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

As an Eco-friendly company, Pure Fiber promotes a healthy way of life by providing organic bed and bath linens. Pure Fiber has launched a new product line, the Bamboo massage sheet. The sheet is made from 100 % bamboo yarn and the clients will be amazed by how soft and comfortable they are. Retailers and consumers can purchase this product from Pure Fiber or through Scrips Hessco, a company specializing in wellness products.

Pure Fiber Inc has announced that it will include bamboo massage sheets composed of 100% bamboo thread to their 2008 product line. Their purpose is to pave a way into strategically offering an eco-friendly solution for individuals and spas to utilize the benefits behind an eco-friendly lifestyle.

At Pure Fiber, their mission is to produce only the purest of products from the finest materials in the world. A company providing only the most skilled craftsmanship for their line of products, their commitment is to offer consumers a wide selection of ‘green’ goods that should satisfy their every want and need. Catering to individuals as well as high-end resorts and spas their standards have always been for high energy efficiency, material innovation, and design sustainability.

Known as the fastest growing plant on earth, bamboo can easily reach maturity within 3-4 years and is readily available for harvest. With a benefit of not requiring the need for replanting, bamboo can continuously grow all year long. Since they thrive naturally, the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides is completely eliminated. Because of its high renewability, Pure Fiber has taken advantage of such benefits and has innovatively created all natural bamboo massage sheets. One of the best priced for bamboo sheet sets in the industry, and extremely competitively priced in the premium sheet line.

As a part of their product line, Pure Fiber will set out to provide not just comfortability but natural splendor to its consumers. Composed of 100% bamboo yarn, these sheets will take massage clients’ experiences to a whole new level. Some of the benefits include that these sheets are naturally hypoallergenic and odor-resistant but also offers a strong structure when used constantly and continuously. Characteristically soft when compared to the likes of silky cashmere not only will it keep clients warm and relaxed but is great for sensitive skin-types.

From a massage therapist’s point of view, the importance of their job is to satisfy a client’s needs goes hand-in-hand with everything from the products they use to the massage sheets that a client is positioned on. When a therapist has the mind-set to go-green with the environment and the world around them, possible clients will also be in on the benefits. Everything from the treatments to the relaxing oils adds to the perfect complement of Pure Fiber’s bamboo massage sheets that will practically invite people to want more. The simple yet complex task of the art of massaging provides the straightforward luxuriousness of the experience itself come to true wholesome reality.

Retailers and potential consumers can purchase these natural bamboo massage sheets from Pure Fiber directly or through Scrips Hessco, a company specializing in wellness products for healthcare practitioners. With Hessco’s 40 years of experience, Pure Fiber’s products are a sure win-win buy.

http://www.pr.com/press-release/105807

After eight years in Europe, two kids and a high-tech corporate career, Tim McNulty and Chi Park have turned over a new leaf and opened Greendesign, an “eco-goods” store, on Witherspoon Street.Not only does the store offer eco-friendly products, but much of the decor comes from American-made sustainable materials, and 90 percent of the store’s products are made in the United States. The store welcomes its customers with a mat made of grass grown through sustainable methods.

McNulty said that the store has been positively received since its opening. Patrons include tourists, University visitors and Princeton residents.

“Business is actually doing well,” McNulty said. “We’re getting a lot of traffic from people coming to see what we have.”

“The people in this area are very receptive to this idea,” he said, adding that once a day someone tells him that “this is something that Princeton needed.”

Customers have stopped by Greendesign for a variety of reasons. Cora Coyle, a housewife looking for products for her 16-month-old daughter, said she heard of the store through the Holistic Moms Network. The network, of which Park is a member, is a nonprofit group for individuals with non-traditional ideas of parenting and natural living.

“I always try to get the natural, most organic products online or wherever we can find it,” Coyle said. “But it’s hard to find a lot of this stuff, and you want to be able to see what you’re going to buy.”

Ken Vernon, a Hoboken resident, said he was drawn into the store by its eclectic display.

“As a commercial real estate appraiser, it affects what I do because investors are focusing on building efficiency,” Vernon said. “Nowadays, the hot topic is green buildings.”

Though there are no other stores exactly like it in Princeton, there are stores in town — such as the Whole Earth Center, Olive May Natural Foods and the U-Store — that are of a similar nature, said Jeffrey Domanski GS, associate manager in the Office of Sustainability.

“While [Greendesign is] not an everyday-needs store necessarily, it’s good to see there’s a place within Princeton that’s promoting these types of products,” Domanski said in an e-mail. “I hope there’s an audience for them and that the store helps educate consumers on what sustainability is about.”

McNulty views the store as a place to engage customers in a discussion about what makes a product “green,” while ultimately leaving it up to the customer to make the decision to purchase the product. “We try to educate people when they come in,” he said, about things “like buying one stainless-steel bottle instead of several water bottles.”

One section of the store is devoted to baby products and other environmentally friendly products that are safe for children. Many parents tend to gravitate toward products like these after learning of the harmful impacts of certain products and being unable to find natural alternatives, McNulty said.

His own two children have inspired many of his store’s products, he said, explaining that he and his wife want healthier products for their children.

McNulty and Park attend trade shows in New York and search for vendors online, using criteria such as the vendors’ philosophies and how and where their products were produced to decide whether to sell them at Greendesign.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/09/24/21503/

MHI announces they now are producing thermoformed packaging made 100% from collected and recycled water, juice and sports drink plastic bottles. Trays, clamshells, blisters and more produced with Good Earth(tm) 100% recycled PET are also Biodegradable, Compostable and Recyclable. FDA approved, this proprietary material can be used for food and non food applications.

Good Earth(tm) 100% post consumer recycled content PET is the newest addition to MHI’s proprietary family of eco friendly packaging. This material expands MHI’s existing selection of material options marketed as “Todays’s Most Practical Alternatives” for environmentally responsible packaging.

Developed and manufactured by MHI, a vertically intergrated division of CEI Incorporated, this new proprietary material offers many environmental, performance and cost benefits for those looking to use more eco friendly packaging. This carbon footprint reducing option is not only made 100% from recycled plastic bottles, it is also biodegradable and compostable in a landfill or compost environment. It can also be recycled through existing programs.
Currently, the average person discards 166 plastic bottles annually with 8 out of 10 ending up in landfills.

FDA approval, high clarity, range of colors, temperature range and good strength make it an attractive and practical alternative for a wide range of food and consumer goods packaging. Performance and physical characteristics are the same as or close to the traditional materials (PET & PVC) it can easily replace and does not have any shelf life, storage or heat sensitivity limitations.

Cost of packaging manufactured from this newest Good Earth ™ material is usually less than the traditional material it replaces and is readily available.

Also available (depending on certain factors) is a “closed loop” program where plastic bottles can be picked up and then remanufactured into 100% post consumer recycled content thermoformed packaging for the company or institution returning the bottles.

For more information call 978-745-8876 or visit www.goodearthpkg.com

http://www.pr.com/press-release/106801

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

By now, everybody knows the pitfalls of using disposable plastic bags. Happily, that means manufacturers are dreaming up better-looking (and much more environmentally friendly) alternatives for toting groceries, toys and books. Here’s a sampling:

Made from 100 percent recycled materials, the Great A&P Tea Co.’s bags feature imagery depicting seashells, fruit and animals. And they’re easy on the wallet, too: costing 99 cents at Long Island Pathmark, Waldbaum’s and A&P grocery stores. (Pictured at left.)

Dubbed the new “it bag” by Teen Vogue, this Earth-friendly Baggu tote will help reduce your carbon footprint. Available in a variety of colors and made from sturdy ripstop fabric that will carry up to 25 pounds. Sold for $8 each or $22 for a pack of three at baggubag.com. (Pictured  below)

Lightweight and waterproof, the Envirosax bag comes in a variety of unusual designs and colors, each sized just right for toting vacation souvenirs or beach gear. Costs $8.50 each or $37.95 for a pack of five at envirosax.com.

In Asia, they were used as rice and feed bags for transporting various goods. In New York, recycled totes by Gecko Traders can carry your groceries, beach gear or anything else. These durable bags are made by a fully certified Fair Trade Co-op in Cambodia. Plus, no two bags look exactly alike. The recycled totes have even been vetted by Treehugger.com, a blog dedicated to green living. They cost $35.95 at reusablebags.com (Pictured at left.)Made with 100 percent organic cotton and water-based inks, the oversize Beleaf tote can fashionably carry you through a weekend’s worth of errands but withstand the weight of bulky grocery items, too. It’s $36 at beleaf.com.

Read more about eco-friendly decorating, green celebrities and ways to reduce your carbon footprint on Newsday’s section on “green living,” newsday.com/green.

http://weblogs.newsday.com/features/home/cheap_thrills_blog/2008/04/green_shopping_the_best_of_the.html

Of all the things to obsess about, toilet paper has never been at the top of my list. Or the bottom.

Then I met Jeff Wells, a pleasant, earnest ornithologist who lives in Maine and was visiting Philly. Wells and a few environmental groups say I should buy paper products made from recycled paper - not trees.

Now, Wells obsesses about birds, billions of which breed in Canada’s boreal forest, which he also obsesses about because he’s a scientist with the International Boreal Conservation Campaign.

The boreal stretches nearly from Alaska to the Atlantic; it absorbs tons of carbon dioxide and it’s a major summer nesting ground for birds that winter in backyards like mine.

But the boreal forest is being logged at the rate of 2.5 million acres a year, Wells says. Some is for lumber, sure. But also for paper. Toilet paper.

Paper giant Kimberly-Clark says all the leading consumer tissue brands in North America contain primarily virgin fiber.

In a longstanding dispute, the company says it mainly uses leftover tree pulp, but environmentalists insist that entire trees are being given over to toilet tissue.

The company said about 11 percent of its virgin pulp comes from the boreal - which is then reforested.

Still, environmentalists wonder why we are, in effect, flushing virgin wood pulp of any sort down the toilet when at the same time we’re sending nearly half of all the perfectly good paper left over from home and office use to landfills.

“It’s one of those things that just doesn’t make sense in today’s world,” Wells said.

At least half a dozen companies now make TP from recycled paper. I took a field trip to area grocery stores to investigate.

OK, then, talk about obsessed. In one paper goods aisle, there were 18 kinds of toilet paper - including one aimed specifically at children.

Every store also had at least one eco brand. I bought seven. Back home, I piled my loot onto the dining room table and took stock.

The eco-packages had pictures of trees and cute slogans: “Soft on Nature, Soft on You.”

And in case anyone should miss the “100 percent recycled” label, they had names such as Nature’s Balance, Earth First, Sunrise, Earth Friendly and Seventh Generation.

All were white, so I guess that matters to most people. (The eco brands touted a chlorine-free bleaching process.)

Many were embossed with flowers or butterflies, which seemed silly until I learned the designs hold the paper together after it has been air-fluffed to make it softer.

Traditional toilet tissue ranges from half a cent to 4.5 cents per square foot. The eco-brands were actually less: half a cent to 2.3 cents per square foot.

Seventh Generation contends on its packaging that if every household in the United States replaced just one four-pack of virgin fiber TP with recycled, it would save the equivalent of nearly a million trees.

The toilet paper awaited me. I tried them all.

I’m happy to report I have not had to seek medical attention for abrasions from scratchy paper - because it was fine.

Allen Hershkowitz is a proponent of recycled toilet tissue and a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Now, he is obsessed. He has timed himself in the bathroom and says it takes less than five seconds to use up a piece of tissue.

And for that, he asks, we’re using trees?

Recently, he went to a swank French spa to give a speech. The TP was brownish, stiff. But, “the president of France goes there,” he said, “and everybody survives.”

Still, I recently had a bad cold, my nose raw from all the tissues, and I wasn’t even using recycled.

I told the spokeswoman at Seventh Generation, and she laughed. In cold and flu season, even they “concede to softer brands,” she wryly noted.

So maybe I’ll just go with the virgin pulp for my delicate nose. And I’ll take eco-paper for, uh, the other end.

No more trees for me.

GreenSpace:

For more about recycled paper and trees, go to: http://go.philly.com/greenspace

GreenSpace: Pointers for Paper Products

What’s in recycled: Environmental groups advocate paper products made from 100 percent recycled materials. Look for a high percentage of “post-consumer” material, made of paper recycled from homes and offices. Regular “recycled” can contain leftover paper from industrial processes.

Paper recycling update: Last week, the American Forest and Paper Association announced that in 2007, an all-time high of 56 percent of the paper used in the country was recovered for recycling. It totaled 54.3 million tons - more than 360 pounds for every person in the country. The group set a goal of 60 percent by 2012, which still leaves 40 percent more to go.

Historical note: Yo! Philadelphia is a cradle of paper progress. In 1690, William Rittenhouse and William Bradford founded the first North American paper mill along the Wissahickon Creek, making paper from old cloth rags. (Wood wasn’t used in the United States until the early 1900s.) Scott Paper Co., founded by two brothers in 1879 in Philadelphia, marketed the first rolls of toilet paper, and today Kimberly-Clark employees still make Scott products at the plant in Chester.

What’s ahead: Major manufacturers are making changes. Kimberly-Clark is test-marketing Scott Naturals. The line includes facial tissues from 20 percent post-consumer recycled fiber, TP from 40 percent, and paper towels from 80 percent.

By Sandy Bauers

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/sandy_bauers/20080407_GreenSpace__On_a_roll__Dead_trees_go_down_the_toilet.html

“Good Green Fun” is the theme of the latest marketing campaign at Toys “R” Us Inc., designed to promote a new line of toys the Wayne, N.J.-based retailer calls “eco-friendly.”

Wooden building blocks and pull toys, and dolls made with organic cotton will be labeled with a green “R” logo bearing the words “Recycle, Renew, Reuse, Re-think.” The retailer also is selling bio-degradable gift cards.

Toys “R” Us said the products will be available, grouped in special “green” sections of its stores, by Earth Day, April 22.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also unveiled its green products Monday, but the nation’s largest retailer is focusing on clothing and home and garden products rather than toys. Wal-Mart is promoting T-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles, mulch from recycled tire rubber and natural cleaning products.

The spate of toy recalls last summer and fall, some of which involved high lead levels in painted and plastic toys, created a demand for natural, or chemical-free toys. A growing number of toy makers have rushed to fill that niche. Toy manufacturers also are looking at the profitable trend in organic foods and reasoning that parents who spend more for organic baby food will spend more for organic cotton dolls and natural wood trains.

The Toys “R” Us eco-friendly line represents a dramatic departure from most of the brightly colored plastic toys sold in Toys “R” Us stores. The wooden toys use natural, unpainted wood, and the toys are packaged in beige and earth-tone boxes. The packaging will be made out of materials that are at least 70 percent recycled.

Jim Silver, editor in chief of Toy Wishes magazine, called the eco-friendly line a smart move, although he said the toys probably will appeal to only a small segment of the toy-buying population.

By Joan Verdon

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080405/NEWS/804050311/1051/NEWS&title=Toys__R__Us_unveils__green__toys__Wal_Mart_focuses_on_eco_friendly_clothing__home_goods

As summer approaches, businesses like Shelley’s Bridal Boutique Inc. in West Dundee that are part of the $70 billion wedding industry can count on more than the grass turning green.

Shelley Murray, founder and owner of the shop, gives her customers the environmentally-friendly option of purchasing pre-worn fabric that is re-sewn into a one-of-a-kind gown. The process, she says, shows off each bride’s unique taste and creates the equivalent of a couture gown wholly made from recycled material.

“Brides can purchase a couple of sample gowns, rather than having to buy new parts. The samples sewn together can be the interior and the outer shell of the dress,” Murray said.

Murray also offers dresses that incorporate or are made from “peace silk,” a type of silk that is produced using an unconventional method. Traditional silk-making requires killing silk pupae or worms before they emerge from their cocoons. Peace silk production allows the pupae to grow and emerge as adult moths, after which time the silk is produced from cocoons found in the wild.

Murray’s environmentally-conscious gowns range from $2,600 to $5,000.

A growing number of the estimated 2.3 million brides and grooms each year are seeking ways to make their big day environmentally friendly. From recycled gowns to propane-fueled limousines, businesses that provide wedding venues, services and products are turning up solutions to satisfy these “green” customers.

Chicago resident and bride-to-be Barbara Burke is looking for a venue for her 200 guests that is earth-friendly. “I’m hoping for an outdoor location for the wedding and reception,” she said. “It is one of the best ways to reduce energy use.” Burke explained that by having her event outside, she can rely on the sun to light her ceremony and candles to light the reception tent.

Business partners Usurla Guyer and Stacey Senechalle are part of the trend. In 2006, the team opened White Chicago LLC, a bridal boutique in the River North neighborhood that sells “once worn” and sample designer gowns. All of the boutique’s gowns are on the verge of being recycled – each dress was either worn by one previous bride, or created as a sample garment for a manufacturer or retailer.

“The whole idea is to save money, save time, and save the earth, all at the same time,” said Guyer. White Chicago limits its selections to gowns originally priced at $1500 or higher. The shop sells the gowns at a discount ranging from 30 percent to 70 percent.

“Going green is so hot right now. Everybody wants to do their part to help save the earth,” Senechalle said. “Just in the last few months, I’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of people looking for environmentally-friendly dresses.” Senechalle estimates that 25 percent of the brides who visit her shop do so because of environmental awareness.

Bridal Expo Inc., a trade show that frequents the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, is also promoting green weddings by showcasing some wedding vendors that have provided their customers with green options.

“Since you’ll probably spend more on your wedding than any other single expenditure except your car or home, it’s a great opportunity to support local, organic, recycled, and recyclable goods,” said Bill Brennan, CEO of Bridal Expo, in a 2007 press release.

Frank Deangelo, owner of Executive Coach Limousine, a division of Executive Image Limousine Inc. in Villa Park, announced last July that he would convert his fleet of limousines to liquid propane gas, a gas that he says will reduce vehicle emissions by 98 percent. Deangelo has converted three of his 20 limousines thus far and hopes to complete the conversion process by the end of 2008.

The U.S. Department of Energy acknowledges that propane gas can significantly reduce vehicle emission in comparison to traditional gas alternatives, but it does not give a percentage as to how much.

Deangelo said the cost of each limo conversion is between $2,500 and $5,000 depending on the size of the vehicle.

“The cost of gas was definitely something to consider,” he added, “but we also feel like we have a responsibility to go green.”

As of yet, going green hasn’t directly transformed into greenbacks for Deangelo. “We do market it and talk about it. People think it’s cool but it hasn’t really converted into business yet.”

But he’s willing to wait. “This is all fairly new. We gotta give it a couple of years before we can make that determination. Most of our weddings don’t happen until between April and November, so we still gotta give this time.”

Some wedding Web sites are providing expectant brides and grooms with links to eco-friendly planning options and some Web sites are even wholly devoted to these practices.

“The Web sites are really helpful,” said Burke. “Some allow you to search by green vendors.”

Some future thoughts for green-leaning brides and grooms:  organic flower pieces, wedding invitations on recycled paper, and an all-organic dinner menu.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=80779