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

Video Tour of Stewart+Brown’s Fall, 2010 Collection

Stewart + Brown has been making eco fashion since 2002, and from the very first collection I spied in late 2004 until today, the brand has been defined by an incredible sense of classy sophistication, without ever being considered old ladyesque (though I’ve always felt that most of the companies’ pieces, and especially it’s knits- could be worn by women 16-90). The company’s style has a definite California vibe (they are LA-based) but the warm knits are perfect for Northeastern winters as well. And did I mention comfy enough to wear while on a cross-country flight, but lovely enough for dinner with the parents?

As you’ll see in the video tour below, the company’s designers are constantly innovating with new, natural materials, like yak, hemp blends, organic cotton and Mongolian cashmere (and as described in the video, they work directly with collectives in Tibet and Mongolia to create their signature knits).

The company was also a sponsor of the Project Green Search Model competition, providing ensembles for the finalists to model as part of their photo shoots. Their Fall/Winter 2010 collection is filled with gorgeous pieces; I’ve picked just a few of my favorites below.

Eliza Thermal Cardi, 100% Mongolian Cashmere, $428.00, Featured w/ the Aston Scarf (in Clove Loom Print), 96% hemp, 4% Spandex, $64.00
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Brooklyn Designs 2010 Green Finds: Colleen and Eric

It was a sunny and perfect afternoon on the Brooklyn waterfront (specifically, DUMBO) last Thursday, and also the opening of Brooklyn Designs, the annual local-BK event that highlights the borough’s most creative furniture and home decor.

Inhabitat has the full coverage of the event and all the green furniture (plus their awards!); I focused on the fun and fabulous (and green, of course) decor items that I found. First up, Colleen and Eric!

Colleen + Eric are brand-new to the furniture and design show, but their creations were some of my favorites. “Hold on Tight” Shelves, North Star End tables Flock of Birds wall decals ($55) and fab BKLN totebags ($35). See video below for close-ups and deets!

Eric of Colleen and Eric walks me through his booth at Brooklyn Designs

RIPE: Fresh Cocktail Mixers with Real, Pronounceable Ingredients

In a rush before a gaggle of guests were due to arrive at my house, I was staring at a shelf full of pre-made margarita mixers at my local liquor store. With no time to run to the grocery store, making my own was out, so I grabbed the first bottle I saw and dashed down the aisle, reading the ingredients as I walked. “Contains no juice. High fructose corn syrup… citric acid… polysorbate 60… umm, glycerol ester of wood rosin? Oh, hell no.” The bottle went back on the shelf. Tequila shots, anyone?

There’s no denying the convenience factor of pre-made mixers, especially for those of us who are a little too lazy or sloppy with a measuring spoon to play bartender. But should we have to settle for high fructose corn syrup and other less-than-healthy ingredients? The makers of RIPE Mixers don’t think so, and let me tell you, their products will blow that nasty stuff right out of your cocktail glasses.

Read my RIPE review More »

On the Run with Label Eco Fashion: Spring/Summer 2010

Elvira Dress • 91% Silk / 9% Spandex.

The first thing you’ll notice about Label, by Natalie Sydoruk and Shawna Robinson is the edginess of the design, then you’ll clue into the sustainable aspects. Or at least that was my reaction to this 80’s meets Blade Runner interpretation of day- and evening-wear.

Label’s latest collection “..tells the story of a couple on the run, hiding in a seedy motel room.” Love it! This spring, the collection features fabrics containing organic cotton, hemp, lyocell, bamboo and silk.

With all production based in Toronto, the designers oversee each step of the process to ensure the collection meets their desire for quality clothing and ethical practices. The Spring Summer collection is now available online at the See No Label boutique

Flasher Trench – 55% Hemp / 45% Recycled Polyester

Slasher Top • 93% Bamboo / 7% Spandex.

What Does a Terrestrial Oil Spill Look Like? Chevron’s Mess in the Amazon

A group of people washing their clothes beneath a mass of oil pipelines. Some broken. It smelled strongly of petroleum here.

Beth Doane has seen the impact of oil spills on communities, first-hand. And unlike the recent oil spill in the Gulf that’s got the world’s attention, Chevron’s negligence in the Ecuadorian Amazon has been ignored for decades, though the sights, smells and impacts are just as incensing as gross pollution can be. Perhaps it’s because they are indigenous, poor, and without access to media and resources, but the people that are affected by the spills and leakages in Ecuador continue to live in what can only be defined as a terrestrial oil slick. Outcry is minimal.

Beth is not a trained activist or a political leader. She is simply a pissed-off young woman who originally founded Rain Tees (a popular t-shirt company that has been featured in Seventeen and Glamour founded on the idea of using proceeds to address Amazonian environmental issues) and is now fighting against one of the biggest oil companies in the world. Beth is using her voice and company to draw attention to Chevron’s oil dumping to protect one of the most critically endangered regions of the Earth, the Amazon rainforest. “The main threats to the Amazon are illegal logging, poaching, mining, cattle ranching and oil drilling, but the worst of these threats is perhaps the oil drilling that is continually happening on indigenous land,” says Beth.

Oil pipelines and a pipeline leaking oil into the Amazon

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