Candles · Eco-Chick

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NKD Naked Candles: Zero Bad Stuff

There are so many holiday candles and air fresheners out there, but many are created from synthetic fragrances that contain harmful chemicals. In this day and age when people are “Febreezing” their environments, it is important to use natural toxin-free products.

I was introduced to the nkd: Naked Candles at Our Green House last year and got hooked. NKD attempts to engage in eco-friendly practices by producing their candles domestically (home base is Boulder, CO) from recycled materials. These yummy soy wax candles are 97% pure and natural. The scents are subtle and pleasant.

My favorite is Jack Frost, a buttery peppermint-pine scent that is warm, yet refreshing for the holidays. Other notables are: Moonstruck: strawberries and champagne, Thunderhead: lavender and citrus create this crisp, fresh scent. Ginger Papaya, Farmers Market (fresh greens,) and Dreamsicle are also delicious.

As of December 3rd, 2008, NKD is offering a 25% discount to Eco Chick readers. Use code: K25D08 Good through December 31st

candles, decor, Home, scents

Eco Holiday

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 12/24/07

This year, to enjoy the holidays, we are minimizing gift-giving and enjoying time together. Here are some simple ways we are doing this:
~Clearing out old stuff and donating it to Goodwill and shelters
~Enjoying warm cups of organic vanilla and spice tea
~Heading out for a hike
~Lighting the soy Jack Frost candles and turning off the lights while enjoying some locally harvested food and organic nog (gotta have nog – soy for me!)
~Doing artwork
~Listening to corny Frank Sinatra songs
~Playing frisbee with the dog in the snow
~Taking the babies out and pulling them on their wooden sled

Starre, Thanks so much for all that you do to keep Eco Chick thriving!
Wishing everyone a warm, snuggly holiday.
*

babies, candles, corn, farm, Food, giving, holiday, Holidays, Lighting, local, Organic, soy, Tea, wood

Eco Luxury Gift Ideas (and Bikes!) in Vogue

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by Starre Vartan · 12/04/07

I was thrilled to see some seriously fun totally over-the-top delicious green stuff featured in Vogue’s December issue (it’s the one with the impossibly gorgeous Penelope Cruz, above, on the cover).

First up, there’s “Season’s Greenings” by William Norwich, who talks to three fabulous greenies. Sheherazade Goldsmith, author of A Slice of Organic Life, recommends bamboo salad tongs, the Linda Lee Hundred Trees Charm from Barney’s, recycled wallpaper from Lim and Handtryk, and vintage Louboutin mules. She’s also a fan of a cool site, re-found objects, and only buys wooden toys for her kids. (That’s her sitting pretty in a London nursery below). Elizabeth Wiatt, NRDC trustee and LA power-player, likes Dr. Hauschka products, soy candles from Lafco House and Home, and vintage banana-leaf envelope sets. Anna Carter, a trustee for the Natural Resources Defense Council and wife of Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter suggests Paporganics hemp wrapping paper, hand-crafted cushions from Robert Kime, and is a fan of Behnaz Sarafpour’s Spring collection.

In addition to all the green gift-giving suggestions, there’s an article covering the hipness of riding bikes, entitled “Wheels on Fire” (which calls to mind the theme song for Patty and Edina’s misadventures on Absolutely Fabulous). Apparently model Agnyss Deyn arrived at fashion week on two wheels, and Helena Christensen calls riding a bike a “cozy habit”.

The piece points out what visitors to Europe have known for years: On the Continent it’s all about integrating pedaling into your life, so you can wear whatever you like, from ballgowns to heels with skinny jeans. Bikes are designed to carry both people and stuff (including beer!). My favorite quote? “It’s easy enough to wear a skirt on a bike. And guys love it,” says Christiansen. I can vouch for this, as I always ride my bike around in ‘non-sporting’ gear.

So next time you think you need a special outfit to ride your bike, think again (though it would behoove you to have fenders to keep the mud and moisture off). And if you need some tips on cool bikes, and what to wear while doing it, check out the full article.

bamboo, bikes, candles, car, design, Europe, farm, Fashion, giving, hemp, Home, jeans, kids, London, model, Organic, paper, recycle, recycled, resources, skin, soy, sport, spring, style, trees, Vanity Fair, vintage, Vogue, wood

How to Light Up Africa?

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by Starre Vartan · 09/04/07

In this image from the Smithsonian, you can see the lights of Europe at night, whereas most of Africa is dark.

As an inveterate night owl, reading this article in the Independent really made me think. The piece makes the point that most Africans don’t have access to electricity in the form of a grid, as we do here (where we seem to do our very best to waste it, but anyway), and therefore aren’t able to work much outside daylight hours. I can’t imagine being unable to work half the night away, whether I’m typing away on my laptop, watching a movie, reading, even vacuuming and doing yoga. I would certainly be less productive, and I wouldn’t be able to run this site, period since I do most of my writing for it between 11pm and 2am.

So how do we give the African people the ability to work all night if they want to, without sucking up fossil fuels to run these fun blinking machines? Setting up a grid like ours would not only be an environmental disaster, but it is a financial impossibility for impoverished nations.

Many of the continent’s poorest people are dependent on kerosene lamps or candles, and typically spend at least a 10th of their income on lighting
their shacks. The lamps often kick out more smoke than light, and there are frequent stories of huts going up in flames as they get knocked over. People
with a bit of extra cash may invest in a small diesel generator, but the extra illumination and the reduced danger does not quite compensate for the
noise and the polluting fumes.

The World Bank wants to sell LED’s, and suggests hooking them up to people-powered machines. LED’s use less than a watt of power to create light to read by, and while we may only be familiar in them for small lighting tasks, the technology for LED’s has come a long way, meaning they could provide an answer to part of Africa’s lighting puzzle.

Lighting Africa officially launches on 4 September, when organisers will unveil a competition for the design and delivery of low-cost, green lighting
products for low-income consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 350 companies have already expressed an interest – from Africa-based small
businesses to multinationals like Philips.

Unfortunately, there’s no mention of solar power in this article, though this would seem to be the obvious answer, as much of the poorest parts of Africa are known for their direct access to equatorial (meaning very regular) solar energy. Large hydropower projects ARE mentioned, without any commentary provided on the environmental destruction of this form of energy generation, which would seem to be a major oversight in the article. It sent a shudder down my spine to think of Africa’s largest river, the Congo, dammed along it’s long and winding path, which would disturb all the ecosystems along its route if regular flooding events were to be eliminated. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be money enough for this kind of huge hydropower project, so I’m hoping in the meantime solar panels become cheap enough so that Africans who want to stay up half the night reading don’t have to sacrifice their environment to do so.

Thanks to RemyC for the link!

Africa, business, candles, congo, design, diesel, electric, electricity, Energy, Europe, Events, farm, flooding, Lighting, liver, News, reduce, Technology, waste, World Bank, yoga

Country Home's Planet-Friendly Projects for Fall

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by Starre Vartan · 09/03/07

Reuse is the oft-forgotten part of the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra (though the DIYers are usually reminding us!) Country Home Magazine has taken up the idea in a big way in several great features in September’s issue.

Along with celebrity green-auteur Danny Seo’s “Fresh Thinking” column where he transforms flea-market finds into centerpiece-pretty candles (see results below), there are articles on converting an armoire into a storage area, old screens into a laundry hamper, making shutters into a cabinet, a stepladder into an organizer, and how to make your own memory box from found materials.

Articles like these are a good reminder that eco-friendly living has it’s antecedents in the way people actually used to live, and still do, in rural areas where repurposing household items (and fixing them!) just makes sense, not to mention saves money.

Go from these common attic finds, to….