Category — Green Kudos

At one point I honestly thought I couldn’t afford to dress in an eco-friendly manner. Every “green” purse, dress or pair of jeans featured in the big fashion magazines had bigger fashion pricetags! So, in my mind only those on big budgets could afford to look good saving the planet. The rest of us, well, we’d have to leave our closet out of it.

How wrong I was! With just a little research I found that there are options for us stylish gals (and guys!) who care about our mother earth. [Read more →]

Comet Skateboard

San Francisco based Comet Skateboards uses poplar and hickory from sustainable forests for the board’s core, topped with bamboo or maple veneer and coated with water-based paints.

In the works: Comet is working with manufacturers and universities worldwide to help develop ‘green’ epoxies, reinforcements and coatings. The boards are designed and manufactured in the world’s only solar-powered skateboard factory, which is located in downtown San Francisco. The company is committed to manufacturing locally (still made here!) and sources supplies locally whenever possible.

Of course, a green aura isn’t enough to convince buyers of other board brands, which is why Comet also builds boards that are stronger and lighter than most.

www.cometskateboards.com

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Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair:
Hands-on, family-oriented event to educate people of all ages about sustainable living practices at the New Belgium Brewery with speakers, 150 exhibitors, a beer garden, and more.
September 15 - 16
Fort Collins, CO
sustainablelivingassociation.org

West Coast Green:
Residential building conference & expo. Speakers include: Erin Brokovich, Ed Begley, Jr., and San Francisco mayor, Gavin Newsom.
September 20 - 22
San Francisco, CA
westcoastgreen.org

Sustainable Brands ‘07:
Join industry experts for two information-packed days this September: learn how to navigate this new brand landscape and develop your own sustainable brand story.
Sept 26-28
New Orleans, LA
sustainablebrands07.com [Read more →]

Artist, Heather Jansch Artist Heather Jansch was born in Essex in 1948 and studied fine art at Walthamstow and Goldsmiths College in London. Jansch has always had a passion for horses and it is this passion that led her to buy a hill farm in Wales. Having spent several reclusive years breeding Welsh cobs, she then set out to establish herself as a successful painter - a period she describes as her “apprenticeship.”

Taking a sabbatical from commissioned work, she moved to Devon in 1980. Eventually however, wanting to sculpt again, she was drawn back to her roots: the horse. Her earliest pieces of wire and plaster are reminiscent to pieces by Giacometti; followed by her series in copper wire — reminiscent to Da Vinci’s drawings. Yet, they still did not possess the unique quality she was seeking.

You’re probably wondering, “How is this art ‘green?” [Read more →]

ETHICAL FASHION SHOW® 2007, 4th Edition
OCTOBRE 11th to 14th
At the Tapis Rouge 67, rue du Faubourg St-Martin 75010 Paris

Come October, Paris will be hosting the fourth Ethical Fashion Show. Attracting thousands of eager buyers and a growing number of labels alike,(more than 60 labels and 4,000 attendees last year), major retailers like Marks & Spencer and the fashion cataloger La Redoute are actively expanding their ethically sourced apparel lines. [Read more →]

Going to the thrift store is green in and of itself!

Way back in 1989, I had no idea that when I was shopping at my local Sunshine Thrift I was actually saving the planet. What I really cared about was $2.00 jeans, but ultimately what I was doing was participating in a grand recycling scheme. People shop at thrift stores for all kinds of reasons - treasure hunters, budget conscious consumers and even professional shoppers alike can be spotted at any local Goodwill on a daily basis. My guess is that most of the people who frequent thrift stores aren’t thinking about eco-friendly products or organic cotton dresses…but that’s OK - because the very act of going to the thrift store is green in and of itself! [Read more →]

Zooey eco tee

Being green is simple with Zooey’s new line of tees. Collaborating with Love & Eight, Zooey, known for their wispy-thin, totally flattering shirts in vibrant colors, is going the way of other levitatingMonkey favorites (can you say Bono!?!): donating $2 for every tee sold to Healthy Child Healthy World (an organization that works to ensure that kids grow up in safe, clean environments).

The collection comes in three lovely shades: yellow, green or white. The simple graphics of the eye-pleasing line include: a leaf, the peace sign, the earth, a butterfly and encouraging messages like: “Think Green, Be Cool,” “The Earth Has a Fever, Be the Cure,” and “A World of Cool”. 100% organic (both materials and production), the hip tees are shipped in totally sustainable boxes.

Available online at shopbop.com.

You’re invited to the Global ECO Trade and Fashion Show. What is it you ask? It’s a trade show connecting green buyers with conventional retailers interested in earth-friendly clothing designs, sustainable textiles, and eco-products. Eco is the acronym for environmentally conscious and organic. ECO’s invitation is for exhibitors from around the world that support sustainable lifestyles. Yeah, I thought that would peak your interest!

Where
Venetian Hotel, Grand Ballroom, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

When
August 26 - 29, held in conjunction with the ASAP Global Sourcing Show Great Location!

Why
To connect green and conventional buyers with eco and health suppliers and to explain to conventional retailers why to go green…in an extraordinarily fashionable way!

The Bamboo Bike Project , a collaboration between David Ho and John Mutter of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Craig Calfee @ Calfee Design aims to examine the feasibility of implementing cargo bikes made of bamboo as a sustainable form of transportation in Africa where very few people own cars or even motorcycles. Especially in rural Africa, most people have to rely on inadequate and relatively expensive buses.

According to Ho, a bamboo bicycle industry would be relatively easy to establish, since making bamboo frames doesn’t require all the complex tools that conventional bicycles require. He added that bamboo frames can be made with a Swiss army knife.

These bicycles are creatively modified to become boda boda taxis. They estimate that there are 14,000 bicycles altogether, and the number is rapidly increasing. With lack of access to effective transportation being a fundamental limiter to employment opportunities, local and regional trade, and public health, the bikes are meant to promote sustainable living. The ultimate goals of this noble project are twofold: to build a better bike for the poor in rural areas of Africa and to stimulate a bicycle building industry to satisfy local needs.

Learn more about the Bamboo Bike Project

Come 2008, New York City will begin offering eco-conscious travelers its first green boutique hotel. Greenhouse 26 plans to land LEED Gold from the U.S. Green Building Council with its environmental practices—including conservation of energy, electricity, water, materials and waste.

Designed by Arpad Baksa of Arpad Baksa Architect, the Chelsea-based 19-story, 28 room hotel, will be the first to employ a geothermal heating and cooling system. Another design first: Thermal breaks on room terraces. U.S. buildings have not tried out this ingenius method, which uses a thermal barrier as insulation to prevent terraces from conducting outdoor heat or cold inside.

Other green amenities include high-tech occupancy sensors for individual rooms, which will also let staff know when rooms are empty for cleaning; certified organic products including soaps, towels, robes, and mattresses, a bar/cafe with exclusively organic fair and the one amenity I’m especially curious to find out more about: a 500-square-foot, first-floor roof garden

The hotel will be located at 132 W. 26th Street. Opening is slated for Spring 2008.