Last June, Turtle Love Co. was the winner of one of five Entreverge awards presented by the Portland Chamber of Commerce. The award went to five young companies recognized for their innovation and contribution to the Maine business community. Nominations are now open for the 2010 awards, so I thought it’d be a good time to take a minute to recognize our 2009 Entreverge colleagues before the new crop of awesome people and companies comes on the scene.

Atayne, founded by Jeremy Litchfield and based in Brunswick, Maine, manufactures and sells high-performance athletic gear made from recycled plastics. Atayne strives to use materials and dyes that are non-toxic, unlike many of the mass producers of athletic gear. One of the most interesting things that I learned hearing Jeremy speak was about the amount of fabric that’s wasted when cloth is cut for apparel. By carefully designing cutting and apparel patterns, Atayne has been able to reduce the amount of excess fabric generated when the pieces are cut. Even better, Atayne’s working on making stuff out of the scraps, too. It’s good business, and it’s good for the environment.