Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Lina Rennell’s Personal Textile Creations Transform Clothes into Casual Wearable Art

Designer Lina Rennell combines beautiful, handprinted fabrics with ethical textiles, creating uniquely lovely clothes which find inspiration in everyday objects; her Fall/Winter collection takes off from a lampshade that the designer loves. Her Spring/Summer 2012 collection, shown here, called “Marble Ballet” delves into the “…imagery of visual mishaps of nature, the beauty of evolution and mutation reframed into engaging pirouettes,” says Lina.

“I primarily do screen printing, by hand with large screens done in San Francisco. The line is textile art driven, and I start my process in a very personal way, what I’m drawn to at the moment, or what I’m struggling with. That’s in the textiles themselves, and then once I have a body of fabrics and prints, I do the fashion thing,” says Lina.

The designer lives as green as she can, shopping at the local farmer’s market and working near home so there’s no commute. “The eco thing is just second nature to me. I grew up in health food stores and walking around all day in the hills with my animal friends. So organic clothing was just an obvious choice for me. I loved the quality of it first and foremost; how is it so much like the vintage textiles, with its well made integrity, and unique hand,” says Lina.

Lina prefers using older sewing techniques; calling her creations “light couture.” Enclosed seams, or French seams mean that her pieces often look as beautiful inside-out as they do right way forward.

“I’m inspired by color, and animals and contrasts. I love modern but I always have a eye on tribal, hand done craft. I grew up reading Vogue, though I was mostly a tomboy. My mother on the other hand was always in pumps with red lipstick, always decked out to the nines, and then there was me with my big bushy messy hair,” says Lina.

Lina Rennell is a family-run local business, and sewing and printing all takes place in California by other small businesses. Organic cotton and hemp silk blends are favorite fabrics and Lina says, “We also recycle lots of our fabric in small piece production and gifting to schools and other designers.”

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Coclico Boutique’s Two Day Holiday (25% Off) Sale

On Thursday, December 8th, and Friday, December 9th we’re inviting our New York customers to enjoy 25% off clothing and handbags from designers like Obakki, Rachel Comey, Iro, Something Else, Mociun, Podolls, Collina Strada, Malababa, and more.

Please join us for cocktails on Thursday, December 8th at 5pm and we’ll help you find the perfect gift or holiday party outfit. Plus we’ll have goodie bags for our first ten shoppers and a complimentary bottle of wine for customers with clothing/handbag purchases of $500 or more!

Coclico is located at 25 Mott St. in Nolita (Manhattan).

5 Ways to Reduce Your Chemical Exposure Before You Even Think About Getting Pregnant

Image courtesy Flickr User Trocaire.

 

I have never been pregnant and I do not have any children. I do, however, plan on being pregnant one day (but not anytime soon!). So you might be curious why I think I’m entitled to share pre-pregnancy tips with you.

It’s pretty simple: the facts! Being a healthy mom means starting on a healthy track well before you’re ready to get pregnant.

Budding mommies-to-be avoid smoking and alcohol without hesitation, as both butts and booze have long been widely accepted as fetotoxic — poisonous to a growing baby. But what many women don’t realize is that there’s a long list of other toxic chemicals lurking in their homes and daily beauty routine at this very moment– which could harm her eventual baby, not to mention herself.

These harmful chemicals pervade our personal ecosystems, disguising themselves in everyday items we use and consume. While clever and visually appealing packaging may assert that they’re safe, “eco” or even natural, a pre-pregnant or pregnant gal would probably prefer to avoid them if she knew the full story.

Many of the toxins in products we use daily bioaccumulate in our bodies over a long period of time after we’re exposed to them, sometimes even decades. (This is scary stuff for a woman who foresees herself becoming pregnant 10-15 years down the line, let alone just a few years.)

Toxins typically find their home in our fat cells, and because women naturally have more body fat than men, we store more toxins, (especially in our breasts and belly where babies grow and then nurse from). Heavy metals and other toxins don’t just bioaccumulate in our own bodies, they also build up in the bodies of animals, (especially large fish, which is why pregnant and nursing women shouldn’t eat  fish like tilefish, swordfish, kingfish and tuna). These metals work their way into the atmosphere through emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources, and then get distributed into the oceans.

As an aspiring mother in today’s world, it’s incumbent on you to take your health and your future baby’s into your own hands. This never-been-pregnant gal is here to help with these five ways to reduce your chemical exposure whether you want a baby next month, next year, or sometime way down the line!

1.) Use non-toxic cleaning supplies. Household cleaners contain nasty chemicals culprits  such as phosphates, phenols, phthalates, triclosan, glycol ethers, ammonia, and petroleum solvents. Sadly, I could go on. Many of these have been linked to reproductive and neurological issues and birth defects, and traces have been found in breast milk and umbilical cord samples. Gross.

The bottom line: Look for purveyors of non-toxic and safe ecological cleaning products  such as Ecover, Mrs. Meyer’s or Method. You could even make your own with ingredients like baking soda and vinegar!

2.) Buy organic fruits and vegetables. Women should avoid pesticides and pollutants found in non-organic food, as pesticide exposure can cause both short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) health problems for animals and humans. Exposure to pesticides known as organophosphates, during pregnancy can permanently decrease children’s IQ, memory and ability to focus on tasks. Growth hormones found in dairy and meat products should be avoided as they can increase the risk of disrupted development and cancer in humans.

The bottom line: Shop organic and use the Environmental Working Group’s “shoppers guide” as a resource to avoid pesticides in produce.

3.) Junk your toxic beauty and personal care products. The average woman exposes herself to 167 different chemicals on her body and face during her daily beauty regimen.  Since we absorb 60% of what we put onto our skin, this means that you’re allowing chemicals to be absorbed into your body.

The bottom line: Shop for beauty and personal care products including lotions, shampoos/conditioners, deodorants, toothpastes, perfumes, nail polishes, you name it,  that are free of harmful chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, sulfates and DEA. Use the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep website to research the truth behind the ingredients in many of the products you use. Be sure to use the tool prior to making any purchases. It may not be as convenient as simply reading some label that’s lying to you and throwing it in the cart, but you and your future baby are worth the extra few minutes of time spent.
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Gorgeous Vintage Travel-the-World Bags

One of my favorite parts of travelling is packing; bear with me here. While I don’t relish putting together my bigger suitcase or bag (which I always check), setting up my carry on, whether it’s for a long train voyage or a shorter (but more stressful) plane flight, is good fun. I save up copies of Elle, Monocle, and the New Yorker, carefully choose at least two books – yes I still read on paper – and ensure I have enough moisturizer, facial spritz, hand wipes, lip balm, healthy snacks and podcasts loaded on my phone. It’s fun to pack it all in there, the minimum number and quantity of items that one needs immediately while voyaging.

To read the whole story, click over to our sister site, Eco Chick Escapes!

Beautiful BKR Glass Water Bottles: Well Designed and Just Right

Finding the right water bottle is a little bit like a Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Some bottles are too big, some are too small, some are made from the wrong materials, or the drink opening is the wrong shape for drinking from while working out, or too small to clean properly.

And then Bkr sent me one of their pretty bottles to try. And it was like I had found bottle nirvana. It was made of glass, which keeps water cool naturally, and won’t leach anything into liquids, hot or cold. Glass is also easy to clean, and Bkr bottles are covered with a translucent silicone sleeve, so even if you drop the bottle, it’s not likely to break (of course it still can, but so can plastic if dropped far enough).

And look how pretty they are!