Anyone who's been in nyc after a storm has seen it- the streets and trash cans are filled with the super cheap black umbrellas, destined to sit in our landfills for hundreds of years.   Well this week's curated product hopefully helps brings us one step closer to rocking beautiful design while reducing all this waste. Introducing The Brelli - the worlds first fully biodegradable umbrella.  It is made of 3 materials- bamboo, organic cotton and a patented biodegradable bio film.  Not only is it great to look at, but don't be fooled, it is designed to be withstand even the toughest storms. They come with a 37" or 52" inch canopy (we reviewed the 37in). Each one is hand made in Thailand. Have a look at our video review below or pick one up now.

Like most start ups, we've found an interesting correlation between productivity and coffee beans. As a result, we've been gaining an appreciation for the quality transition of beans to beverage. So we are thrilled to share our latest curated product, The Presso. Grind your beans, add hot water, press the levers and out comes an espresso that is guaranteed to hit the spot every time. Simply put, it is a beautiful, ethically designed and manufactured product and sums up the reason why we started curating in the first place. Click over to the product page to get it now. A heads up- the coupon code 'presso' expires within the next 24 hours ;-) And of course, check out our amazing video review of the Presso featuring Brian Jones of Dear Coffee I Love You below-

The environmental impact of Dry Cleaning, leaves much to be desired (one word, perchloroethylene)... but still, it is something that's probably not going away anytime soon.  So the question that remains-  What can each of us to at least minimize our impact during the process? The first step - dry clean less, or buy clothes that don't need it. If you must, the freshly curated, Green Garmento has a pretty slick idea to at least alleviate the mountains of massive, single use, plastic plastic bags consumed by the industry every year- 300,000,000 to be exact. Just drop your dry cleaning into the Green Garmento bag, ask them to return it naked and you will get them back without the plastic, hanging in the garment bag.  Before testing it out, I wasn't sure if the dry cleaner in our neighborhood would accept, but she was interested to give it a go. Watch our video review below (special guest appearance by our sister, Ramesh) or check the product page to pick one up.

We are proud to add the Rain Headphones to our collection of Curated goodies.  From TreeHugger to Gizmodo they have had a warm welcome, even with the world's most critcal bloggers. Sound quality, comfort, style, and value are the top 4 things I look for in headphones. The 'Rain' 9mm in-ear headphones by ThinkSound are a win in each category. They don't stop there, Thinksound began with a simple goal; to create incredible sounding headphones with the smallest footprint possible.  Not only do they deliver on quality, comfort, style, and value, but they sacrifice nothing in making them one of the most eco friendly headphones on the market.  Read more about what I love about these earbuds, or  watch my video review.

We wanted a slim wallet designed with a smart, minimalist aesthetic, produced with respect for our planet. A product that improves the lives and communities of those making it... we couldn't find it anywhere, so we went out and made it for ourselves, and now we're sharing it with you. Holstee's Recycled Wallet will be available July 2010. We have collaborated with a non-profit based in Delhi to create this vegan wallet made from collected plastic bags and newspapers. It stores the essentials- cash, credit cards and it, has a sliding window for your ID and Metro card and still so thin it will easily fit into your pocket.  It is essentially a collection of the best parts of both Michael and David's favorite past wallets. Production of this wallet helps bring new opportunities, healthcare and education to impoverished underclass of Delhi, India. To help fund our production, we are accepting pre-orders. During the pre-order period, the wallet will be available for $20 [$25 after].

I have had the pleasure of testing the Pike Messenger bag by Alchemy Goods.  It's got everything I've been looking for in a bag.

As an avid cyclist, finding a bag that is well designed, durable, waterproof and allows autos a better chance at seeing me are all equally important to me.  Happy to say, the Pike Messenger has got all that covered and more.

You can watch our 1 minute review of the Pike Bag here.

Below is a full list of what makes this bag worthy of the curated x holstee nod of approval.

• 100% waterproof exterior constructed from recycled inner tubes
• Strap is made of car seat belt
• Well placed, high quality reflective strips
• Waterproof zippered flap pocket for easy access
• Recycled bicycle Presta valve zipper pull
• Inside compartments for laptop, pens, cards + a clip for keys etc
• Made from at least 67% recycled materials
• Long lasting, durable, vegan construction
• Made in the US

Our first product in the freshly launched curated x holstee is the Um Tote designed by Josh Jakus for Fuz. Why it's been curated: Clean, simple and smart design.  Josh's keen schooling in architecture and design can be found in everything he makes.  Unzip the Um Bag completely to lay flat - which makes it super space efficient in your closet or while traveling.  The Um Bag (as well as much of his collection) are made in Berkeley, CA made from dead stock fabrics and felt.

Like any company, if we are making products that means we are using resources and in turn we will have a carbon footprint.  But, there is tremendous opportunities to limit the impact we all have on the environment.  It is up to us as a growing company to make the right decisions with every step.  In working with Carbonfund.org, Holstee has resolved to purchase carbon offset credits for:

• Any packages we ship
• Any paper we use (anything printing we do is on recycled paper)
• Any travel we do
• occupying 700sq of Office space in downtown manhattan
• Employee commutes (this one was easy- most of us get to Holstee HQ via bicycle, skateboard, walking or subway)

Like this topic? Related articles below

• Carbon offsets at Google (googleblog.blogspot.com)
• Nike cuts carbon footprint (guardian.co.uk)
• How Virgin America does "green" - in a big way (gadling.com)