A couple of days ago I picked up a new toothbrush (RIP old toofbrush!), at Generation Green in Columbus, made by Radius.  it’s called the Source toothbrush and is made mostly of recycled wood and paper pulp.

The head of the toothbrush is partially recycled is disposable when finished.  You can keep on buying heads (for $7 / 3) once they wear out.  I have to say that i think this product is kind of hokey.  I mean, a green toothbrush?  But I will say that the product is well designed and made.  It’s solves a problem i didn’t know existed, being both right and left handed.  The brush is very wide, this is far and away the best feature of it.

The product itself came with two heads and cost just under $6.  At this price, I’m not willing to say that it’s a good buy for the money.  I appreciate the fact that its recycled, but other than that, it doesn’t give me something that I’m not getting from quality brushes.

But, for now, I will brush away with this and keep you updated on how it holds up.

Check out the video review below.

RATING: 2 out of 5 Gears for being made of recycled material and well-designed.

Wind me up Baby!

Today we’re reviewing a gift i received for Christmas, a Wind-Up LED Flashlight by MegaBrite.  The concept is simple, instead of using batteries, you charge it up via a crank on the side and then use it at your will.  Each flashlight has 3 LED bulbs in in and two settings, one which uses one LED, the other uses all three.

I’ve seen these on amazon.com for 8.99 for one, which to me seems a bit steep.  But if you compare it to similar high end flashlights i guess its in the ballpark.  My pack came with two so i’ve got one under my bed in my “emergency kit,”  and another in my Mrs. Green Gear’s Car.  Can’t be too careful!

Check out the video review.

RATING: 3 out of 5 Gears for Saving Batteries, Product Quality, and “Value”

I really like aerators!  Who Doesn’t?  They cost very little.  They Save Water and Money AT THE SAME TIME!!!!

Enough aerator love!  Today I am reviewing  the Neoperl Bubble-Stream Dual Flow Kitchen Aerator.  This is a chrome finish aerator that allows the user to choose a .5GPM spray stream or 2.2GPM flow with the click of a switch. Why is this a good thing?  Why not just have a .5GPM (or lower) stream all the time?  Well, in the kichen more than any other room, people often require a specific amount of water for a given task.. filling a water bottle or getting 2 cups of water for baking, for instance.  While a .5GPM aerator solves this task, it often takes a VERY LONG TIME, and passes the level of practicality and functionality that most people ask.

That’s one reason why this is a great product, it offers BOTH, with a default for the lower flow.  All you need to do is to pull down on the black bottom and it will give you a higher flow rate, when you’re done and pressure is releaved, it resets to .5GPM.  No fuss, no muss.  Just saving water the easy way.

Another thing I really like about this product is the fact that it’s stylish.  Most Dual flow aerators i’ve seen are ugly and look like some sort of metalic growth.. This does not, while it does protrude, it doesn’t do it too much to offend.  If you have a stainless sink, this is a perfect fit.  It’s easy to install too.

What else?  Well, the best news is that this wonderful product only costs $5 at popular stores, i got this one at home depot.

I honestly thing this product is for everyone looking to conserve water, save money on energy bills… or BOTH!

Check out the video review, complete with comic relief.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Gears for Price, Water Savings, Product Detail and Quality, and Being Ready for Primetime!

Today we’re going to be reviewing a more festive green product.  StayBright 100 LED White Christmas Lights by General Electric.  Last Year Mrs. Green Gear and I picked up a 9 ft. Strand of Multicolored LED Christmas lights (which are still going strong) for $20.  But this year, the strand is 33ft long and only 14.99 (at costco).

These look like traditional xmas lights and are graded for indoor and outdoor use.  Each light has a frosted texture to it that adds to the festivity.  Because these are made by GE you can tell that they are a quality product.  They even have a constant on feature where if you break one of the lights, the rest stay on.

The only downside we see here is that even with the energy (see green) savings of the product you are still going to spend more than you would on traditional christmas lights, so we don’t see this product moving from niche to mass adoption any time soon.  But they are some pretty nice lights for people looking to use less energy.  (quick fact, LEDs also require far less energy to manufactuer than traditional lights).  Happy Holidays!

Rating: 3 out of 5 Gears for Reduced Energy to Manufacture, Reduced Energy Consumption, and Product Quality

Yee Haww!!!  This here is a Method Home Cleaning Products Overview Roundup!

I have been using a few Method Products around the house for about a year and I am very impressed.  They’ve been on my radar recentally becuase their line of products has been expanding dramatically.  What used to just be a few products is now a gaggle of them.

Mehod’s products work well, smell good (but not overpowering), are not tested on animals, recycleable, made naturally (when available), and come in wonderfully designed packaging.  I really can’t say enough about them, most of their products would score above a 3 rating on green gear with the only knocks against them being price (just above usually purchased alternative) and mass appeal.  Some places you go you can find their stuff on sale for less than the usual stuff.  They are situated in the boutique section of the market and usually are a little lower than meyer, green works, etc…

if you go to www.methodhome.com you will see that they have a very rich sustainability policy and it shows in their packaging and product offerings.

One thing that struck me about so many of their items is that they don’t seem to use too many chemicals.  As a matter of fact, on all of their soaps, it says “if ingested, drink glass of water to dilute.”  How awesome is that.  These are products that anyone would feel comfortable sitting on their countertop as they are attractive looking and not too bulky.

Green Gear will review a few of these (like the Omop) in greater detail but here is a 12 product video overview of Method’s product offerings.

You can find most Method products at Giant Eagle, Target, and Lowes.

Lest you think that just because Green Gear hasn’t posted a product review in a while that I’m sitting on my laurels only sharing my really good opinions on people/earth-friendly products with those who are close and dear to me…. I’m actually just pretty darn busy.  I’ve got a ton of products to review,  eco dishware, tons of Method products, and even some “green” clothing.  But I have little time to do it, therein lies the rub.

But, I am keeping current in our green world.  I’m in the midst of an MBA program (at a very nice university, I might add) and am taking Business and the Environment, which looks at the intersection of commerce and our natural world, which many people think are at odds.

One of our assignments is to read a book on the subject, I’m reading Cradle to Cradle… a highly lauded book by two guys who are real downers (or so the first 60 pages or so tell me).  but it’s an interesting read and the book is waterproof, more on that later.

So worry not my dear readers, you will have more products, you will have more reviews, and you by god will have more Mr. Green Gear in the near future.  Stay tuned! =

Clear, Bright, Light.

If you’re like me, when you’re at home depot and you’re shopping for lights, three things matter.  Cost, Wattage, and Quality.  Well, and I want my lights to dim.  Dimming CFLs are nice but not very mainstream.. plus they’re pricey!  If you’re al gore, you can probably afford them for every light in your home, but if you’re me… you’ll probably settle for something like the 40W Philips Halogena light when doing recessed floods.  Using some sort of technology, their light gives you superior quality compared to a 65W Flood, while only using 40W!  That’s nice!  It dims very nicely, unlike a lot of CFLs that can dim and you’re saving a few watts.  While you won’t see any huge dive in your electricity bill, Green Gear is happy that there is a more efficient product out there that uses a bit less.  Still, the added cost of the light won’t save you any money in the long run… unless you use your floods a lot, but the quality is better and we think that is worth paying for.

See the video review below and post comments.

RATING: 2 out of 5 Gears for Product Quality and Reduced Energy Usage

mmm. so many nozzels! so little water!

Well, if you’ve been reading our reviews you can tell that we weren’t a fan of our last showerhead made by delta. Luckily, Bricor has been turning out some great products as of late and my wife took it upon us to order this 32 stream 1.5GPM Low Flow showerhead. The price is a bit steep compared to other showerheads, but as this is a luxury showerhead it’s probably priced right at $65. Overall, we loved this product, it has a great build quality, wonderful pressure, and it saves you about 1 GPM compared to other “low flow” showerheads. So we’re pretty excited. Go ahead and watch the video review and let us know what you think!

UPDATE: I still love the Bricor, but I am reducing the rating to reflect our new grading criteria

RATING: 3 out of 5 Gears for Water Conservation, Product Quality, and Price

Best Product Name Evar!!!!

Today we’re going to review a water-saving product called the Toilet Tank Bank. This is essentailly a false bladder that you place inside of your toilet that saves you any of the water that it displaces, per flush. Most home toilets use 2.5 Gallons Per Flush. While this might not reduce that amount by a whole gallon, you can probably get a significant savings. Also, this product is very inexpensive. So go ahead and check it out at Black Energy, that’s where I got mine. Also look for the Video Review Below!

UPDATE: I still love the Tank Bank, but I am reducing the rating to reflect our new grading criteria

RATING: 4 out of 5 Gears for Price, Water Conservation, Product Quality, and Market Viability