Neoprene is everywhere these days from wetsuits to laptop sleeves. The stretchy, squishy rubber based material is useful and versatile, unfortunately it's not very earth-friendly. Neoprene (or polychloroprene) is a petroleum based rubber that is treated and bound together with a nasty mix of chemicals & VOCs including Formaldehyde, lead, chlorine and toluene.
Tom Larsen and Debbie Williams of GreenSmart have reinvented this widely used material in the form of Neogreene. Neogreene is made with water based solvents so they are able to forgo the use of VOCs, Formaldehyde, lead, PVC, chlorine and other toxins. As an added bonus, they use 25% less petroleum and 25% less energy than the traditional polychloroprene manufacturing process, which is nice.
For a chance to win a GreenSmart laptop sleeve, head over to Beth's post on the EcoSpheric Blog.
Also, check out GreenSmart.biz or you can go to their store GreenSmartDirect.com.