The United States expects Asia Pacific leaders on Sunday to take a "significant step" toward reducing tariffs and other barriers that block trade in environmentally-friendly good and services, a senior administration official said on Sunday.

"We're in a good place. We has some very constructive discussions around the important issue of environmental goods and services trade liberalization," the U.S. official told Reuters at the annual summit meeting of the 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.

U.S. goals of establishing regional free trade and an environmental policy at the APEC summit are useful but too ambitious for some developing nations, China said on Monday, days before President Hu Jintao heads to Hawaii for the meeting.

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) members from 20 countries have taken a "fundamentally supportive attitude" of the U.S. proposals for green growth and innovation to be raised at the leaders' meeting in Honolulu from November 12-13, Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Hailong said.

China and other developing countries are resisting a U.S. proposal to cut tariffs on environmental goods, casting doubt on one of President Barack Obama's goals for a Pacific Rim summit he hosts next week.

The U.S. has been pressing for years, with little success, to liberalize trade on "green" goods, such as wind turbines and solar panels, and services in World Trade Organization talks. Mr. Obama's efforts on the issue at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit Nov. 11-13 in Honolulu face the same divisions that have stymied the WTO campaign.

San Francisco: From the cotton field in rural India to the local rag bin, a typical pair of blue jeans consumes 919 gallons of water during its life cycle, Levi Strauss & Company says, or enough to fill about 15 spa-size bathtubs. That includes the water that goes into irrigating the cotton crop, stitching the jeans together and washing them scores of times at home.

They'll no longer be wrapping their dolls and their toys in rainforest destruction... This is a huge win ­­ Rold Skar spokesman, Greenpeace
US toy giant Mattel, maker of the world-famous Barbie doll, has decided to use more environmentally friendly materials in its packaging. The decision comes after months of facing criticism from Greenpeace.

The California-based company said on Wednesday that it hopes to source 70 per cent of its paper packaging from recycled material or sustainable fiber by the end of the year. The goal would be to rise to 85 per cent by the end of 2015.

‘’It was informed that there is a growing demand for electricity in both the public and private sectors in Sri Lanka, as a result of post-war booming economy in all the areas including industrial, agriculture and tourism. I also heard that Sri Lankans are interested and concerned about the environment, particularly in energy saving. Therefore, we are proud to introduce the eco-friendly products which offer the new eco-lifestyle to Sri Lankans,’’ the co-host of the event, Yorihisa Shiokawa, Managing Executive Officer-Panasonic Corporation said.

Taking the eco-drive a step further, DNA will soon be distributing 5,000 paper bags to its readers to create awareness and promote eco-initiatives in people’s daily lives.
DNA is taking this initiative in partnership with Green Yatra, an NGO that works for creating and promoting environment awareness.