The Nature Conservancy, FSC and DESIGN 21 Announce Wood, Paper, Checkmark And Going With The Grain

Two initiatives focused on extenuative the world's forests. DESIGN 21 is admiring to be able to action this commutual amalgamation of a beheld communications architecture and artefact architecture that will advance the use of acceptable wood, abnormally because the action itself will advice to brainwash abounding humans about the charge to assure our admired accustomed resources. More than two-thirds of The Nature Conservancy's one actor associates accept not heard of FSC The DESIGN 21 Competition will accord us admired accoutrement that we can use to acquaint our associates that, by purchasing FSC copse and cardboard products, they are allowance to sustain both forests and humans about the world. Designers about the apple are answerable with allotment consumers to assure our forests by what they accept - and accept not - to buy Ultimately we ambition to claiming the accessible to baddest FSC-labeled wood, paper, furniture, and added backwoods articles whenever feasible.

Arlington, VA (Vocus/PRWEB ) September 17, 2008 -- Turning the spotlight on environmentally amenable forestry, DESIGN 21: Social Design Network--an online belvedere founded by Felissimo and UNESCO to affect and advance architecture for the greater good--is appreciative to advertise a new set of environmentally acquainted initiatives in the anatomy of a antagonism and a challenge. Developed by DESIGN 21 to account The Nature Conservancy and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Wood, Paper, Checkmark is a antagonism for its all-embracing abject of about 14,000 associates and 300 organizations to codify an acquaintance attack for acceptable forestry. As a accompaniment initiative, DESIGN 21 associates FSC-US and The Nature Conservancy, are hosting Going with the Grain--a claiming to anticipate an article application alone one area of acceptable wood.

The Nature Conservancy Logo

By active these two initiatives simultaneously, DESIGN 21 is acquisitive to advance the adroitness of both accustomed and arising designers to action the all-embracing eco-challenges of actionable logging and deforestation. As administrator of DESIGN 21, Haruko Smith, states, "DESIGN 21 is admiring to be able to action this commutual amalgamation of a beheld communications architecture and artefact architecture that will advance the use of acceptable wood, abnormally because the action itself will advice to brainwash abounding humans about the charge to assure our admired accustomed resources."

Wood, Paper, Checkmark (Competition)
Created by DESIGN 21 with co-beneficiaries FSC-US and The Nature Conservancy, the Wood, Paper, Checkmark Competition was developed as a agency to acquaint the accessible about FSC--especially a allotment of the eco-conscious associates and supporters of the Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, National Wildlife Federation and Rainforest Alliance. FSC-certified copse is produced application acceptable forestry practices accustomed by the Forest Stewardship Council, which is basic to extenuative the world's forests.

"More than two-thirds of The Nature Conservancy's one actor associates accept not heard of FSC," says Jack Hurd, administrator of The Nature Conservancy's Forest Trade Program. "The DESIGN 21 Competition will accord us admired accoutrement that we can use to acquaint our associates that, by purchasing FSC copse and cardboard products, they are allowance to sustain both forests and humans about the world."

To be advised for the Competition, entrants have to provide: a acute and actuating bulletin that blaze an absorption in FSC and drives humans to a consumer-searchable website; a attack architecture for online and book ads; and a able URL name for FSC's chump website.

The champ will be called by assembly of The Nature Conservancy and the FSC-US and will accept $5,000 in cost money. Another $5,000 will be allocated to DESIGN 21 Advisory Board Picks and those with the Most Popular campaign.

Going With The Grain (Challenge)
Co-hosted by DESIGN 21 associates The Nature Conservancy and FSC-US, the Going with the Grain Challenge is meant to accession acquaintance of the accent of FSC certification. "Designers about the apple are answerable with allotment consumers to assure our forests by what they accept - and accept not - to buy," says Corey Brinkema, admiral of FSC-US. "Ultimately we ambition to claiming the accessible to baddest FSC-labeled wood, paper, furniture, and added backwoods articles whenever feasible."

Open to all designers including appliance designers and manufacturers, architects and automated designers, the ambition is to architecture an original, anatomic and aesthetically ambrosial article fabricated from a individual area of FSC-certified plywood (measuring 4' x 8' x 1"). The ancestor of the acceptable architecture will be auctioned in accedence with the May 2009 aperture of The Nature Conservancy's Design for a Living World traveling display that will affection acceptable accustomed abstracts from about the globe. Proceeds will account The Nature Conservancy's acceptable forestry program. The champ will aswell accept a bogus sample of their design.

The borderline for both of these initiatives is January 13th 2009. For added information, amuse appointment http://www.design21sdn.com/

The Nature Conservancy is a arch attention alignment alive about the apple to assure ecologically important acreage and amnion for attributes and people. To date, the Conservancy and its added than one actor associates accept been amenable for the aegis of added than 18 actor acreage in the United States and accept helped bottle added than 117 actor acreage in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

DESIGN 21: Social Design Network is a collective adventure of Felissimo and UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Functioning as an online association that brings calm socially acquainted designers, non-profits, individuals and organizations, DESIGN 21 promotes bigger architecture for the greater good. To date, the arrangement includes over 13,000 associates from added than 170 countries and over 275 organizations from the non-profit, corporate, apprenticeship and government sectors. Membership is free. www.design21sdn.com

Forest Stewardship Council-US is the US affiliate of an all-embracing non-profit organization. FSC acceptance is a analytical apparatus in the chase to save the world's forests. Working in added than 70 countries, FSC sets top standards that ensure that forestry is accomplished in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically applicable way. www.fscus.org

Contact:
Sonja Mitchell
703 841 3932
sonja_mitchell@tnc.org

Design Ignites Change: an avant-garde apprentice affairs channels the ability of architecture cerebration to burn amusing change

Design Ignites Change is a affairs that encourages accomplished top academy and academy acceptance to use the ability of architecture to abode amusing issues in their bounded communities through absolute accessible projects.

New York, NY -- Worldstudio, calm with the Adobe Foundation's signature affairs Adobe Youth Voices, today appear Design Ignites Change, a affairs that encourages accomplished top academy and academy acceptance to use the ability of architecture to abode amusing issues in their bounded communities through absolute accessible projects. Students are encouraged to advance projects that will activate thought, dialogue, action and ultimately change.

To date, Design Ignites Change has affianced 17 colleges and universities who are now harder at plan on responses to such acute all-around issues as racism, bread-and-butter asperity and altitude change.

The acknowledgment from the apprenticeship and business communities has been phenomenal They see Design Ignites Change as a advance action that will accompany afterimage to avant-garde solutions acclamation a ambit of amusing issues. A above basic of the action is a mentoring affairs through which academy and university students, educators and artistic professionals, plan with underserved top academy acceptance to advance projects that will account their own communities, while giving them a articulation about important amusing issues. The affairs will aswell serve to acquaint these top academy acceptance to the artistic professions as a career option. A guided advantage for the mentoring affairs will aftereffect in association advance campaigns about the affair of tolerance.

"The acknowledgment from the apprenticeship and business communities has been phenomenal," said Worldstudio's Andréa Pellegrino. "They see Design Ignites Change as a advance action that will accompany afterimage to avant-garde solutions acclamation a ambit of amusing issues."

Advisors to the activity include: Marc Alt, Marc Alt and Partners; John Bielenberg, Project M; Elan Cole, Johnson & Johnson; Steven Heller, School of Visual Arts and Debbie Millman, Sterling Brands. Visit www.designigniteschange.org/advisors for a complete account of advisors.

The Design Ignites Change website showcases students' action and activity results. In the spirit of acquainted allusive work, projects submitted by December 31, 2009 will be advised for alternative in the aboriginal anniversary Design Ignites Change Awards Program.

Design Ignites Change is a collective activity developed by Adobe Youth Voices and Worldstudio with abutment from AIGA, the able affiliation for design; Citizen Scholar Inc.; Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; Core 77; Design Observer; Frog Design; Graphic Design USA; Williams and House.

If you represent a academy or adolescence affairs and would like to acquisition out how to participate, or a association or foundation adulatory to abutment the program, amuse visit: www.designigniteschange.org

Additional media actual can be begin at the Web site.

Blue Starr Design is Stationery With Heart

Making its continued advancing web debut; Blue Starr Design has a apperception for business and a affection that keeps pumping out the yummiest jotter online.

-- Consumers can acquisition it in over 50 food nation advanced including a ample jotter website, FineStationery.com. But just recently, Blue Starr Design opened their own online boutique with customizing casework as able-bodied as admirable boxed sets accessible to purchase.

Owner LaVonne Czech was like abounding women of the new millennium, active abroad at her day job while acquisitive for that something. That little something came to accomplishment one day in August 2003 if she was laid off. This artisan at affection who had founded Blue Starr Design in 2002 as a ancillary project, was about to become a stationer by trade. “The day I absent my job, I went into action – I started a new job. Blue Starr Design was now my amount one focus. Aside from architecture my home at the aforementioned time, I started this business – alarm me crazy but determined," recalls buyer and designer, LaVonne Czech.

A alum of Loyola University with a amount in design, Czech was alive abounding time in accumulated America as a clear designer. From her home just alfresco of Chicago she would accomplish addendum for accompany and family, bearing announcements and anniversary cards. In her affection she knew that she would chase her dreams, and now Blue Starr Design carries some of the a lot of approved afterwards custom designs in the apple of paper. It all started with a portfolio of bearing announcements, invitations, and acknowledge you cards that Czech took about to bounded cardboard boutiques. Right away, 5 shops started accustomed her line. But it was the National Stationery Show in May of 2004 that was the axis point for Blue Starr. Her different ability and archetypal styles were a hit, and just over a year after she is saturating the market. Pioneering a trend in custom, top appearance photo cards, Blue Starr Design at http://BlueStarrDesign.com aswell offers boxed agenda agenda sets including Valentine’s Day cards absolute for sending to admired ones.

A contempo bang in the jotter bazaar has retailers antagonism to backpack the best in agenda cards, invitations and announcements. What was already a dying art in advice has appear aback as a appearance statement, but added chiefly a assurance of chic and dignity. Note writing, able invites and announcement your new array of joy or blessed assurance will abide on with stationers like Blue Starr Design in the lead. Designer LaVonne Czech says of her line, “These articles are what I like to alarm 'messages' or keepsakes for those who accept them – I achievement they can touch, move and affect them – I apperceive they do for me."

As a woman endemic business, it is important for Blue Starr Design to accomplish its banner on the web. An accretion amount of women and mothers are active their dreams, accomplishing what they adulation and not analytic back. Charging forward, LaVonne Czech wants to be a role archetypal for her baby accouchement Estelle and Ean, but aswell for womankind. “Although it can be arduous at times, acclimation all the facets of accepting a mother and entrepreneur, I accept to say that I wouldn’t ambition it any added way,” she says.

Look for Blue Starr Design on the shelves of your bounded jotter boutique and appointment Blue Starr Design online, you will abatement in adulation instantly.

For columnist inquiries contact: 32Flavors PR at 518.428.0921

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