When I was recently at the North American Auto Show in Detroit, I got a chance to check out the Tesla Model S, an electric sportscar through and through, and it’s a damn hot car. And yesterday, Tesla showed us all the Model X, a crossover vehicle, which fits seven full-size adults, and has those AMAZINGLY cool (and actually more functional) gullwing doors (check out 16:00 for the reveal).

And a hatch! Love hatches, you can fit SO much more in a car with a hatch than one with a trunk.

With this move, Tesla is moving from the cool-car only market to the cool and super-useful car market. Whether you have kids, have stuff to haul, or run a business wherein you need to move people and stuff often, this crossover car is a sustainably stylish option, and it’s made in Fremont, California.

If you are lucky enough to live in Vermont, you can plug your car in and have almost no CO2 footprint from your driving habit (the Green Mountain State leads the country in clean energy production). But even if you live in a state with less stellar energy creation, you will still be saving CO2 emissions by using a plug-in electric vehicle like this one. Check out all the stats and details on Tesla’s site.

The video is pretty interesting, if only to see the talented and forward-thinking Elon Musk nervously making his way through his speech – adorable!

(And check out my friend Jim Motavalli’s full review of this new vehicle!)

Model X Reveal from Tesla Motors on Vimeo.

Gretchen Jones never fails to impress – her design aesthetic moves beyond her clothes and into her always thought-provoking presentations.

This season’s theme was deserts, geodes and crystals. With pieces named after minerals, and the floor designed with a hand-lain sand mandala, the impression was one of old earth, crystal lattice structures out of a geology textbook, and the infinite color and myriad glimmer imparted by the earth’s bedrock.

I’m not a pants-lover; I find most of them to be terribly uncomfortable and not at all flattering on a woman’s body (pants work best on ladies who are more guy-shaped).

But I had to take pause when I saw all the giant slouchy pants that were a part of Assembly New York‘s first women’s collection. I could wear those with a snug top and high heels….

I headed downtown to hit this show early in fashion week, and while materials used weren’t 100% sustainable, (it was a mix of organic hand-dyed denims, alpaca yarns, rayon gabardines, and herringbone tweeds), I’m guessing that the company is dipping its toes in and (hopefully) realizing how beautiful earth-friendly can be.

All images by Starre Vartan.

Heys has long been known for producing quality suitcases and travel gear. And now their new eco-friendly line, EcoCase (they are made from 100% recycled plastic) proves they are conscious too. (And I think the hard-case style is pretty cool.)

So naturally, we are giving one away to Eco Chick and Eco Chick Escapes readers!

(Heys does make a soft fabric suitcase, also made from recycled polyester fabric, as well.)

The giveaway would be for ONE Turquoise EcoCase carry-on piece, pictured above.

To win: You have the chance to win the prize. How? Simply like the Heys Facebook page and Eco Chick Escapes Facebook page and let us know you have done so in the comments below. Easy!

Deets: Eco Chick does not sell or lend email addresses we collect. One reader will win the prize. Entrants must be 18 or older and located in the US or Canada. Submissions will be collected until February 15th at midnight eastern standard time. Good luck!

Flickr Image via TheeErin

For the girls who want to celebrate Valentine’s Day with their friends and have a fun night in, I have included a party plan to help celebrate a holiday that is notoriously for couples, in a way that celebrates their independence and zest for life! Decorate with Orange and Turquoise, rather than Pink and Red, or any other colors that make you happy and enjoy a night of gal-pal bonding!

For starters, here are two quick and easy appetizers to get the party started that anyone can make and are tasty as well:

Artichoke and Olive Dip:
1 Cup Pitted Olives (I suggest Kalamata Olives, the purple of them will give it a nice Valentine’s Day pop of color)
2 Jars of Artichoke Hearts, drained
1 Tablespoon of Capers
1 Garlic Glove
A Dash of Red Pepper Flakes
Sea Salt to add a little flavor, but the Olives should help out!

Mix all the ingredients in the food processor, but make sure to keep it chunky and serve with pita bread. Or if you want to really be healthy, serve with carrot sticks, cucumbers and celery sticks!

Mushroom Caps stuffed with Eggs and Spinach Tartlets

Mushrooms
Olive Oil
A Bag of Spinach
6 Eggs, beaten
A few Strips of Fakin’ Bacon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
Brush Olive Oil on both sides of the Mushroom Caps, lightly sprinkle with Sea Seal and Cracked Lemon Pepper
bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes

While the Mushroom Caps bake, sauté the Spinach in a little Olive Oil, add diced Veggie Bacon until it is cooked, reduce the heat, add the Eggs and scramble until done.

Fill the Mushroom Caps with the Egg, Bacon and Spinach combo and you have Bite-Size deliciousness!

If your are celebrating with the girls, you’ve got to have dessert, so here is a fun idea that is colorful and healthy!

3-Berry Cobbler
1 Cup Blackberries
1 Cup Blueberries
1 Cup Raspberries
1 Egg
1 1/2 Cups Almond Meal
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Raw Honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Pour all (3) berries in a pie pan

In a bowl, mix the Egg, Almond Meal, Coconut Oil, and Cinnamon. Stir together until the ingredients start to create a “Crumble”

Drizzle the Raw Honey over the Berries

Cover the Berries with the “Crumble” and bake for 35 minutes and serve with a dollop of Whipped Cream (see below for a healthy version).

Whipped Cream
2 Cups Vanilla Low-Fat Yogurt (drained overnight)
1/2t Teaspoon Cinnamon
1Teaspoon Stevia Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Drain yogurt overnight in a strainer lined with a coffee filter.

Add the yogurt and remaining ingredients to a bowl and whip with electric mixer and serve!

Specialty Cocktail for the Evening:

It seems that a nice glass of wine is always on the menu when a group of girls are gathering, but if you want to be creative and create a specialty mocktail, here’s one that I suggest:

The Swinging Single Valentine: (and it is Orange!)
What You Need:
3 qt. (12 cups) Cold Club Soda
1 can (12 oz.) Frozen Limeade concentrate, thawed
Fresh juice from two organic lemons
1 qt. (4 cups) Raspberry Sherbet

Add Club Soda and lemon juice to punch bowl; stir.

Scoop Sherbet into punch just before serving.

To Halve:
This recipe can easily be halved. Prepare as directed, cutting all ingredients in half. Makes 9 servings, 1 cup each.

Garnish with a Turquoise Rock Candy!

Outdoor party inspiration for the color theme suggested for this party.

One of my favorite weddings that I have ever designed was Orange and Turquoise and every time I look at the pictures from that wedding, it makes me happy! There is just something about pulling colors from opposite ends of the color spectrum that works. So hang some Turquoise and Orange lanterns, make some Turquoise and Orange Hearts out of construction paper and hang them on the walls and serve your guests on Turquoise Plates with Orange napkins and you are all set for you Girls Night “IN” party.

With these ideas you are sure to create and extraordinary experience!

Follow Brian on his site, Facebook page and Twitter feed for more great party (and wedding) ideas.

About Brian: Brian Worley, co-owner of YourBASH! Event Production, has over twelve years of event experience to his credits. Brian’s extensive background in event production in combination with his unique sense of design has allowed him to work on a multitude of events, coordination, design and “hands on” knowledge have elevated his resume of events, including VIP parties and movie premieres for top entertainment networks, celebrity and high profile weddings and product launches.

Recently, Brian has been working on some outstanding projects, creating an absolutely astonishing premiere party for FOX’s new show “Alcatraz,” working with “Operation Shower,” a charity that provides baby showers for military wives, as well as a lounge and gifting suite for the Sundance Film Festival, just to name a few.

One of Brian’s personal interests is producing and designing events that are both GREEN and ECO-FRIENDLY. He strives to create stunning events utilizing the philosophy: REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE. He implements this idea in simple ways such as organic and pesticide-free food, bio-diesel generators, rented furniture, recycled fabric, drapes and linens, and low watt and LED lighting, just to name a few.

Brian Worley.

Eco-Chick fave Carrie Parry (check out Haley’s coverage of her F/W 2011 collection here) has just won the 15,000 Euro prize at Amsterdam Fashion Week for her latest collection. Congratulations Carrie!

“It feels amazing to be honored by such a prestigious group whose goals in advancing sustainable fashion are so matched with my own,” says Parry.

According to a press release: “Counting previous posts at Jonathan Saunders, Marc Jacobs, Norma Kamali, and fashion’s leading environmental non-profit Earth Pledge FutureFashion, Carrie Parry brings something totally new to eco fashion: a wardrobe of whimsical yet gorgeously polished staples boasting detachable and versatile pieces. The label recognizes the two sides to making fashion sustainable: (1) how garments are made — sustainably sourcing recycled, organic and carbon neutral textiles from domestic sources and artisanal communities around the world — and (2) how garments are worn — introducing the concept of interchangeable and detachable pieces and designing with an emphasis on versatility (day to night, season to season) so we get more wear out of the garments we own, and therefore need to consume less.”

“The jury’s criteria included the conservation of biodiversity, the commercialism of the designs, corporate social responsibility, profitability, and level of innovation in the designs. The jury was comprised of supermodel and founder of Organice Your Life, Lonneke Engel, founder of Head-On Agency Christoph Mollet, pioneer in sustainable fashion Tony Tonnaer (Kings Of Indigo), fashion journalist and publicist Georgette Koning, Senior Banker Manolo Marquez (ABN AMRO), expert in sustainability Wijnand Brother (CREM) and Paul Vetter of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.”

Read about Carrie Parry’s “Mrs. Montague” collection here.

Drew Barrymore’s latest movie (which she stars in with with Jon Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Dermot Mulroony and Tim Blake Nelson), Big Miracle, is based on actual events that took place in 1988, when grey whales got stranded under the ice off the Alaskan coast. I got a chance to see a screener of the new film a few days ago, and it was one of the best films I’ve seen in awhile. Read my full review here.

“With an oil tycoon, heads of state and hungry journalists descending upon the frigid outpost, the one who worries Adam the most is Rachel Kramer (Barrymore). Not only is she an outspoken environmentalist, she’s also his ex-girlfriend.

With time running out, Rachel and Adam must rally an unlikely coalition of Inuit natives, oil companies and Russian and American military to set aside their differences and free the whales. As the world’s attention turns to the top of the globe, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to a momentary thaw in the Cold War.”

Experience the heartwarming tale of Big Miracle with this Eco Chick giveaway package!

One (1) winner will receive:
· $25 Fandango Gift Card

· Big Miracle T-shirt

Prize pack valued at $55
Giveaway open to US mailing addresses only
Prizing courtesy of Universal Pictures

To win: You have the chance to win the prize. How? Simply sign up for our newsletter here.

Submit with a valid email address (so we can contact you if you win!).

Deets: Eco Chick does not sell or lend email addresses we collect. One reader will win the prize. Entrants must be 18 or older and located in the US or Canada. Submissions will be collected until February 3rd at midnight eastern standard time. Good luck!

Images courtesy Universal Pictures.

For years, designers with a conscience spent an inordinate amount of valuable time tracking down fabrics that had a smaller footprint, looking for materials that were made from organic and ethical sources and colored with less-polluting dyestuffs. The textiles were out there, but finding them was a job in and of itself, until Source4Style came along.

Source4Style can be searched by fabric type, color, material origin, and more, as well as by price.

The brainchild of activist, eco model and environmental consultant Summer Rayne Oakes and her business partner, Benita Singh, Source4Style launched about a year ago in Beta, featuring a number of fabrics from several different companies. In the year since, the site has grown to include more fabrics (the total is now in the hundreds) and will soon include zippers, buttons, lace and trim, all sourced from responsible manufacturers.

This organic merino wool is an example of one of the trends for 2012, Wanderlust.

“Our goal is to provide the most cutting-edge tools to facilitate commerce between two groups that are currently disconnected in the global market – the leading sustainable suppliers and the designers looking for them,” says Singh. “Suppliers all over the world – whether they be a cooperative of artisans or an emerging factory -can apply to showcase on Source4Style’s platform and be opened up to a rapidly-growing designer and apparel brand base.”

This handwoven Kente cloth is indicative of the Hipstamatic Prism trend.

Source4Style is not a middleman; the site functions purely as a connecting point between designer and fabric producer, offering swatches and great content about the sustainable fashion industry, as well as information about material types, the benefits of natural and eco friendly materials, and much more, in a well-organized, easy-to-navigate platform. Anyone can join – and browse and connect to suppliers for free, but Premium Level Members get a “..complimentary 25-page Trend Report highlighting the latest colors, textures, patterns and materials for the upcoming season,” as well as materials customization, unlimited sourcing and downloadable materials testing and certifications documentation.

The Zen Beginnings trend is exemplified by this pretty Cotten Khadi in Heather that’s woven in India.

Trends are an incredibly important part of designer’s planning process, and so the Source4Style trend reports are comprehensive looks at what is upcoming in the next year-plus. (Like the three fabrics here, which are representative parts of three macro-trends for A/W 2012/2013.)

Interested? The first ten Eco Chick readers who take advantage can get $100 off the annual Premium Level Membership, plus $20 in free swatches. Use the code CHICECO100 at checkout to take advantage of this deal.

Victoria’s Secret drove me nuts even before they were accused of their most recent child-labor scandal. With high prices for low quality, their kinda-cheesy designs that have to be dug through to find anything cute, and their puke-pink-overload stores (hey, I like a little pink, see above but VC takes it to a level that’s just insulting to the color), I finally gave up on the retailer a few years ago.

I know I’m not the only one looking for alternatives.

Enter Who Made Your Pants, a British project (but they ship worldwide) that upcycles unused lace from the garment industry into new undies. And they benefit refugee women.

And I’m so into the way they talk about their company: C’mon, this just sounds like they are directly addressing all the unethical lingerie companies out there: “We also think that it’s not really on for anyone to be made to work in bad conditions just for a cheap pair of pants. Who could feel lovely in something made in a bad place? So we make our pants in a great place.” LOVE!!!

And these undies aren’t just making the world a better place – they are making your butt a smoother place too. They are designed to have no visible panty line (VPL), stay in place, and (GOOD GOD) be comfortable all day long. I’ve died and gone to underwear heaven!

“Who Made Your Pants is structured as a worker co-op, creating jobs and training for refugee women in Southampton. Who Made Your Pants was set up specifically to empower women. The women it employs and works with are primarily refugees, from Afghanistan, Somalia, the Sudan – often places where there have been wars. They may have been educated or worked, they may not, so their needs are all different and Who Made Your Pants’ training and support varies in relation to need.”

More Great Green Undies from Eco Chick:
Artful Undergarments: Rio Wrenn’s Eco Lingerie
Collection
Lovely Lingerie That Just Happens to Be Eco
Under the Root: Sexy Eco Lingerie

I was raised in the great state of New York, but as a teenager in the 90′s, I totally idolized the Pacific Northwest – everything from the music (Temple of the Mother Love Bone JamGarden!) to the clothes (plaidplaidplaid) to the beer. I even thought the guys from there were cuter. (The fact that my boyfriend today is from Oregon is no random thing – when I first heard about him via our mutual friend I remember being really excited about the detail that he was from the Northwest).

In the last year or so, I’ve gotten to travel to Portland and Seattle, and it’s pretty much as awesome as I was expecting. (I even had a ‘dream achieved’ joy-meltdown in a bar in Eugene, OR). So I was really worried when I first heard about the IFC show, Portlandia. I knew and liked Fred Armisen, and I thought I recognized co-creator Carrie Brownstein from somewhere….. but I was concerned the show would be stupid and everyone would laugh (or, not laugh, I guess) at it.

How wrong I was! While not every sketch is full of unicorn-popsicle-awesomepower, many of them are fall-off-the-couch hilarious. Both my grew-up-near-Portland boyfriend and I enjoy it muchly. Watch it!

A fun Eco Chickie-ish sketch below about recycling will whet your palate. (Oh, and Carrie Brownstein? She was the lead singer for Sleater-Kinney, a band I have been listening to, on and off, since I was 17. She must be the coolest girl in the world, sigh.)