Archive for March, 2009
20th Century Glamour is Green
Date: March 23, 2009 | Category: Events, Lifestyle, Women
Making a bold statement about environmentally conscious fashion and practices, LA Fashion Week kicked off with ‘An Evening of 20th Century Glamour’ benefiting the MOCA at The Geffen Contemporary. The runway featured Cameron Silver’s vintage couture collection from his London and LA based ‘Decades’ and blog. “Vintage couture is the only choice for sustainable, high luxury…” Cameron noted as the line of celebs walked the red carpet.
Guests included Rachel Griffiths, Nicole Richie, Leona Lewis, Rose McGowan, Garcelle Beauvais, Marisa Tomei, Lisa Rinna, Kelly Lynch and Nicky Hilton. Party goers were treated to a bright and floral runway of 1958 Christian Dior, 1970’s Yves Saint Laurent, 1980’s Valentino and our personal favorite, a 1960’s Norman Norell Red Iconic Mermaid Cocktail Dress - wow! Spearheading the green message was event partner ‘EcoNouveau’ who promotes cutting-edge pioneers, in all fields, committed to environmental sustainability and social justice.
The extra evening perk? There was a bonus flash mob of awesome jazz dancers, in black, getting down to ‘Burning Up’ by Madonna.
Click here to see a video of the event.
*Photo courtesy of Karl Burkart.
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Stop and Smell the Blunda
Date: March 23, 2009 | Category: Beauty, Events, Fragrance, Resources
The romantic days of perfumery are alive and well at Blunda Aromatics, a cozy studio nestled right off of one of L.A.’s most stellar shopping destinations, West Third Street. Founder Persephenie, whose warm demeanor immediately puts one at ease, sought to make the perfume making process personal again, and she’s succeeded in spades.
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Bamboo Co-Cruising
Date: March 21, 2009 | Category: Lifestyle, Transport, Travel & Leisure
Who knew that one of the greenest ways to get around town could be even greener? Craig Calfee, the founder of Calfee Designs, has made carbon frame bikes for the biking world’s elite (including Tour de France victors), but we fell in love with his bamboo triple bike (can easily be converted into a tandem) and keep picturing ourselves cycling off into another era.
Calfee built his first bamboo bike in 1996, and praise from friends and coworkers resulted in the bikes coming into mainstream production in 2005. They are truly functional and have won numerous cycling awards, but environmental enthusiasts cheer about their eco-friendly construction - which includes hemp fiber lugs and a tung oil finish. Now, what started out as a publicity stunt for Calfee has gained a more noble purpose: Craig traveled to Ghana with Earthwatch Institute in 2007 and just returned from another visit to empower Ghanaians to use their abundant local bamboo resources to build bamboo cargo bikes for their own use. Stay tuned for how the overseas effort evolves, or get your own. At around $3k they are not your daughter’s bicycle, but she can hop on back!
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Elsewhere in the Ecosphere
Date: March 20, 2009 | Category: Lifestyle, Media
U.S. Toxic Chemical Releases Shrank 5 Percent in 2007
4 Radical Solutions to Packaging Waste
Prefabricated design welcomes the weary traveler
An unusual contest for clean tech startups - the California Clean Tech Open
Robot Fish to Detect Ocean Pollution
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You’ll Love This “Leather”
Date: March 20, 2009 | Category: Bags, Fashion
This Matt & Nat bag is soft and supple in a way that screams distressed leather, but, alas, it is faux. Moving away from leather is a decision many make for the sake of animal welfare and others for planetary health. It’s been a point of contention amongst greenies, because often PVC is used as a leather alternative, which is anything but eco-friendly.
Vegan companies have been catching on to this fact though, and Canada-based designers Matt & Nat - who have dominated the vegan bag market for some time now - are offering a line of Japanese paper “leather” purses that both PETA and NRDC members would be proud to sport. But what’s more, any fashionista would don one of these rockin’ sacks.
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The Trend is Deeply Green
Date: March 20, 2009 | Category: Lifestyle, Media
It seems a familiar story these days, print magazines going paperless (some transitioning to the web and some, sadly, have just had to stop printing). But the online media trail is nothing if not hot off the press! One company that was ahead of the game is CTN Green, an online e-zine that offers a true mag experience. (more…)
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My Little Crumb
Date: March 19, 2009 | Category: Children, Clothing, Kids
Croissants, crepes, crème brulee - it’s only natural that Petite Miette (which means “little crumb” in French) is well designed, sweet and delectable. (more…)
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Puddle Jumpers
Date: March 18, 2009 | Category: Children, Clothing, Kids, Men, Shoes, Women
At ecofabulous, we feel very strongly that you’re never too old to go puddle-jumping. This Spring, we’re excited to make a splash in natural tapped rubber wellies from Aigle Boots.
Many of the less expensive options for wellies are made out of PVC, which comes laden with a host of hazardous chemicals like mercury, dioxin (a known carcinogen) and phthalates (an endocrine disrupter) – a definite puddle-jumping joy kill. But natural rubber is a renewable resource tapped from rubber trees. At $89 and $54, we love the matching Malouine and Lolly Pop styles for adults and kids – that rubber ducky yellow would be so cute paired with the new Coby Eco Umbrella from Crate & Barrel.
Current styles of Aigle Boots have different liners like nylon, polyester or cotton – but we’re anxiously awaiting the development of a new line of boots with organic cotton lining! We will, of course, keep you posted on the expected release.
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In the Trenches
Date: March 18, 2009 | Category: Fashion, Men, Women
Rain or shine, there are days when we all look like something the cat dragged in. Don’t let dreary weather get you down in the dumps – rise above with the Modus Trench from Nau. (more…)
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World Water Day: Thirst Thing’s First
Date: March 17, 2009 | Category: Events, Holiday & Gift, Lifestyle
Benjamin Franklin said, “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water,” and indeed the nearly 1.2 billion individuals (or 1 in 6 of us) who lack access to safe drinking water will attest to that. This is a precious commodity we take for granted in the United States, each using, on average, 150 gallons of water per day, just for cooking!
In observance of World Water Day (March 22nd), take the opportunity to, not only recognize this inequity, but also help the cause. By purchasing a $20 Charity Bottle of water, you can contribute towards building wells in impoverished nations. Charity: Water uses 100% of the donations to directly fund their projects; so far, over 1,247 water projects are underway which, in turn, will serve 650,000 people, and they’re just getting started.
This is a gift that more than just the recipient will appreciate. To make your contribution truly ecofabulous, forego the plastic bottle in favor of the “virtual bottle” of water. To be an H20 conduit, click here.
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