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

Ekovaruhuset – Translates to "Totally Justifiable"

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by Jennifer Cross · 04/27/06

If Eco Chick were a store, it would be Ekovaruhuset in Stockholm, Sweden.
 Tucked into the old part of Stockholm, between junk-riddled flea markets and souvenir shops toting more viking paraphernalia than you can shake a sword at, Ekovaruhusset showcases the most fashionably feminine eco-clothes we have ever come across in one place.

When we found Ekovaruhuset, owner Johanna Hofring was busy holding a baby, directing extremely tall models for the following day’s fashion show, and greeting friends. In addition to her store in Stockholm, she is preparing to open a location in the Former Art Fiend Foundation building on Ludlow Street in New York come fall.

“I don’t know if it will work in New York.” She admitted cautiously.

An extremely fashion-forward boutique offering ecologic products that can’t be found anywhere else in the city? We think it will do just fine.

The clothes on sale at Ekovaruhuset are not for those watching their cash flow, but that’s why God invented credit. Baby-shirts with imprints of Elvis, Einstein and Jesus, for example are $23. However, as they are the American Apparel Sustainable Edition they are completely justifiable even if your kid will outgrow them in a month.

In addition to American Apparel Sustainable Edition, Ekovaruhuset carries a wide-range of noteworthy labels:

Blackspot sneakers with their hand-drawn anti-logo and vegetarian leather, Kuyichi Pure Denim eco-streetwear line, and Camilla Norrback’s more exclusive line of clothes that make you drool with desire. The good thing about everything at Ekovaruhuset is that (regardless of how it hurts your bank account), you won’t be hurting the environment – and thus well worth being a little late on the rent.

Go There: Ekovaruhuset, Osterlanggatan, 28, Gamla Stan, Stockholm

Call: +46 8-22 98 45

Email: info@ekovaruhuset.se

Baby, car, clothes, denim, Eco-Chick, epa, fall, Fashion, fashion show, Home, junk, leather, model, models, shoes, sneakers, sustainable, vegetarian

UnCommon Scents

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 01/10/06

There is nothing more odious (pardon the impending pun) than that heavy, pungent perfume you can smell from a mile away. And many of us have spent time perusing the shelves of that ubiquitous modern shrine to plasticity called Sephora only to leave with a pounding headache that has that “fake vanilla” scent stamped all over it.

Ugh.

I have been a true scent-junky for at least fifteen years and recently, upon applying a commercial fragrance, noticed I started sneezing almost instantly. I started to wonder just what exactly is in these products we apply on a daily basis. Being one who tries to always buy organic, it dawned on me that my personal doctrine to “stay natural” had not penetrated my hankering for smells.

Many companies, even those claiming to be “natural”, use synthetic fragrance and chemical additives such as preservatives and artificial coloring, and contain dangerous chemicals such as phtalates that are proven endocrine disruptors whose activity has been found to mimic hormonal signals in the body.

There are what I have always considered to be more natural alternatives to smelling like “Calvin Clone,” but often you end up smelling like a head shop or your grandma’s lavender garden when using organically derived essential oils. Some of us like smelling like a head shop, but for those who want something more unique, there are some interesting alternatives.

Rich Hippie is a line of completely organic, wild-crafted perfume, founded in LA. Through the use of carefully selected plant extracts and the implementation of traditional perfumery practices, Rich Hippie has created an environmentally conscious fragrance line that is original and hip.

The line boasts scents such as “Psychedelic – a sensual, lush, mysterious and romantic scent with extracts of organic Madagascan vanilla bean, organic ginger root and organic sweet orange peel,” “Nirvana” – a “unisex scent with extracts of organic sandalwood, West Indian bay leaf and organic Italian bergamot peel,” and “Wild Thing – an intoxicating, romantic, and sensual floral with rare Indian jasmine, Albanian Orris root and Egyptian rose.” There is also the signature scent, “Rich Hippie” – a “hip, bohemian, seductive floral with extracts of exotic African flowers, Madagascan Vanilla bean and Guatemalan Cardamom.”

These perfumes ain’t cheap, at an average of $85.00 per 1/2oz, but to support a small company that is investing in organic farming practices is worthwhile compared to the minimum $35 to $40 that is typically spent on factory-made fragrances that are known health hazards. According to the FDA, perfume companies don’t have to publish their ingredients anywhere, because they are considered “trade secrets”. Through growing consumer pressure to monitor cosmetics companies and clearly substantiate the safety of perfumes and other products, the FDA has clearly delineated its authority over this domain on its website This means there is no way for us to know what is in common colognes until independent labs do their own analysis and there aren’t a lot of scientists lining up to joust with big name cosmetics.

California is actually the first state in the union to implement the “Safe Cosmetics Act,” signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005, which states that manufacturers must disclose (to the state) any ingredient that is on state or federal lists of chemicals linked to cancer or birth defects.

For more information on what is actually in your beauty products see NOT TOO PRETTY, SAFE COSMETICS and how they are affecting the environment see MARINE LIFE

Africa, Alba, Beauty, beauty products, Cancer, car, cosmetics, Eco-Chick, essential oils, farm, farming, FDA, garden, gas, health, India, junk, Lavender, Lush, mom, News, oil, oils, Organic, plastic, scents, wood

Attention Caffeine Junkies!

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by Starre Vartan · 12/28/05

If you drink coffee (about 50% of Americans drink it every day, and 80% quaff it sometimes) you should know where it comes from. (and hey, now it’s good for you, so go ahead!)

The exhaustively researched cover story for the Nov/Dec Issue of E/The Environmental Magazine, “Grounds For Change” covers the coffee industry, from small fair trade outfits to Starbucks.

There’s three labels to be concerned with if you care about people, birds and the health of the earth: organic, fair trade and song-bird friendly. To make your life easier, if your coffee is organic, chances are it’s fair-trade and good bird habitat, so you don’t need to go nuts looking for triple-certified brew. Besides the labelling, organic coffee just tastes better. For the last few weeks I’ve been sipping on Equal Exchange’s decaf and it is the best decaf I’ve ever had! (I know, I know, decaf, I ‘m a weenie).

This is why: “Coffee grows best in tropical highlands,” explains Chris Wille, the Costa Rica-based chief of the Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Agriculture Program. The bushy plants are maintained at a height of six to eight feet. After the seeds are dried and hulled, they become green coffee beans. A mature coffee plant generally yields about a pound of roasted beans per year. According to Connecticut-based roaster Coffee-Tea-Etc., “Every step in the process from climate and growing conditions, genetics of the tree, to the final brewing methods affect these natural chemicals. Each of these factors affects the distinct taste of the final brew.”

‘This is what shade-grown coffee looks like. Integrated with the forest, it makes a better tasting coffee.’

‘This is what coffee that\'s grown in the sun looks like. Monoculture alert!’

There are also some excellent sidebars to the article, including one on where to find this good-for-us-all brew.

agriculture, birds, Bush, car, coffee, Fair Trade, habitat, health, junk, magazine, Organic, Plants, rainforest, Starbucks, sustainable, Tea