Archive for February, 2008
If the Meal Is Organic, Shouldn’t the Napkin Be Too?
Date: February 29, 2008 | Category: Home Furnishings, Kitchen, The Home
Sister act Bethany and Jenna Mallett have teamed up for the spring’s must-have home accessories with their new line, Ortolan Organic. Using 100% raw, unlaundered, organic cotton as their canvas, Ortolan Organic combines whimsy with elegance to create designs that you might uncover in an antique store in an old fishing village: napkins emblazoned with anchors, snails, crabs, and an endearing fish with a mustache, or a pillow displaying a sea creature skeleton. For those with more restrained tastes, Ortolan also has embroidered blankets, pillows (stuffed with kapok, a sustainable natural fiber with a similar feel to down, to the delight of vegans and allergy sufferers, alike) and napkins with more elegant designs, sophisticated enough to compliment your vintage Limoges dinnerware. So eat as much of that quinoa as you’d like, and wipe away the evidence!
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Summer Glow
Date: February 29, 2008 | Category: Beauty, Body Care, Makeup
Natural makeup has come a long way in the past year, but what about self-tanning products, where the concept in itself promotes a chemical reaction? There’s no need to give up on the perfect UV-free glow just yet. With Lavera’s Faces Summer Glow self-tanner, all you get are active soy extracts that build color gradually. Add to that organic calendula, peach, kiwi, apricot and papaya, and there is a delicious recipe for radiant skin that is free from parabens, petroleum and synthetic ingredients. Also certified to be 100% vegan, the Faces Summer Glow is one low-fat treat that makes us smile.
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TED Loves Rickshaw’s Bag that Represents Hope
Date: February 28, 2008 | Category: Bags, Fashion
From an old warehouse in San Francisco’s Dogpatch district, the newly formed Rickshaw Bagworks has been busily designing their first line of lifestyle bags from an office that overlooks what will soon be their very own factory. “Rickshaw” means “human-powered-vehicle,” so it’s no surprise that CEO Mark Dwight is an avid Cradle-to-Cradle and sustainable business advocate. While the Rickshaw collection will be available in stores this coming April (check the website for updates) they chose to launch this week at TED, the renowned conference in Monterey, California where innovation is a guiding principal. In that vein, the Rickshaw official conference bags feature DesignTex C2C fabrics made entirely from recycled water bottles - they created two each of 800 unique color combinations. TED attendees are being encouraged to find their “bag twin” and spark up a sustainable conversation. I have been strolling around TED with my bag squarely shouldered, hoping to locate my “twin,” but no luck yet. This bag is a physical representation of the focus of the conference - evolved systems thinking. Though it is not fully Cradle to Cradle, this bag is a big step in the right direction. Soon I will post about some of my favorite TED topics, but for now I will leave you with the knowledge that no matter what subject the speakers are covering - physics, architecture, beauty - they all end up addressing the fact that the earth is fragile and needs all of us to be conscious individuals, aware that we are part of many systems.
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Brand Knú
Date: February 28, 2008 | Category: Home Furnishings, The Home
The producers of this gorgeous privacy screen named their company Knú (pronounced “new”), to announce that they have freshly arrived on the eco-design scene. The multitalented privacy screen is knúmero uno on our wish list: divide a room, soften an unsightly corner, add a focal point, make a statement, or simply hide the mess. It’s an instant makeover, whatever you do with it. Made from FSC-certified Baltic birch and finished with SGS-certified engineered poplar veneer, the Knú screen is new to Vivavi. Thankfully, there are no forest-guzzling catalogs here, so sign up for the Knúsletter to find out about what’s new at Knú.
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Sun in a Jar
Date: February 28, 2008 | Category: Home Furnishings, The Home
Knowing how to harvest and preserve food, and using mason jars for canning and pickling, were both indispensable contributors to frontier life in the 19th century. All good things get revived, so we weren’t surprised when the ubiquitous mason jar reappeared recently. Target has hit the mark with the Sun Jar. Boasting the ability to harvest and preserve sunlight, the Sun Jar’s solar cell charges its battery in just a few hours during the day. At night, the battery powers three LED lamps that produce a soft, natural glow. A couple of these on the patio will create just enough light for enjoying the outdoors at night, with no added energy costs. Or place them throughout your little house on the prairie for a nostalgic glow.
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Armed in The Kitchen
Date: February 28, 2008 | Category: Fashion, Kitchen, The Home
This isn’t your mom’s apron! From the hands of Finnish fashion designers, vintage Navy sacks are reclaimed and transformed into the Laituri apron from Globe Hope. If you’re messy in the kitchen, you won’t have to worry about durability here; this apron should last a lifetime. After all, it’s made to weather combat (cooking sometimes feels like that to me). Perfect for the urban cook; you’ll be outfitted for some serious battle in the kitchen. If food is not your forte, but fashion is, check out Globe Hope’s down jacket, the Hylje, made from old Army sleeping bags!
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Pretty in Pom
Date: February 28, 2008 | Category: Beauty, Skin Care, Teens for Safe Cosmetics
One of the awesome founding teens from Teens for Safe Cosmetics introduced us to the power of the Pomegranate for skin care, and we’re thrilled she did. In Greek mythology, Persephone ate this seductive fruit and was reborn every Spring; so this Spring, how about some Pom rejuvenation? Pomega5 offers the first complete line of therapeutic skin care and nutritional supplements made with biodynamic, cold-pressed Omega 5 rich pomegranate seed oil. The pomegranate - from seed to packaged good - could not be handled with more care to retain its amazing health benefits and respect the land from whence it came. They use no synthetics, fillers or preservatives - therefore, it’s all natural. To get the squeeze on Pomega5, click here.
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A Side Table on Our Side
Date: February 27, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Home Furnishings, The Home
When SMC Furnishings moved their workspace from Brooklyn to three early-19th century barns in the Finger Lakes region of New York, not only did they start low-impact renovations to save energy and materials, they devised a system of production that cut their waste by 90%. These exquisite stools come primarily from reclaimed wood or locally sourced trees downed by storms, disease or “nuisance issues.” The Mahogany is “waste” from a national guitar company, otherwise slated for landfill. The design, craftsmanship and enviro-respect of the Rd Stools make them the perfect place to rest some organic wine.
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Pushing this Envelope
Date: February 27, 2008 | Category: Office, The Home
Reusing envelopes is almost impossible when they come stamped, marked, sealed and addressed. But this week, ecoenvelopes received the first ever approval from the USPS for their gainful little invention - an envelope that’s engineered to be sent two times as opposed to once (not the most original of ideas, think Netflix, but we won’t knock an eco-wise, effective product when we see one). Eliminating the need for reply envelopes is an eco feat all of its own, but these bearers of news are also constructed from post consumer waste material and paper from sustainably managed forests. We’re still biding our time for the perpetually reusuable envelope to be developed, but in the meantime, let’s send the right message in an ecoenvelope.
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LeSportsac Goes Stella McCartney on Us
Date: February 27, 2008 | Category: Bags, Fashion
We’re loving the moms over at Mom Logic for giving us the heads up on the new Spring/Summer collection from LeSportsac. Vegans have always loved this mega bag maven for their fun, leather free alternatives, but now, through a partnership with one of our favorite sires of fashion, Stella McCartney, comes their premiere and truly eco-friendly line. Available on a pre-order basis only, you can be one of the first to tote (or roll) around one of these cute, yet sophisticated designs - made from entirely recycled fabrics. For the modern mom on the go, with a desire for form, function and sustainability, Stella’s Sportsac’s got it in the bag.
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