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

Lara Miller: Eco Fashion’s Quick Change Artist

Eco Fashion designer Lara Miller is an Eco Chick fave; her supermodern, often convertible, sensuously romantic, yet travel-friendly designs are deceptively simple but always on point.

Lara says she didn’t plan her designs for the travelling types (though they suit us so well), but that her ideas come from a playful, fun place that happens to result in highly variable separates (think dresses that can be worn three ways, or trousers that have adjustable hems):

I graduated from a very conceptual design program at the School of the Art Institute where I researched Eadweard Muybridge images and architectual theory by Gregg Lynn. I was fascinated with the idea of animation and gestures in every day life, especially when getting dressed. I wanted to give the wearer a relationship to their pieces and allow them to be more individual. As my line and I have grown up, the functionality has really become key.

The Fern Flip wrap in recycled cotton
More »

Don't Be A Turkey: Get Your Thanksgiving Feast Green

Originally posted on The Huffington Post on November 14th, 2007

Photo from Channel14.com.

In 1621 the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians stuffed their faces in an autumn harvest feast–the first Thanksgiving. Although Historians aren’t certain of the menu, it’s safe to say the pilgrims weren’t gobbling up pesticide-smothered potatoes and antibiotic-infused turkey.

Fast forward nearly four centuries, and this Thursday the majority of American’s will sit down to a copious table of factory-produced food. With few exceptions, 178 million plus turkeys will come from animal factories, while the vast majority of our fruits, vegetables; even vino will travel hundreds of miles from foreign farm factories. Such processing plants are reported to have few regulations and less regard for environmental best practice.

While raising turkeys in an industrial setting, or growing corn in a pesticide patch might make our food cheaper and available to a large number of consumers, factory farming comes with serious negative consequences for mother earth–clear cutting, dead zones, water wastage, methane-farting cattle, the list goes on. According to a 2006 study by the University of Chicago*, industrialized livestock produces more greenhouse gas emissions than global transportation.

Such studies come at a time when meat consumption, having quadrupled in the last 50 years, reaches an all-time high. The Worldwatch Institute claims global livestock population has increased 60 percent since 1961, and the number of for-food fowl has flown (try saying that ten times) from a stable 4.2 billion to blasphemous 15.7 billion.

Unlike the wild birds the Pilgrims ate, factory turkeys need antibiotics to stay alive, let alone healthy. Excuse me for being graphic, but the majority of factory-raised animals are reported to live so closely packed together that they have to defecate on each other. Such close-quarters create a cesspool of nasty, even deadly bacteria. I could go on and on.

Now, I’m not saying you should serve tofurkey this Thanksgiving. Although conventional meat production causes deforestation, polluted waterways and greenhouse gas blabidy-blah, I won’t insist you replace the traditional Turkey with a slab of coagulated soybean cake–that would be gross and grossly hypocritical.

Perhaps hypocritical is an understatement considering I can barely go three weeks, perhaps even three days, without vivid fantasies of red meat bbq. Many lonely nights I have resembled the McDonald’s Hamburgler, tip-toeing to the kitchen to gobble a few helpings of red-meat leftovers–ones I had so earnestly tried to refuse at dinner.

Confessions aside, there are a several environmental consequences to consider before we stuff-our-gobs this Thanksgiving day. And although I am not ready to hit up the tofurkey just yet, I sincerely hope to find a way/ask my mom to replace this years Franken-food feast with local and organic produce. In addition to spiking the apple cider, join me this Thanksgiving by following these three simple green food tips:

For the tips, keep reading……

More »

Dresses and Coyotes in the Great Smoky Mountains

Come on, isn’t this better than a shot of yet another European monument or church? And it’s right here in the U.S.!

Trying to figure out a fun Summer trip? Feeling guilty about jetting to Europe because of how much CO2 your ride would produce? Wanting to try something different, that’s low-impact on your wallet and creates a minimum of stress?

Taken while lying on the ground, contemplating the mountains’ geology

Consider visiting one of our nation’s national parks. After all, you’re already paying for them with your tax dollars! (Hey, I know I sound like an ad for our parks system, but they’re really important ecosystems that are more than worth supporting, I say.) Over Spring Break I drove down with one of my best friends to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which straddles the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. (I know, to be super eco-friendly, I should have gone to a park closer to my Connecticut home, but I’ve been to most of them, and I was saving Vermont for the Summer.)

Who knew you could find old-growth trees this size on the East Coast? I felt like I was in California as I hiked through the Smokies. And yes, I am wearing a dress! Very comfortable and great to hike in. Eco Chicks should all try it sometime (thanks to Brianne for the suggestion)!

While some of the park was crowded, and it will probably be more so during the warm season (this park is THE most visited park in the United States), once you get on the beaten trail, you will have plenty of room. Most folks who visit this and other parks only ever check out the edges of the woods, at best going on short day hikes.

All-natural cool-down time at a waterfall

Try camping out for just a night or two if it’s not something you haven’t had much practice in. Or stay in a campground and use it as a home-base for extra-long day excursions. Ask park personnel about hikes that will be your speed. We got some really good advice and suggestions from all the park employees that we asked. I’ve found this is generally true in national and state parks.

Rain can turn everything into a gorgeous wet wonderland as long as you’re prepared with the right gear.

We camped out in two different sections of the park, really getting to see a variety of ecosystems within a small area, and spotting some wildlife. Remember, it’s always smart to hang your food up in a tree to keep bears away; in the Smokies many campsites have pulley-systems already set up for this purpose, which makes it easy to keep the bears away. After all, you’re in their home now, but they’ll still want to chow on your treats.

A not-so-shy coyote I caught on camera on evening

Needs no caption

Patagonia and Howie's

It’s been awhile since I’ve hit the trail, but I’ve got a spring break this year, and dammit, I’m going to use it. Since I’m a student again, I have to vacation on the cheap, and so I’m headed to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee/North Carolina. I’ve never really been to either state (I drove through NC once) so I’m looking forward to checking out the South (where it will hopefully be warmer in a month’s time!)

I’ve learned that any outdoor activity is better when you’re prepared for the varying weather conditions Mother Nature throws at you, and while I don’t need much, a couple new items are in order, especially those undies that wick away moisture (see below). When you’re hiking you need an extra layer, but cotton undies get damp and uncomfortable almost immediately.

After getting some great Christmas gifts at Patagonia this year for my boyfriend, I headed back to their site to check out what they had lined up for Spring, and there’s lots of cute and perfect-for-a-week-on-the-trail stuff. All of Patagonia’s cotton is organic (and super-soft too) and most of their fleeces are recycled (and recyclable). When I was in my local store, they informed me about how one tree only makes a few hundred paper bags (and then stuffed all my purchases into one, instead of using two or three), encouraged me to see An Inconvenient Truth, and convinced me to get a recycled cloth bag to use as gift-wrap (the bags are made from the scraps of material that are left over after huge bolts of cloth are cut up to make their clothes). They also have a great section on their site about the company’s activism, and you can search for clothes that are made with recycled materials or organic cotton separately, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Figure-flattering coat made with recycled polyester.

Sweat-wicking undies

This pretty “Hempdons” dress is made from hemp, recycled polyester, and organic cotton.

Climbing top of organic cotton with a bit of spandex.

Howie’s is a UK-based outdoor clothing company who also has a strong environmental commitment. As they say on their site, their clothes are for bikers, snowboarders, and skaters (but I’m sure it’s OK if you wear them for other activities). They also have a cute blog and a sweet philosophy they call the “Rocking Chair Test”: when they look back when they are old and grey they want to be proud of their company and products. Howies also donates 10% of pre-tax profits to environmental causes.

Too-adorable mushroom hoodie made from leftover cotton fabric (pre-consumer recycling!)

Down-home cowgirl shirt in organic cotton

organic cotton canvan “Freerider” jacket.