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November 20, 2008
- John Patrick :: And His Organic, Eco-Sartorial Fabulosity!
I’m taking a little sojourn from writing about beauty to cover eco-fashion for a minute. Not something I usually do unless particularly relevant, but here’s the scoop… Three days ago, the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers America) winner was announced and Alexander Wang walked away with the title. That’s not what I’m excited about though. What’s incredible for the world of eco-fashion is that organic fashion designer John Patrick was one of the finalists! Known for a sartorial style that is a little off beat, elegant & relaxed, Patrick is now
Read more of this story - about 10 hours
source: (Feelgood Style) - Unbridaled Wedding Expo to Showcase Green and Local Wedding Vendors
Unbridaled is the new thing in bridal expos. The focus is on going green and shopping local for all your wedding needs.On January 10, 2009 the second Unbridaled event will take place at the Crane Arts Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 10 am to 4 pm.
November 19, 2008
- OBV :: Shopping Is Costing The Earth - Spoil Those You Love, Not The Planet.
Shopping is costing the earth, literally, and at this time of year even more so. The idea is to spoil the ones you love not the planet, and a great way to do that is by purchasing organic & natural products. There are gorgeous gift ideas in abundance this year and no shortage of special offers to help lighten the load on your wallet. But for those who don’t mind spending a little extra to get something absolutely beautiful and special for someone you love, this Four Fragrance Miniature Organic Fragrance Set from Tsi-La is TDF (to-die-for).
- Free Organic Cotton Yoga Mat from Gaiam for One Lucky Reader
Last week we featured a memory matching game by Gaiam, where players enjoy the possibility of winning amazing prizes too. This week, Gaiam has offered us a yoga prize for one lucky reader! Intrigued by our yoga articles on eco mats, gifts, and more. They have offered us this Organic Cotton Yoga Mat: “Meld eco awareness into your asana practice.” This is a natural cotton mat that has a nonslip backing made from renewable, biodegradable rubber. To enter:
- Owens Corning Increases Recycled Content in PINK Fiberglas(TM) Insulation to 40 Percent
- 1 dayAt the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Boston, Mass., Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) announced it has increased the certified recycled content in its flagship PINK Fiberglas(TM) insulation to a minimum of 40 percent. At this level of recycled content, the amount of waste glass diverted from landfills could form a two-lane glass highway that extends 1.3 times around the world(1). The certification, supplied by leading, independent third-party certifier Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), demonstrates a five percent increase over its prior level and maintains the product line’s status as the fiberglass insulation with the highest level of certified recycled content in North America.
source: (Environmental News Bits » Green Products) - Jenny McCarthy Sports a New Bracelet for a Cause
www.ImTiredOnline.com just launched a few weeks ago at the Women’s Conference. Jenny McCarthy is pictured above sporting one of their adorable bracelets.Their business model is simple: ”Whatever you’re tired of, from cancer to animal cruelty to AIDS to global warming and more, the formula is simple and powerful. If you and millions of others purchase an “I’m Tired of…” eco friendly bracelet, made from recycled tires and metals, imagine what we can do to help change the world.”
November 18, 2008
- RMS Beauty Just Launched :: New Organic Cosmetics From Celebrity Makeup Artist Rose-Marie Swift
Back in September, I shared a brand new organic cosmetic line coming to market and now all five products in various shades and colors are available for purchase online. Designed to work synergistically with the skin, it is food for the face, highly concentrated pure skin care with mineral pigments and the only cosmetic line that pure skin care guru Dr. Alkaitis endorses. Rose-Marie’s philosophy {from the site}:“After many years in the fashion and makeup industry, I’ve learned a lot about the impact of daily exposure to chemicals in beauty care products. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t live up to its promises. I see the results of taking a quick-fix approach to looking good. I know first-hand the price our health can pay in the pursuit of beauty. I realized that what women need is a cosmetics line that is as pure as possible, one that creates a solid foundation for anti-aging and long-term beauty.”
November 17, 2008
- The Plastic Bag: To Re-Use or Not to Re-Use
Read the full post at Triple Pundit.
- 3 daysThe Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating piece a couple of weeks ago on the emergence of the reusable bag as the go-to green choice of retailers nationwide – and the eco-disaster these bags represent.
A lot of leading retailers offer reusable bags – they’re the hip new green thing to be doing… and some municipalities (San Francisco) and retailers (Ikea) have taken the initiative to forbid the use of the ubiquitous “disposable” plastic bag.
But at what cost?
source: (Environmental News Bits » Green Products) - Think Anti-Aging Products + Organic Beauty An Oxymoron? Introducing SukiSpa ~ The Brand New Cosmeceutical Grade Skin Prescriptions Line
As if to outdo themselves, the already fabulous Suki skincare line has just turned it up a notch. Launched at ISPA this past weekend and online today, the brand-new bioengineered cosmeceutical grade skin prescriptions “spa line” boasts the culmination of breakthrough scientific advancements with pure organic botanicals, creating a high-powered line of potent & pure skin care. After years of research & development, Suki Kramer continues to challenge industry standards of purity and efficacy. Designed to target some of the most stubborn of skin issues with high doses of cutting edge actives, this line will combine the same philosophy of suki advanced. organic. science.™ with even more advanced cutting edge ingredients. The six new sukispa™ products include:
- Celebrities like Nicole Richie Walk the ‘Green Carpet’ at Environmental Media Awards
Nicole Richie, Rosario Dawson and more celebrities came together to award the Simpsons and 30 Rock for promoting environmental concerns in their entertainment efforts.The Environmental Media Awards have been presented since 1991 and launched the concept of the “green carpet”. The awards go to TV shows, movies and musicians that use their entertainment role to promote environmental concerns. The awards, which were presented this year on November 13, also promote an eco-friendly awards gala and organic food.
With environmentalism becoming the norm, the Environmental Media Awards have gone mainstream with stars like Nicole Richie, Rosario Dawson and Amy Smart (wearing an eco-friendly black gown) walking the green carpet.
Awards winners after the jump.
- Notes From The Underground
Launch Date: Summer 2005
Number of Employees: 4
Location of Headquarters: Seattle, WA
Location of Manufacturing: Seattle, WA
Design Heroes: Vivienne Westwood, Rei Kawabuko, Natalie ChaninTwenty feet from the railway tracks of Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, Camilla Eckersley and Davora Lindner hunker down in their overcrowded, dilapidated workspace to design, manufacture and market Prairie Underground. With their bruegeoning label, these two childhood friends from Lincoln, Nebraska have transformed elements from the post-punk style of their 80’s teen years into romantic, wearable statements for the modern ecofashionista.While Camilla focuses on the creative end and Davora more on business development, both women contribute to the look and feel of their handmade line. “We try to blend utility and seduction, to find ways clothing can be both useful and ornamental. As entirely independent designers, we walk a fine line between experimentation and commerce and hope to offer something novel and desirable with each new collection.”
Camilla and Davora make sustainability and affordability equally important aspects of their chic organic cotton, hemp and silk line. According to Davora, “We only offer a couple of styles each that aren’t completely or partially made of organic or sustainable fabrications…We’re as concerned about the economic accessibility of our clothing as we are the environmental impact, both of those points have been a part of our mission since day one.”
Prairie Underground is a bastion of American small business. This indie fashion label is proud to utilize a local dyehouse (very rare amongst American designers), source most of their fabrics in the U.S., and hire Seattle-based sewing contractors. “Each day we work to establish a fair and ethical model for doing business in the garment industry and to create a different type of American business.”
Even when describing the type of client they keep in mind while designing their garments, these women keep it local. They envision “the people we grew up with, our friends and family, the cool women walking around on Seattle’s streets.” Fortunately for the rest of us, Prairie Underground has surfaced at over one hundred boutiques outside of Washington, from Alaska to Nebraska to Utah to North Carolina. From California to the New York Islands, this brand was made for you and me.***
***Note from the Editor: Following the 2008 election of Barack Obama, I have become prone to patriotic outbursts. These may continue throughout the coming months, leading up to the inauguration. Beware: a newfound love of country can be contagious, especially amongst liberals, treehuggers, and intellectuals.
- 3 days
source: (In The Loop)
November 16, 2008
- Five Ways to Age with Beauty
Advertising is full of suggestions that getting older is a bad thing, and that it must be fought with every weapon at our disposal: chemical, physical and surgical.
The truth is that most women in their forties, fifties and sixties experience a greater sense of self-esteem and self-fulfilment than those in their twenties and thirties. Age is something to be celebrated, wherever we are on its path. But there are things you can do to ensure that you age with beauty, confidence and power, and they don’t require you to go under the knife, or surrender your weekends to colonic irrigation or sadistic gym routines. Here are five ways to lose years and gain beauty:
November 15, 2008
- Book Review: The Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel
As interest in the world of natural beauty products grows, so do the number of books written on the subject. The latest is The Green Beauty Guide, by nutritionist and beauty writer Julie Gabriel. This back-to-basics guide will help you navigate the world of “natural” beauty and, like so many of its peers, gives you a list of ingredients to avoid as well as the latest research on what’s not to love about them. Unlike most other books in the same category, The Green Beauty Guide also gives you a better understanding of what types of ingredients are necessary to create, for example, a standard body lotion. Even better, Garbiel offers a number of recipes for those of you who find yourselves inspired to create your own scrubs, masks, massage oils, and lotions. Personally, I’ve never been one to try making my own toiletries. If I’m going to make a mess in the kitchen, I want to eat the outcome; everything else just sounds like work. That being said, I have to admit that after reading this book, I briefly considered giving it a try. If any of you have given it a whirl, I’d love to hear how it went! For those of us who prefer to leave the cleansing of our skin to the professionals, she recommends several widely available, safe and natural products from the likes of Dr. Hauschka, Aubrey Organics, and Burt’s Bees.
Which brings me to my only critique:
- Handmade Soaps: Health and Happiness for You and the Environment
With green living, homeopathy and natural alternatives growing in popularity, soap makers are springing up around the world, concocting magical creations of coconut and lime in gleaming, glycerin-infused goodness that cleanse the body, mind and soul. Oh, and your hands too!
Growing up in my house, ‘handmade’ soap consisted of my mother gathering up all the remaining bits of bar soap from the shower and bathtubs, tossing them into a container with some water and shaking it up. “Voila, hand soap!” she would state proudly. But her objectives were to save money, not create a luxurious lather to soothe and soften the skin. And, trust me, an acrid amalgum of Dial and Irish Spring was anything but soothing!
But today’s handmade soaps are a beneficial blend of nourishing nutrients, rich with essential oils and alleviating aromatherapy that care for the skin and calm the senses. And because they’re chemical-free, they’re an eco-friendly alternative to their caustic counterparts, making them a great way to indulge yourself and the earth.
November 14, 2008
- Trashed Pop & Juice Containers Convert to Fashionable Jewelry
This creative artist is hot, IT, green, and canny! Jewelry designer Victoria Spleet-Lenz doesn’t mass produce. In fact, she individually hand-crafts every item with recycled aluminum pop and juice cans. Each piece is exclusive, elegant and unique.
November 13, 2008
- New Ideas in Online Gaming: ConcentratiOm Yoga Memory Matching Game by Gaiam
Do you play virtual games? Try this new flash game Gaiam just launched called ConcentratiOm (based on concentration). It features Rodney Yee (we recently featured here) and Colleen Saidman demonstrating yoga poses. . The way it works is simply based on concentration and players must uncover yoga mats and match up each pose with its name before time runs out. You can check it out here. Simply play and you may win:- 3-day yoga retreat + airfare
- $750 in Gaiam & Visa® gift cards
- 3-month Gaiam Yoga Club membership + 1GB iPod Shuffle®
- Gaiam yoga DVD collection
“Learning and remembering yoga pose names has never been more fun! See how many yoga poses you can match to their names in 2 minutes and enter for a chance to win fabulous prizes! Whether you’re new to yoga or an advanced yogi, you’ll have fun giving those brain cells a quick yoga workout. New poses every time you play!”
This is a fun educational game for anyone interested in learning more about yoga.
Recently, browsing around the “Ecosphere” I also read
- Green Diva’s Guide to Fresh Style: Eco-Fashion Standards - the Answer to Fast Fashion’s Big Carbon Bootprint
You don’t have to be an eco-fashionista to see that there is a new sustainable sub-industry evolving in the fashion world and on Madison Avenue. There are shoes made from ex-Jeep bits, a wide variety of styles of clothes made from bamboo, organic cotton and now soy fibers.
Historically, the clothing manufacturing industry has served as the poster child for bad ethical behavior and unsustainable business practices. From sweatshops and unfair trade to the questionable materials used and shipped thousands of miles before landing in Wal-Mart.
Well, we are a demanding lot. ‘We’, the collective consumers in the US primarily, want lots of clothes, we only want them for maybe a year before tossing them, and we don’t want to pay much for them either. Over the past 10 years we have developed a hankering for fast fashion. Similar to fast food, fast fashion is quick, cheap and considered virtually disposable.
Some eye-popping facts about the garment industry:
- Vaute Couture’s Contest Winning Coat Now Available
When former model, Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, couldn’t find a warm winter coat to match her vegan lifestyle, she launched Vaute Couture. She started with a design challenge and an offer to produce the contest winning garments with portion of proceeds going to Farm Sanctuary. 108 entries, 20 finalists, and over 8,000 votes later, one of the three winning designs is now available for purchase.
November 12, 2008
- Healthy, Shiny, Lustrous Colored Locks :: The ACT Naturals Way.
I recently wrote about the dangers of convetional and OTC (over the counter) hair dyes under the post, ‘Your Hair Dye Could Be Killing You’. Since then I’ve discovered more and more hair care companies who are taking up the challenge to develop botanical alternatives. Most of these vegetable & plant counterparts don’t actually infiltrate the hair shaft, they coat it with color resulting in less damage, noticibly more shine and stronger hair - not to mention healthier scalp. But the latest and greatest from Advanced Cosmetic Technologies (ACT) goes even further by using 100% plant based color and a patent pending technique that creates a highly purified end product.
- Good One UK is the Best Sexy Fashion Upcycling Business in Europe
It’s pretty powerful when an organization takes tons of wasted material, and upcycles it into sexy styles. Good One tells us their story, and how they re-design discarded materials, before becoming a mess in a landfill. This is an example of Cradle to Cradle business design, yet to me it seems like an “Adoption to Cradle” approach because really, they are rescuing and giving the wasted fashion materials a new life. Watch their visual story on the Good One about page.