Its the season for little black dresses, elegance and all that glitters with gold. Holidays also mean gifts, so this year why not give green? You can use your green backs to purchase green, clean, sustainable eco-gifts and fashions.The holidays are absolutely the time to get with the newest sustainable trends. Before you step into some trendy new style, lets talk sustainability. The philosophy of sustainable clothing goes quite nicely with the spirit of the season. Fair trade promotes good will towards men. Earth friendly raw materials and production create peace on Earth. These are consumer purchasing choices you can make to protect the planet, and that would make you a very good boy or girl.

In the not too distant past, seamstresses and tailors routinely took blouses or skirts apart at the seams, added bows or took off sleeves to update styles. This reconstructing of clothes is the most sustainable thing in fashion going.Its called upcycling. To upcycle clothes into second and third generation garments is a creative challenge but the fabrics are generally high quality, durable cottons, recycled polyesters, silks, wools, denims and leathers.  Sustainable designers use their creativity to make stunning new fashion statements.  These second generation designs’ new looks are achieved by changing buttons, collars, sleeves and hems, for instance. Environmentally, the energy used to produce an upcycled design is significantly lower because the designers are modifying a previously manufactured item so the production and energy used in the fabric, pattern and basic garment is already bought and paid for.

So when you shop for the perfect drop dead entrance maker, be on the prowl for eco-friendly fabrics and designs that are organic, Tencel, recycled, or vintage. For a great guide to green, sustainable and eco-conscious designers as well as for living and shopping in LA, look no further than The Urban Dwellers Guide to Green Living Los Angeles. Produced by Greenopia, this is the go-to green guide for Los Angeles. Green Living Los Angeles is not only  a guide book Angelinos can rely on, it also makes a super, eco-cool holiday gift in and of itself.

For our sustainable fashion shopping needs, Green Living guide nails it. Under the category, “Getting Goods,” browse the extensive “Clothing and Shoes,” list. When searching for the perfect holiday outfit, check out eco-designers like Stella McCartney who creates the perfect green jeans, and where you can also pick up gift sets of her organic skin products. Eco-shops like Tianello use Tencel fibers for their mens’ and womens’ clothing while VitalHemptations uses…well, hemp. Fred Segel Fun for men and women designs with organic cotton and bamboo. Menemsha specializes in sustainable accessories,clothing and shoes. Wolf designs men’s wear of organic cotton, hemp and recycled polyester. For darling children’s holiday wear or fun play clothes, shops like Ivy Greene for Kids offers sweet bamboo, organic cotton and hemp outfits as do Petit Ami and Papillon Baby. For holiday babies, many fine shops design gentle sustainable gifts and clothes for baby like Green for Baby and Green Cradle.For outdoor enthusiasts’ gifts, Patagonia and REI have some of the coolest gear in the outdoor recreation industry. For cute, green pet gifts,look in the Green Living guide under “Caring for Critters,” for green pet suppliers like Animal Crackers, or Bark Williams.

So this holiday season, in the spirit of the season, consume green. During this time of the year when we think about the future and make our resolutions, resolve to live lighter. Make earth intelligent consumer decisions and purchases. Make gift giving an exercise in eco-consciousness. Spread the word while you’re spreading the green.

For more Info: Greenopia.com,www.stellamccartney.com, www.Tianello.com, www.VitalHemp.com, www.FredSegelFun.com, www.Menemshastyle.com, Wolf:310-392-8551, Ivy Greene for Kids: 310-230-0301, Petit Ami: 310-459-0011, www.PapillionBaby.com, www.GreenforBaby, www.GreenCradle.com, www.Patagonia.com, www.REI.com, Animal Crackers: 310-658-1919, www.Bark-Williams.com.

  http://www.examiner.com/x-1440-Los-Angeles-Green-Life-Examiner~y2008m11d9-Make-your-holiday-entrance-in-drop-dead-gorgeous-green-style

The hippies are coming! The hippies are coming!

That may have been what the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival initially attracted in its first few years of existence. The four-day festival at Clinton Lake State Park in Lawrence, Kan., prides itself in bringing in plenty of big names from the jam band scene along with premiere acts in alt-country, Southern rock, reggae and bluegrass while raising awareness for environmental issues.

For its fifth year, Wakarusa is trying something different.

The festival, which takes place Thursday, June 5 through Sunday, June 8, is expanding its musical horizons even further. They are bringing in indie rock mainstays like Built to Spill, piano-playing singer/songwriter Ben Folds, country legend Emmylou Harris, goofy alt-rockers Cake, underground hip-hop acts like Blackalicious and Del the Funky Homosapien and Uncle Monk, a bluegrass duo featuring none other than Tommy Ramone, the last surviving member of the seminal punk rock quartet The Ramones.

These are just a few groups on a jam-packed lineup including headliners like The Flaming Lips, Sound Tribe Sector Nine, Keller Williams, Zappa Plays Zappa, Mickey Hart Band featuring Steve Kimock and George Porter Jr., Galactic, The Avett Brothers and a ton of others.

Brett Mosiman, co-director of Wakarusa, realized that this year instead of having similar genres competing for the festival’s crowd over the four-day period, it would be beneficial to the festival to do a little bit of counter-programming with the more than 120 bands on the festival’s lineup.

“I think of part of it was just getting a handle on the fact that we have 300 or 400 hours or music,” Mosiman says. “If we wanted to keep five or six stages, we had to broaden the booking.”

The festival’s five stages will have music playing nearly 24 hours a day, which will be perfect for attendees who pay between $129 to $169 for a four-day pass.

But this year, Wakarusa is hoping that their diverse lineup featuring several big-name acts will get more of a local audience from Kansas City and other areas close by to get the Wakarusa experience, even if it’s only for a night.

“We kind want to offer a little something more for the people here in the regional community,” says David Barrett, director of marketing for Wakarusa. “We want people just to come out to Wakarusa for a day and see what it’s like.”

Or a weekend. Wakarusa is offering its usual single-day tickets for $49 while also offering a weekender pass for $99 in case people couldn’t take off four days because of something silly like jobs or kids or things like that.

While you are at Wakarusa, you may notice how friendly the festival is to the environment it occupies. The generators run on biodiesel. Recycling also is a huge emphasis. Last year’s festival recycled 8,000 pounds of waste that would normally end up gracing local landfills. They are also instituting their first-ever composting program, so whatever food you don’t want (or think tastes like crap) can go towards growing a happy little plant. Bob Ross would be proud.

They will also have a sustainability meeting featuring the editor of Mother Earth News, Brian Welch, a campus tour of human rights awareness and a no-sweat fashion show to display clothes not manufactured in sweat shops.

If you ask Mosiman, these activities are an essential element of Wakarusa’s identity.

“(They’re) all the normal things for us, but I don’t think they are normal for most festivals,” Mosiman says. “We just consider that part of the brand now.”

And another characteristic of the Wakarusa brand is the vendors. The 75 food, arts and crafts vendors will be selling a little bit of everything. On the arts and crafts side, you could pick up clothing, glass marbles, art, glow-in-the-dark light covers, bottle holders and goods made of bee wax. As far as food goes, Madina Salaty, Wakarusa’s vendor coordinator, says they have everything from “healthy options to junk food.” You’ve got your pizza, hamburgers, fries, but you’ve also got organic and vegetarian options, Cajun, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican and Chinese food to choose from.

Salaty says that while the number of vendors has slightly increased this year, high gas prices have kept vendors who consistently travel many miles to sell their products at Wakarusa from making the trip.

“We have lost several vendors,” she says. “They have specifically told me that that’s the reason.”

The location of Wakarusa should be enough for people to ignore the prices at the pump. The festival will once again place at Clinton Lake State Park, southwest of Lawrence, Kan. The 1,500 acre facility has plenty to offer those who aren’t just there for the music, with beaches, an 11,000 acre lake, horseshoe pits and hiking trails.

“The amenities are really like no other festival that’s held in a field or a polo ground,” Mosiman says. “It’s really like a family vacation.”

Mosiman knows the traveling aspect of Wakarusa may be less tempting with gas prices so high, but he thinks that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying a unique musical experience, no matter how long you decide to stay.

“I think it’s impacting everybody, and our big message is that you still got to have fun. You have to cut loose,” Mosiman says. “Don’t let those greedy oil bastards take away your fun and your Wakarusa weekend.”

For more information, go to www.wakarusa.com.

by Blake Hannon

http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2008/may/30/loud-outdoors/?diem

The environmentally and socially responsible apparel company, hessnatur, was founded in Germany in 1976 and has a history of conscientiousness and commitment to earth and people. hessnatur will start to offer their products to customers in the United States of America via web this summer and via catalogue in the fall. For its US launch, hessnatur enlisted world-renowned fashion designer Miguel Adrover as creative director.”We are very pleased to introduce hessnatur to the US market. Americans, we truly believe, are ready to embrace a way of dressing that is kinder to the earth and the people who live on it,” said Managing Director of hessnatur, Wolf Luedge. “Miguel Adrover is a unique talent, whose dedication to environmentalism is apparent in not only his garments but in the way he lives his life. Miguel brings an exciting level of creativity and inspiration to us.”

Apparel for women and babies will be available - 100% organic clothing for babies and 100% natural for women, most of which is organic cotton, wool, linen and silk. Recognized as an organic pioneer, hessnatur initiated the world’s first organic cotton farming project in Sekem, Egypt, in 1991. hessnatur’s social and environmental work was recognized this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the company was the recipient of the Public Eye award.

In 2002, hessnatur set the standard for humane labor conditions. With the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Fair Wear Foundation, hessnatur developed an innovative system for humane production. In 2005, hessnatur was the first German company to be certified by the Fair Wear Foundation. Recently, hessnatur embarked on a partnership with Dr. Muhammad Yunus, recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, and his Grameen Foundation, supporting its stellar work in fighting poverty. hessnatur is introducing organic manufacturing processes to the Grameen Knitwear Project, and is paying a bonus above fair purchase price for the goods, with the funds going directly to the Grameen Foundation.

http://www.earthtimes.org

http://www.organic-market.info/bio-markt/en_inhalte/inh_index.htm?link=Meldungen&catID=0&docID=645

DUBLIN — There is something missing from this otherwise typical bustling cityscape. There are taxis and buses. There are hip bars and pollution. Every other person is talking into a cellphone. But there are no plastic shopping bags, the ubiquitous symbol of urban life.

In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts.

Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. Within a year, nearly everyone had bought reusable cloth bags, keeping them in offices and in the backs of cars. Plastic bags were not outlawed, but carrying them became socially unacceptable — on a par with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after one’s dog.

“When my roommate brings one in the flat it annoys the hell out of me,” said Edel Egan, a photographer, carrying groceries last week in a red backpack.

Drowning in a sea of plastic bags, countries from China to Australia, cities from San Francisco to New York have in the past year adopted a flurry of laws and regulations to address the problem, so far with mixed success. The New York City Council, for example, in the face of stiff resistance from business interests, passed a measure requiring only that stores that hand out plastic bags take them back for recycling.

But in the parking lot of a Superquinn Market, Ireland’s largest grocery chain, it is clear that the country is well into the post-plastic-bag era. “I used to get half a dozen with every shop. Now I’d never ever buy one,” said Cathal McKeown, 40, a civil servant carrying two large black cloth bags bearing the bright green Superquinn motto. “If I forgot these, I’d just take the cart of groceries and put them loose in the boot of the car, rather than buy a bag.”

Gerry McCartney, 50, a data processor, has also switched to cloth. “The tax is not so much, but it completely changed a very bad habit,” he said. “Now you never see plastic.”

In January almost 42 billion plastic bags were used worldwide, according to reusablebags.com; the figure increases by more than half a million bags every minute. A vast majority are not reused, ending up as waste — in landfills or as litter. Because plastic bags are light and compressible, they constitute only 2 percent of landfill, but since most are not biodegradable, they will remain there.

In a few countries, including Germany, grocers have long charged a nominal fee for plastic bags, and cloth carrier bags are common. But they are the exception.

In the past few months, several countries have announced plans to eliminate the bags. Bangladesh and some African nations have sought to ban them because they clog fragile sewerage systems, creating a health hazard. Starting this summer, China will prohibit sellers from handing out free plastic shopping bags, but the price they should charge is not specified, and there is little capacity for enforcement. Australia says it wants to end free plastic bags by the end of the year, but has not decided how.

Efforts to tax plastic bags have failed in many places because of heated opposition from manufacturers as well as from merchants, who have said a tax would be bad for business. In Britain, Los Angeles and San Francisco, proposed taxes failed to gain political approval, though San Francisco passed a ban last year. Some countries, like Italy, have settled for voluntary participation.

But there were no plastic bag makers in Ireland (most bags here came from China), and a forceful environment minister gave reluctant shopkeepers little wiggle room, making it illegal for them to pay for the bags on behalf of customers. The government collects the tax, which finances environmental enforcement and cleanup programs.

Furthermore, the environment minister told shopkeepers that if they changed from plastic to paper, he would tax those bags, too.

While paper bags, which degrade, are in some ways better for the environment, studies suggest that more greenhouse gases are released in their manufacture and transportation than in the production of plastic bags.

Today, Ireland’s retailers are great promoters of taxing the bags. “I spent many months arguing against this tax with the minister; I thought customers wouldn’t accept it,” said Senator Feargal Quinn, founder of the Superquinn chain. “But I have become a big, big enthusiast.”

Mr. Quinn is also president of EuroCommerce, a group representing six million European retailers. In that capacity, he has encouraged a plastic bag tax in other countries. But members are not buying it. “They say: ‘Oh, no, no. It wouldn’t work. It wouldn’t be acceptable in our country,’ ” Mr. Quinn said.

As nations fail to act decisively, some environmentally conscious chains have moved in with their own policies. Whole Foods Market announced in January that its stores would no longer offer disposable plastic bags, using recycled paper or cloth instead, and many chains are starting to charge customers for plastic bags.

But such ad hoc efforts are unlikely to have the impact of a national tax. Mr. Quinn said that when his Superquinn stores tried a decade ago to charge 1 cent for plastic bags, customers rebelled. He found himself standing at the cash register buying bags for customers with change from his own pocket to prevent them from going elsewhere.

After five years of the plastic bag tax, Ireland has changed the image of cloth bags, a feat advocates hope to achieve in the United States. Vincent Cobb, the president of reusablebags.com, who founded the company four years ago to promote the issue, said: “Using cloth bags has been seen as an extreme act of a crazed environmentalist. We want it to be seen as something a smart, progressive person would carry.”

Some things worked to Ireland’s advantage. Almost all markets are part of chains that are highly computerized, with cash registers that already collect a national sales tax, so adding the bag tax involved a minimum of reprogramming, and there was little room for evasion.

The country also has a young, flexible population that has proved to be a good testing ground for innovation, from cellphone services to nonsmoking laws. Despite these favorable conditions, Ireland still ended up raising the bag tax 50 percent, after officials noted that consumption was rising slightly.

Ireland has moved on with the tax concept, proposing similar taxes on customers for A.T.M. receipts and chewing gum. (The sidewalks of Dublin are dotted with old wads.) The gum tax has been avoided for the time being because the chewing gum giant Wrigley agreed to create a public cleanup fund as an alternative. This year, the government plans to ban conventional light bulbs, making only low-energy, long-life fluorescent bulbs available.

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/world/europe/02bags.html?_r=3&hp=&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

A handful of vendors and retailers who’d championed earth-friendly processes and products in the furniture industry for some years found themselves in 2007 surrounded by people singing the same tune. Those pioneers, who all along had been developing “green” product incorporating recycled wood or timber from well-managed forests in case goods, and upholstery using organic fabrics and environment-friendly foams, found themselves on the front end of a wave of companies paying more attention to the environment—at least in word.

How that buzz—spurred by a wave of media attention to the environment over the past year—plays in the long term among consumers (many of whom don’t know yet, or maybe even care, that they have earth-friendly options in home furnishings) will depend heavily on how well or how poorly retailers and vendors handle the issue of “greenwash.”

“Greenwash” refers to slapping a marketing-over-substance label on goods targeted at well-meaning consumers interested in making more environmentally friendly purchases. If bogus “eco-friendly” furniture gets exposed, shoppers (many of whom are jaded by pricing and quality issues, as well an often-negative assessment of their buying experience) could view furniture with a more cynical eye.

A LOT TO CONSIDER. John Billington, CEO of Five Rivers in Boise, Idaho, said retailers seeking out eco-friendly product have to go through their own educational process. A good place to start is talking with suppliers, asking specific questions about where, how and from what their products are made.

About 50 percent of the furniture Five Rivers sells comes from vendors who participate in the Sustainable Furniture Council (SFC), of which he’s a founding member. (The store also features jewelry, organic cotton clothing, and lighting and accessories.) He sees the SFC as having a huge role in setting effective, measurable standards for the industry, as well as providing a rallying point for retailers and vendors committed to making sure their operations are as environmentally sensitive as possible. Groups like SFC can provide leadership, but retailers still have to do their own legwork to verify environmental claims about a particular line, and their own operations, Billington said.

“The Sustainable Furniture Council has become a powerhouse in creating a reliable ‘green’ rating system for retailers and consumers by evaluating products and manufacturers’ impact to our global environment,” he said. “It’s sort of like a ‘Green Housekeeping Seal’ of approval.”

The SFC might be an enormous help in raising industry awareness of its environmental impact, but Billington said retailers must gauge their own carbon footprint and make responsible choices for their communities, and do their own homework when it comes to suppliers.

“Ask questions and then tell your customers what you have learned,” he said. With programs such as the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative in place for years now, wood products are a bit simpler to gauge than upholstery in that retailers can look for wood certification from such organizations.

“For sustainable forestry, organizations like the Rainforest Alliance, the Forestry Stewardship Council and Smartwood guide forestry practices toward sustainability,” Billington said. “The impact of these organizations has reached 20 countries and certified over 100 million acres of forests.”

Upholstery, with hidden components such as cushioning, is a more complicated category for retailers to vet.

“You’re seeing a lot more foam cushioning for leather and upholstery that’s eliminating harmful vapors during production and emitted from the product itself,” Billington noted. “There’s little oversight in that regard to my knowledge, and it’s necessary to do your own research.”

Determining whether or not wood in a vendor’s furniture is from responsibly managed forests is the first question retailers looking to get greener should ask, said Tim Loveday, a founder of the Design Green Alliance (formerly Channel Logic), a cooperative effort for sustainable manufacturers to increase their marketplace presence.

The second question to ask is what kind of paints or finishes are used in the manufacturing process? Those questions “are a good start for people to begin with, as most manufacturers haven’t ventured into much more detail for sustainability yet, and the responses won’t be overwhelming for the average retailer,” Loveday said.

Third, retailers might ask about certification programs suppliers participate in; and fourth, ask what makes suppliers eco-friendly. “The third and fourth questions allow manufacturers to give more detail on their sustainable practices within their own organization,” Loveday said. “However, the most important precaution retailers can take (to avoid greenwash) is to train their sales staff on the level of sustainability for each manufacturer. Having the answers to the questions above will keep them out of hot water for now.”

CHALLENGES LOOM. The word about going green is definitely out there for all to hear in furnitureland, but the industry still has a way to go, and Loveday said the development of an online resource guide would assist interested companies in increasing sustainable practices and offer advice from experts, as well as contributions from members of groups such as Design Green Alliance.

Watch for more and larger “Living Green Pavilions” such as the one at Las Vegas Market’s temporary spaces at the MGM Grand—a joint effort of DGA, SFC and Las Vegas Market. That area centers on sustainable furnishings or furniture using wood, cushioning, fabrics and finishing materials that are made from renewable resources.

“Our primary objective is to create larger, more dominant pavilions at the different furniture markets worldwide,” Loveday said. “Part of our services through our Web site will be to have a posting board for (reps) to post ‘products wanted’ and/or manufacturers to post ‘reps wanted.’”

Building a “green” network for reps poses challenges. “No question, the biggest challenge for representatives ‘going green’ is to substantiate their products as truly green,” Loveday said. “Second, mainstream retailers’ number one objection is; ‘If I transition 20 percent of my showroom to eco-friendly products, then how do I sell against the other 80 percent that isn’t?’

“In 2008 our goal is to get the message out that we now cover every category with green products, so retailers can begin transitioning their store to 100-percent eco-friendly products without giving up quality, creativity or design capabilities.”

Diversification of DGA’s participating lines is helping to create a range of environmentally friendly product in all categories for interested retailers.

“I currently have database of over 300 sustainable manufacturers, some with SKUs ranging into the thousands,” Loveday said. “My goal is to take sustainability out of the niche market it currently resides (in), and begin establishing a very strong presence to make our eco-pavilions a destination point for buyers worldwide.”

The industry also has internal issues to work through regarding its environmental approach. Already, the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA), whose EFEC program for limiting manufacturers’ environmental impact has made strides, ran afoul of the SFC (AHFA’s a founding member) when it proposed retail tagging for its Sustainable By Design (SBD) program. SFC declined to grant SBD achievers its Silver Exemplary status due in part to what SFC deemed an unacceptable percentage of FSC- or equivalent certified woods in the product in question. At press time that question remains unresolved, but AHFA’s attention to environmental issues is not in question. (See this month’s “Hot Seat” for discussion of the AHFA/SFC situation.)

AHFA and SFC also were in the process of setting up a panel discussion tentatively scheduled to take place at Las Vegas Market.

THE TIPPING POINT. Kevin Tuerff, president and a principal at the Dallas-based environmental marketing consultancy EnviroMedia, said events such as the November United Nations conference on global warming are raising the environment’s profile among consumers, whatever their politics, and that a major resource for furniture was high on the agenda.

“Deforestation was the first- or second-hottest topic there,” said Tuerff, who attended the conference. Tuerff said he’s surprised at the amount of attention environmental issues get these days, and that those serving consumer markets had best be ready to at least answer questions.

“We’ve been in environmental marketing for 11 years, and we never would have predicted what’s happening now,” he said. “‘Tell me what to do’—that’s what consumers are asking now.”

EnviroMedia worked with the University of Oregon to launch a new Web site, greenwashingindex.com, to give consumers the info needed to weigh the green component of their purchase decisions.

Loveday doesn’t believe the furniture retail community has seen its tipping point due to market confusion on “what is considered sustainable.”

“However, we did a test study on a handful of retailers that carried no sustainable furniture products and asked them if they would ‘go green.’ Most were hesitant,” he said. “However, when we rephrased the question and discussed indoor environmental health and the risks associated with standard manufacturing, we saw a completely different level of interest, especially when it came to children’s furniture and bedding.”

Other industries are having success in the environmental movement. For example, The U.S. Green Building Council, (founded by SFC director Mike Italiano), developed a green building rating system through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, to encourage sustainable construction among architects, interior designers and landscape architects.

When it comes to going green, though, it’s important to do your own homework.

“Many eco-friendly organizations have developed over the past two decades to provide guidelines for global ecology,” said Billington. “There are so many products that are eco-friendly today, and so many that claim to be, that it is hard to know who to trust.”

By Powell Slaughter

http://www.hfbusiness.com/story/story.bsp?sid=89696&var=story&publication=Home%20Furnishings%20Business&publicationDate=2/1/08&slug=HFB_0208_cover_greenwash&category=None&section=Unknown&page=1

Gardening, fashion meet in chic collision

Whether you hear it being called eco couture, eco fashion, agricouture, ground-up fashion or just plain earth-friendly clothing, the hot trend is threads that tread lightly.

They might be recycled, grown from organic plants or even materials you’d never dreamed would be comfortable clothing alternatives, but the world of fashion and the world of the gardener are joining hands to prove that sustainability is more than just smart. It also is chic.

At the 2007 New York Fashion Week, 28 fashion designers with household names like Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenberg and Halston, and up-and-comers like Derek Lam and Heatherette, dazzled the runway with eco-friendly fashions in partnership with Earthpledge.org. The designers pulled out full lines from sportswear to evening gowns using materials like organic cotton and wool, hempsilk, corn and bamboo fibers. There was even recycled polyester. Models flaunted haute couture dresses made of bamboo or corn with sequins made from recycled soda cans, all in the name of being “green.”

Local eco couture designer Loni Hosking, owner of Ecoboutiquo, explains why fashion following the pulse of our landscape is a natural progression.

“Green is in. People are seeking ‘green’ as a way of life,” she says. “Trends are always the heartbeat behind fashion. The trend is to appear like you care for the environment and to appear in step with the trend. It is a good thing because in the process of seeking this trend, the planet is getting viewed from a fresh and new perspective — one that is long overdue.”

According to Earthpledge.org, 25 percent of agricultural pesticides are used on cotton. This can cause water pollution, illnesses to farm workers and harm to plants and animals that inhabit the same space, according to Web site. Those aren’t really concerns we think about when buying a sweater for Uncle Joe on our Christmas list, but maybe they should be.

“We are waking up from a long, wasteful sleep, and Americans have to be the trend setters for the planet,” Hoskings said. “It is our way of life that is affecting the earth, the weather, the waste. People do care about what is happening, and they are seeking ways to feel better about the choices they make. We, the shopkeepers, need to make that easier for the consumers to make a purchase that is good for the planet.”

Ecoboutiquo is one such earth-conscious shop; it was born from Hosking’s desire to eliminate waste by using resources more wisely — plus her appetite to have a really “cool” job. She was concerned with the excessive waste, global textile saturation and sweat shop clothing conditions.

“Something regarded as trash or unusable I magically transform into art,” she said. “I began by thrift store shopping, at first which was motivated by economics to start with, then the ability to score something completely out-of-the-ordinary and unexpected. The thrift stores have really become my art supply shop.”

The alternative fabric sources are a fascinating aspect of eco shopping. Take bamboo, for instance. It is an extremely fast-growing plant, as durable as any fiber you’ll find and when translated into fashion, quite comfortable. Hemp has been on the radar for a while for many of the same reasons; it grows quickly, is highly resilient and strong, it is good for the soil, and renewable.

Maybe in the end the reasons to care are as simple as why every time I lug my trash to the recycling center, no matter what time of day, there is always a plethora of concerned Lawrence residents hoping that jar of pasta sauce will live to see another day. By reducing, reusing, rewearing, recycling, conserving and caring, we are not just another consumer that throws out that ridiculous Santa sweater along with the cans and bottles consumed on any given day. Instead we think, “Who can use this next?”

Eco fashion might take a little effort to find, but it is slowly entering the mainstream. With earth-friendly threads, we don’t have to sacrifice style for a clear conscience.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/dec/20/sustainable_style/By Jennifer Oldridge

— Jennifer Oldridge, a Kansas University graduate, is an avid gardener who previously operated a landscaping business.

Fads come in all different forms—Star Wars, bellbottoms and disco, scrunchies, Furby, Magic Cards, plaid, Dance Dance Revolution, the Atkins diet, the jean jacket. One of the latest fads to seize our attention is environmentalism.

No longer the sole territory of tree-huggers and granola-munching hippies, environmentalism has crossed over into popular culture, boasting Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, David Suzuki, hybrid cars, “Flick Off” T-shirts, vegan sneakers, furniture made from recycled wood and organic food.

One fast-growing feature of the “green” trend is eco-friendly clothing. Having spread throughout Europe, L.A., and Montreal, sustainable fashion has finally made its way to Kingston.

Karma Wear, a self-styled “eco-boutique” found at 328 Princess St., offers Kingston residents environmentally friendly clothing and accessories.

Sporting the slogan “a company born out of frustration,” Karma—owned by Sarah Kincaid and James Adams—offers an environmentally sustainable alternative to the mainstream fashion industry.

“We opened our first store in Ottawa a few years ago upon finding out that cotton production uses over 50 per cent of the world’s pesticides,” Kincaid said.

In addition to selling sandals made from reused rubber tires and handbags and boots from recycled truck tarps, Kincaid and Adams stock environmentally friendly clothing made from a variety of natural and reused materials such as hemp, bamboo, soy, seaweed and organic cotton. All are produced pesticide- and herbicide-free. In every product they sell, Karma Wear aims to shrink the ecological footprint created by the production of clothing and accessories. Consequently, all their clothes are made to last so buyers can wear them longer. Kincaid said she believes the best way to benefit the environment is to be more aware as a consumer.

“The only way to change the world is how you purchase,” Kincaid said. “If you change your consumer practices then even the big corporations will have to change too.” Although stores such as Karma Wear are a step in the right direction, there remains some doubt as to the sincerity of some trend-seekers in their quest to save the Earth. Cool as it is that mainstream stores are stocking graphic tees with eco-friendly messages, Kincaid said most of these shirts are made from mass-produced cotton and through harmful modes of production. How much is the environment actually benefiting from this trend? And more importantly, what will happen to the environmental movement if the fashionable world moves on and finds a new cause to support?

According to Kelsey Jensen, ArtSci ’08 and Students Taking Responsible Initiatives towards a Viable Environment co-chair, “going green” and wearing T-shirts with environmentally-friendly messages may merely be a trend, but the awareness and interest the fad generates can have long-term benefits.

“It’s all about awareness,” she said. “If people are willing to make small changes, such as carrying a travel mug, recycling or switching to low-energy light bulbs, eventually these practices will become second nature.

“If you make a point of using a travel mug, or of recycling, other people will pick up on that, and your actions could encourage them to make more of an effort.”

As far as environmental clothing is concerned, Kincaid said she and Adams believe the recent interest in natural, eco-friendly fabrics is more than a short-lived fad.

“Just as smoking and fast food have become undesirable now that we know the potential harm to our bodies, once people better know the damage we wreak on our natural surroundings, they will seek out environmentally responsible alternatives,” Kincaid said.

Harry McCaughey, a geography professor, believes initiating larger-scale green-friendly changes in areas such as modes of production, will make a notable difference.

“On an individual level, small changes are good, but we need a much more fundamental change in the systems that we depend upon,” he said. “Try to be more sustainable in the production of goods and services.”

McCaughey said the recent popularity of sustainable consumerism will last, but it isn’t enough to save the planet.

“The trend of going green is real,” he said. “I think it will last, but I also don’t think it’s going fast enough. We need to do many more things.

“For individual students, if you see something, you talk about it, you complain, you make phone calls, you join the appropriate organization. The worst thing is to not be involved.”

By Meaghan Trewin

http://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2007-09-18/postscript/green-new-black/

Add accents of natural materials in fall colors to a few rooms

The big trend continues for fall: Mother Nature’s own materials and colors as room accents for a casual, earth-friendly yet stylish decorative scheme.

Some people will interpret this organic Mother Earth movement as “green,” and go forth to buy naturally cream-colored cotton sheets and towels. Ralph Lauren has applied his sterling designer taste to a premier collection of homegoods in 100 percent organic cotton. This Lauren Home collection was in the works for a year and will include, come mid-October, a line of sheets, towels and bed dressing. But Lauren’s reach is beyond the natural color of cotton to eight earthy shades. Examples are sheets in Tidal Pool or Placid Sky. Well, those are certainly subtle tones in nature.

Other shoppers may simply reach for a rock, say a jewel-like geode to display on a sustainable-wood bamboo table.

The thrifty among us may choose to haunt flea markets and take home vintage linens in subtle colors from years of laundering. A few will find those white marble-topped washstands from the Victorian age. If the marble is uncracked and unstained, these practical pieces of bedroom furniture from the pre-bathroom age can be resurrected for multiple uses. Some stand in for bar/servers in living rooms. Marble veining remains one of Mother Nature’s best patterns, but don’t spill on it. Marble absorbs more than granite.

Others with an endless budget will insist on perfectly polished hardwood floors and granite countertops in the kitchen - or an onyx top for a master-suite vanity. Such one-piece bowls and countertops are easy to keep clean, compared to glass vessel sinks.

It’s hard to improve on handsome natural materials such as polished wood, marble, granite, onyx and fibers from sisal to silk.

Autumn is a particularly appropriate time to admire the natural world as plants are shutting down for the cold season ahead, and squirrels and other animals are busy gathering sustenance.

Autumn colors in a normal year are warm and invigorating. Beige and brown may be this fall’s color scheme, due to the drought, but we can always bring on the warm golds and blazing burgundy reds by layering textiles throughout the house.

Somewhere last week, I came across this clever slogan to boost retail sales:

“Life is tough. You need more pillows.”

And given this day’s plummeting temperatures, we all will need more cozy throws on assorted armchairs, sectionals and sofas.

Textiles, even in pillow-sized yardages, are among the most economical ways to warm up the house for fall. Every single retailer, such as Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams-Sonoma Home, Target, HomeGoods, Linens ‘n Things, Bed, Bath & Beyond and Pier 1 Imports, are trotting out their autumn colorways in the form of weaves.

Go ahead, shop for a new duvet cover, a throw pillow with silk ribbons woven through the center, a shower curtain or new hand towels for the guest bath. With some restraint, you won’t break the bank, but you’ll enjoy seeing the season change inside your own home.

We like furniture weaves as well. Some of the dark-stained, all-weather wicker pieces fitted with comfy cushions can go indoors to a casual room for fall and winter. Carry them back outdoors next spring. They’re lightweight. No back-breaking work moving “woven” furniture around.

More formal is the sustainably designed Copenhagen Water Hyacinth Lounge Chair and Ottoman by McGuire at www.kohler.com (the furniture line is Kohler-owned and linked by Web site to Baker and Kohler plumbing supplies).

McGuire’s is focused “on marrying environmentally-aware materials and fine design. The Copenhagen lounge chair of woven water hyacinth fibers is a renewable natural resource. The Web site says that water hyacinth self-replenishes every four weeks, and the fiber are “hand-woven by expert craftspeople around a handcrafted frame of sustainably-grown rattan from managed forests in Thailand.” Furthermore, the fibers are coated with a non-toxic, water-based lacquer.

Pier 1 Imports catalog shows many woven-fiber furniture styles. That company’s new Web site announced, as of Sept. 1, there is to be an online store no more. It’s hard to maintain a consistent online inventory, and the words “not available” tend to aggravate customers. You can still browse the catalog online, page by page at www.pier1.com.

Pier 1 goods are to be sold in stores only, and there are 1,000 nationwide. What a concept. Everything old is new again.

But you don’t have to buy woven furniture or sustainable-wood furniture and remake every room this fall. One or two fresh new accents can transform any room. Take the Fall Leaves Pillows in the Pier 1 catalog. Autumn-colored appliqués are stitched onto silky polyester for the softest pile of autumn leaves you could ever sink into - without an allergy attack. The pillow colors are named Mosstone, Carafe Brown, Black and Sand.

Shopping for pillows or other textiles is a good way to turn over a new leaf.

By Joyce Rosencrans

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070915/LIFE/709150301/1005

http://www.plentymag.com/blogs/lifestyles/2007/09/go_green_go.php#trackback

With New York’s U.S. Open in full swing, the greening underfoot isn’t just the color of the courts. The namesake for the stadium—the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center—is leading the charge, announcing the launch of her eco-initiative, GreenSlam. “I’m challenging myself – the industry of sports, professional athletes and fans, to take positive action to help counter the negative effects of climate change,” says King, legendary pro and change-agent. “If the billions of people who live and love sports take just one single step—we can help win back our planet.”

The first project, an adopt-a-highway clean-up campaign, may seem lame, but her plans also involve “green collar” work/study opportunities, a counsel of “greening experts” to establish GreenSlam standards to venues and events, and an eco-friendly line of sports equipment, apparel, shoes, and accessories, with partner Prince Sports. Love all.

Wilson Racquets is already on the case. Sponsors of the glam-slamming Williams sisters and Roger Federer just announced their initiative to develop environmentally responsible products such as tennis balls, cans, and packaging with higher levels of recycled materials and reducing volatile solvents in manufacturing processes…

Other sports stars with eco-fever naturally include nature-loving surfers, swimmers, skiers, and the Action Sports Environmental Coalition, who are “greening the planet, one skateboard at a time.” Their tag: “Viva la Resolution!”

Baseball is stepping up to the plate with solar panels on stadiums in San Francisco and Denver, and (not-so) minor leaguers from California’s Lake Elsinore Storm recently had a Green Night. The event featured hemp uniforms and green fireworks (sound like an oxymoron?). The stadium has water-efficient sprinklers, irrigation, and waterless urinals, saving an estimated million gallons a year—a winner in drought territory. Team prez, Dave Oster says, “It takes 51 percent to create a shift of awareness and The Storm hopes…to create a positive difference in our community and in the world we live.”

The Super Bowl offset emissions last year but Philadelphia’s Eagles have been ahead of the game since 2003. Besides recycling, the Stop Global Warming Virtual March members donate to Treevitalize, offset travel with renewables, and, get this: reimburse employees who purchase wind energy through PECO Wind.

The Indy 500 switched to ethanol from petroleum-based fuel this year. It’s a stretch but a start at waving the green flag…

As for a green Olympics, plans are underway for Vancouver (2010) and London (‘12), but we’ll see about Beijing in ‘08.

by Roberta Cruger