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

United Nations Celebrates Fibers and Biodiversity with Eco Chic Fashion Show in Geneva

I just ran across this video from the eco fashion show that was held a few weeks ago at the Palais de Nations, the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (See if you can spot eco models Summer Rayne Oakes and Kate Dillon among the grey-coiffed walkers.)

EcoChic Fashion Geneva brought 2009, the UN’s Year of the Natural Fiber to a close and ushered in 2010 as the Year of Biodiversity, with the show shown above, as well as other events. The clothes above were created by couturiers Thakoon, Diane von Furstenberg, Noir and others, from ecomaterials or local fabrics in a palette of black, cream, and red. Ready to wear collections by Edun, Nixxi, The Battalion, and more were also shown.

But the event wasn’t just about admiring the clothes. Panels on a variety of subjects informed attendees of the various aspects of fashion’s impact on people and the planet. According to Abigail Doan at Ecouterre, the panels explored “..the dearth of affordable environmentally friendly textiles, the absence of government support for students and young designers in developing nations, and the lack of consistency in sustainability standards (or even a shared vocabulary) worldwide.

For more images and info, see Ecouterre.

Eco Fashion Basics: An Ode to the Perfect Little Black Dress

Wearing my Carol Young LBD at the Mini Exhibit at the Go Green Expo in LA.

It is only this year, my 32nd, that I have truly understood the value of the Little Black Dress. Of course I have heard the legend; what woman hasn’t? This mythical raiment could be worn anywhere, tarted out or demurely cover up, achieve figure flattery whether one was surviving on a diet of tropical fruit and raw macadamia nuts or daily chocolate bars and creamy pastas nightly. A frock that would work equally well with flats or heels, could be thrown in a bag and would never wrinkle, and be made of fabric that would dry quickly after a drenching but keep you from perspiring in the blasted sun (and could even hide said dampness when it inevitably made its moist mark). And of course it had to be impossibly chic.

This Little Black Dress from the very specialized boutique, Little Black Dress Shop

Frankly I had more faith that unicorns still existed in some ruddy-mudded and tangled corner of Eastern Europe.

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Eco Chic Weekly – October 20, 2008

Green Girls Global shows off the gorgeous jewelry made from antique and reclaimed glass by artist Laura Bergman.

Eco Chick dishes about four of the season’s sexiest sustainable shoes!

Victoria Everman reviews the effective, affordable, and artistic oral care line from Radius.

Safia Minney shares her eco style tips with Greenmystyle.com.

Fashion, Evolved. blogs about poverty and fashion for Blog Action Day.

GreenGirls.tv presents their weekly video wrap up.

Green Cotton reports on her recent trip to Belize!

Get a glimpse of the highlights from the European fashion weeks on DC Goodwill Fashions!

Green Gretchen got engaged and tells us all about conflict free diamonds!

Fig+Sage gives us the scoop about Saffron Rouge, the new organic line by

Cell Towers and Health Effects: Cellular Disservice?

This past week a local in my town contacted me to see if I would be interested in discussing the issues surrounding a potential cellular tower that would be constructed within one mile of my house. Some of us from the town had the chance to voice our concerns to the Connecticut Siting Council, which is the governing body that determines zoning for these towers in our state.

Having written about microwave energy and electromagnetic fields a few years ago, I remembered interviewing Carl Blackman, a research scientist in the Environmental Carcinogenesis Division of the EPA, and asking him about cell phones and cellular base stations in relation to electromagnetic fields and the possible health impact. Blackman was one among quite a few scientists and researchers I interviewed who reiterated the same sentiment: “We just don’t know yet. The science is not in.” The fact that the jury is still out on this vast topic, in a field (pardon the pun) that is ever-expanding, is enough, for some, to warrant grassroots action.

The subject is controversial and highly debated, although the issue is one that people are dealing with world-wide. The fear is that without mobile phones and cell towers covering every inch of land, emergency services will be left without connection, leaving us, “with a hole big enough to drive a hearse through…” as I recently read in a concerned citizen’s letter to the NYTimes. One concern is that the proliferation of these towers and devices has gone largely unmonitored, unregulated, and, according to some scientists, could potentially lead to serious health issues.

The World Health Organization has advised that the “precautionary principle” be enacted as a preemptive move before certainty of harm is verified by science. This essentially means that when any new technology is evolving beyond the scope of scientific research, it is advisable to protect oneself through risk management. So, while some still think that those who discuss this topic with seriousness are delusional and should be stuttering through the park, wearing a tinfoil hat, others, including the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and member countries of the European union feel it is worth serious discussion.

In Europe, some governments have set exposure standards below those of the standardizing agencies, in order to try to protect their citizens. In India, towers were recently banned from school and residential areas to protect people following studies that showed potential harm to the brain. The United States Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Section 704(a) removes environmental considerations from the tower siting process, which denies citizens the opportunity to protest based on ecological concerns (zoning) or health issues.

In 2006, the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF,) the largest union of first responders in North America, passed a resolution banning cellular towers from firehouses until more research is done, because firefighters were suffering from ill health. Internationally, the concern regarding the exponential proliferation of wireless devices and base stations to support them has provoked scientific studies and prompted legislators to err on the side of caution when it comes to regulations. Many scientists are discussing the potential impact on DNA, neurological function, and human health while others study migratory birds and the reproduction patterns of all animal populations in the vicinity of strong electromagnetic fields.

In my town, in NW Connecticut, we are currently experiencing the battle. The cellular tower has been proposed to be on Route 7, a scenic highway that runs parallel with the Appalachian Trail. The AT park manager has sent a letter in response to the proposed tower stating that they had no problem with it, so long as Cellco/Verizon makes the tower look like a tree and plants 25 white pines along the trail.

The tower site is also within one mile of two schools and is next door to the largest employer of the town. The site abuts a friend’s property. Both he and his wife are cancer survivors and fear the tower could affect their health. At the public hearing, where town members were allowed to voice their opinions to the siting commission (who ultimately decides whether the tower goes up or not,) people expressed various concerns:
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BGreen: Finally, Germany Gets Eco Clothing

One of the things that’s driven me crazy living in Germany is the lack of sustainable clothing. I don’t shop all that often, but when I need a new pair of shoes or a sweater to get through the cold winter, I feel like a traitor walking the shopping streets here, passing all the big-name stores that you can find in cities all over the world.

Though I’m lucky to live in a city with its own faction of designers (Cologne’s Chic Belgique), boutique shopping isn’t exactly eco friendly … local, yes, but the designers still have to import non-organic textiles from around the world. So I was happy last summer to finally stumble into a shop in Cologne that shared my ideals (as evidenced in their motto: fair. organic. charity).

BGreen carries all those brands you cross-pond Amis know well… Stewart & Brown, Loomstate, and the like. But they’ve also got supercute kids stuff from the Dutch brand imps&elfs and fairly made shoes from the French brand, Veja.

It’s also a small shop, as you can see below, but it’s a step in the right direction. As the owner Andrea Imgenberg told me, it’s a shame that Germany – with its enormous carbon-reduction goals and incredible research into renewable energy – doesn’t have more of this stuff. But the emphasis here is on technology, not textiles. Right now, anyway. I have a feeling, though, that all of that will be changing.

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