Garden Tower Project Takes On First Living Product Challenge
Bloomington, Ind. (PRWEB) January 15, 2016 -- Reducing their carbon footprint isn’t enough for the creators of Garden Tower Project—they are taking it to the next level. The Indiana-based company has accepted one of the most significant challenges for an environmentally conscious business —The Living Product Challenge. Garden Tower Project will work with the International Living Future Institute to create a net positive environmental effect across a comprehensive set of impact categories through the production and use of its container garden, the Garden Tower 2 (GT2.)
The Garden Tower Project is participating in the Chrysalis – a select group of companies that are committed to developing and launching the world’s first Living Products. Garden Tower Project will seek to create a measurable positive environmental impact through a new concept called “handprinting” that allows a company to measure and demonstrate positive actions a company takes to better the world.
The goal of the Living Product Challenge is to inspire manufacturers to re-think the design, manufacturing and use of all materials to have a positive impact on the environment and society. It is an outgrowth of the Living Building Challenge, a philosophy, advocacy, and certification program, challenging builders to the most rigorous performance standards in the built environment. A Living Product should be restorative, giving more than it takes over the course of its life cycle, designed to reflect the natural world, produced from healthy materials, and manufactured by renewable energy power sources within natural water cycles.
During the coming months, Garden Tower Project will work toward its Living Product certification by analyzing and adapting materials, production, transportation and lifespan of their GT2 to meet the rigorous guidelines of the Challenge. The GT2 container garden is already known as one of the best practices in food sustainability by making growing organic vegetables a reality in locations that have never before been capable of nourishing plants, like flat rooftops, concrete slabs and ordinary decks. By growing plants vertically in a soil based system it enables one to grow 50 plants or more in just 4 square feet without the use of electricity.
Already committed to reducing waste, reusing resources and upcycling, the GT2 has a perforated compost center column that allows for vermicomposting. With the simple addition of redworms, ordinary kitchen scraps convert to nourishing organic fertilizer, which makes the GT2 self-fertilizing. A nutrient collection drawer also allows harvest of compost “tea” (finished compost and worm castings) for easy recycling by pouring it back into the top of the Garden Tower 2 to further increase soil fertility. Early adopters report water savings of as much as 90 percent compared to traditional garden plots.
“Our mission has always been to make fresh food available to those who lack resources, and to make an impact on nutrition and health,” said Garden Tower Project’s Tom Tlusty. “Now we have an enhanced mission to align the Garden Tower Project with the Living Product Challenge to improve our consumers’ quality of life by committing to an even more environmentally positive Garden Tower 2 that can exemplify transformational change in the way we think about the products we produce, use and promote.”
Learn more at http://gardentowerproject.com and follow on @TheGardenTower and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GardenTowerProject.
For information on the Living Product Challenge visit http://living-future.org/lpc and follow them on Twitter @Living_Future.
About Garden Tower Project LLC: A socially responsible business concept based in Bloomington, Ind. Garden Tower Project strives to ensure easy availability of fresh, organic food, particularly for people who lack access to growing space. Garden Tower Project has been recognized by the International Design Awards for excellence in Sustainable Living/Environmental Preservation. Garden Towers are now being used to grow food in all 50 states and throughout Canada.
About the International Living Future Institute: The International Living Future Institute is an environmental NGO committed to catalyzing the trans¬formation toward communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative. Composed of leading green building experts and thought-leaders, the Institute is premised on the belief that providing a compelling vision for the future is a fundamental requirement for reconciling humanity’s relationship with the natural world. The Institute runs the Living Building Challenge, Living Community Challenge, Living Product Challenge, Net Zero Energy Certification, the Cascadia Green Building Council, Ecotone Publishing, Declare, JUST and other leading-edge programs. A global network of more than 400 volunteers across nearly 30 countries drive the local adoption of restorative principles in their communities.
Amy Rhodes, Garden Tower Project, http://www.gardentowerproject.com, +1 317-345-8684, [email protected]
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