Top Reasons to Start a Pet Care Business Today

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As a small business consultant people often ask me for suggestions on what would be a smart and profitable small business or franchise category to consider starting a business in today. One business category that often comes to mind is Pet Care. While the economy has had its challenges over the past few years, this industry has apparently continued to grow making it practically recession proof. Going forward most experts believe the pet care industry will continue to grow especially in pet care related services that offer convenience and time saving solutions for busy consumers.

Here are some of the top reasons why you should consider starting your own pet care business or franchise:

Pet Care is a growing and by all accounts a recession proof industry. Americans love their pets and spend by some estimates over 45 billion dollars a year caring for them. This number has doubled in the past 10 years and shows no signs of slowing down. Figures released from the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association (APPMA) indicate that pet ownership is at an all time high. The stats indicate that 63% of all households own a pet which equates to "69 million" households. That's up from 64 million in 2002 and 51 million in 1988 when the tracking began. Americans currently own approximately 73 million dogs and 90 million cats.

There are a number of different types of pet care businesses to consider starting. This includes pet stores, product distribution, mobile grooming, pet sitting, waste removal services, bakeries and specialty shops. Each of these services is growing right now and can easily translate to either a home business, store front, or an ecommerce business. A home or web based business will have generally low overhead expenses due to savings on leasing space and the minimal amount of equipment and staffing required. A retail store front business will have a larger overhead, but can be beneficial due to the advertising advantages and location stability.

Here are 3 relatively easy and affordable pet care related small businesses you might want to consider starting today:

Pet Products Distribution Business: Starting a small distribution business can offer an entrepreneur many advantages. Generally, only a small investment is required to start up a distribution business and you have the option of running your business from home which helps keep your overhead expenses low. Distributing pet products can also offer high margins and the ability to develop a residual income stream from repeat sales. Another advantage of starting or buying a distribution business is that you can often begin on a part-time basis giving you time to establish the business at your own pace.

Mobil Pet Grooming Business: This is a fairly new business model with lots of room for growth as statistics indicate that the number of pet owners will continue to increase. The 2010 pet grooming business is expected to reach $3.45 billion in sales with a 3.5% increase for 2011. Mobile pet grooming has become very popular because its a very convenient option for consumers since their pets can be groomed at their home, saving them time and gas money. The advantages of starting and operating this type of service business include generally low start up costs and overhead, flexible hours, repeat business, and healthy profit margins.

Pet Waste Removal Business: This is a very fast growing pet care category which is evidenced by the number of pet waste removal franchise concepts that have emerged in the market place over the last few years. More and more busy pet owners appear to be embracing this type of service because of the convenience it offers. Some of major advantages of this business model for an owner is that its easy to operate and the start up and operational costs are very minimal. And since its a service you have the opportunity to build a business with repeat customers that can provide a predictable revenue stream. Its also a fairly easy business to grow as long you provide good customer service and stick with a consistent marketing strategy.

Timberland Boots Pro Are Tough Shoes For Tough People

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People buy Timberland boots pro when they need tough shoes. Their work shoes have been in demand for ages simply because the features they offer and the comfort they present. For example, their Disruptor work shoes are backed by their technology driven manufacturing process and come in unmatched style, that no one can ignore. You get all the safety features you expect from a work boot and enjoy the all day wearing comfort. Just like Timberland, Dr Martens classic shoes are loved by many for their features and style.

Let us explore some of the features of Timberland boots pro that make them one of the most preferred work shoes all over the world. The disruptor pro boots come with alloy safety toes to keep your feet protected from sudden impact. The asymmetrically shaped, lightweight toe cap meets industry preferred impact and compression safety standards. It also offers protection against electrical hazard and that means you can wear them without worries if your workplace demands electrical safety. Outsoles of these Timberland boots pro are oil and heat resistant as well. The anti-fatigue technology adopted in manufacturing these boots helps it to absorb shock and return energy at the key zones of your foot and results in great comfort.

Both Timberland and Dr Martens have been researching for some time to bring in lighter shoes that make it more comfortable for the wearer. Even after wearing it for long your feet do not feel heavy and fatigued. Modern technology lets the manufacturers use less material to keep the weight down. Dr Martens boots are simple and tough boots, and other than the grueling breaking-in period you wont find any fault in their boots. They are engineered to be the perfect work boot with unmatched style. The thick and comfy sole and sturdy, wide leather upper make it mold around your feet so that you feel as if you are not wearing anything at all.

Disruptor Timberland boots pro have canvas uppers and therefore quite light and comfortable. Its defender repellent systems make them extremely tough and with its bio-suspension system provides best cushioning, great stability and flexibility. These boots also have brass hardware that adds to its looks. You can be sure of fresh and dry feet even after wearing the boots for the entire day, because the canvas inner linings are treated with antimicrobial elements for controlling odor. Timberland boots pro has one more advantage: its dynamic anti-fatigue footbeds that support your body weight and you never feel tired or heavy on the legs. If your workplace has oily or slippery surface you must wear shoes having outsoles that are oil resistant and polyurethane is one such material.

Heat resistance and chemical resistance are few other properties that people prefer to have in their work boots and Timberland boots pro scores high in these features. Dr Martens are also tough boots that let you stand out from the crowd for the right reasons. These are highly functional and extremely beautiful boots that everybody loves for their own reasons.

Timberland boots pro (http://www.outdoorequipped.com) or Dr Martens (http://www.outdoorequipped.com) boots are tough shoes that take care of your feet.

The True Purpose of Antitrust Law

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The antitrust laws are supposed to promote and protect competition. This alone is their proper purpose. They are not intended to punish big companies merely on account of their size, nor to serve as surrogate "consumer protection" laws. Most importantly, they have never been anti-market or anti-business in their underlying conception or in their implementation. On the contrary, the antitrust laws are intended to promote market economics and healthy competition in every market, while checking the abuses that sometimes arise in different markets.

The idea behind these laws is that in every market there should be robust competition: If in each market there are many sellers busily competing against one another to sell a particular kind of product or service to paying customers, no one seller will be able to take unfair advantage of the buyers, but rather each seller will be obliged to offer its good or service on attractive terms, and each seller will be responsive and efficient in its dealings with buyers, who otherwise will simply turn to another, better seller.

In other words, vigorous competition in any given market keeps the sellers honest, forcing them to strive continually both to improve their goods and services and to offer them on favorable terms. Customers benefit from this competition. Poorly run companies are run out of business, as they deserve to be. The better run companies, and the most honest ones too, tend to prosper. Society as a whole benefits.

This is nothing other than the glory of marketplace economics working properly and rewarding each of us for our efforts, our talent, and our perseverance. The antitrust laws exist to help marketplace economics to work better.

The Origins of the Antitrust Law American antitrust laws were intended to break up the enormous family "trusts" that in the late 1800s came to dominate banking, oil production, rail transport, shipping, steel production and a handful of other key industries in the United States.

Many Americans resented the enormous accumulation of power and wealth that this handful of families acquired from their dominance of these key markets, and others grew alarmed that these dominant firms would abuse their market power in order to exact unfair advantages from their customers, doing so precisely because they had eliminated their rivals and now had unchecked power in the different markets that they totally controlled.

Anti-Business or Pro-Competition?
This is where the confusion arises. The antitrust laws were never intended to indulge the clamorings of anti-business populists, such as William Jennings Bryan or his socialist fellow travelers in Europe. To such populists, it was unfair that these industrial barons should have so much affluence and power, while millions of other labored in misery for a pittance, without any social protection or any prospect of improving their sorry lot in a cruel world.

The antitrust laws, although enacted to redress the abuses imposed or threatened by the great trusts, were never intended to accomplish the anti-business, anti-market purposes of the turn-of-the-century populists. Both the populists and the antitrust laws decried the same abuses done by the same trusts, but each had very different purposes in mind.

For the antitrust laws serve to promote and protect market economics, doing so on the theory that society flourishes the most when it is founded on vigorous competition: According to this theory, competition brings forth the best in each of us, keeping each of us on our toes, mindful that if we do not perform well, we will be cast aside for someone else who can perform better. It is a harsh logic, and it works very well because it rightly understands and anticipates actual human nature and human psychology in action.

Promoting competition as an end in itself might be harsh economic policy, but it works better than all the others because it is based on an accurate understanding of what motivates human beings most the time in most their dealings with one another. To paraphrase Adam Smith, the baker does not ask himself whether you might wish to enjoy some of his excellent bread this evening with your meal. No, he wants you to give him money, and thus he strives to make excellent bread so that you will be persuaded to purchase your bread from him and not from some other baker.

The populist, in contrast, expects each of us to be selfless and altruistic, asking ourselves, "what is best for our society as a whole?", and "how can society aid those who are ailing?" He then expects the general population to make sacrifices to give effect to these wonderful, ambitious sentiments. These sacrifices usually come in the form of onerous taxes, which are paid to the government, which uses them in theory to provide social services to the needy and for other worthy social causes.

But this populist approach to inequality and misery, however well-meaning in theory, seems rarely to work in practice: Human beings seem above all to be motivated by selfish behavior, at least in their dealings with strangers. A mother might well love her children so dearly that she will walk through a wall of fire at mortal risk to herself to save one of them from the flames. But when she goes to market to buy her bread for her family, she wants the best bread at the lowest price, and the baker and his family can go to the devil if he cannot provide this for her. (The author of this article would argue that there are certain public services that the government alone is best placed to provide, but that the role of government must always be sensibly limited, and that each of us must be kept constantly on our toes by the demands of marketplace economics.

The antitrust laws exist not to help populist business-bashers dismantle successful, prosperous companies, even the most dominant global monopolies of the era. Rather, these laws are meant to redress or temper the fundamental flaw that seems inherent to unbridled competition. A word of explanation is in order. Competition is the best market system for human beings, so the theory goes, because each of us goes to market to do selfish bidding for ourselves and our families. We will produce the best goods and services, doing so at the best prices, only because if we fail to do so our customers will abandon us and buy from another; and when we ourselves buy goods or services, we will look to the seller who can provide them on the most favorable terms, taking into account considerations of quality, price, and delivery, etc. Thus antitrust laws promote market economics and are never to be confused with antimarket economics. Antitrust laws do not punish big businesses merely because they are big and successful. Success rather is the proper reward to those who labor well or who provide excellent goods and services to their customers. This is what motivates us in the first place to do well. Success must be encouraged, not envied or resented, much less punished by government confiscation (i.e., taxation and redistributive policies).

The Besetting Flaw of Market Economics
Rather than punish successful firms or proscribe free markets, as the populists seem to want, the antitrust laws seek instead to perfect the markets by "correcting" the inherent contradiction of market economies, which is as follows: In many key markets, one firm or a clutch of major firms often come to dominate the entire market. Once this happens, competition in this market ceases altogether or at best becomes a pale shadow of its former self. If, say, one company alone sells computer operating software for nearly all personal computers, the users of personal computer find themselves too much at its mercy and too vulnerable to its depredations. The dominant company might well have become dominant because it makes a better or less expensive product or has been more astute at spotting and exploiting commercial opportunities. But once this firm becomes the only competitor, it will no longer be kept on its toes by the threat of superior competition. It will find that "it is the only show in town", and it will naturally look for ways to exact bigger profits and more onerous concessions from its captive customers. The law of tendencies makes clear that it is only a matter of time before the dominant firm abuses its customers. Over time the market controlled by a single firm or handful of firms will no longer enjoy the expected, ordinary benefits of robust competition competitive pricing, quality in production, superior service, and constant, impatient innovation.

The antitrust laws serve to check and redress the abuse of market dominance. It punishes (1) those who acquire market dominance by improper means, and (2) those who, having acquired market dominance by proper means, have abused it since obtaining it. It also punishes the conspiracies, both express and tacit, that powerful firms sometimes try to impose across entire markets in order to consolidate market power and exact unfair benefits. These are the true purposes of the antitrust laws.

Put another way, the antitrust laws presuppose that unrestrained market competition is the best method of promoting lasting prosperity and wealth for the greatest number. But unrestrained competition, put into practice, often leads to the emergence of stultifying monopolies and oligopolies that take unfair advantage of their customers while hindering innovation and commercial excellence. This is the great and eternal contradiction of market economics, and it is this contradiction that the antitrust laws seek to redress.

It is a difficult task precisely because it arises from a fundamental contradiction: Markets should be left alone and left to regulate themselves, save when a market becomes corrupted by a predatory monopoly or is harmed by predatory trade impositions both of which seem inevitably to occur in unregulated markets of certain kinds. The underlying logic of the antitrust laws would seem to arise from this very contradiction, and can be summarized as follows: Leave the markets alone, knowing that in time the winners will abuse their victorious position, and then regulate or punish the victors; and always punish those who collude to impose trading shams. The antitrust laws should serve to regulate or punish the offending monopoly or trade practices.

What Antitrust Laws Try to Accomplish
Antitrust laws, properly understood, are intended to grapple with this market contradiction. In particular they forbid any improper monopoly or any attempt to obtain a monopoly by improper means (i.e., a monopoly obtained or attempted by a firm that on purpose has destroyed or tried to destroy its competitors, using anticompetitive tactics whose sole purpose has been to undermine competitor businesses). These laws also forbid dominant firms to act in collusion in order to impose unfair commercial practices that impose upon any market that they dominate or aim to dominate by means of the improper practice, and they also outlaw various kinds of recognized commercial fraud that are always deemed to be so anti-competitive as to be per se unlawful (i.e., bid-rigging, price-fixing, etc.).

The Monterey Museum of Art Announces Year of the Woman 2018 Exhibition and Events Schedule

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The Monterey Museum of Art (MMA) is pleased to announce a full slate of exhibitions, lectures, pop-up dinners, tours, workshops, and fundraisers with a focus on notable women artists of California and the Central Coast.
Monterey, CA, January 11, 2018 - The Monterey Museum of Art (MMA) is pleased to announce a full slate of exhibitions, lectures, pop-up dinners, tours, workshops, and fundraisers with a focus on notable women artists of California and the Central Coast.

Why is the very idea of artistic greatness rarely extended to women? The MMA puts the question center stage in a series of exhibitions showing groundbreaking work of California women artists spanning 100 years plus of style, medium, and perspective.

We have some amazing work by women, said Stuart Chase, the Museums Executive Director, but their work only makes up about twenty percent of our entire collection. By recognizing the work and wisdom of women artists past and present, we hope to help articulate an inclusive vision for the future.

From E. Charlton Fortune, a bold and free-spirited early 20th century impressionist, to Kim Campbell, an abstract expressionist, women artists exhibited this year are not only as good as the men, some of them have blazed new trails where no man has gone before.

Please note: the MMA on Pacific Street will be closed February 5 through March 14, 2018 for gallery renovations.

Exhibitions slated to open in 2018 include:

Special installations throughout the year, beginning with Kim Campbell, January 5

Collection Highlights of Women Artists throughout the year, such as: E. Charlton Fortune, Margaret Bruton, Esther Bruton, Grace Carpenter Hudson, Eugenia Frances Mc Comas, M. Evelyn McCormick, Mary De Neale Morgan, Edna Bullock, June Felter, Adelie Landis, Emiko Nakano, Beatrice Wood, Tracey Adams, Mabel Alvarez, Susan Manchester, Malin Lager, Ruth Bernhard, Gene Kloss, Anne Brigman, Marie Brumund, Pamela S. Carroll, Martha Casanave, Imogen Cunningham, Jean Kellogg Dickie, Christel Dillbohner, Amy Ellingson, Andrea Johnson, Inez Storer, Robynn Smith, Henrietta Shore, Lucy Valentine Pierce, Jane Olin, Emilia Newell, Jeannette Maxfield Lewis, Alma Lavenson, Bertha Stringer Lee, Dorothea Lange, Amy Kaufmann, Althea Hills, Anna Hoffman, Robin Sawyer.

Beth Van Hoesen, Entry Gallery, March 15 April 30 Photography by Women, Outcalt Gallery, March 15 May 27 Joan Savo, Coburn Gallery, March 15 April 29 2018 Weston Scholarship, Coburn Gallery, May 10 July 8 E. Charlton Fortune: The Colorful Spirit, Work and Outcalt Galleries, May 24 Aug. 27 Our Oceans Edge, photography by Jasmine Swope, Outcalt Gallery, June 14 Sept. 10 The New Domestic (part 1), Coburn and Entry Galleries, July 20 October 28 Salon Jane, Outcalt Gallery, September 20November 26 The New Domestic (part 2), Work Gallery, September 13 October 28 Miniatures, Work Gallery, November 15 December 16 Alyssa Endo, November 15 January 2019 Edna Bullock, Outcalt Gallery, December 20 February 2019

The 2018 calendar also includes the Spring Gala on April 28, Free Family Fun Days in February, June, August, October, and December, along with the Museums 25th Annual Miniatures exhibition November through December. The MMAs Brews for a Cause fundraiser takes place in November, with Christmas in the Adobes following in December.

Programs for 2018 and the months in which they will be held are listed below.

Dates are subject to change.

Makers Series of Workshops January 9, 16, 23, 30 Family Day February 3 Winter Studio Series March, 5, 12, 19, 26, Mondays Pop-Up Dinner March 20 (off-site) Family Day April 7 Spring Gala April 28 Spring Lecture Series May (Mondays) Family Day May 19 Summer Camps June and July Pop-Up Dinner July Family Day August 19 School Tours August 2018 May 2019 Afternoon Art Clubs August 2018 May 2019 Annual Docent Training September and October Family Day October 8 Fall Fundraiser October 20 Pop-Up Dinner October 23 Fall Lecture Series October and November (Mondays) 25th Annual Miniatures November 16 December 17 Brews for a Cause Fundraiser November 30

About the Monterey Museum of Art The Monterey Museum of Art (MMA) was established in 1959 to uphold the artistic legacy of the region by collecting, preserving, and presenting the art of California and the Central Coast.

The only nationally accredited museum between San Jose and Santa Barbara, the MMAs goal is to expand a passion for the regions visual artspast, present, and future. Exhibitions and programs are designed to demonstrate Californias vibrant, diverse spirit, and to inspire, engage, and connect art and community.

In 2017, the MMA hosted two photography exhibitions: Edward Weston: Portrait of the Young Man as an Artist, which opened in February, and Who Shot Monterey Pop! Photographs from the 1967 Music Festival, which debuted in June.

Visit montereyart.org for additional information about the Museum's exhibitions, programming, and events.

Media Inquiries: pr@montereyart.org or 831.372.5477 x101

Photography

E. Charlton Fortune PR images https://goo.gl/67FHEF Miniatures PR images: https://goo.gl/ZWGCwt Weston Scholarship: https://goo.gl/4PtEzf Family Day: https://goo.gl/gHMnQy Fall Fundraiser: https://goo.gl/Dg61U8 Spring Gala: https://goo.gl/4EXmuj

E. Charlton Fortune (1885-1969), Pilchard Boats, circa 19221924, oil on canvas. Collection Monterey Museum of Art, gift of Monsignor Robert E. Brennan, 1985.041

Contact: Marci Bracco Cain Chatterbox PR Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 747-7455 http://www.montereyart.org

The All Popular Dyson Vacuum Cleaners

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The Dyson vacuum cleaners are the most popular and common brand of bagless vacuums found on the market today. The benefit of bagless vacuums is that they do not utilize the traditional vacuum bags, so there is no need to buy any. Instead, the dirt is collected in a dustbin which can simply be removed, dumped out and replaced quickly and easily.
The Dyson brand of vacuum cleaners are the biggest sellers among bagless models. Because of their popularity, more and more often their design is being used as a model that other manufacturers are copying. This means that there are now a number of choices on the market, if you are interested in getting a bagless vacuum.

This is good news because the Dyson vacuum cleaners are rather expensive, as compared to the other copy-cat models. However, this machine regularly receives very high ratings from owners and also receives very favorable reviews as well. Some people question if the Dyson vacuums are worth the higher price, but most who own the units respond with a resounding "Yes!"

The most recent Dyson model to be introduced to the market is the Dyson DC17 Animal. This model retails at around $550 and has already gotten many positive reviews from those who have had a chance to test it. Virtually all of the reviewers claim that this new model is more powerful and is better designed than it's predecessor, the Dyson model DC14, which retails at about the same price.

One of the nice extras on this newest model is that is comes with a handheld accessory that has a revolving brush built in. This tool is designed to quickly and easily remove pet hair from any upholstery. Owners are reporting that this new tool is a great timesaver. Another of the new features on the DC17, is an automatic function that adjusts for the pile-height of the carpet being cleaned.

There are some reviewers of this new model who say that while the machine is very good overall, it is not particularly any better or worse than previous models. This is not necessarily any kind of negative comment because the Dyson vacuums have a long history of receiving very high marks.

This simply means that the new model meets the previous high standards for the Dyson brand. One drawback for some is that this new model, like the other Dyson upright vacuums, weighs in at 21 pounds, which some owners feel is just too heavy.

The Dyson model DC17 is not actually a self-propelled model. However, a number of the reviewers made comments about how the very powerful brush-roller effectively pulls the unit across the floor, and the only thing the operator needed to do was to steer it. In testing against the Hoover Wind Tunnel and the Shark Infinity vacuums, the Dyson DC17 was reported to be much easier than the Shark or the Hoover vacuum to push and to maneuver around the room.

As with any vacuum, bagless or not, the dustbin must be cleaned out regularly. The Dyson models make it simple to know when it is time to clean the collection dustbin because they are clear, so the operator can see exactly when it is full. Many owners of Dyson vacuum cleaners say that it is the best vacuum cleaner that can be found on the market.

Mike Selvon has some great vacuum cleaner parts articles for the hobbist, where you can find out more tips on the dyson vacuum cleaners. We appreciate your feedback at our vacuum cleaner review blog.

Should I wear a Corset Top or a Bustier with my Jeans

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There is a growing trend in generation Y girls to trade their traditional t-shirts for high fashion items of a corset top or bustier. The day where the corset was an old fashion clothing article worn in Elizabethan times has come to an end and we are now seeing a revitalisation of the corset in our modern age.
But the question begs do I wear a corset top or bustier?

The answer to this question begins by taking a moment to define the difference between a corset top and a bustier. Most people are familiar with the traditional concept of a corset as a torturous item that women wore to shape their bodies. Whilst this is probably a fair evaluation of the corsets of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, modern day corsets are a little less painful.

The corset in essence has structure and is designed to sculpt the body into a certain shape. Most modern corsets will use boning made of plastic or in some cases steel to shape the curves a lady is looking for. The corset top is essentially a corset that can be worn on its own, where as a traditional corset would be worn underneath a dress or article of clothing.

The bustier is similar to a corset except that it doesn't forcefully sculpt the body; it actually wraps around the body however some high quality bustier's can play a role in sculpting the body but not to any great extent.

So when do you wear a corset top and when do you wear a bustier?

There has been a huge range of corset tops enter onto the market from designers such as Rene Rofe to organisations such as Penthouse with their 2009 range of products. These new corset tops are transforming what women wear and when. We now have corset tops that can be worn during formal occasions, clubbing, during the social scenes such as pubs or even corsets tops, dare I say it even shopping.

The question I have been bombarded with of late is when do you wear a corset and when do you wear a bustier. This can be a difficult question but let us look at the role of each item.

The bustier is designed for comfort and for most people it is suitable for super-casual events like going to the pub, shopping or a barbecue in the gardens where you are most likely to wear your day-to-day jeans. The corset top for most intensive purposes should be worn when you want to look your best. When you want your body to say, "Look at me!"

The corset top and jeans ensemble is suitable for upmarket casual engagements like going out to a restaurant, to the movies with a new date, or smart-casual cocktail parties. I was working with a client the other day and we set her up with a sweet-pet corset and high fashion jeans for a smart-casual wedding engagement.

Most ladies wear bustier's to be comfortable because they are easy to put on and don't need to be ironed, where as corset tops usually take a bit of work to put on and when worn for a long time be uncomfortable. The key when you wear a corset top over a bustier is simply dictated by the type of the engagement you will be attending. If you would like to see a full range of sexy lingerie, corset top and bustier then visit our website Dreamy.com.au. We also have more information on how to choose the right corset top at our squidoo lens.

Shoe Industry Steps into Green Manufacturing

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In a world where one individual can own up to fifty pairs of shoes, the footwear industry has begun to see the need to adopt eco-friendly practices. Shoe manufacturers are improving their production methods to reduce the size of the carbon footprint they leave behind. However, recognizing that green assembly is not enough, the industry has incorporated recycled and biodegradable materials into their production of eco-friendly footwear.

Eco-Friendly Shoe Manufacturing
In the late 19th century when factories sprung up in the United States, domestic footwear manufacturing boomed. Due to inexpensive overseas production practices in recent years, shoe manufacturers have largely vacated the U.S. However, the creation of green footwear is bringing some of that business back home.

Less Energy, More Profit
Shoe manufacturers can actually save money by going green! The following production practices are becoming more and more popular in manufacturing because of their ability to cut costs:

- Wind energy
- Solar energy
- Waste-to-energy conversion
- Energy conserving machinery

Environmentally Friendly Materials
The use of green textiles and post-consumer materials within eco-friendly footwear manufacturing has already made a significant impact on reducing the negative effects of the industry on the Earth. Around since the late 1800's, St. Louis based Daniel Green Company is one American shoemaker keeping pace with the green times. Their women's Callie and Kenzie slippers are made from 100% recycled wool, more eco-friendly styles are expected soon, energy use and material waste have been reduced in their manufacturing processes.

Green Textiles:
- Recycled Wool
- Recycled Polyester
- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
- Organic Cotton
- Bamboo
- Hemp

Recycled Textiles
Making a shoe entirely out of recycled materials is nothing new. In 2008, Nike released its Trash Talk, the brand's first-ever basketball sneaker made entirely from manufacturing waste.

Because the average textile mill consumes about 35 million kilowatts of electricity per hour, it is easy to see the benefit of reusing the materials that were initially produced. Some green footwear manufacturers have bypassed textiles entirely, using plastic bottles or old tires as main components in producing their footwear.

Other Eco-Friendly Practices in the Footwear Industry:
Streamlining Processes, Green Packaging, and Overstock Donations
Functioning as a successful shoe company can take a toll on the environment simply, but today manufacturers have choices and economic success does not have to come at the expense of the planet.

Eco-friendly footwear companies are applying the green initiative to all aspects of their business by implementing sustainable corporate policies and green packaging methods. Boxes are being made out of recycled materials and catalogs are being printed on post-consumer paper with soy ink. More and more companies are choosing to eliminate waste by donating overstock and outdated shoes to organizations round the world.

About the Author

Katie Pelikan is the marketing director for the Daniel Green Company, a lover of comfy slippers, and a proponent of eco-friendly practices in the industry. Since 1881, Daniel Green has been manufacturing slippers and casual footwear with the finest materials and expert craftsmanship. The company continually expands its green slipper efforts with recycled materials and energy efficient manufacturing practices. To learn more about this topic, the author, or the company visit www.danielgreen.com or call 1-866-743-2319.