More than 41 million speeding tickets are issued to drivers in the United States each year, according to TrafficTicketSecrets.com. With an average cost of USD 150 each, that amounts to more than USD 6 billion lost annually by US consumers. Therein lies the motivation behind Ticketfree, a site that ensures its customers will “never pay a speeding ticket, red light ticket, photo radar ticket or traffic violation again.”

Canadian Ticketfree operates on a simple membership plan whereby an annual fee covers the costs of any tickets members get over the course of that year. A membership fee of USD 169 covers all speeding tickets for a year, up to a maximum of USD 600; for USD 299, red-light and photo-radar tickets are covered as well, up to a cap of USD 900; and a USD 449 fee buys coverage for all of the above plus parking and equipment tickets too, up to a maximum total of USD 1,200. Upon receiving a qualifying ticket, members simply visit the Ticketfree site and enter the details; the company will then pay the associated fine and send the member a confirmation email. Not covered by Ticketfree are DUI and other violations resulting from dangerous behaviour, the company says.

Ticketing is on the rise, Ticketfree notes, so a little peace of mind could go a long way for many frequent drivers. Currently, however, the company covers only those within the United States and Canada; one to emulate in other parts of the ticket-prone and lead-footed world...? (Related: Fare dodgers take Paris Métro for a ride with insurance pots against fines.)

Website:www.ticketfree.ca
Contact: general@ticketfree.ca

Spotted by: Michael Henry

Organic cotton fabrics are becoming increasingly common, but most are still used primarily for clothing. Aiming to bring eco-sensible supplies to the quilt and craft market, New Jersey-based Cloud9 Fabrics offers a line of organic cotton fabrics designed to give crafters modern style in a green-minded alternative.

Cloud9 uses only 100 percent certified organic cotton in the manufacturing of its base cloths and low-impact dyes for printing and dyeing. Although cotton is typically one of the most chemically treated crops there is—accounting for roughly 25 percent of the pesticides used in agriculture, Cloud9 says—the company's own fabrics meet the Global Organic Textile Standard. Its whitening process, for example, is a non-chlorine, eco-friendly bleaching technique that involves no chemical brighteners. Cloud9 imports its organic cotton and goods from India, where it aims to work closely with mills that foster the practice of organic cotton farming and eco-responsible print and dye methods. The company's retro-inspired color palette and whimsical designs, meanwhile, are generally focused on natural themes. Retail pricing on Cloud9's collection is reportedly USD 16.50 per yard.

Cloud9 fabrics are available from a variety of stockists around the world. Crafty-minded retailers: one to bring to your own eco-minded shoppers...? (Related: Swathes of customization: fabric printed on demand.)

Website: www.cloud9fabrics.com
Contact: info@cloud9fabrics.com

Spotted by: Martha Stewart Living

Founded on the premise that a group can relate the story of a shared experience better than a single person can, Group Story is a new photo book service that allows groups of consumers who attended the same event to pool their photographs and collaborate online to merge their memories and create multi-faceted, story-telling photo books.

Group Story co-founder George Junginger explains: “Current photo books are focused on photos, not the story, and they only have one editor. Group Story lets you pick and choose those pages from other people that are meaningful to you and that experience. Whether kids on a sports team, family reunions, group travel—anytime you have a group, you have a Group Story.”

Here’s how it works: group members upload and tag photos to a shared workspace. Each member then uses these pooled images to create pages of photos. Users can select single or multi-photo layouts, change the background colour and add text to their pages. Group members then pick and choose from other members' pages to assemble their own unique photo book. Online photo books can be created free of charge, and sharing will be available soon with Facebook integration for inviting group members. Printed photo books can be ordered for USD 12.99 for 20 pages in softcover format, and USD 24.99 for hardcover. Additional pages are 50 cents each.

Launched into public beta in March, Group Story currently only prints and ships within the US but is in the process of developing partnerships with printers in other countries to expand the service, and is open to partnership inquiries. (Related: Personal photo magazine made easy through boxed kit — Mini web-to-print photo albums — Free photo books for Facebook and Bebo users.)

Website: www.groupstory.com
Contact: george@groupstory.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

OK, so pedal-powered coffee retailers aren't entirely new—we saw one back in 2008 in the UK, after all—but we can't resist sharing one more, spotted this time on the streets of New York City. Brooklyn-based Kickstand Coffee uses two bicycles, a fold-up stand and a hand-cranked grinder to serve up sustainable hot and cold coffee at events around the city.

The brainchild of three baristas, Kickstand Coffee relies on two 160-pound rolling carts that are each towed to location by a custom-built bicycle, according to a report on NYDailyNews.com. Once there, the carts unfold and attach to create a 9-foot-long bar that includes everything the trio need to make coffee. Beans are hand-ground on a cup-by-cup basis, and the iced coffee is cold-brewed; only Kickstand's hot coffee—brewed on location using specially adapted Chemex glass beakers—uses any propane or electricity. The company is working on a mini folding bicycle that customers will be able to use to grind their own beans. Pricing for Kickstand's coffee is USD 2.50 per cup, hot or cold.

With bicycle culture on the rise and coffee going strong, it seems perfectly natural to combine the two for a more sustainable cup of joe. The variations on this theme are virtually limitless—as are the opportunities. Time to get pedaling yourself...? (Related: Solar-roasted coffee.)

Website: www.kickstandbrooklyn.com
Contact: contact@kickstandbrooklyn.com

Spotted by: Verge Manuel / Images by: Big Waste of Time

If businesses can benefit from the help of undergraduate students through UK-based Student Gems, it's a safe bet that MBA students could be even more valuable. 31Projects is a new online platform that helps connect such graduate students with companies and organizations in need of business expertise.

Now in closed beta, North Carolina-based 31Projects bills itself as “a project marketplace connecting organizations with top MBA and graduate students through real-world projects.” The site maintains a network of prescreened students interested in solving real-world business problems—it's open only to full-time students and recent alumni from the top graduate management programs in the US. Organizations in need of assistance can then post those opportunities on the 31Projects site. Postings can take the form either of challenges—crowdsourcing-style competitions whereby a company poses a business-related challenge and students compete to develop the best solution—or short-term consulting projects, which are done by a single student or team of students. Either way, 31Projects plans to charge a small posting fee along with a variable project fee based on the student compensation awarded once the project is done.

31Projects founder and CEO Jon Reifschneider explains: “Our vision is to provide an open platform where all organizations, regardless of size or resources, can easily and effectively identify and recruit the talent they need to be globally competitive. The projects and competitions are win‐win situations for both organizations and students, and can be used by employers to create a highly effective pipeline of top student talent into their organization.”

31Projects will go live in August. One to get in on early—or to emulate in other parts of the world?

Website: www.31projects.com
Contact: info@31projects.com

Spotted by: Preston Hubbard