Just when I thought this week couldn’t get any more exciting, I receive my subscription copy of Mother Earth News Magazine in the mail.
Happening every two months, this isn’t usually much of a post-worthy event. That all changed when I turned to page 17 to see two of my photography images printed on the page.
This is the first time my photography work has been featured in a magazine - hooray for a new milestone! You can view the specific images they printed here and here.
I often, blindly, throw just about anything that is not soiled or hard plastic into my recycling bin, but how much of all that is really recyclable? According to author Nicky Scott of Chelsea Green Guide: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, not nearly as much as I thought. For example, potato chip bags can not be recycled; neither can cork. On the other hand, everything from old freezers and CDs to every type of plastic and glass can be reused even before needing to be recycled.
“From old cell phones and E-waste to expired medicines and motor oil this little guide shows you where you can send your unwanted items and how you might make a bit of money while you’re at it,” says Chelsea Publishing’s website. Along with an A-to-Z guide on ways to reduce, reuse and recycle every item in the average home or office, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle also features short chapters on how to furthur incorporate the first two R’s (reduce and reuse) instead of depending on being able to recycle all you buy.
One key element of reusing is composting, which is featured in detail in Chelsea Green Guide: Composting, also by by Nicky Scott. Some cities, like my current home San Francisco, accepts items for weekly composting in a green bin. Unfortunately, this process is not as popular in many other locations, so starting your own compost bin is likely on the agenda. Most people avoid starting or using a compost bin because they think it will … well … stink! There is a key to composting, which is often called “getting the mix right” - that means having the right mix of nitrogen-heavy (soft/wet) and carbon-heavy (dry/absorbent) items in the bin, along with how they are layered.
Shopping for furniture has always been towards the bottom of my “things I enjoy” list. While I do get a kick out of interior design, finding sustainable design brands that make high quality furniture with personality is like asking for Al Gore to become ruler of the world. For the past few years, IKEA has been my go-to source, though I know that there are much more sustainable (and long lasting) options.
Now that my boyfriend and I finally plan to stay put for the next few years, buying furniture that we really enjoy and plan to keep (and hopefully pass along to future generations) has been bumped further up our to-do list. It is time to move on from our Swedish, big box friend but … WHERE DO WE START!? That question answered itself when I was reminded of Toronto’s Greentea Design last week.
Embracing traditional Asian styles, all Greentea’s original designs are made from salvaged wood from Korean farmhouses, barns and other structures, in their own factory. Along with their own line, Greentea’s founder Dale Storer, visited Asia on a regular basis to find traditional antiques to sell on the company’s website and in their 5,000-square-foot showroom. From bed and bath to kitchens and living rooms, Greentea Design has readily available options for every area of your home. Each piece has its own custom options available as well, from different stains and hardware to shelving and door design options.
With a passion for Buddhism, yoga and manga, it is easy to see why Greentea Design is our kind of furniture collection. (more…)
Today is a quiet day here in the U.S. - banks are closed, schools are empty and meaningful moments of silence fill the air. It is Memorial Day today, which commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service to their country.
Many people simply see it as a day off from work, school or their other duties. Both of my grandfathers and my half-uncle were in the military and while I would never personally join, I am thankful for their effort and personal sacrifice on behalf of the entire country.
For the past few years, Memorial Day has been peppered with frustration for many residents of U.S. due to our involvement in the Iraq War. I personally believe that we do not need to be in the Middle East anymore.
While I know that my sentiment is shared by millions of the world’s citizens, many still believe that the war is justified and that we are “doing good.” No matter your belief, today is a day to remember those we have lost in the short time we have existed as a nation.
War has been a source of pride, power and sorrow in every nation on our dying planet. Fighting only breeds more fighting - I fear the cycle shall never end. We must not forget where we have come from and what has brought us to our current state. Let us not make the same mistakes countless times.
Tomorrow, Victoria-E.com will return to its regular, sustainable-focused posts. Until then, I’ll be spending the day is thankful, contemplative silence.
[Image courtesy of soldiersmediacenter on flickr.com]
The epitome of clothing made from recycled and vintage fabrics is the self-titled brand by Deborah Lindquist. Green Living fashion writer Victoria Everman talked with Deborah about favorite fabrics, doggie sweaters, her recent collection and upcoming projects.
A favorite among celebrities like Gwen Stefani, Sharon Stone, Jessica Simpson, Demi Moore and Charlize Theron, Deborah Lindquist is well-known for her trendsetting eco-sweaters made from recycled cashmere. Trained at the infamous Parsons School of Design in New York City, Deborah is always working on integrating new sustainable fabrics and styles into her line, including her first full green bridal collection.
Green Living Online: Your self-titled brand is one of the most well-known sustainable clothing companies around. Could you have imagined your work would have grown to such proportions when you first began?
Deborah Lindquist: Not really. When I started out, eco fashion wasn’t even a term!
When were you first introduced to sustainable fabrics and recycling vintage/second-hand fabrics?
I started using recycled materials when I first started making accessories under my own name in 1983. My first belt was made of recycled leather.
In your Spring 2008 collection, you use a notable amount of hemp, organic cotton, peace silk and some vintage cashmere. Do you have a favorite eco fiber?
I love vintage cashmere. I’m known best for my sweaters. My favorite new eco fabric is hemp because it can be grown without the use of pesticides and herbicides. It is so pest-resistant as a crop that it even makes neighboring plants pest-resistant.
If the latest incarnation of the green living movement has taught use anything, it is this: small, simple changes can have a big impact when performed by many people. Two examples: 1) the average household uses 15% less water when a water meter is installed, 2) energy-efficient light bulbs last 12 times longer than ordinary bulbs and consumer one-fifth the energy. If every household in America, let alone the developed world, performed these two simple actions (adding a water meter and replacing light bulbs), you can only imagine the positive ramifications that could be had.
These are just two of the many intelligent facts, along with simple and effective tips, featured in the Chelsea Green Guides book series. I’ve gotten the pleasure of receiving four of the six guides in the mail and will be reviewed two of them in this post (the next two in another post).
First up is the Water volume from Chelsea Green Guides. Written by Jon Cliff (environmental consultant with Masters degree in Sustainable Environmental Management) and Amanda Cuthbert (freelance writer and marketing consultant), this 78-page book is a handy reference meant for every bookshelf. Along with staggering water usage facts, there are 100 short and simple ways to conserve water all over the house (backyard, garden and car washing included).
Second on the review block (you know, like the chopping block only healthier?) is the Energy volume from Chelsea Green Guides. Also written by duo Jon Cliff and Amanda Cuthbert, this guide also includes 100 conversation tips in a wide variety of areas. From lighting and cooking to renewable energy and gadgets, energy options are abound and covered in basic detail throughout the book.
How many times during your last trip did the serene thought of a few rounds of Sun Salutation float into your mind? Knowing how stressful traveling for work or pleasure is these days, probably quite often. But finding the time or space to engage in a full yoga practice while on the road is more than a challenge.
Tense muscles from airplane seats, be gone! We’ve tracked down the most useful and portable yoga goods to help you keep up your practice while trekking the world. From DVDs and bags to kits and clocks, you’ll be able to maintain your sanity while sleeping in any hotel bed from now on.
In-Room Guided Yoga Programs
Where you stay can be just as important as what you bring from home. Two major hotel chains now offer guest programs that feature Gaiam DVDs and props. Kimpton Hotels, with luxurious locations throughout the United States and Canada, offer a free (and soon to be eco-friendly) tote bag with a mat, strap and other props for your in-room practice. You’ll find yoga, Pilates and meditation content on the hotel’s Mind. Body. Spa. Channel. For those who prefer a little company, the hotel staff will also direct you to quality local classes and studios.
If you won’t be near a Kimpton location, ask your chosen hotel if they use the LodgeNet video system in their rooms. LodgeNet features Gaiam yoga and fitness programs through its in-room on-demand TV programming, which is available in nearly 2 million hotel rooms (and growing).
Yoga-on-the-Go Deluxe Kit
If bringing a full-size mat along during your travels is your biggest roadblock, we’ve got the solution to your problem. In Gaiam’s Yoga-on-the-Go Deluxe Kit, you get a pair of both gloves and footsies that feature a rubber grip just like your favorite mat. On any smooth surface, you will be able to practice your favorite poses and practices with ease. Also included in the kit are the 30-minute Lower Body Yoga for Beginners DVD and six pose cards that focus on releasing lower body tension, a common issue for travelers thanks to tight airplane seats and long car rides.
Get yours for $10
[[ KEEP READING! THE FULL ARTICLE, WITH 8 MORE PRODUCTS, IS AT LIFE.GAIAM.COM]]
[Image courtesy of timsamoff on flickr.com]
Who says your love for the planet and your pooch can’t go hand in hand? From Chihuahuas to Great Danes and every breed in between, sustainable options for every part of a dog’s life are more plethoric than ever. Why buy big name canned food when you can get organic, all-natural edibles that are the same quality as what you get at the farmer’s market?
Our pets deserve to live as eco-conscious as the rest of us and now, thanks to Paw Luxury, they can! Based in Montoursville, Pennsylvannia (west of Scranton, New Jersey), Paw Luxury is both an online shop and a brick-and-mortar store full of the best green options for dogs. Already wondering about the furry feline you have as well? “We will be adding cats very soon! Stay tuned,” says Paw Luxury founders Adam and Wendy.
How did Paw Luxury get started? “Our love for our dog Lola [pictured at right] and our desire to tread lightly on the earth has led us on a journey to mesh these passions together. Lola has given us so much so why not give her the best.”
Not able to find a shop for all their eco-pet needs, husband-and-wife team Adam and Wendy took it upon themselves to create such a place. “We educate our customers on how to go green in their daily lives and provide detailed, accurate & honest information on the products we offer. Our belief is that it starts with little paw steps to make a difference.”
Other green benefits?
When presented with the concept of human rights, many people instinctively think of the inalienable rights to life, liberty, justice and freedom of expression (among others). All these fantastic opportunities notwithstanding, I think something is still missing from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which turned 60 this year. What’s absent? Environmental rights.
As part of the Bloggers Unite For Human Rights event today, I’ve decide to put a difference spin of the issue and lack of international rights in both first and third-world countries. There is no denying the overarching issue of human rights all over our planet, but with the environmental movement reaching its second peak (the first being in the 1960s), it is clear (no pun intended) that having access to pristine land, water and air are vital parts of human existence.
Would you move to a neighborhood with a river full of raw sewage? How about living on land that has nuclear waste buried under it? Most would instantly avoid these places, but what about people who can’t afford to be choosy? Should they be “punished” due to their lower income. No. No no no. The RIGHT to a safe environment should be the very same as the right to life itself. How can we live a full life with the onslaught of both local and corporate pollution inundating ever element of our day?
Let’s turn to conversation to third world countries for a moment. Unstable governments and low national income are issues seen across the board, but does that mean they should be given the blessing of clean air and sparkling rivers? Of course not. Industrial progress has been set as the international standard for success without much considering to what it has and is doing to the only home we have.
Color, creed, sexual orientation, religious affiliation and economic background should not be grounds for discrimination on the air we breath … it shouldn’t, but it is. (more…)
After the premiere of the Fashion episode from Big Ideas for A Small Planet’s second season, there was one other episode that I really wanted to see - Grow. Having gone from the farmland of rural Indiana to the urban concrete of San Francisco, my appreciation for every square foot of green space has skyrocketed over the years.
Just what inside perspectives could the Sundance folks give on taking seedlings to the next level? From the Sundance Channel’s website: This episode looks at new green spaces in cities and suburbs. As urban populations swell, creative environmentalists are scouting surprising spots for vegetation amidst the cement. Elsewhere, suburbanites are introducing environmental consciousness to their lawns and gardens.
Unlike the Fashion episode from BIFASP’s first season, I did not see the Grow episode the first time around. I’m not able to compare which Grow episode is “better”, but I can say that season two’s coverage on the aspects and importance of growing plants is engaging. Premiering next Tuesday, May 20th at 9pm EST and PST, the 25-minute installment focuses on three topics: green roofs, xeriscaping and instant parks. Features within these segments is Jorg Breuning, Founder of Green Roof Service LLC; Marjora Carter, Executive Director of Sustainable South Bronx; Vynnie McDaniels, Xeriscape Garden Consultant; Andy Lipkis, Founder of Tree People and the infamous Dr. David Sukuzi, Geneticist & Author.
The overarching concept of the episode is encapsulated in two simple sentences at the beginning: Plants nourish the air and filter our water, yet green spaces are endangered all over the planet. Can be imagine growing a greener world? (more…)
With all the excitement of bringing your own bags to the grocery story, buying organic cotton clothing and carrying your own water bottle, it is easy to forget that the United States government does not have a plan in place for dealing with the main cause of climate change: carbon. After all the efforts we continue to put for in order to make out personal lives more green, how do we get companies to follow suit?
Establishing an effective and long-term plan for government sanctioned carbon reduction is the main subject of Peter Barnes’ book, Climate Solutions: A Citizen’s Guide - What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why. Released at the beginning of 2008, Climate Solutions is a quick 93-page read (I finished it in a few hours). No punches are pulled as Barnes gives us the straight facts about the current state of our environment and the carbon reduction plans major corporations are rooting for. “This citizen’s guide demystifies climate policy so that you can play an active role in forming it. We can’t wait any longer, and we can’t get it wrong,” says Bill McKibben in the book’s forward.
“On the surface, global warming appears to be an environmental problem. But deeper down, it’s a result of two economic and political failures,” says Barnes in the first chapter. Four different government tools are discussed in detail: taxes, caps, regulations and investments. After over 30 years in the green energy business, Barnes gets right to the point on each method’s benefits and drawbacks. “In the end, we’ll need a mix [of all four tools], but before we make our brew we need to know the virtues and flaws of each,” says Barnes.
Deep in the coal mines, canaries gave warning - when to take action for survival. Everything is connected. Change. Be strong. Find what you love. Love what you do. Listen for canaries. - Anna Cohen introduction to her Spring/Summer 2008 collection
Inspired by urge to create a sustainable line of “Italian Street Couture”, Oregon’s Anna Cohen has created one of the most beautiful seasonal collections I’ve ever seen in my 15-odd years in the fashion industry. Her Spring/Summer 2008 pieces premiered at the October 2007 Portland Fashion Week to rave reviews and it is easy to see why! Trends from 1920s to 1950s have been channeled into subtle, architecturally appealing collection that focuses on black, white and … oddly enough … orange. Pieces that flatter each and every body type are an unexpected element of the retro-modern menagerie.
Life is a journey, so why not make it a sustainable one? From blogs and forums to magazines, newspapers and cable TV -tips and tricks on how to live green come at us from every possible angle these days. While it is a refreshing change from McDonald’s ads and fake diet claims, all the info can still be quite overwhelming. How do you keep track of it all?
If you are like me and have been ‘betrayed’ by computers a few times in your life, you’ll be interested in The Green Journal, compiled by Pittsburg’s infamous Phipps Conservatory and Garden Center. Filled with mini-essays and helpful reminders on eco-projects of all sizes, The Green Journal also has ample room for you to “enter your own discoveries and epiphanies as they unfold, marking where you’ve been and where you still want to go.”
Feel a bit strange about keeping track of your sustainable changes in a paper journal? Don’t fret - publisher St. Lynn’s Press printed the hardbound “book” on recycled paper with soy-based inks. Thanks to The Green Journal, you won’t have to sacrifice your eco-intentions to your busy schedule - keep track of it easily and soon, everyone will be calling you ‘Emerald.’
How many times during the day do you take a break simply to rub your eyes? Whether to help relieve stress or induce relaxation, our eyes are vital parts to our well-being but, like our feet, are often ignore. A consistent yoga practice can easily bring your entire body into a pleasurable state.
During the final element of each practice, while in Corpse Pose, the opportunity to pamper our eyes presents itself. By using an eye pillow during Savasana, you block out nearly all light along with adding a gentle pressure to the area around the eyes, which helps to relieving tension and calm active muscles. Eye pillows are also often used to help people with chronic headaches.
So, eye pillows are great … but why buy one? In my second appearance within the pages of Yoga Journal Magazine (my first was in the September 2007 issue), I present readers with simple step-by-step instructions on how to make your own eye pillow (June 2008 issue; page 28), including how to customize the filling to your scent preferences. Not a superior sewer? No need to be! This is a beginner pattern that anyone can make.
Random note: the three eye pillows at the bottom of page 28 were made by yours truly out of HarmonyArt organic cotton fabric (specifically the Pink Moon, Let it Grow, and Graceland prints)! I also made an eye pillow for myself, from the Whispering Grass print, that I use during my daily yoga practice.
Just announced on both the company’s website and their blog, The Thought Kitchen, Portland-based cutting edge NAU Clothing is ceasing business. The company was just featured in Sundance Channel’s Big Ideas for A Small Planet “Fashion” episode and has been revered for its many sustainable and revolutionary concepts.
Below is the official letter that has been posted:
In the current highly risk-averse capital market, we simply could not raise the necessary funds to continue to move forward. We believe this is not so much a reflection of the viability of our business, but the result of an unfortunate confluence of events. Just as we could not have predicted the sudden groundswell of environmental consciousness that blossomed at the time we launched our business, we did not foresee the current crisis in the capital markets. At this time, investors are loath to invest in anything; especially, it appears, a company like Nau that has the audacity to challenge conventional paradigms of what a business should be.
We are, of course, eternally thankful to a large community of people, including the investors who got us this far—those who saw our potential and gave their support when the risk was greatest. We would also like to express our most sincere gratitude to our customers as well as our partner non-profit organizations, our business associates, our friends in the media as well as the countless others who have cheered us and challenged us along the way. It has been an honor working with and serving all of you. Your unflagging support and enthusiasm has inspired us to work diligently on your behalf and we regret we will not be able to serve you in the future.
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