CES: Consumer Electronics Assn. and Greenpeace say gadgets getting more green

Though much of the technology being showcased at CES is user-friendly, it’s got a ways to go before it’s truly eco-friendly. But companies are getting close, according to two studies released at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

The Consumer Electronics Assn. said that nearly 49 million products on the market are registered with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.

Roughly 27,000 product models meet Energy Star energy-efficiency standards, according to the report, and more manufacturers are using renewable packaging material such as bio-based plastics instead of clamshell cases.

In 2009, the industry recycled 200 million pounds of electronics at 5,000 permanent collection sites around the country.

Separately, Greenpeace reviewed more than 40 products and declared the industry to be increasingly attuned to green business practices. Companies are cutting back on hazardous chemicals in phones, televisions and computers, the environmental group said.

Glass used for screens no longer contains arsenic, and the use of mercury is declining as more companies turn to LED displays.

But efforts to green the entire product life cycle are still few and far between, according to Greenpeace. Companies rarely track the amount of energy they use in manufacturing and distribution.

Short warranties cause many gadgets to be thrown out within three years, and marketing eco-friendly offerings to consumers isn’t a priority, the survey found.

Participants included Dell, Motorola, Panasonic, Research in Motion, Samsung and Toshiba. Apple and Philips bowed out, but Greenpeace looked at some of their products anyway –- and concluded that they would have performed well against competitors.

Read the report here: Download Greenpeace Product Survey 2011

Rubik's Cube built on a 3-D printer unlocks love for one couple [Updated]

Oskar van Deventer, an electrical engineer living in Leidschendam in the Netherlands, has had ideas floating around in his head for toy-puzzle designs since he was 12 years old.

But until he started using a little-known technology called 3-D printing about two years ago, bringing his colorful and complex creations into the world, realizing his imagination was difficult and expensive.

“Since 1988, I’ve sold twisty-puzzle designs and interlocking ring designs and things to toy companies on the side,” said Van Deventer, 44. “But I might do 50 or 60 stages of prototyping, and some designs take more than a year of work that way.”

3-D printers, which can produce one-off items based on computer diagrams, have radically changed that process, he said.

But Van Deventer doesn't own a 3-D printer. Instead, he uploads his designs to Shapeways, a website where budding inventors can sell 3-D-printed products they designed.

Royal Philips Electronics started Shapeways in 2008. Philips doesn't make 3-D printers, but it uses industrial units from other manufactures as a way to bring the technology to consumers who are looking for unique items.

Van Deventer mostly makes elaborate puzzles that retail on the website for $30 to $800. Others sell jewelry, candle holders, artistic sculptures and even iPod stands.

“Currently, when I have a new idea -- say, for a twisty puzzle -- a simple one might take me 5 hours from idea to market,” van Deventer said. “It’s a very quick way to get the design out of my system and into the world.”

One of his best-known pieces was a Rubik’s Cube-type puzzle commissioned by Matthew Farnsworth, a lovesick man inspired by “The Sword in the Stone."

Farnsworth decided he wanted to marry a woman who could solve a Rubik's Cube.

Whosoever could solve the Rubik's cube (and meet some standard requirements) I would then and there ask for their hand in marriage,” he wrote in a blog posted on the Shapeways site.

He had Van Deventer make a puzzle that formed a heart on the top when solved. Then the top of the cube could be pulled off, revealing a ring inside.

Lucky for him, the woman he had fallen for solved the puzzle and didn’t seem to mind his odd quest.

Happy ending: She accepted his proposal, and Van Deventer now sells similar cubes on the site for about $300.

Check out Van Deventer demonstrating his heart-topped gift cube in the YouTube video below, and read this article on 3-D printers and efforts to bring the technology to the consumer market.

[Updated 6:57 p.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Oskar van Deventer lived in Souburg, Netherlands. He lives in Leidschendam.]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: Gift Cube designed by Oskar van Deventer. Credit: Shapeways.com