Directory Recognizes Top Ten Green Building Products

Directory Recognizes Top Ten Green Building Products

BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of the GreenSpec Product Directory and Environmental Building News has announced the Top-10 Green Building Products of 2005. The announcement was made in November at the U.S. Green Building Councils Greenbuild Conference and Expo in Atlanta.

This fourth annual award recognizes the most exciting products added to the GreenSpec Directory during the past year. Among the award winners is the BioNet Series of 100% biodegradable erosion control blankets from North American. Though the BioNet Series has been on the market since 1993, it was one of more than 160 products added to the GreenSpec Directory during the past year.

Our selections of the Top-10 Green Building Products represent a wide range of product types, noted GreenSpec co-editor Alex Wilson. Most of the Top-10 products this year have multiple environmental attributes.

North American Greens BioNet Series of 100% biodegradable erosion control blankets offers Natural Solutions for Natural Problems by providing effective and all-natural erosion control and vegetation establishment assistance both on job sites and with ecological restoration projects. According to GreenSpec, BioNet erosion control blankets are green because they reduce pollution or waste from operations, reduce construction impacts, use rapidly renewable products, and agricultural waste material.

All products in the BioNet Series are composed of 100% organic, naturally biodegradable materials. Depending on the product, they feature either a straw, coconut, or straw and coconut fiber matrix stitched with biodegradable cotton thread to one or two woven jute nettings.

The jute netting on the top side of all BioNet products is constructed using the leno weave method to ensure blanket and fiber retention under severe conditions by intertwining and securing the cross-directional netting strands. The interwoven strands of the netting can move independently of each other while maintaining the structural integrity of the blanket, minimizing the risk of accidental wildlife entrapment without compromising erosion control performance.

BioNet blankets also exhibit increased erosion control and mulching capabilities. The jute-netted blankets have increased water absorption capacity, which helps weigh the blanket down and conform the fiber matrix to the soil surface upon saturation. This significantly enhances the blankets erosion control and vegetation establishment capabilities, and also aids in soil temperature and moisture regulation to promote seed germination and early plant growth.

North American Green is a leading erosion control solutions provider with a worldwide network of qualified distributors. The company's full line of rolled erosion control products has been extensively evaluated in both laboratory and independent tests. For more information , visit: http://www.nagreen.com .

GreenSpec is a national directory of green building products. Products are selected by editors of Environmental Building News (EBN) based on criteria developed over the past 14 years. Manufacturers do not pay to be listed in GreenSpec, and neither GreenSpec nor EBN carries advertising; both are supported by users of the information.

"Our policy of not accepting money from manufacturers allows us to be objective in our review of products, "said Wilson.

A new 6th edition of the printed GreenSpec directory will be published in early 2006. The GreenSpec product database is also available online as part of the BuildingGreen Suite.

For information on BuildingGreen resources, visit: http://www.BuildingGreen.com .

For information about U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Rating System (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), visit: http://www.usgbc.org/leed