Hygiene-minded consumers who worry about the germs in public restrooms will soon be able to rest—or, at least, relieve themselves—more easily thanks to a new, premium line of toilet seat covers.

Ottawa-based Toletta bills its namesake product as the world's first premium brand of paper toilet seat covers. Tolettas are 20 percent larger and 42 percent thicker than competing alternatives, the company says, yet still flushable, biodegradable and safe in septic systems. They are also packaged with a dash of style in small, purse-sized travel packs containing 5 seat covers each. Tolettas are due to become available through select retailers in Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland and South Africa later this month, with prices ranging from USD 1.49 to USD 1.99 per package. Two colour choices will be available—pink or blue—and a percentage of the proceeds from each sale will go towards supporting an associated cause: breast cancer research for the pink versions, or child poverty awareness for the blue ones.

Dora Cardenas, Toletta's cofounder and VP of communications, explains: “The product concept came to me and my husband while we were trying to find small travel packs of disposable paper toilet seat covers to use ourselves. Not only was I shocked to learn that travel packs are hard to find, but the products we did find didn’t have any ounce of style or quality tissues. All the products we found looked and felt like something you would find in a camping supply store—not exactly something retail stores and supermarkets would be proud to carry on their shelves.”

So there you have it, once again: further proof that everything—yes, everything!—can be upgraded. What's your industry's version of the flimsy toilet seat cover? Time to put your premiumization hat on and make it better—before someone else does! ;-) (Related: Chic sanitary stop — Mobile loo locator — Luxury loos on location.)

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

We're deviating from our regular schedule to bring you the best new business ideas we've spotted over the last 12 months—smart concepts that will continue to provide entrepreneurs with plenty of opportunities in 2009. Check out our 10 favourite lifestyle & leisure ideas:

1. vibrantBrains — Brain gyms for baby boomers
2. Tikitag — Connecting online & off with RFID for the masses
3. Hello Health — Platform for healthcare 2.0
4. checkyourimage.com — Your very own focus group: personal image appraisals
5. SavvyAuntie — Parenting site aimed at non-parents
6. Drop Shots Tennis — Miniature tennis for pint-sized players
7. After Work Parties, Granny Boots — Weeknight clubbing for the 9—5 crowd
8. Sarah's Smash Shack — Paying to break stuff at the smash shack
9. SNIF Tag — RFID collar tag helps dog owners meet new friends
10. Maggie & Rose, Cupcake — Members' clubs for moms

When we wrote about In Good Company and its New York work spaces for women entrepreneurs earlier this fall, we suggested it might be a concept worth repeating in other parts of the world. As if on cue, one of our spotters recently alerted us to a project in Dubai to build not just a work space but an entire office tower dedicated specifically to businesswomen.

Abu Dhabi-based Hydra Properties just recently completed excavation for Eve's Tower, which it says will be the world's first exclusive tower for women entrepreneurs. Located in downtown Dubai's Business Bay, Eve's Tower will be part of the iconic Hydra Towers Project comprising five uniquely shaped, high-rise towers. It will feature a sleek design and high-tech facilities, rising 20 floors and facing Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. While men will be allowed to work there, only women will be able to own office space, and women will enjoy special entrances, elevators and car parks as well, according to a report in Arabian Business. Sulaiman Al Fahim, Hydra's CEO, explains: "We have conceptualized the building as a tribute to the nurturing spirit of womanhood, world over. I'm confident that the tower will lead to a new awakening and unleash the latent entrepreneurial talent of UAE women and contribute to the overall growth of the nation and region." Eve's Tower is slated to be completed by 2010.

Still haven't caught female fever? Check out trendwatching.com's briefing on the topic for some infection and inspiration--you'll be seeing pink in no time! ;-)

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

Spotted by: Roberta Steinberg

Bringing motion to 2D pictures and a new lease of life to a retro technology--lenticular printing--Snapily's new online business turns customers' own pictures into animated images.

The service lets customers upload their own images, choosing which effect to apply: 3D, morph or flip. The 'moving' image is then printed on a product of the customer's choice: greeting card, business card, invitation or notebook. A little further down the line, the company will let users turn a 2-second video clip into a card that plays as it rotates.

The US-based service, which is the brainchild of Israeli HumanEyes Technologies, is the only one we're aware of that offers lenticular printing on-demand, in small runs and at low cost. Prices are comparable to conventional stationary products, with a single greeting card costing USD 3.99 and notebooks sold for USD 15.99. One to bring to other parts of the photo-printing, novelty-seeking, gift-giving world? (Related: Video to flipbook.)

Website: www.snapily.com
Contact: www.snapily.com/contact-us-form.html

Spotted by: Andrew Borislow

It's a well-known fact that dogs can be conversation starters that help break the ice with people their owners meet. Taking the notion a step further, a new collar tag from Boston-based SNIF Labs lets pet owners forge new connections with fellow dog-walkers, both online and off.

Available in a range of colours and patterns, the SNIF Tag is a small RFID device that attaches to a dog's collar and records his or her daily movements and social encounters. On the social side, each SNIF Tag emits a unique signal that is sensed by the SNIF Tags worn by other dogs. When Fido meets such tag-bearing playmates during a jaunt to the park, his collar stores that information and later uploads it automatically into the accompanying base station, which stays plugged into the owner's PC at home. The dog's owner can then log in to view the profiles of the owners of those other dogs and decide if they want to connect online as well. In addition to monitoring social interactions, the SNIF Tag also uses an accelerometer and motion-analysis software to record a pet's activity. Owners can monitor the dog's movements in real time while he's home but they're at work, for example; alternatively, when Fido is out with the walker, information on his activities will be automatically uploaded when he returns. Activity levels can be reviewed by the hour, day or month, and owners can compare them with those of the other SNIF Tag-wearing dogs in the neighbourhood. The SNIF Tag Starter Kit is priced at USD 299, which includes one year of web services; thereafter, premium features on the SNIF Tag website are USD 89 per year.

Where is the line that separates the online and offline worlds? Answer: It's disappearing. More on that in trendwatching.com's OFF=ON briefing. Go fetch--and be inspired! ;-) (Related: Connecting online & off with RFID for the masses -- Dating cards fuse physical & virtual connections -- T-shirts that talk code.)

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

Spotted by: Computerworld.com via Roberta Steinberg