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

…next to goddessness

10 Comments

by Starre Vartan · 05/15/06

I’m not going to go into why using chemical- and toxin-laden products to clean your home is an oxymoron, but if you need some background you can find it here. These days even the EPA is pushing alternatives to conventional cleaning products.

Anything that has the number of poison control on the back doesn’t belong in my house. If it kills you in large doses, it’ll kill you slowly is smaller ones. Not to mention the damage it does to the environment after you’ve washed it down the drain.

Even among Eco Chicks, one of the biggest complaints about ecofriendly products is that they don’t work as well as conventional ones. Clean freaks have become addicted to all the goops, unguents, degreasers, sprays and other heavily advertised products and have grown up with them. For some of us, the smell of clean IS the smell of bleach. 

It’s time for a new smell. Here are a few that I’ve found work as well– or better than– conventional products. Your body, which has to clean out all the toxins you throw at it, and the ducks in the pond will thank you for making the change.

Nothing beats baking soda for scrubbing kitchen and bathroom sinks (in fact nothing gets my kitchen sink as shiny). It’s also good for enhancing laundry soap’s cleaning power, deodorizing cat litter boxes and fridges, and for throwing in the trash can when you don’t feel like cleaning the questionable stuff collecting in the bottom.

I use Seventh Generation’s automatic dishwasher liquid because I’ve tried a bunch of them and it works the best. It’s a little more expensive, but it’s worth it to me not to have to pre-rinse. With this detergent, I just throw the dirty dishes in and fire up the dishwasher.

I use Citra-Solv (I buy it super-concentrated) diluted with a bunch of water to clean my floors and cabinets, and throw a bunch in a spray bottle (also very diluted) to use for general cleaning of the stovetop, countertops, etc. It smells citrusy and clean.

ABC Carpet and Home’s spray cleaner smells like fresh grapefruit, and is a splurge at $12 for one bottle, but it’s like aromatherapy, and I will reuse the bottle (it has a very nifty spray device), so I bought it and use it sparingly.

I love Heather’s products, because they really, really work. And their packaging is ridiculously cute. Not pictured here (because I used it all) is a scrubbing powder that works BETTER than Comet– I use it in my bathroom tub. Their window cleaner is as good as (but smells better than) Windex.

Ecover makes the strongest dishwashing soap (not for dishwashers). It cuts grease, and works just like Palmolive does on pots and pans.

Happy (and healthy!) Spring Cleaning!

baking, bath, car, cleaning, cleaning products, ducks, ecofriendly, epa, fruit, health, Home, rape, reuse, soap, soda, spa, spring, Toxins, trash, water

Nylon Struts Their Organic Stuff

4 Comments

by Summer Rayne Oakes · 04/17/06

For how cutting-edge this magazine is, they still haven’t found a new opening line to introduce organic fashions in their newsletter. Instead, they go with the age old adage of:  

“Environmentally-friendly fashion isn’t limited to the Birkenstock clad activist look. If wearing hemp from head to toe isn’t your idea of eco-savvy, then these organic alternatives prove that it is, actually, quite easy being green.”

Gaaawwwd! Get a new line. Eco-chick should be counting how many times insular press use “hemp, “Birkenstock,” and “hippie” in the same sentence when discussing “green” fashion design. Its 2 out of 3 for Nylon Mag this time around…One more strike – and they would be O-U-T….(Ahhh, but we’ll take what we can get around here)….Regardless, they highlight LA’s Burning Torch, by designer Karen Craven, who melds organic fabrics with vintage to create some pretty fem pieces. The piece pictured above is quite cute: polka dots, lace trim and embroidered insets with an empire waist. She’s been splayed all over the press recently included one of the latest issues of Time Out NY Spring Fashion feature and WWD. Wait, wait, do you smell that?? Yeah, b*tch, that’s the smell of a d-e-s-i-g-n revolution!!!!

design, designer, Eco-Chick, fabric, fabrics, Fashion, hemp, magazine, News, Organic, organic fashion, spring, Tea, trike, vintage

…a toast to Toast

No Comments

by Summer Rayne Oakes · 03/15/06

So I’m blog-binging a bit on ethical and eco-fashions in the the U.K. b/c hell, there is so much to cover. In just 2 days while in London and 5 days in the middle-of-nowhere-but-god-its-beautiful-even-though-it-is-freezing-and-the-snow-is-”falling”-horizontally-weather-(aka Durham), I had the pleasure of picking up a myriad of different things to blog about. Toast by Post is one of the companies that I feel the need to highlight. Natural, simple, yet with just the right amount of edge, Toast by Post is an “of-the-earth” label with an overall well-put together look for Spring 2006. Though not all organic, there are certain key items that are hand-made, ethically-sourced and/or organic. Take a look at some key pieces below like the hand-embroidered bag; the organic cotton cap sleeve; and indigo-dyed jeans.

bags, cotton, denim, Eco-Chick, ethical, fall, Fashion, jeans, London, Organic, organic cotton, spring, weather

The UK: Shedding Light on the Destruction of the Earth

3 Comments

by Jennifer Cross · 02/01/06

Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair is on the ball. He is a man with his finger on the pulse. In a forward-for–the-U.K., government-commissioned report released Monday, he made the following statement:

“It is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases, associated with industrialization and economic growth from a world population that has increased six-fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate that is unsustainable.”

Really? You don’t say!

The report outlined several “day after tomorrow” doomsday predictions that would make any woman reconsider subjecting her unborn offspring to what is projected to come in the next several years as a result of industrialization and modern-day living.

According to an article published on cnn.com today, “in the British report, the head of the British Antarctic Survey, Chris Rapley, warned that the huge west Antarctic ice sheet may be starting to disintegrate, an event that could raise sea levels by 16 feet (five meters).”

Not to mention other things highlighted in the report that one could conceivably look forward to, such as intensified weather patterns, a shift in climate zones and the spread of disease.

At least he’s been somewhat consistent. Blair could be found last year at the G8 summit hugging trees while suggesting to the other seven developed nations that they all step up to the plate and get this whole climate thing under control.

Nevertheless, his efforts were met with a lukewarm response, particularly by (you’ll never guess who) the U.S., who said “nay” to Kyoto, as saving the Earth could effect the U.S. economy.

arctic, Eco-Chick, Europe, gas, Global Warming, spring, style, sustainable, trees, weather

Think Spring!

1 Comment

by Starre Vartan · 01/24/06

The time to plant tulip, iris, and hyacinth bulbs is past in much of the country, but spring planting is right around the corner. Gladiolas, tuberoses, and dalias will be ready to add to your garden, and virtually thumbing through garden catalogs online is a great way to beat the winter blues.

This past fall I ordered from Old House Gardens, the well-known, well-loved and very favorably reviewed mail order bulb company. The reason they merit mention here is because they specialize in antique, heirloom and endangered bulbs. The variety of their flowering bulbs is amazing, and they give you a run down of where and when the bulb was originally planted. Some of their bulbs are from lines that started as early as the 1200′s, though the most antique selections tend have the most limited availability.

If you want a unique garden, as well as one that preserves old lines of flowers, heirloom bulbs are the way to go. And to learn more about human beings’ connection with flowers, read the “Tulip” chapter of Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire for enlightenment.

Amazon, catalogs, corn, Eco-Chick, fall, garden, gardens, Michael Pollan, spring, Target