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

H&M’s Spring 2011 Conscious Collection: Eco Fashion Breezes into April

H&M is making good on its promise to continue expanding their commitment to using sustainable fabrics. Their upcoming Spring, 2011 collection, Conscious Collection is the follow-up for Spring 2010′s Garden Collection. Utilizing organic cotton, Tencel, and recycled polyester, the all-white collection means that it will work with everything from denim to silks.

“It’s no longer just about organic cotton. The possibilities for creating a complete fashion statement with eco smarter materials are huge now. By designing recurring Conscious Collections we have the opportunity to show in a variety of ways what’s possible using more sustainable fabrics,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M head of design. “Shades of white are the season’s biggest fashion trend. White creates a romantic feeling with lace and broderie anglaise, but it is also the basic color in a sporty, relaxed style and in a preppy tailored look for men.”

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Ani Phyo’s Healthfully Decadent Raw Coconut Kream Recipe

Dessert has always been my favorite part of any meal (though I do love apps!) and while I’ve managed to tame my sweet tooth in the last few years, I’ve by no means eliminated it. (By tame I mean I can get my sweet-happys from maple syrup, honey, and desserts made with fruit and less sugar.) Frankly, I’d rather carry around an extra five pounds than skip desserts, in all their toothsome glory. But I try to concoct or uncover desserts that are healthy as well as tasty. Just because it’s dessert doesn’t mean that it has to be a nutrition wasteland!

So stumbling upon Ani Phyo’s wonderful raw dessert cookbook (with 85 recipes!) was a coup. As you may already know, raw foods retain all sorts of wonderful enzymes, vitamins and minerals, plus are less ‘predigested’ (I know it’s a bit gross, but that’s basically what cooking is; partial digestion of food before you eat it). That means your body has to work a bit harder to digest, which makes you feel full longer and is actually really good for your gut. All of which means you get more nutrition and eat less when you go raw. While I’m not a raw foodist by any means, I’m going on my 19th year of vegetarianism and love the way whole foods that are minimally processed taste and make me feel. And the more I’ve read about the benefits of raw, the more I try to incorporate it into my diet.
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Home Grow Micro Farms – Save Time and Eat Healthier in 2011!

Talk about starting the New Year off on a healthier foot! Who doesn’t want garden-fresh veggies to choose from when dinner time rolls around? But say what you will about gardening, no matter how much you might love it, it’s very time-consuming. If you are a just-picked veg lover, but have trouble with the preparing, planting and watering part of keeping a garden, check out Home Grow Microfarms, which is very much what its name suggests.

The vegetable boxes are delivered to a home or office with the plants established and within 30 days the first harvest is ready. Home grown produce not only tastes better than grocery produce, but it is an awesome way to reduce your environmental footprint. Long distance transport, harmful pesticides, and genetically modified seeds usually associated with commercial farming aren’t used (Home Grow Micro Farms uses organic seeds and fertilizers, as well as a water-saving irrigation system).

And, they’re twice as productive as a normal garden bed! When you are done eating all the yummies they contain, the company will come pick them up and set you up with a fresh batch. Check out what’s available each month; in January you can choose from a greens box, and herb box, a watermelon box and more! Mix and match to your heart’s (or your bellie’s!) content!
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Eco Chick Giveaway: Target Earth Day Giftbag

In honor of Earth Month, THREE lucky Eco-Chick readers will win and Eco-Starter Kit from Target. Making small changes, even during typical daily routines such as brushing your teeth and washing your hair can have a positive impact on the Earth.

The Target Eco-Starter Kit includes the following items (for more ideas visit the new eco-boutique):

Target Eco-Starter Kit:

* Home Organic Towels
* Dr. Bronner’s Organic Fair Trade Shikakai Soap
* Burt’s Bees Shampoo and Conditioner Value Pack
* Conair ECO Ionic 1400-watt Dryer
* Radius Source Toothbrush 3-pk
* H2O Eco Bottle (stainless steel)
* Reusable Tote Bag GiftCard
* Standard Reusable Shopping Bag
* Organic Archer Farms Fruit Bars

To win, leave a comment below telling us which product you’d most love to try and why. When you fill in the comment field, it will ask for you email address. This is the address I will use to contact the winner, so use a real email. There are three winners for this one!

Deets and Promises: Eco Chick does not sell, lease or lend any email addresses we collect. Giveaway ends Friday, April 23rd 2010. Good luck!

“Per FTC guidelines I am disclosing that Target is providing the product which will be given to the three readers.”

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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