CHANGING CHANNELS: Hot products outside of food, drug and mass

HONG KONG —Winc Design is launching its Charlie Banana brand of environmentally friendly cloth diapers and baby products in the United States, the company said Sept. 14.

The diapers are made with 100% organic cotton and do not contain chlorine, perfume or chemicals. They use a reusable, washable insert or a biodegradable insert that the company says offers the comfort of a cloth diaper and the convenience of a disposable one.

The Charlie Banana product line also includes baby wipes, leg warmers, change pads and training pants.

BERKELEY, Calif.—Some people like mushrooms; others do not. But few attempt to grow them indoors. So fungus lovers may appreciate an easy, sustainable way to cultivate their own gourmet mushrooms developed by one West Coast company.

University of California Berkeley graduates Alex Velez and Nikhil Arora started BTTR Ventures—pronounced “better”—as an indoor, urban mushroom farm in Berkeley, Calif., after discovering that they could grow mushrooms out of recycled coffee grounds. In addition to selling its crop to local Whole Foods stores, the company is marketing a do-it-yourself kit that produces up to 1 lb. of oyster mushrooms in around 10 days.

The kits use recycled coffee grounds containing mycelia, the “roots” from which mushrooms grow, and can be used for up to two crops, requiring only a light misting of water twice a day. The suggested retail price is $19.97.