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"Community website COMMON has rounded up 10 promising startup initiatives that are using tech to do some social good. The contest to find them, COMMON Pitch, drew in applications from Norway to Colorado in a bid to win publicity and funding.\nOn August 19, the 10 finalists will present their projects in Boulder, Colorado to a live and virtual audience of industry leaders and venture capitalists. These fresh ideas range from reinventing microwave popcorn to bringing showers to the homeless for just a nickle. \nHere are the mostly-video pitches of COMMON Pitch's 10 finalists. Do you have a favorite? Let us know in the comments.\n1. ArtGizmos makes custom apparel so companies don't create excess merchandise.\n\n\n\n\n2. The Bell Lightprovides light for $30 to $40 per year to individuals in developing countries without access to electricity.\n\n\n\n\n3. BetaShower gives people in developed or developing countries access to 3-minute showers for $0.05.\n\n\n\n\n4. Colorado Front Range Eco Town is a grassroots campaign to build a large-scale eco-village.\n\n\n\n\n5. BookSwap connects members' private libraries for easy book sharing.\n\n\n\n\n6. MediaCause  links digital marketing volunteers with non-profits seeking their skills.\n\n\n\n\n7. Meeps is a social network to connect with like-minded strangers.\n\n\n\n\n8. Quinn Popcorn reinvented microwave popcorn.\n\n\n\n\n9. Ritual Chocolate is a sustainable chocolate company, emphasizing quality over quantity.\n\n\n\n\n10. SunSaluter provides electricity generating solar panels to communities in developing countries. \n\n\n\n\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, NREY"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/08/01/social-good-start-ups/>