Ethical Fashion Show struts its stuff
by Summer Rayne Oakes · 10/28/06
The Ethical Fashion Show in Paris was in full swing this October 13-16. Press crawled through the rooms (above) searching for the lastest in cool ethical wear. Over 60 designers from 20+ countries participated, each having their own flavor of design.

very hot Asian models preparing for their debut of the Torgo brand

a very happy camper from Torgo for the above reason

Deborah Milner, sponsored by AVEDA, showed 4 out of 10 pieces that she was contracted to design using fair trade and organic materials from the areas where AVEDA sources for their products.

London’s trendy TOPSHOP store will be showcasing this design – a collaboration between Global Mamas in Ghana and a UK-based designer. This was made possible through the work of the Ethical Fashion Forum and Tabeisa.

Only for the most confident of wearers

Cute girly top with Makabu (vintage trend) boots

Judith Condor-Vidal was all smiles when I tried on some of the alpaca products from her Peruvian artisans. If that wasn’t enough, she was the dual-winner of La Redoute’s Fashion award. Her pieces will be appearing in their Autumn/Winter 2007-2008 catalog
* all photos compliments of Pablo Wunsch Blanco.
autumn, design, designer, designers, epa, ethical, ethical fashion, Fair Trade, Fashion, fashion show, labor, London, model, models, Organic, rum, vintageEco Infographics
by Starre Vartan · 10/27/06
As much as I love the written (or typed) word, I love infographics more, mostly because in our visual/ADD/graphic overload world, I think they have more impact. Some examples:
Breathing Earth. You have to see it to believe it….watch in stunning graphic detail who’s emitting all the CO2, where people are being born, and where they’re dying. This is a bit beautiful, and bit creepy, and all-around sobering.
National Geographic’s subscribers recently received the latest U.S. political map. On the reverse is an amazing and detailed “History of the Land” map, which shows, in great detail, an historical geologic overview of America. Great for map and geology geeks like me.
Accessible to anyone, even if you’re not a subscriber, are the NG Map Machine maps. You can look at how land use has changed, where the most critical areas are for endangered species, and where current and future environmental threats are/will be. (click on the “More Theme Maps” tab at the top to search through these various maps.)
The Global Education Project also has some great materials (more education-oriented, but still cool). They’re the creators of the pictured map above.
Last item via: Treehugger
Enviro News Round Up
by Katie Kish · 10/26/06
We seem to be having quite a bit of a drop in posts around here! I’m hoping to rack up some goodies this weekend, but we’ll see. Until then, here is some fairly generic (yet oh so interesting!!!) environmental news.
Need a new reason to go on that diet? Well, turns out it’s going to help you use less gasoline. Vehicles in the United States are using at least 938 million extra gallons of gas annually in comparison to 1960 simply because the drivers are heavier. In 1960 an average female weighed 140 lbs, and the male was on average 166 lbs. In 2002 the averages weighed in at 164 and 191 respectively. The gas that the overweight users are burning up represents $2.8 billion if gas is selling at $3 a gallon. That’s enough to fuel the U.S gasoline addiction for three days straight. [sour-ces]
Online news is the way to a greener future. It’s surprising that it has taken this long for publishers to start thinking about their eco-impact. The paper industry is the fourth-largest contributor of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. The average Time Magazine results in about 0.29 pounds of greenhouse gas-emissions. Rupert Murdoch has announced a plan to make News Corporation carbon neutral. “We’ve recognized that these are issues that are important to our readers and, increasingly, important to our advertisers,” says David J. Refkin of Time Inc. [source ]
As if it’s new news that humans are consuming the planet’s resources at an exceptional rate, but the WWF is reiterating that point for us. Humans are consuming the resources 25% faster than the Earth can renew them. This would mean that by mid-century we would need two planets in order to sustain human life. “Exhaustion of ecological assets and large-scale ecosystem collapse become increasingly likely,” says the report. The United Arab Emirates is hosting the most per capita degradation followed by the big bad U.S., Finland and Canada. Since 1961 the footprint of humanity has tripled. Good luck on cutting down the resource use by a full 50% to save the Earth. [sou-rc-es]
Smog has been suffocating Southeast Asia over the last few weeks. Smog so bad that the visibility is as low as 650 feet in some areas, shutting down some airports. The big thanks goes out to the Indonesian farmers and the owners of timber and palm-oil plantations. They’re setting huge fires to clear all the land necessary for their work. This slash and burn practice is illegal in Indonesia, but since when has economic gain prevailed over environmental degradation? The air quality has gotten so bad that it is causing children to stay indoors, trigging common health problems that we see in North America during the summer, and putting a huge damper on tourism. Ironically this clearing is happening for the some of the palm oil to be used as eco-friendly biodiesel. [so-ur-ce-s]
biodiesel, business, car, carbon, children, diesel, emissions, environmental news, epa, farm, gas, health, magazine, media, News, NYTimes, oil, paper, resources, summerNoel Brings a Little Green to Nantucket
by Danelle Brown · 10/23/06
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Next time you’re planning a getaway to Nantucket, check-in to Hotel Green. Shoe designer, Vanessa Noel, opened the quaint little 10 key hotel within an 1837 Greek revival building. While lounging around in your organic hemp and cotton guest robe, you can have guest services deliver organic pancakes with fresh squeezed juice to your simple yet chic room. For those who are not guests lodging at the hotel, one is still able to taste the organic cuisine at the hotel’s restaurant and bar, Vanno Bar.
The rooms consists of furniture made mostly from recycled content. Even the telephones in the guestrooms are recycled. The palette is quite simple with splashes of color. Accent walls through out the hotel are painted with Anna Sova Paint. Energy efficient lighting is installed throughout the inn. I have seen no evidence of yet though that shows that her hot shoe collection is eco-friendly. It would be great to have a hot eco-chic shoe collection from a fabulous designer.
cotton, design, designer, Eco-Chick, Energy, fur, Furniture, hemp, Lighting, liver, Organic, recycle, recycled, restaurant, spa, travelOhhh….so Pretty!
by Starre Vartan · 10/22/06
Left to Right: Red Jasper and Fossilized Dinosaur Bone; Chrysoprase and Imperial Jasper; Chrysoprase and Montana Agate
I love Kirsten Muenster’s jewelry (and her site has the coolest music too!). Kirsten makes the jewelry herself, from recycled and fairly-sourced metals (did you know that there is enough gold already extracted so that the world’s jewelry needs could be met without ever digging a gold mine again?).
Kirsten also sources all the gems and rocks for her creations personally, contacting ‘rock hounds’ who do responsible extractions, and cutting stones out of ‘vintage’ rocks that were mined in the 1940′s 50′s and 60′s. This designer knows her geology, which I think lends her creations an extra level of sophistication. She knows exactly where the stones (and fossils) for her jewelry comes from, and designs each piece with this history in mind.
Says Kirsten, “I’ve come to acknowledge the fact that the choices I make in my own work have an impact, so I seek to be more conscious of how my decisions effect people and ecosystems.”


Read more about Kirsten and her jewelry in Summer Rayne Oakes’ Behind the Label article and on FiftyRX3.



















