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

Free Trade? Give it to me Fair, Straight Up

1 Comment

by Summer Rayne Oakes · 12/29/05

I must admit, after having come back from Hong Kong in the midst of World Trade talks and Fair Trade forays, I need to do a few posts dedicated to fair trade fashion. I came across equop, a fair trade cotton and indie artist fashion label while in Paris this past October. Agrocel, Skal and Eko….No, that’s not the first names of the tattooed-punks down the street that you secretively find attractive (could it be the nose rings, tight black jeans, and bad-ass attitude?), but the rigorous certification that they go through, ensuring that their clothes are

• Fair Trade
• Inspected by a third-party organization, and
• Organic

You’ll find other weird names like: Dangli, Droog79, and Mallalieu Nonot quite certification this time, but the names of the artists that have contributed designs to the tee-shirts…Who knows, maybe they have a nose ring. GOD I love personal expression.

Side Note: (I own Mallalieu, want Dangli’s Bird Shit shirt). Want to know how to get special savings for this line? Hit me up on my newsletter.

clothes, cotton, design, Fair Trade, Fashion, filter, fruit, jeans, News, Organic, party, produce, summer

Ask Chicky: Vermicomposting

3 Comments

by Starre Vartan · 11/22/05

Dear Chicky,
I went to a dinner party last week and the host had a tiny composter in her apartment’s kitchen; she said there were bugs inside that eat the food she deposits. It sounds gross, but I feel bad tossing all my leftovers in the garbage—how do these things work? Why don’t they smell?
—Curious about compost

Dear Curious Composter,
All compost systems rely on the same principle: stuff rots and then turns into dirt. If you do it right. The good news is it’s not that hard to replicate what nature does on a grand scale in your very own kitchen. Properly composted food is never smelly and can cut down on your trips to the garbage bin (and the inevitable filling of our landfills). In fact, if you get into it, you can compost up to 1/3 of your household waste.

What your friend most likely had was a worm composter, also called a vermicomposter. This kind of composting is great for an apartment because it doesn’t take up much space, is totally hygienic and the final product is humus. Not the middle-eastern bean spread, but the ultimate fertilizer for your organic container gardening.

The busy earthworms, called red worms or manure worms, (yes, they wiggle, but no, you don’t have to touch them) will keep your composter functioning and odor-free. These special guys eat up to their weight in food every day, and their excrement is the aforementioned humus. Their casts (a nicer name for poop) contain all sorts of good stuff like nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, meaning that the humus they produce will make your garden grow. And on top of all that, once your scraps are devoured by the worms, all the nasty pathenogenic bacteria (the kind that can make you sick) are totally neutralized.

But there are some caveats; you can’t just dump all your leftovers in a vermicomposter, but fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, old bread, coffee grounds, shredded computer paper (no colored ink) and newspaper, and houseplant trimmings are all OK. Go light on the vegetable oils, dairy and meat; all these things take more time for the worms to digest, so don’t throw a big hunk of steak in your composter, no matter how free-range and organic it might be. Some people say small amounts of meat or bone will break down just fine, but it might take some experimenting. It isn’t complicated, by you will need to read up on the subject. You will need to keep the whole operation moist, and you can make your own or buy a composter ready-to-go at a host of websites and garden centers. The worms are also available online or from your neighborhood plant store. Try wormdigest.org, cityfarmer.com and cityknowlege.com.

Wormily yours,
Chicky

Ask Chicky, coffee, Easter, farm, Food, fruit, garbage, garden, Gardening, Manure, meat, News, oil, oils, Organic, paper, party, produce, spa, Tea, vegetable oil, waste

Anna Sova Yummy

3 Comments

by Starre Vartan · 11/21/05

I attended the Anna Sova launch last party last weekend in Manhattan. The self-titled line of ‘luxury organics’, which includes aromatherapy sprays, soy candles, sheets, duvets and bedruffles (I call it bedwear), towels and paint is truly gorgeous, and I was thrilled to see that someone finally realizes that just because you’re eco-conscious does not mean you want to live in earth tones. There were deep oriental reds, and bright mustard, green apple and fuschia silk linens, as well as variously colored and textured linens.

Anna Sova herself (the Amazonian blonde on the left) was dressed up for the evening. She said she much prefers to be in jeans and cowboy boots (yup, she’s Texan!) and told me all about how she got to the point where she was able to launch her own luxury organics line- and why.

“The paint was my passion,” said Anna, “My paint smells like food because it IS food!” The paint, which comes in a range of colors, can also be mixed to your specifications and is made of milk casein and food grade emulsifiers and preservatives. Truly, it smelled like cake batter, and you can even scent it with aromatherapy oils (though they’ll only last about 6 months). “If you had a store you could paint your dressing rooms with it, and it would smell great as people change,” suggested Anna.

Ms. Sova has been in business since she was 16, and has designed over 4000 products, so she’s the kind of person who’s perfect to bridge the gap between mainstream and eco. I’ll buy it.

Amazon, business, candles, design, dress, Food, jeans, mainstream, Manhattan, Milk, oil, oils, Organic, party, silk, soy, towels