February was so busy around here that we forgot to announce an important piece of news:  We have a new non-profit partner,  The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Sea Shepherd has been patrolling global waters for over 30 years now, protecting endangered species and habitats from illegal activity. If you’ve ever seen the TV show “Whale Wars,” you already know about Sea Shepherd and their in-your-face approach (don’t let the mild mannered  name fool you: these guys are tough!). We are honored to be associated with such an illustrious organization and will do our best to raise awareness and funding for their cause through sale of our products.

OK, so what’s all this about the Oscars and sushi? Well, Sea Shepherd has been in the news quite a bit lately. if you were watching the Oscars on Sunday, you might have noticed that a film called “The Cove” won Best Documentary. This fantastic movie about illegal dolphin slaughters in Japan just happened to be co-produced by Sea Shepherd. Then, today a horrible story hit the news about a sushi restaurant right here in our own backyard of Santa Monica, CA that has been serving whale meat on the sly (yes, whale meat!). Well, they were thankfully busted, with help from Sea Shepherd and several federal and state agencies. Go Sea Shepherd! And go see “The Cove.”

The Japanese have a great eye for design and a love of innovative products so we always thought the KOR ONE would do well there. So this summer we hooked up with a fantastic distribution partner, Alphanet in Tokyo, and began working with them to get things ready for a big Fall launch.  We’ve been blown away by the results.  The KOR ONE seems to have made quite an impression, showing up in a car commercial, dozens of magazines, even a TV show.  Now if they would just stop using it to drink tea  ;-)

The next time someone asks how much you can reduce your carbon footprint by drinking from a reusable bottle, you can tell them: its 46 times less than drinking bottled water. This is from a detailed study just released by the State of Oregon. And that’s for the best case scenario  – one where the disposable is made from light-weight plastic and is recycled. Plus, the environmental impacts go way beyond carbon emissions. There’s the non-renewable energy needed to produce and transport the bottle, the water wasted during manufacturing and the likelihood that the bottle will wind up as litter somewhere. We believe there will always be a time and a place for bottled water, but what this study clearly shows is that if you can avoid using it then you’ll be helping out the planet quite a bit. And if you can’t avoid bottled water entirely, please recycle. Another tidbit from the study: recycling reduces energy use by 24% and greenhouse gas emissions by 16%.

There are few stores in the LA area that make us fatten our Christmas wish lists as much as Alpha Man on Melrose Ave. That’s because store owner, Darren Gold, has a keen eye for drool-worthy gifts and accessories for the modern man.  Alpha was one of the first stores in the country to sell KOR, and when 944 Magazine came knocking on Alpha’s door for holiday gifting advice, Darren pointed them in the direction of the KOR ONE. We couldn’t have asked for a better present this holiday season!

Way cool! Thanks for choosing us EW!

KOR is forming a partnership with Yoli, a brand new sustainable hydration company that offers vitamin and nutrient packed “blast caps” which fit perfectly in the KOR ONE Hydration Vessel.

KOR has a vision of “sustainable hydration” where consumers take command of their hydration – anywhere and everywhere – to live better, healthier lives in balance with the environment.  Eliminating single-use, disposable bottled water is the first step of this vision and achieved with a reusable bottle like the KOR ONE Hydration Vessel.  We simply need to stop “moving water” from warehouse to store to home and wasting so much energy.  But what about the availability of clean, filtered water?  This second step is taking shape with the growing selection of filtered water options – from a Brita or Pur pitcher in the home, water coolers in the office or gym, or under-the-sink filters.

The third step of this vision – and one Yoli provides – is to provide consumers with the ability to “enhance” their water with vitamins, energy, and nutrients to live healthier lives.  Yoli is blazing a new trail by offering “blast caps” filled with water enhancement nutrients that are delivered on demand within the KOR ONE Hydration Vessel.   Their first cap, a Citrus Health Blast called “Truth”, features Vitamin C, Acai, Goji, Pomengranate, and Resveratrol – and low sugar sweentened by natural Stevia Reb-A.  In order to ensure a long shelf-live, most vitamin drinks like Vitamin Water, Life Water, Propel, etc. are “hot-filled” and pasteurized and loaded with preservatives.  Heating these beverages to boiling points kills most of the good vitamins and nutrients consumers think they are buying.

Yoli is a network marketing company run by a seasoned management team that is focused on health and the environment.  If you want to learn more about Yoli, take a tour here.  “Network marketing” means you can only get Yoli (at wholesale prices) from individual distributors and not at your local store.    However, you can buy Yoli online at retail prices as well here.   Stay tuned in the weeks ahead as KOR will release more information abou this growing partnership to promote sustainable hydration.

New York has some of the best tap water in the country, and one of the country’s finest independent outdoor stores: Paragon Sports, a New York institution since 1908. We love their huge selection (four floors spread over half a city block) and top-of-the-line brands. The staff is also incredibly knowledgeable. Pictured here are sales associates, Duwan and Bryan. KOR is proud to be in such good company!

Last week we reported on our encounter with the infamous Tamara Henry, AKA “GreenT,”  a roving environmental reporter with a nose for scandal that puts Woodward and t Bernstein  to shame. Well folks, the infamous GreenT interview is finally available and we have to warn you:  it isn’t pretty. Watch GreenT move in for the kill as she searches for answers to burning questions like, “Share germs or waste a cup?” and “Who is Kevin Carr? (er, we mean Clark).”