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

"An Inconvenient Truth"

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 05/20/06

Former VP Al Gore’s inspirational multi-media presentation demythologizing some of the misconceptions surrounding global warming is scientifically grounded and his passionate discussion of the real and true concerns is highly effective. After appearing over 1,000 times around the world to bring attention to the severity of climate change, Gore’s hard work has culminated in a documentary film called “An Inconvenient Truth.” Directed by Davis Guggenheim, and produced by, among many others, Laurie David and Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Good Will Hunting,) the film was a knockout at the Sundance Film Festival. It is due for limited release May, 24th and will be in theaters accross the US and Canada in June. Paramount is donating 5% of ticket sales to the Alliance for Climate Protection.

climate change, Global Warming, media, produce, sales

Liz Claiborne Loves Beaver!

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by Summer Rayne Oakes · 01/05/06

When a company is owned by a man named Beaver and wife of Beaver, you know it’s going to be good. This past November, PrAna, the fast-growing maker of apparel for climbing, yoga and outdoor activities, was acquired by women’s wear giant, Liz Claiborne Inc. PrAna (did we mention that the owner’s name is Beaver?) is known for being a rather environmentally- and socially-responsible company in ethics, production, and manufacturing. This is a significant acquisition considering that it is one of the first eco-oriented lines being bought out by a major fashion house.

The purchase price of $34.4 million consists of an initial payment of $32.5 million (representing 60 percent of Prana’s valuation) and the retirement of debt at closing of approximately $1.9 million. Prana’s owners will receive additional payments based upon a multiple of Prana’s earnings in the fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Prana co-owners and founders Beaver and Pam Theodosakis, and Demian Kloer, will continue to run the company. Prana, based in Vista, CA, is expected to generate net sales of approximately $30 million in fiscal 2005. Christ! That’s A LOT of BEAVER lovers!!!

Beaver had this to say about the recent acquisition: “One of the primary reasons we selected Liz Claiborne was because of our ability to maintain a significant economic interest and independence in running Prana, which will allow us to preserve the quality and essence of the PrAna brand that our customers and retailers expect. This relationship goes far beyond the bottom line as we are highly impressed by Liz’s brand-building capabilities and corporate commitment to people, fair trade and the environment. We have a great opportunity to share best practices in these areas.”

Check out the PrAna site. There are a host of both guys and gals climbing that are mighty impressive, particularly to an acrophobe. Beaver lovers…women, men and children…

children, ethics, Fair Trade, Fashion, sales, women, women's, yoga

Crazy Capitalist and Enviro in the Same Sentence?

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by Starre Vartan · 11/22/05

Today’s NYTimes has an interesting article in a section I usually ignore. The front of the Business section has “Saving the Environment, One Quarterly Earnings Report at a Time.”

Wal-Mart uses a wind turbine to help provide electricity at a store in Aurora, Colo., as an experiment.

From the story by Dave Weaver:

A few years ago, scientists at Cargill Inc. learned how to make rigid, transparent plastics from corn sugars. There was just one problem: they cost a lot more than the oil-based plastics they would replace.

Plastic pellets derived from corn at NatureWorks. Some producers have adopted corn-based packaging, as the cost of oil-based products rose.

But that was before the price of oil shot up and companies came under pressure from consumers and investors to find economically sound ways to adopt “green” packaging and other environmentally friendly products and processes. This year, Wal-Mart, Wild Oats Market and many other retailers, as well as food suppliers like Del Monte and Newman’s Own Organics, all embraced corn-based packaging for fresh produce.

Sales at NatureWorks, the Cargill subsidiary that makes the plastic, grew 200 percent in the first half of this year over the period last year. “The early adopters were more influenced by environmental concerns than costs,” said Kathleen M. Bader, chairwoman of NatureWorks. “But now we’re competitive with petrochemicals, too.”

Cargill is one of several companies profiting from the concerns – of shareholders, communities and consumers – about global warming, leaking landfills and other potential environmental hazards. Huge companies like General Electric and Chevron now have separate businesses to market what they are calling environment-friendly products.

And new companies and university projects appear each day. Cornell University’s College of Engineering, for one, expects to have a commercial process for using bacteria to recoup energy from wastewater treatment within three years.

“There are a lot of creative types looking for the next big thing,” said Bob Sheppard, deputy director for corporate programs at Clean Air-Cool Planet, a nonprofit environmental education organization. “Well, these days, environment is it.”

That’s what I like to hear.

business, car, Chevron, corn, electric, electricity, Energy, epa, Food, Global Warming, Hair, NYTimes, oil, Organic, plastic, plastics, produce, sales, spa, sugar, waste, water