Everyone’s doing awards these days (Treehugger’s Best of Green, The Daily Green’s Heart of Green), and most of the sites include some kind of public participation and voting of some sort.
Well, I wanted to do awards for some of my favorite things from the past year, and the only voter was ME! I’ve been doing the green thing for quite some time and I like to think I know a little something, after all! (Really I wasn’t organized enough to get a post up last week and didn’t know how to tabulate votes and stuff).
Without further ado, here are some of my favorite fabulously green things from the past year:
Best Eco Fashion and Beauty Coverage from a Mainstream Publication
1st Place: Lucky Magazine wins this one hands down! The last year has featured not one, but TWO beautiful, entirely ecofashion spreads, and at least four natural beauty articles (including one with the fantastic Summer Rayne Oakes). Their support of eco fashion designers and boutiques is unsurpassed, and in their inexplicable (and totally enviable) way, they make everything look extra fabulous and totally easy to incorporate into one’s own life. Check their online eco sourcebooks (including beauty, denim, shoes and more) for ideas and brands that have been covered in the mag. Thanks Lucky!
2nd Place: Elle Magazine has done some serious work this past year covering eco friendly designers, in the always ahead-of-the-trends way that only Elle does. Elle gets special mention for digging up lots of amazing jewelry designers who use recycled metals, unusual materials (ancient walrus tusks anyone?) and Earth-friendly processes in their designs.
Honorable Mention: Shape Magazine isn’t a fashion mag- I read it for the strength training tips because I’ve become an obsessive gym rat in the last six months (it’s the BEST way for dealing with stress and makes your legs way more sculpted than a vodka martini). Shape gets kudos not only for their kick-butt strategies and healthy-eating tips (though more veg recipies would be nice!) AND their love-your-real-body stories, but sprinkled throughout each and every issue are small ways to go green (from products to new foods and drinks to actions and new companies), indicated with a little green leaf. Their April environment issue featured several great eco articles; thanks to the (no-doubt superfit) women at Shape for connecting the dots between women’s health and the health of the planet.
Best New Beauty Product Trend
1st Place: Oil! We spent the nineties and aughts banishing fats and oil from our diets and from our skin care routines (and from our skin). Well, turns out, our bodies need (good) fat and our skin definitely need oil- in fact, as Eco Chick beauty writer Stephanie Rogers pointed out, one of the best ways to a less-oily complexion is to use some good oils on your skin, since the skin overproduces oil when it’s lacking it- so organic facial oils actually cut down on shine. I swear by Saaf facial oil- it is completely organic, smells amazing, and both Stephanie (oily combo skin) and I (dry/very dry skin) use it with great results. I also use facial oil for my decolletage and neck before I go to bed.
2nd Place: Getting Beautiful from the Inside Out- One of the simplest ways to get great skin and hair, prevent aging, and reduce acne is a healthy diet filled with lots of high-antioxidant fruits and veggies, healthy fats from sources like nuts (especially coconut), green tea rather than coffee, and of course, plenty of filtered tap water. I’ve been supplementing my pretty damn healthy (except for the aforementioned martinis) vegetarian diet with aloe supplements and Murad’s Pure Skin Clarifying vitamins , which have worked wonders on my skin by providing a boost of yellow dock, burdock, Vitamin E, and Zinc.
Honorable Mention: DIY Hair and Face Masks- I’ve been using the inside skin of papayas and mangos as a natural fruit acid treatment, and avocado and honey hair masks for the last couple of years, but lately I’ve seen quite a few mainstream pubs pushing this old-school hippie idea. Probably because it’s super-affordable with so many women are looking for less-expensive alternatives to high-priced treatments, this one is way low-impact on the planet too (no packaging!).
Best New Ecofashion Trend
Talla Cuteness
1st Place: Attention to Dyes- never before have there been so many natural or low-impact dyes been available (well, since the Industrial Revolution anyway; before that ALL dyes were pretty ecofriendly). And none too soon! Heavy metal pollution from dyes is a serious concern in Third-world Countries where our clothes are colored-up. From Virginia Johnson’s graphic printed scarves, to Talla’s bright floral patterns on silk, there are tons of eco designers working to find more sustainable dyes. While natural colors still tend to dominate (see Barney’s house line by Philip Lim and John Patrick Organic’s dreamy prairie visions) as a color-lover I never have any problem finding fun, bright colored outfits from my fave eco fashion designers. In fact, I’m wearing a fun Mediterranean-blue organic linen dress by NaturevsFuture right now! 
2nd Place: HOT Shoes- This year saw ecofriendly shoes go from ‘cute and totally wearable’ to ‘Damn!!’ Cri de Coeur doesn’t seem to make an unsexy shoe (even their boots scream ‘yank me off and do me!’ – or maybe that’s just me) to Olsen Haus’ sharp yet kicky vegan stilettos and Charmone’s yummy pumps.
Best Tech to Green Up Your Life on the Go
1st Place: iPhone Applications- So Apple is hardly the greenest computer company on the planet (far from it, and shame on you Apple!) but I have an iPhone and despite the fact that I’ve broken one and had one stolen, I keep going back- the applications are awesome! From HopStop, that helps me navigate the ever-confusing isle of Manhattan (I’ve saved money and gas NOT hopping in cabs because I get such good directions from HopStop instead) to Craigsmobilelist, there are just lots of ways you can use your phone to cut down on energy use, and shop smarter. How great that one can find local green businesses (restos, dry cleaners, green salons, and more) at Greenopia.com (there will be an iPhone application coming in the next month, for now you can search using the web browser). Power of information, for the planet!
2nd Place: Proliferation of Laptops as Primary Computer- They use 90% less electricity than a desktop, and these puppies are powerful, as well as portable- what could be better? I’ve been using a Macbook as my only computer for about a year now and I’ve been able to do everything I need to do, and I’m on a computer all day, every day as a blogger, writer and editor.
Wow!…so many eco choices to be take advantage of, out there in the big world.
I am a big believer of taking my left over papaya peels straight to my face. Papaya breaks down scar tissue, both inside and out. Cheers to health & beauty!
04/29/09 » 10:50 am »