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

Two Green Reasons I Love Brad and Angelina!

First off, As a green doula, I have to applaud Angelina for gracing the cover of the new W magazine while breastfeeding. Awesome that the photographer just so happened to be her husband, Brad Pitt. Angelina is inspirational because she has confidently taken a stand and is sending a message loud and clear. Women who are mothers are naturally beautiful and breastfeeding is a normal natural phenomenon that should be accepted as a social norm.

Though the cover picture is just a simple black and white photo, and there were no fancy film crews in their home, there still remains evident a beautiful halo of motherhood.

Breastfeeding is healthy and super beneficial for mother and child. It is unfortunate that over the years, breastfeeding has been given a taboo cloak, though that does seem to be slowly changing. Because of these tainted views, many women aren’t given the freedom, encouragement and support that they need to give nutrients to their child, build their immune systems, reduce a their own risk of certain types of cancer, and more.

With this cover, a dialogue can begin again.

Secondly, Brad Pitt has collaborated with beauty brand Kiehl’s to create the first ever Cradle-to-Cradle certified beauty product (environmentally safe, healthy , designed for material reutilization,etc.)  The Aloe Vera Liquid Body Cleanser that Brad helped design and developed the scent, debuts this month.

He also wrote a little message on the label to inform everyone where proceeds from their purchase will go:

Despite the negative tabloidization of their lives, I think Brangelina are amazing and inspirational.

7 Sexiest Green Stars of 2007

The results are in!
Well, not really. This list is based on my humble blogger opinion. Use the comment section to claim which celebs float your green boat. With enough feedback, I hope to compile a list based on “popular,” not personal, opinion.

Sheryl Crow
2007 was a great year for Sheryl Crow. In addition to advocating “one square per restroom visit,” the singer raised mainstream green awareness by touring the country in a biodiesel-powered bus. With Laurie David at her side, Crow threw the smack down on Karl Rove. After the former senior White House advisor scoffed at global warming evidence, Sheryl got feisty. “You work for us,” the singer said famously. Now, flip me a burger . . . b*tch!

Brad Pitt
Obviously! No “sexy list” is complete without this corn-fed, Oklahoma-born, man-boy from Missouri. Rugged good looks and a hard body (PEOPLE named him Sexiest Man Alive . . . twice) are fascinating, but thanks to the stalkerazzi, we’re also privy to this benevolent gentleman’s every good deed. Following a laundry list, Pitt finished off 2007 with a massive green building project in Katrina-devastated New Orleans. Pitting (ahem, excuse me) a team of world-renowned green architects for projects, Brad is determined to start an unprecedented green building trend. Adopt a green house (not one of his children) at MakeitRight9.org.

Sienna Miller
It’s hard to keep track of this British beauty’s breakups, make-ups . . . and then again breakups; yet, Sienna’s eco-record is as clear as the see-through bra she sports in Hippie Hippie Shake. An ambassador for UK-based climate-change campaign, Global Cool, Miller recently launched the carbon-neutral clothing line Twenty8Twelve. In October 2007, Sienna received an EMA Futures Award—an honor given to those who use their talent and celebrity to draw attention to the problem of global warming. Yay! Now we can raise our beers to eco-activism and sexy starlets . . . it’s Miller time!

Adrian Grenier
Unlike the character he plays on TV, Entourage star Adrian Grenier cares about the environment—no he doesn’t drive a bright yellow Hummer in “real life!” Grenier prefers driving a Prius, living in a fully “green” house (solar roof, reclaimed floors, recycled blue-jean insulation, blah, blah, blah), and offsetting. In 2007, Grenier drew massive attention to Charity Water, a non-profit initiative that sets up drinking water and sanitation infrastructures in the world’s most impoverished communities.

Word in the ‘Hood says Grenier is “fully committed to educating any lady who dares walk into his green life.” According to environmental gossip site Ecorazzi.com, Grenier said, “if a woman isn’t environmentally conscious, she will be after going out with me.”

Too bad, I’m already environmentally conscious . . .

Al Gore
I had to! This greenie may lack chiseled abs and cheekbones. Nonetheless, in 2007 Gore turned us on with unbridled activism and inspirational gusto. You go Gore!

Hayden Panettiere
Emerging from the cesspool of Disney celebs comes Hayden Panettiere. Though best known for her kiddy-porn appeal and role on NBC’s Heroes, Panettiere is raising praise and eyebrows as a young advocate.

This past October, Panettiere thoroughly pissed off Japanese fishermen during their annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama. The young star paddled a surfboard out to a cull of captured dolphins. Though blocked from freeing the enmeshed porpoises, Panettiere’s kafuffle drew great attention to animal conservation and her bubble-butt.

Dolphin saving aside, Panettiere reportedly continues to drive a pimped out Porsche SUV . . . ugh, teenagers!

Leonardo Dicaprio
Hardly jaded by my accolades, international stardom, Oscar-nominations and embarrassingly attractive girlfriends, Leonardo DiCaprio has become one of today’s most prominent environmental voices—many say he is following in Al’s footsteps. In 2007 he produced and narrated the 11th Hour, said to be an unofficial sequel to An Inconvenient Truth. Leo’s film stars my favorite environmentalist of all—and someone who should be on this list: David Suzuki.

For more from Olivia Zaleski check in with her on The Huffington Post.

Oscars Still Light Green

Well, the Oscars are over, and while there’s just no way that a party this big can be environmentally-friendly, efforts were made to make this Oscar greener than ever (though the website doesn’t detail exactly how impacts were reduced), it says:

This year, the Academy, the Oscar telecast producer Laura Ziskin and the entire production team endeavored to select supplies and services with a sensitivity toward reducing the threats we face from global warming, species extinction, deforestation, toxic waste, and hazardous chemicals in our water and food.

Independently, some stars did try to reduce their impact where they could, most notably by getting to the big event in a hybrid or other kind of alternative transportation (I’d love to see biodiesel shuttle buses in the future!), in a campaign by Global Green called Red Carpet/Green Cars.

And of course, Al Gore’s speech got a lot of claps and supportive hollers at the party I went to last night. Serious….and funny!

From this Reuters article, following is a list of some of the leading green celebrity players (and I have to mention, where are the women? This list is really dominated by the guys….):

- ROBERT REDFORD: 30 years on board of Natural Resources Defense Council,
founder of Sundance Preserve, winner of 1993 Earth Day award, 1987 United
Nations Global 500 award. In April 2007, launches weekly three-hour slot
called “The Green,” dedicated entirely to the environment, on his Sundance
TV channel.

- LEONARDO DICAPRIO: started the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to
promote environmental issues, drives a hybrid car, currently writing and
producing a feature length documentary on global warming called “11th Hour.”

- BRAD PITT: co-creator of design competition to build 20 affordable,
reduced energy, environmentally friendly homes in New Orleans.

- STING: founder in 1989 of Rainforest Foundation to protect rain forests
and their indigenous peoples.

More »

Tilting at Windmills

Should women’s bodies be used to ’sell’ environmentalism? Lots of folks have been discussing the Ecobabes calendar lately, and though I think the photos in the calendar are pretty tasteful (as I think the picture above, of model Betcee May is), and I certainly believe in celebrating women in the environmental movement, there is something that bothers me about the whole thing.

Maybe it’s not really the pictures that bother me, because I love the naked and artfully photographed nude human body, but the fact that there aren’t any naked men doing this? I guess I don’t see equality if it is only one gender shown in their skivvies all the time. While some argue that women’s bodies are more beautiful, I say that’s bunk; I love beautiful bodies, both male, female, transgendered, asexual, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. Finally, if the vast majority of environmentalists are women, shouldn’t we be able to demand some fair play with the images that are used in the promotion of our cause?

I’m not opposed to natural beauty being appreciated, but honestly, I’d like to see some ecohunks too- some young, shirtless guys who work hard for the Earth…I can imagine some forest rangers, environmental scientists and maybe even bloggers (wink, wink) who would look great half-naked in a calendar whose proceeds would benefit green causes. What do you think? Would you buy an EcoHunks calendar in 2008?

Brad Pitt does drive a hybrid after all….

Read all about it, Good Magazine is out

Good Magazine’s premier issue is out. LOVED the political senate highlights + being from Pennsylvania – loved the overview of Rick Santorum. (Yah, #%*$ you, Santorum)…hope you like your website. Maybe Angelina Jolie’s and Brad Pitt’s “no marriage for us before everyone can equally be married policy” willl knock some sense into you.

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