Lauren (Bush) and (David) Lauren

Twenty-four-year-old Lauren Bush let the word out in September that she’s launching an eco-friendly fashion line, although her decision to name the line Lauren Pierce has raised some eyebrows.

But for George Bush’s neice, it’s probably not easy being green when someone like Robert F. Kennedy states that your uncle “George W. Bush will go down as the worst environmental president in U. S. history”! And Lauren Bush isn’t alone in having different strokes from her politically high profile family folks. Just look at Newt Gingrich’s activist sister Candace.

But I give Lauren Bush “cool” points for her principled achievements. As an anthropology student at Princeton University in 2005, Lauren went to Chad as a student ambassador for the United Nations’ The World Food Programme.

In 2007, Lauren Bush designed a bag for FEED Projects, which she started with Ellen Gustafson, a former UN Communications Officer. This raised recognition and over 5 million dollars for the UN World Food Programme. A portion of each “FEED 1” bag sold brings hope of an education to an underprivileged child and supplies him/her with meals for an entire school year. Each “FEED 100” bag (available at Wholefoods) provides 100 meals to children in Rwanda. Many celebrities have been caught rooting for the FEED bags, like Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross and Lauren Bush’s friend- PETA activist Elizabeth Berkley.

Lauren Bush is a serious Fashion Diva, as her modeling has been featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines, and with Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, Isaac Mizrahi and Gai Mattiolo. She is signed with Elite Model Management- the agency that America’s Next Top Model winners sign with. Although Lauren’s degree is from Princeton, she also studied fashion design at Parsons The New School for Design in NYC and Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in London.

I find it interesting that Lauren’s taste for fashion and eco-adventure extends to her personal relationships. She’s now dating…

Read More »

Whether you’re a professional artist, a hobbyist or just like to make crafts with your kids every now and then, if you’re environmentally conscious you’ve probably wondered how you can make your creative activities greener. Arts and crafts can definitely be a bit hard on the environment if you’re not careful – there are a lot of toxic ingredients in those paints, glue, varnishes and other materials, not to mention all of the trash you end up throwing away.

With the holiday season coming up, a lot of people are gearing up to create hand-made cards, gifts, ornaments and other crafty things, so it’s a great time to brush up on some eco-friendly arts & crafts tips!

Use recycled, non-toxic and sustainable materials. This one is probably pretty obvious.  Stick with recycled paper and pencils and other environmentally responsible materials like hemp sketchbooks, non-toxic adhesives and bamboo paintbrushes.  Look for the ACMI-approved seal on paints, which indicates that they’re non-toxic.

Upcycle ‘junk’ into works of art.  Next time you start a project, think about the supplies you need and whether you can find them around the house, at the thrift store, on Freecycle, etc. Try making your own artist canvas by applying gesso to an old cotton or linen sheet.  Refinishing thrift-store frames can be a budget-friendly option as well.  There are a million and one opportunities to upcycle ‘junk’ into jewelry, décor and other items.

Make your own paintbrushes. Leslie of The Öko Box eco boutique demonstrates how on her blog, using a twig, human hair and a rubber band.  She also experiments with plant-based pigments, turning a bunch of poke berries growing in her yard into a lovely fuschia liquid that she used to paint a picture and even dye an old shower curtain.

Don’t throw away scraps of paper and fabric.  Most types of paper and natural fabrics like cotton, silk, linen and wool can be composted.  Encourage kids to use scraps of construction paper by creating ‘stained glass-style’ art with them.  Larger, higher quality scraps of fabric can be re-used in quilts or made into wall art as shown on Apartment Therapy’s green sister site, Re-Nest.  The rest can be given new life as stuffing for toys or pillows.

Wash oil paints from your hands and brushes with an eco-friendly, phosphate-free dish soap instead of solvents. Dish soap won’t harm your paintbrushes, and it dissolves oil paints better than harsh, often-toxic solvents like turpentine.  Some artists also use vegetable oils to clean and maintain their brushes.

Announcing…the new Blog Association that is heralding the Fashion Revolution!
I am so pleased to introduce you to the new blog group Eco Chic Weekly.  We are a small but rapidly growing group of writers that focus on future of fashion:  Sustainability!

The members of Eco Chic Weekly are all dedicated to bringing you viable options to the mass-produced, over worked clothing and beauty that is designed first and foremost for the bottom line.

Eco Fashion is both a industry revolution and a cultural revolution.  It is a movement that promotes a higher quality of living for everyone on earth.

Please visit each week for a digest of the best of the best of Eco Fashion Blogging, and spend a few moments commenting on these excellent posts — we love to hear from our readers!

Green Cotton introduces her blog and tells us about her mission of bringing organic and sustainable clothing to the mainstream!

Green Girls Global reports on water wasted in producing denim–and offers some great alternatives!

GreenGirls.tv has a video wrap up of everything on the blog for the past week.

Fashion, Evolved recaps the Project Runway Season 5 Finale (part 1).  (Poor Jerrel!)

Eco Chick gives us the scoop on a brand new line of organic body care targeted at teens.

Victoria-E showcases the new line of handbags from Ecoist, a company that uses recycled wrappers; and she includes a special discount for her readers!

Most teenage girls experiment with a lot of different cosmetics and body care products, trying out different brands, colors and scents. But concern about what’s in those products isn’t just limited to adults, and that’s how ‘Teens for Safe Cosmetics’ got started. This coalition of young women actively raising awareness about the safety of ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products have long been advocating for products that are safe, natural and high quality, and now they’ve even got their own line of eco-friendly body care products.  The ‘Teens Turning Green’ line, now available at Whole Foods, was made for teens by teens.

The nine products, which include cleanser, deodorant, moisturizer, a purifying mask and more, are made by seven companies including four based in the Bay Area – Benedetta, Depth, EO Products and Pomega5. The other companies are Alaffia, Astara and Terra Naturals.  The line is sold exclusively at Whole Foods nationwide.

From the Teens for Safe Cosmetics website:

“Our goal is to affect change in a positive and collaborative way through partnerships with companies that are already doing right by our bodies and planet,” says Erin Schrode, lead campaign spokeswoman. “When information is available and alternatives are accessible, people begin to think critically and that prompts change. If what you put on your body 24/7 could be potentially harmful, why do it?”

“This unprecedented line of products for teens ( that adults will love as well ) shows that you don’t have to choose beauty over health,” said Judi Shils, Director of Teens for Safe Cosmetics. This line will grow to encompass all aspects of an eco-conscious lifestyle, all that teens encounter 24/7; we hope that the Teens Turning Green collection will inspire teens to not only protect their health, but also sustain their world.”

It’s so awesome and encouraging, not only that young women are taking a stand and demanding safer products, but that this unique group has worked so hard to ensure that teens have healthy options available to them.  The Teens for Safe Cosmetics website is also a wealth of info for young Eco Chicks.  Check it out for the ‘Dirty Thirty’ ingredients in cosmetics that may cause cancer, greener alternatives and links to lots more resources.

Do you remember how fun it was as a little girl to go shopping with your mother, big sister, or babysitter? Those memories mark the foundation of our fashion-obsessed natures. The thing is, not all of our fashion role models at the time were eco-fashionistas.

We, as the new generation of role-models and mothers have the incredible ability to excite, educate, and inspire the qualities of an Eco-Chick into our Eco-Chicklets today so that they grow up to become even fiercer than our generation.

Loyale, ABC Carpet & Home, and Sons & Daughters, are just a few of the little boutiques across New York City that carry cute (organic) fashions for the little ones.

Some of the labels, such as Loyale, carry collections that both an adult and child could wear (so you can pick some new stuff up too). The Loyale collection uses 100% Organic Cottons, 100% Organic Cotton Faux Furs and embroidery and factory reclaimed fabrics in its construction, and the garments are all crafted in New York City.

There are definitely more on-line stores than boutiques, but the experience of going into a store or studio, and explaining to your child, niece, younger sister, or granddaughter why her new dress is better than a conventional one from the Gap can’t be beat. Remember that for kids, every experience is ripe for learning something new.

Showing them how to repair their own clothes, or even make their own, is another great way to show a young girl (or boy!) what goes into making her or his clothes (they’ll be able to relate to the usually-underpaid sewers who put together most conventional garments). Letting them pick out patterns and fabrics is a fantastic design lesson.

On October 1st, 2008, the Ford Model-T turned 100-years-old. Back in 1908, the year my grandmother was born, this “universal car” as Henry Ford called it, became the first mass-produced car and the symbol of low-cost reliable transportation. But more important than it’s centennial, the Model T got 13-21 MPG (max speed 45 MPH), and it was the first flexible-fuel vehicle, running on gas, ethanol or both.

According to Model T collector Stu Chaney of the Model T Ford Club of America who appeared on the The CBS Saturday Early Show, “It will run on moonshine, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel– about anything you can put a match to. And, whatever it runs on, it would pass today’s very strict emission standards, because it burns the complete charge in the combustion.”

Call me crazy but why are we no better off 100 years later? According the the US Department of Energy’s website, FuelEconomy.gov, the 2008 Ford Ranger Pick-Up gets 15 MPG (highway, city combine). I drive a Acura MDX and hardly ever go above 45 MPH and I am only getting about 15 MPH, and neither of these cars are Flex-Fuel vehicles.

Are you kidding me? So the 100 year-old Model-T did better on fuel efficiency than cars made today and it’s a flex-fuel automobile.

Henry Ford knew there was a future in alternative fuel. In 1925 he told the New York Times that “The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit like that sumac out by the road, or from apples, weeds, sawdust — almost anything. There is fuel in every bit of vegetable matter that can be fermented. There’s enough alcohol in one year’s yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for a hundred years.”

In the late 1920’s, Ford began to test crops for their industrial potential. He actually used soybeans in gearshift knobs and horn buttons. This process of creating industrial products from agricultural raw materials is called Chemurgy. Coined by the chemist William J. Hale, chemurgy in the 1930’s during the Great Depression, many farmers and others were advocating the link between farm and industry. In 1935, the Farm Chemurgic Council (later renamed the National Farm Chemurgic Council) was formed to encourage greater use of renewable raw materials in industry. This sounds like a good idea to me. If you’ve read some of my other blogs, you know that I feel strongly about the pervasive nature of petrochemicals in our everyday lives.

So tell me what happened in the past 100 years. Well, after Henry Ford began producing the Model-T oil-based gasoline emerged as the dominant fuel due to it availability, price, and of course lobbying from petroleum companies to maintain steep alcohol taxes. According to Hemp Car Transamerica (don’t laugh this is both legit and important): “Many bills proposing a National energy program that made use of Americas vast agricultural resources (for fuel production) were killed by smear campaigns launched by vested petroleum interests.” So big oil killed big agriculture’s bid for our gas tanks? We’re dependent upon foreign oil due to American big oil efforts.

Read More »

Now that the weather is getting colder, hot baths are even more enticing after a long, hard day of work. Sometimes, there’s nothing you want more than to sink into a soothing, steamy bath full of scented bath salts.  Of course, those bath salts sold at most stores are usually packed with overly strong, headache-inducing artificial fragrance – not exactly what you’re going for when all you want to do is relax and wind down.  But making your own bath salts scented with pure essential oils is easy and allows you to customize them to your needs.

A quick note on Dead Sea salt: it’s not the most eco-friendly choice.  While salt extraction from the Dead Sea is only a small factor in the shrinking of this renowned body of water, it still has an effect – and still has to travel halfway across the world.  And, technically, Dead Sea salt is really no different from regular old salt. Epsom salt – also known as hydrated magnesium sulfate – is a better choice.  It also packs a muscle-relaxing wallop, since magnesium sulfate acts as a sedative for the nervous system.

All you need to make your own bath salts is a mixing bowl, a spoon, an empty jar, salt, baking soda, essential oils, and any other additives you might like to use.  I like including a little club moss, used by herbal healers to relieve muscle cramping.  My personal favorite blend of essential oils includes ginger, clove and vanilla.

Combine about a cup of salt with a cup of baking soda, and add in several drops of essential oil (a little goes a long way!). You can also mix in a little bit of some moisturizing oils like olive or jojoba.  Allow the mixture to sit overnight in the bowl, covered with a cloth, to let it dry completely, before putting it in a jar. Otherwise, it’ll solidify and be difficult to use.

You can pick up 5 pounds of Epsom salt from Mountain Rose Herbs for just $12.  They’ve also got a wide range of essential oils, herbs, flower petals and other things you can add to your homemade bath salts to make them look and smell pretty!

I decided that there is so much “green” news out there each week that I would update Eco-Chick readers on what I think are the most interesting stories and topics.  Here is “The Week in Green.”

Be Green and Vote: In most states you have until the end of the week to register to vote in the Presidential election.  Some say “why should I vote”?  No matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat, an environmentalist or a creationist (not sure why anyone would be), you MUST exercise your right to vote.  In this week Grist, Umbra Fisk wrote a piece called Citizen Bane: On the importance of voting.  A must read for all and if you have not registered to vote go to Declare Yourself to find out your state’s deadline and all you need to register.

Bush’s Environmental Record: In a week that has once again exposed the incompetence of the Bush administration, the Republicans have boycotted a review of Bush’s environmental record, as reported by the Environmental News Service. All of us know this administration has failed the American people on environmental and health issues while letting big business run rampant without oversight.  “For six years the administration sat by while oil imports increased, gas prices rose and global warming became more and more threatening,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. “It refused to set higher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles even when the data showed that the current trajectory was actually hurting the U.S. auto industry, desiccating its market share.”

Fast Food is transforming the waistlines of the Greek: Our fast and highly process foods are making the U.S. a nation of the overweight, sick and obese. We have been told that the healthful Mediterranean diet — emphasizing olive oil, fresh produce and fish — is the way to go. But as reported in the New York Times this week, the Greeks have succumbed to our ways and are now seeing increased negative health effects from the change in their nation’s diet.  So much so that the government has began lectures on nutrition in schools.  As stated in the article, “In Greece, three-quarters of the adult population is overweight or obese, the worst rate in Europe “by far,” according to the United Nations. The rates of overweight 12-year-old boys rose more than 200 percent from 1982 to 2002 and have been rising even faster since.”

The reusable shopping bag, green or not?: If you’re reading this, and you are, you probably have about a half a dozen or so reusable shopping bags.  Those of us who do, proudly bring them to the supermarket making our statement that we are taking one step in reducing waste and helping the environment. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal this week entitled “An Inconvenient Bag,” reusable shopping bags are the new “it” freebie.  Sales are up 76% from this time last year.  Wow, what a business, but is it a green business? “Many of the cheap, reusable bags that retailers favor are produced in Chinese factories and made from nonwoven polypropylene, a form of plastic that requires about 28 times as much energy to produce as the plastic used in standard disposable bags and eight times as much as a paper sack, according to Mr. Sterling, of Natural Capitalism Solutions.

Reclaiming Cow Shit for Energy: So many people dis on the cow because they feel that bovines are a leading causes of global warming.  They burp and fart methane. Well, a farm in Vermont is now taking the waste from their cattle and converting into clean burning natural gas to create a new and recurring source of green energy. The Green Mountain Dairy in Shelton, Vermont is part of an alternative energy program that converts methane from cow manure in to electricity.  Check out this interesting and progressive program by reading  Electricity From What Cows Leave Behind in the New York Times, The Business of Green section.

If there is something that you think is interesting, topical or important, please post it to the comments here, on my Facebook Group (Green Luvin’) and/or my Facebook blog, Green Luvin’.  You can also follow me on Twitter @Green_Luvin.

Arina and the pink bunny!

Rushing around NYC on a recent evening, I was stunned by what I saw in the La Mama gallery. With my nose pressed against the glass window, I gazed in wonder at a marvelously crafted menagerie of objects and characters with animated faces. These were inflated balloon-like sculptures, among which were a giant pink bunny, puffy clouds, a fluttering dove, a melting ice-cream cone, a uterus, and in the gallery’s center, a huge hand pointing to a crazy looking clown wearing kinky panties!!

Check those panties!

When I recognized unmistakable logos like “Have a Nice Day” and “I Love NY”, I realized what these sculptures werr made of; none other than the much-reviled plastic shopping bag! Curious about the story behind this suspected recycled art medium, I got in touch with the Miami-based artist Tawnie Silva. He informed me that his inspiration for this work comes from balloon floats made for parades. Originally Tawnie meant to have these sculptures constructed by a parade float manufacturer to his specifications. Disappointed with those results, Tawnie realized that the way to get this project done right would be to make everything himself.

Ava Eisenson of La Mama Gallery with Uterus piece

At this point his exhibition deadline was approaching and he couldn’t get parade float nylon in time for the show. Tawnie started researching other materials for making his inflatable sculptures. Several artists in his circle recommended plastic shopping bags as being great to work with, and Tawnie found this to be true. In Miami, however, most bags used in stores are the same. Since NYC stores utilize a wide variety of colors in their shopping bags, Tawnie implored his pals in Gotham to recycle their shopping bags and send them to his studio where he transformed them into these fascinating creations……and Ta Da!

Arina with a very happy fat plastic bag-lady!

Check out more plastic bag art at these sites below:
An Australian Artist

A compilation of plastic bag art, here.

Joshua Allen Harris’ Inflatable Plastic Bag Subway Art was covered by Treehugger and Inhabitat.

The arctic is now an island, plus Smart Cars take over San Francisco!