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

Mr. Jimmy Fallon Goofs on Green with Earth Day Song Parodies

Last week I got the chance to tour around 30 Rock (not the show silly, but NBC’s actual offices in NYC) to see what Big Media’s doing about green. And while I was definitely impressed with all the Green is Universal initiatives like LED lights, a serious reduction in fossil fuel usage for the past and future Olympics coverage and the recycling of cue cards, the best part (hey, I love my planet, but I CAN be totally distracted by funny, cute guys) was meeting Jimmy Fallon. He not only told us about all the ways he greened his own studio, 6B, but sang to me about recycling!

OK, he sang to the group of us who were at the studio of his show, but he definitely looked at me at least once as he rapped to the tune of ‘Sexy Back’ – but changed the lyrics to ones about recycling bottles. Be still my (dorky, green) heart! Anyway, turns out he wasn’t just pulling lyrics out of his recycled Conan O’Brien (aw!) coffee mug first thing in the morning while wearing a grey grandpa sweater to charm ME. He actually had this all planned and had parodied a bunch of songs, from Timberlake to Winehouse to Rihanna. And recorded them for all to see. Check Jimmy rocking out the punny eco covers!

And yeah, I think the guy is pretty cool so obvs I’m not exactly an objective reporter here, but he seemed to really care about the stuff he was talking about as he detailed how he made his new late-night studio all eco friendly (looked great too), which were mostly the same things we can all do around our homes and offices for our health and the planet’s.

Ways that Jimmy Fallon is Awesome/Green

● Low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints -reduced off gassing from paint substances

● Bamboo floors throughout the interview area—bamboo is highly sustainable due to its quick growth

● The desk that will be used by Fallon is formerly the desk of set designer Leo Yoshimori.

● Set décor (doors) reclaimed from local salvage stores.

● Metal Platforms for the band, instead of wood.

● Rather than ordering new seating, the former seats from Radio City Music Hall were reclaimed and refurbished.

● Carpeting on the audience risers and band platform is made from recycled materials.

Fallon’s not the only one covering enviro stuff this week on NBC. Plenty of shows, from Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker to the news shows on MSNBC and CNBC, to Tori and Dean on Oxygen and Access Hollywood are covering eco issues, events and themes.

Fallon’s Studio, 6B

Behind the Scenes of the Project Green Search Model Competition Finals

Project Green Search, the first-ever green model competition, has a winner! Rachel Avalon hails from Los Angeles, California, and beat out over 130 other serious contenders for her new title as Green It Girl (read more about Rachel and her plans here). But before the winner was chosen, there were activities, photo shoots and some very good times.

The Ten Gorgeous (and Green to the Core!) Finalists Photo by Courtney Dailey.

Judging Project Green Search was lots of fun; I got a chance to go to most of the activities with the finalists and got to know them; what an impressive group of young women! From an Indy racecar driver to a natural nutritional counselor, to a college activist and an environmental educator, this was a talented and driven group of contenders. And as you can see, all of them were gorgeous too! The judging crew and I (see below) had our work cut out for us.

The judges! From left to right: Michael Zaliski, CEO of Omniquest Media, Anna Griffin, editor-in-chief of Coco Eco Magazine, Starre Vartan, author and publisher of Eco-Chick.com (I’m wearing an organic cotton dress by Doie), Remy Chevalier, Co-founder of Project Green Search, Deborah Lindquist, ecofashion designer, Josie Maran, former model and force behind Josie Maran Cosmetics, and Darren Moore, host of AlterEco and founder of Ecovations.

Day One: I got a chance to meet all the girls at a breakfast at our hotel, The Standard on Sunset Boulevard. Everyone was so excited to be there, and Taryn from EcoDivasTV started filming right away, and off we went!

Vanessa Meier even looks gorgeous in curlers! At Shades salon in LA. Image by Remy Chevalier for Lu Magazine.

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Barefoot Walking and Running: Best of Both Worlds with Vivo Barefoot Sneakers

My Viva Terras. Cute on the trail or off.

Last summer, I was walking up from the beach at Gay’s Head on Martha’s Vineyard. (They’ve renamed the place Aquinnah, but I’m sticking with the original name, thank you very much) and then headed up the steep dunes, and over the top. When I got to where the sand meets the more rocky soil, I stopped to put my Chakos back on, but then decided to go barefoot instead.

As I walked up the path, seagrasses waving in the setting sun all around me, I could feel what was beneath my feet change. It started more sandy, and warmed from the sun, then small pebbles cropped up, and as I went around a bend, I felt the ground cool and dampen and the pebbles recede into the soft, more claylike walkway. As I headed up another rise, warmth again seeped between my toes, and as I reached the road to wait for the bus, the concrete burned my feet and I put my shoes on.

On that ten minute walk, I remembered something I knew as a child, which is that you miss tons of information from the earth when constantly wear shoes. I used to spend entire summers essentially barefoot (I grew up at the end of a dirt road in the Hudson Valley) and when I was 8 I could have told you how long it had been since rain from the viscosity of the mud that pushed between my toes since I spent hours I playing in the wetland next to my house. I don’t know if I could tell you that now, though I’m certain I could learn again.

Men’s Vivo Barefoots at the Terra Plana store.

So when a couple months ago I heard about the barefoot running movement, and the new book, Born to Run, I was intrigued. The premise is that our fancy $200 uberpadded sneakers are actually BAD for our bodies when running, and can actually cause or exacerbate injury. Which makes sense if you think about the fact that we have only been wearing such contraptions for about 20 years (flat, unpadded Converse All Stars were the sneaker of choice for basketball players for years). So I went hiking with a friend in Connecticut and took off my sandals and did a bit of trailrunning with naked feet, which was fun as long as I was careful (and this forces one to focus on each step, which is interesting). And then…

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Bill McKibben Talks Climate Change and 350.org with Colbert

I LOVE Colbert, and I am a long-time Bill McKibben fan; his new organization, 350.org is fighting climate change by encouraging initiatives that bring carbon down to 350ppm or lower (we are at 390 right now), which is the safe level for continued healthy and prosperous life on Earth.

Get Lazy with Josh Dorfman's New Book (and TV Show on Sundance!)

Watch a clip from Josh’ new show above!

Josh Dorfman’s on a roll! He just released a follow-up book to his first, called “The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget”, AND he has a new show (also called “The Lazy Environmentalist” which just premiered on the Sundance Channel last night, but you can watch episodes here.

Josh has been involved with ecofriendly living for years now and is definitely a fun, friendly and accessible expert in the field. Besides writing books and starring in his own TV show he also runs Vivavi, a furniture showroom (and online store) that features sustainably-made, modern furniture. I talked with Josh a couple months back about all his projects; check it out!

Eco Chick: Tell me about Vivavi and The Lazy Environmentalist- How did the store inspire the original book and vice versa?

Josh: Vivavi centers around the idea of combining modern design with environmentally responsible materials to offer consumers a choice that signifies the possibilities for living gorgeous lifestyles in balance with nature. The Lazy Environmentalist is a broader expansion of that philosophy and aims to demonstrate how cutting-edge environmental solutions can fit every aspect of an individual’s lifestyle and hopefully improve it.

EC: Why furniture? What was it about the particular environmental problems inherent in furniture production made you want to tackle it?

I chose furniture because much of many of today’s top contemporary furniture designers work with sustainable materials. You can’t really make that same claim yet in other product categories. The idea isn’t just to run a green company, it’s to run a super successful company because the more we succeed the more benefit we create for the planet and the green economy.

EC: What parts of your business are significantly different from a ‘conventional biz’?

The only part that is significantly different is the sourcing because we will only work with designers and manufacturers who can demonstrate that they are taking substantive steps to green their operations and their products. Otherwise, green business is essentially the same as conventional business. We just adhere to different guiding principles.

EC: How’s it going? Are you being positively or negatively affected by economic conditions?

There’s no question that Vivavi is being adversely affected by current economic conditions. On the other hand, The Lazy Environmentalist is taking off!

EC: What’s next for The Lazy Environmentalist now that you’re the King of Green Media?

I’m currently the spokesperson for Brita’s Filterforgood.com campaign which encourages people to reduce their disposable plastic bottle waste. I’m also a spokesperson for Green Works natural cleaning products. I really enjoy working companies to help inform consumers about substantively green solutions. I hope to do more of this kind of work because I think it’s vital that corporate America actively participate in the transformation to a sustainable economy for that transformation to succeed.

Josh Dorfman is the Author and Host of The Lazy Environmentalist and Founder and CEO of Vivavi.