2007 has been a good year. Not only for American Clay, but for the entire green world. The past year has seen a massive amount of technological advances and progress in sustainability, green technology and popularity. 2008 will definitely have a lot to live up to.

Inhabitat–a blog focusing on the future of design–posted a wonderful article today featuring a list of their top 10 green design stories of 2007. After reading the article, I felt inspired by the amount of progress that has occurred just over the past year. Recognizing what has been achieved in such a short amount of time provides hope for reaching the ultimate goal of creating a completely sustainable planet.

The article seemed appropriate to share with the American Clay audience and a great way to sum up the year.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the holidays winding down and people falling back into their daily routines, now is the time to start preparing for a new year. And, for many of us, this is the time we begin to consider our New Year’s resolutions–which might be to live a greener life.

What better first step than to recycle your Christmas tree? According to Planet Green, it’s “easier than returning that gaudy appliqué sweater from your Cousin Janine or swallowing another morsel of your sister’s rock-hard fruitcake.”

The National Christmas Tree Association recently partnered with Earth911.org to provide a list of nearly 4,000 Christmas tree drop-off and pick-up programs throughout the country. So there’s no excuse–recycle that tree!

But why stop there? With the green revolution growing as fast as a newborn puppy, it wouldn’t be ridiculous to suspect that “living greener” will be a popular New Year’s resolution.

The Daily Green has come up with a great list of seven eco-resolutions for 2008. They’re easy but can make a big difference. Here are my two favorite resolutions from the list. To see the whole list click here.

“1. I will relinquish my title of Most Likely to Acquire Useless Crap I Don’t Wear or Need.
Admit it — your closet is full of had-to-have items that have been punished to a life of hanging unworn. Your have enough notepads, pens, books, magnets, and collectible tchotchkes to fill a mini storage unit. Yes, our purchases keep the economy going, but most of us buy far more than we need. (There are whole TV shows dedicated to demonstrating ways to unclutter!) Remember that packaging, waste, and pollution are created to make these items available to you. If you trash those once-new goodies when you’re no longer interested in them, they will live in a landfill for years and years. It’s time to clean out, and stop the crap collecting.

“4. If I can remember to TiVo ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ I can remember to bring my own bags to the grocery store.
It’s as if plastic shopping bags are required to exit a store—the disposable sacks are forced on customers even when the purchase is just a can of soda. But plastic bags are made from petroleum and only about 1 percent of the estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion Annie Bell plastic bags consumed worldwide are recycled each year. Most end up in landfills (where they take perhaps 1000 years to decompose) or in the sea. If you start bringing your own bags now, you’ll be ahead of the curve if plastic ones become outlawed in your community.”

Even if you already do live by these resolutions, there’s always that next step where you can take it a bit further. Or you can help someone else adopt a greener lifestyle.

Let us know what you’re doing to be greener in 2008 and if you have any advice for going green, please comment on this post to share! We would love to hear from you!

We here at American Clay wish all a happy, healthy New Year!

American Clay’s Research and Development Lab has found an All Purpose Taping, Topping and Texture product that will create problems with ACE Clay plasters.

• MURCO All Purpose Joint Cement M-100 Hypo: This product is manufactured by Murco Wall Products, Inc. The product is classified as an all-purpose joint compound for taping, topping and texturing wallboard. The water from the wet earth plaster is absorbed by the joint compound causing it to lose its structure, leaving a loose substrate. This can lead to bonding problems in the M-100 Hypo to the wall board. If you have used M-100 Hypo on your wallboard it should have a sealer or paint primer applied over it before using American Clay.

We are continually testing new and different substrates and applications with American Clay products, and will keep you updated on any problems we discover.

Tim White
Product Development
American Clay Enterprises, LLC

Deborah Hall from Hall’s Walls recently had an enlightening experience using American Clay’s Mud Glue. Here is a great explanation of the project and the techniques she used to achieve a unique look using American Clay products. Thank you Deborah for sharing!

I wanted to write a little something about a recent experience with Mud Glue that really speaks–once again–to how wonderful it is.

I have been working on a whole-home project in LaVeta, CO. To get the “ancient” feeling the client wanted, an ICF (insulating concrete forms) product was used for the outside walls and then a thick brown coat was applied over that. All the internal walls are also brown-coated. The architecture is Moorish-inspired with nichos and decorative arches throughout; many of them are “nested” so you can see them framing each other.

The client decided to use a burnished Porcelina finish. However, once we completed one wall, she liked the areas that had some texture. We tried to obtain the texture she liked by underburnishing the Porcelina, but that resulted in a finish that wasn’t actually finished. Then I thought of using a 50/50 mix with Mud Glue. We put a little texture into it and it was burnishable to the smooth look that she liked! In short, it was a combination, and the great news was that it was possible to burnish at “leather hard”–when we could manage it logistically–which saved considerable time. I don’t think that it would have been possible to obtain the look–which MAKES the home–without Mud Glue.

Also, I experimented with burnishing sealer with pigment into a Marittimo wall. It created an INTENSE color–which the client wanted–and a fabulous finish. WOW.

Deborah E. Hall, PhD
Hall’s Walls
www.hallswalls.biz

This past Monday and Tuesday, Los Angeles hosted the GreenXchange Global Marketplace Conference. “The focus of the event,” reads their website, “is to enable and accelerate the diffusion of sustainable, green tech innovations into the global marketplace.” Conference topics included non-renewable energy; renewable energy; air, water and waste; clean technology, transport and infrastructure; capitalizing green technology; and climate change technology. Definitely a heavy load encompassing crucial frontiers for the green movement.

New Mexico Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Richardson gave a Keynote speech, presenting his plan for a New Energy Revolution. Additionally, appearances were made by Davis Guggenheim—Director and Producer of An Inconvenient Truth—, Mary Nichols—Chair of the California Resources Board—and presentations by senior executives from organizations including Google, Honda, Toyota, Wells Fargo and BMW.

Due to the success of this year’s conference, big plans are brewing for GreenXchange 2008, scheduled to take place October 1-3.

For more information or how to sign up, go here.

With Christmas evolving into a holiday solely focused on the attainment of more stuff, maintaining a green mindset can be a difficult task. New junk, plus possible shipping, plus way too much extra packaging and wrapping equals extreme waste. Definitely not an environmentally friendly equation. But don’t think you have to miss out on those classic Christmas staples: the tree, new toys, creative gifting and indulging in tasty treats. Reshaping your Christmas routine to be greener is as easy as your usual Christmas shopping.

As Christmas sneaks closer everyday, we tend to blithely toss our green concerns aside, opting for a materialistic turn of events. After a year of work and no fun, the idea of treating others as well as ourselves, sounds more satisfying than ever. There’s no doubt you deserve it but there’s no need to lose focus on the bigger picture: sustaining our planet.

Here are alternatives to the standard holiday froufrou.

Trees: While fake trees were once touted as the eco-friendly option, it is now believed your tried-and-true standard cut tree is greener. Fake trees are made of polyvinyl choride (PVC), which creates a lot of pollution and are hard to recycle. Cut trees can easily be recycled into mulch. Check out Earth911.org to find a local tree recycle center. But make sure to buy one from an organic farmer to avoid pesticides and chemicals.
If you want the really green option, buy a potted, living tree. Finding one locally is best, but these can also be rented online. The best part about buying one locally is being able to plant it afterwards, which can turn into a fun, family tradition.

Gifts: Gifts don’t always have to be objects. Give the gift of an experience! A massage, concert tickets, dance classes or a dinner at a fancy restaurant gives them a fun experience to remember.
If you insist on giving things, make it! There’s nothing more touching and meaningful than a homemade, personal gift. Utilizing a skill—sewing, knitting, woodworking, baking—will wow your family and friends.
Or, buy gifts from local artists and craftspeople. It boosts the local economy plus there’s no shipping.
For those difficult people that have everything, why not donate to a charity in their name? The gift of giving to those that really need it is the true spirit of the holiday.

Wrapping: When buying gifts, be conscious of the amount of packaging you’re buying too. Often, it’s more mass than the actual product.
Most people have enough supplies lying around to wrap every gift they give. Use leftover fabric scraps or even paper bags. A look in the junk drawer can be inspiring too.
Or, incorporate the wrapping into the gift. Wrap a gift with homemade dish towels, pillow cases or knitted socks. This is a fun time to get creative!

Greening the holidays only requires a look in a different direction. Plus it truly adds to the Christmas joy that we’re really celebrating. Knowing you’re not adding to extra waste and pollution is the best thing about staying green this time of year.

American Clay is now providing a monthly newsletter for our dealers, distributors, customers, and all others who are interested, with the goal of keeping you informed and up-to-date with all of our latest news.

You’ll get to meet our staff, learn about our company and get tips for using our products just by subscribing to this free, emailed newsletter.

To join, simply enter your email address in the box to the right titled, Sign Up for Our Email Newsletter.

As stenciling with American Clay becomes more popular, we are working on establishing a uniform labeling system for each technique. Beside each technique listed below, is a letter and a number, such as 1-B. This letter/number system will be used to teach and refer to each technique. In order to decrease confusion among applicators and customers, we will be referring to each technique in this manner rather than the titles in quotes, such as “Proud Stenciling”.

Expanded explanations of each technique are given below as well.

As the holiday season approaches, the importance of wellbeing becomes more and more evident to many of us. Whether it’s the gathering together of families, the exchange of gifts between loved ones or perhaps even the cold weather, the feeling of interconnectedness and goodness somehow manages to permeate even the grouchiest of people. Most importantly, not only do we strive for wellbeing in ourselves but for all those surrounding us.

At American Clay, wellbeing is one of our core values. Being conscious of the health and happiness of our coworkers as well as everyone we interact with throughout the day ensures we never lose focus on the fact that our products epitomize that same value.

American Clay’s creation was initiated by the desire to create a healthy interior wall covering. To date, American Clay is the only wall covering on the market that “breathes” and releases negative ions.

Unlike synthetic materials, which give off a positive electric charge that can attract dust, American Clay emits negative ions that act as a natural air purifier and help to balance moisture. Plus, many people attest to the claim that negative ions produce a “calming effect” by increasing levels of the mood chemical, serotonin. It’s hard to believe that so many positive qualities can come from the simple act of putting clay on your walls.

From everyone here at American Clay, we wish all of you a happy and healthful holiday season!

To learn more about the benefits of American Clay, visit our products page here. Also, read more about the effects of negative ions on WebMD’s website here.