programming and thought I would give my 2 cents on some of the shows.

Renovation Nation - "The green home building movement is unfolding in real time on each hour-long, information-packed episode of Renovation Nation, which answers the burning questions that every homeowner in America has about going green."

Of the three shows I saw this one as probably the most informative. Most of the green ideas in this show are for people renovating a home or about to build a new home, which is a lot of people in America (regardless of the sub-prime mortgage junk). I give it a B.

Living With Ed - "Ed Begley, Jr. is a celebrated American actor and a dedicated family man, but he's especially proud of being a renowned environmentalist. A show with humor and heart, Living with Ed delves into the real life of a die hard activist who puts his green where his home is."

Living With Ed is a prime time reality show with an eco twist. If your into green living but your significant other isn’t, this show might have something for the both of you (it might even save your marriage, probably not, it's just a television show after all). I give Living With Ed a B+.

Wasted - "This eye-opening half-hour reality series makes shrinking your ecological footprint appealing and virtually effortless. What's an ecological footprint? It's a way of describing the scope of the damage that each household does to the planet. Annabelle Gurwitch and her charming co-host Holter Graham are out..."

I wish this show featured my house. Each house gets a lump sum of cash based on how much energy they can conserve in a 1 month period. I give Wasted a B.

Because the network is so new there are lots of repeats; I would say that 22 hours out of 24 hours of broadcasting are repeats. But with big names like Emeril Lagasse and Ed Begley the network is bound to be successful.

Pura vida,
Matt

Moodhosa's, a Kook Wear Team Member, was in Orlando this past Saturday at the Orlando Brewery. They put on a great show, here are some pictures from the event:

That's a pretty clever slogan...


From left to right: Nick(Kook Wear), Jason(Moodhosa), David(Moodhosa), Jose(Moodhosa), Ari(Moodhosa), Ben(Kook Wear), and Matt (Kook Wear)...


Lead singer Jose...


Lead guitar Jason...


Kook Wear entourage enjoying some good ORGANIC beers...

Pura vida,
Matt

The way we move is bad for our earth. We’re cutting down to many trees to make all these cheap cardboard boxes and wasting barrels of oil making disposable bubble wrap and peanuts. The average person tosses out these materials after unpacking and the problem continues as more materials enter the landfill. We’re wasting our limited natural resources and expanding our overloaded landfills. Here are some simple ways to make your next move earth friendly:

• Reuse Boxes – You would be surprised how easy it is to find good quality boxes for free. Just point your browser at Craigslist or The Freecycle Network and do a search for boxes. You can also visit your local super market or alcohol store for their old boxes. By taking their boxes you are keeping their dumpster empty which in turn saves them money. After your move is complete make sure you post them online so someone else can use them.
• Reuse Packing Material – Every time you order something from the internet it usually comes with an abundant amount of bubble wrap and foam peanuts. Just save these packing materials for a couple of months and when it is time to move you should have more than enough. Some companies, such as Macy's, use starch based peanuts. These peanuts are made from sugar cane and corn and have the added benefit of being a great fertilizer. They also dispose of easily; just place them in the toilet and flush. In about 2 minutes of touching water the peanuts begin to break down.
• Use the Right Tape – Most packaging tape comes from oil but just like the earth friendly peanuts mentioned above there are tapes that are starch based. Just do a Google search and you will find the right tape for closing all those packed and reused boxes.

• Use Natural Cleaners – Homemade cleaners like vinegar, baking soda, and citrus juice work just as well as some of the most expensive cleaners except they are generally cheaper and environmentally friendly. Don't feel like becoming a chemist? You can always give Clorox Green Works products a try. I’m still undecided on the Green Works line of products; they might just be a marketing ploy.
• Rent the Smallest Possible Moving Truck – There is no need to rent a semi-truck to move out of your 1 bedroom / 1 bath apartment. Rent the smallest possible truck that allows you to complete the move in 1 trip and you will not only help save the environment but you will also help your wallet.
• Use a Moving Company – Are you moving across the country? You might want to try a freight company or a moving company that specializes in cross-country moves. These companies make sure their trucks are packed to the brim and thus you are effectively combining your move with other moves.
• Turn the Air Off – During the process of moving keep the air conditioner off. Let's face it, you're going to sweat no matter what. Just open all the windows and the front door and prey for a breeze.

Pura vida,
Matt

Moodhosa's, a Kook Wear Team Member, is coming to the Orlando Brewing Company on Saturday July 5th. Entrance is FREE so everyone should come. There might even be some Kook Wear freebies!

The Orlando Brewing Company is located at:
1301 Atlanta Ave
Orlando, FL 32806

Here is the Facebook event URL:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=19437686023

Pura vida,
Matt

Two weekends ago the Kook Wear crew had a booth at the Living Green Expo. We had a great time, sold a bunch of product, and help support a good cause. Here are some pictures from the event:

Pura vida,
Matt

Kook Wear is proud to announce a new member of our team.

The four piece band Moodhosa combines blues, country, soul, and even Latin rhythms to make a new sound that is original and full of raw emotion.

With lead singer Jose Peruyero's distinct and versatile vocals; Jason Moody's unmistakable guitar sound, it's no wonder their electrifying shows fill up venues all over Gainesville. With the official addition of David Cotton and Ari Scott this dynamic duo has found the explosive rhythm section they have been looking for and Kook Wear is just glad we can be apart of their growth.

• 5/16/08 - Common Grounds (Gainesville, FL)
• 5/23/08 - Big Daddys (Tallahassee, FL)
• 6/13/08 - Backstage Lounge (Gainesville, FL)
• 7/25/08 - Backstage Lounge (Gainesville, FL)
• 8/29/08 - Common Grounds(CD Release Party) (Gainesville, FL)

For more information about Moodhosa check out their website and MySpace page.

Pura vida,
Matt

Check us out on Island Hoppers this May:

• 5/3 3:30pm Sat
• 5/5 10:30am Mon
• 5/7 6:00pm Wed
• 5/12 10:30am Mon
• 5/14 1:00am Wed
• 5/18 12:30pm Sun
• 5/19 12:00am Mon
• 5/19 10:30am Mon
• 5/22 1:30am Thurs
• 5/26 10:30am Mon
• 5/26 9:00pm Mon
• 5/30 8:00pm Fri
• 6/2 10:30am Mon
• 6/4 6:00pm Wed

Pura vida,
Matt

Pura vida,
Matt

Kook Wear is happy to sponsor Island Hoppers. Island Hoppers is a television series (airs on Sun Sports channel) about the search for surf, music, and local culture in the Caribbean Islands. Our 30 second spot will be appearing in all airings of the show during April.

Schedule

• 4/4 6:30pm Fri
• 4/5 3:30pm Sat
• 4/7 10:30am Mon
• 4/10 2:00am Thurs
• 4/13 1:30pm Sun
• 4/14 10:30am Mon
• 4/15 7:30pm Thurs
• 4/19 1:00am Sat
• 4/20 12:00pm Sun
• 4/21 10:30am Mon
• 4/23 6:00pm Wed
• 4/24 2:00am Thurs
• 4/26 10:30pm Sat
• 4/28 10:30am Mon

Pura vida,
Matt

One of the major goals of the new website is to increase the amount of social interaction we have with the community, our customers, and anyone that likes to discuss action sports or environmentally friendly forward thinking. To achieve this goal you will now find a button on the bottom right of every page that allows you to add a page to one of the many social bookmarking websites that exist. For example, say you just finished reading our blog post on Jack Johnson’s new studio and would like to share it with your friends on Facebook; now you can with just a single click on the "Bookmark" button. Currently this button supports digg, Facebook, MySpace, Reddit, Del.icio.us, Newsvine, iGoogle, and many more.

If the "bookmark" button isn't your thing, no worries, we have pages on MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube. Make sure you become our friend and join our groups, we often let our "social friends" know about future product releases as well as special events before we announce them to the general public.

Pura vida,
Matt

Hey everyone,

I'm extremely happy to announce the opening of Kook Wear's new website (http://kook-wear.com). As always, if you see anything that looks weird or is out of place drop us a line and we will fix it right away.

With the launch of the new site we are also introducing women clothing. Two shirts are available now:

• Tranquila
• Paradise

As usual, these are environmentally friendly.

Also, we now have baseball style hats, The Franchise.

Pura vida,
Matt

I recently exchanged a couple emails with east coast Florida shaper, Tom Neilson. It was supposed to be a real, "in person", type of interview but unfortunately both of us were pretty busy and couldn't get our schedules to match up. For those of you who don't know, Tom is a well respected Florida shaper who is actively involved with the community. You can almost always catch him on 2ndlight.com.

The reason we wanted to talk to Tom is because he is one of the few shapers in our area that has worked with Biofoam. After you read the interview below, make sure you check out Tom's website tomneilsonshapes.com, better yet, go visit his new surf shop in Cocoa Beach.

How did you get your start in the shaping industry?
Sixteen years old and watched my surfboard maker shape about fifty boards and then shaped my first board. Sold it to my next door neighbor and just kept going.

When you were first starting, who influenced you the most?
Frank Perales from Hawaii who taught me how to shape my second board in Gainesville, Florida while I pretended to be going to College.

Now that Clark Foam has been gone for a couple of years, do you think the industry is stronger or weaker?
Much better off in many ways and yet it is still a challenge. It looks like we are finally actually becoming better off in just about every way possible now after some brutal learning curves...

What type of materials are you using to build boards now?
MDI poly, eps/epoxy, and the best of the alternatives: Biofoam/suncure poly matrix.

From a shaping perspective, what do you think of the bio foam boards?
Great product, more durable, easy to shape and a positive step towards the more eco friendly surfboard future.

From a surfer’s perspective, what do you think of the bio foam boards?
The one that I test rode - rode as good or better than poly, eps/epoxy and vacumn bag eps/epoxy. Everyone who had got one has given nothing but positive feedback.

What are some of the pros and cons of a bio foam board?
The cons are that they are slightly heavier until you figure out how to glass them differently. The color being slightly gold or brown throws some people off but then again some people dig it from the get go. ( I just paint a certain percentage and then people have no complaint.) The pros are that you can glass them lighter and get a board that is twice as strong in regards to pressure dinging and has one of the best flex/rebound characteristics of any material out there. So more durable, less material and good riding is what every alternative board needs to be measured against.

What’s the next big step?
The next big step is creating a resin that matches the biofoam in its more earth friendly nature. Which means it uses less fossil fuel to make and/or is not a oil/fossil fuel derivative. Organic does not mean necessarily more earth or carbon friendly (how much energy and resources does it take to refine or get to market) so we have to look at the big picture as we go along... I think that the bio foam is a big step in this direction as a surfboard that is not petro-chemical based, has the least carbon footprint and is the most durable is the direction for the future where everyone wins...

What is the average age of your customer base?
twenty five to thirty

What are your hopes for you first retail store and why have you decided to start a retail store?
I felt that the surf shops in our area and around the state were not very grounded at consistently supporting any one surfboard manufacturer. With the pressure of overseas and domestic surfboard makers along with a shrinking economy that I needed to either quit or step up and make something positive happen for surfing and for my own surfboard label. My hopes for my surfshop are to offer a venue for local expert surfboard shapers to sell their surfboards in a core surf shop with made in the USA products and surfboards. To go back to a real surfshop feel and really be a surfer’s surfshop. This is different than having a clothing store that pretends to be a surf shop. It is different than a mega store that has hundreds or thousands of surfboards but really only wants to sell made in china cheap boards. My simple goal is to network with a greater number of surfers outside my normal customer base and be more available to my already existing core surfer customer base. A place where you can actually go in and talk directly to the shaper and really get a board that fits your personal needs and surfing style. Often this leads to surfers surfing better than they ever have before.

Pura vida,
Matt

Kook Wear is now on YouTube, check out our channel:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=kookwear

We plan on posting a video once a month so check back soon.

Special thanks to everyone who helped make this first Kook Wear video.

Pura vida,
Matt

Like most people, I hate junk mail. It's annoying and most importantly, it consumes natural resources like trees and water. Your postman probably doesn't appreciate delivering mail that just gets thrown away either. Tons of fuel is also consumed in the process of transporting junk mail all across the world. By using the following websites you can stop 99.9% of all junk mail:

• DirectMail.com - reduce all kinds of junk mail
• OptOut – Stop all of those annoying pre-approved credit card offers
• DMA Consumer Assistance – Stop 75% of junk mail on average, but it cost $1 (small price to pay to save a couple acres of trees)

Pura vida,
Matt

What is a kook?

The term kook is probably the most common question amongst new comers to the action sports industry. The term originated in the surfing industry but now is commonly used to describe someone that is a "wannabe" in any action or extreme sport.

You're a kook if…

1. you wear your rash guard as if it was a t-shirt
2. you learned surf lingo from a video game, such as Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
3. you can't see the original color of you board because it’s covered in stickers
4. you think your leash will save you
5. your best move is dropping in on someone
6. you use an Indo Board more than your surfboard
7. you describe everything you do with cliché terms such as, "shredding", "thrashing", "ripping"
8. you use http://weather.com as your surf predictor
9. you spend more time watching surf films than actually surfing
10. you write a list describing what a kook is :)

Do you think I missed one? Let me know by using the contact us page or the comments below.

Pura vida,
Matt

Is it possible to package products in environmentally friendly packaging that is affordable? This is one of the questions kook wear had to find an answer to before we could start selling and shipping products.

After several hours of internet research, back and forth emails, and barking on the phone I came to the realization that no, it is not possible to package products affordably, yet still be environmentally conscience. in fact, even if cost is not a factor it is practically impossible to find 100% environmentally friendly packaging material.

Because kook wear mostly sells clothing, the most cost effective way for our customers and us is to ship our products via polyolefin mailers. a polyolefin is a polymer produced from a simple olefin, or alkene as a monomer (Wikipedia Article). What does that mean you ask? it's just a type of plastic that is usually tear and water proof and thus makes an excellent packaging material.

Because we need to use polyolefin mailers this automatically throws out all of the recycled paper types of packaging, such as corrugated cardboard. Once all paper based packaging supplies are ruled out the list of supplier's starts to dwindle. some of the major polyolefin mailers currently available and their suppliers are as follows:

• Uline Tear Proof Polyolefin Mailers
  • Made from up to 30% recycled material
  • 100% recyclable
• Polyair Xpak Mailer
  • Made from up to 0% recycled material
  • 100% recyclable
• Packagingsupplies.com
  • Made from up to 5% recycled material
  • 100% recyclable
• Roplast Industries, Inc. Mailer
  • Made from at least 25% recycled material
  • 100% recyclable
  • Water based inks used for printing logos
  • Require 6 million minimum order

Upon examining the list it is obvious that the best solution from an environmental standpoint that is currently available is Roplast Industries mailer. the only problem with Roplast, and it is a big problem, is the minimum required order of 6 million. Any small business owner knows that tying up that much capital (approximately $600,000 for 6 million mailers) is impossible.

The second best solution, which we have decided to use for order quantities of less than 5, is the Uline tear proof polyolefin mailers. These mailers are made from up to 30% recycled material and our 100% recyclable.

We are well aware that this is not the best solution possible and continually researching other ways to get our product to your closet. If you know of a better way to package our offerings, please let us know via our contact us page.

Pura vida,
Matt