eco

The 'Sonoma House' is a gorgeous, barn-style, 1200sqft granny home with a modern interior that is healthier, more energy efficient, and better for the environement! Additional environmental products featured with the home are: reclaimed local wood installed for floors, PV solar system, rainwater catchment system, built in recycling system, ICF foundation forms, smart vents, cool metal roof (as seen in example photo), lime plaster, and more! In 2002, Nichoel Farris founded American Home Sales, a local prefab home design company specializing in factory built custom homes and cottages. Because of the lack of affordable green building options available to the average family, she worked with the EPA's Energy Star New Homes program to design and develop the first Green Manufactured Model Home. The Sonoma House will be open daily for tour at the Spring Auburn Home Show. May 16- - May 18 For more info or to tour the other Green Model Homes on display: American Home Sales 530.885.4555. Custom Home Design Services and Full Construction Available Serving California and some neighboring states.

Am I the only one who is getting sick of hearing about small, homegrown eco-brands being bought by big corporations and investment groups? By no means am I against the development of a just and planet-friendly company, but this is getting ridiculous. Is it impossible for a company to be profitable without "submitting" to the bigwigs who harvested the problems with our current marketplace?

Odwalla and Tom's of Maine are two of the most notable acquisitions in recent years. December 2006 brought the announcement of two more: Avalon being bought by Hain Celestial and Van's Foods being bought by Healthy Food Holdings. Thanks to the linked article, I was also informed that Naked Juice, Jason, and Zia have all been bought by these types of mega-groups; no wonder it is so easy to find them on store shelves!

While these changeovers do help to get natural and organic brands the attention they deserve, are the companies buying them doing it for the right reasons? The wording in the NFM article leads me to believe that they are way off base. The growing eco-market is one that should not be ignored in terms of profits, but there are reasons why it is so popular with consumers: safer, healthier, better for the planet ... etc. Making money is vital to a company's success, but these buyers need to remember why people started these businesses in the first place: to help make a difference for their families and mother Earth. As Avalon and Van's are marketed to stores and regions they wouldn't normally have been able to reach on their own, will their values suffer to help them fit in? Being different is what made them stand out in the first place.

In the last 2006 issue of VegNews, a great article was featured on this topic, though with a different spin. From a vegetarian (and concerned citizen) aspect, can you justifying buying items from these brands after they have been acquired? For example, Tom's of Maine was purchased by Colgate, which is known to do animal testing. As a forward-thinking, eco-concerned individual, would you continue to get your toothpaste and shave cream from Tom's, knowing that you are also funneling money to a company that does such cruel and needless actions? Or, in turn, how about Odwalla being bought by Coca Cola? Why buy healthy fruit drinks from a company that sells needless sugary beverages to kids and adults, adding to the obesity problem in this country?

Though a number of new opportunities to expand business present themselves upon being purchased by a larger company, the ethical and eco-market implications need to be studied as well. I think I'll stick to my Dr. Bronner's, Aubrey Organics, and Amy's dinners for now :)

(Image courtesy of Rob Lee)

[Reposted from Victoria-E.com]

I'm a denim girl - plain and simple. Maybe it has something to do with being raised in the United States, where denim is as closely connected to national pride as baseball and barbeques. The source of my love for jeans is not important however, but finding just the right pair is. Considering the hundreds of denim brands (both eco and non-eco-friendly) on the market, it is clear that I am not the only one trying to find just the right pair of blues.

A few months back, I saw a collection of magazines featuring high-waisted jeans. Some of those I know were disgusted by the "trend", saying they looked like granny pants. For me, this is one of my all-time favorite styles, harking back to the epitome of American culture - the 1950s. Also, like wearing a corset, having the waistband up around your natural waist (instead of hovering just about your crotch) gives a woman a certain kind of confidence that you can't fake.

Imagine my delight when I found out that one of the best organic cotton denim collections, Del Forte, would be releasing a high-waisted jean for Spring 2007, called "Ivy". Green living magazine like Plenty featured the style months before it was to be released, making me salivate all the more. Finally, just this month, Beklina began selling these coveted pants on their website. Not one to hesistate, I snapped up a pair in size 30 (yes, I have big hips, learn to love it!) and stared at my mailbox.

Upon their arrival, I was greeted with an ever-so-sweet hand-written note, and I squeeled with joy as I removed the jeans from their packaging (all of it recyclable, by the way). Trying them on, that rush of confidence that I so enjoy filled me in record time. These pants go seamlessly from the office to the dinner table to an evening on the town. Though I am always tempted to wear them with sexy heels, my feet don't fancy that, so my hemp Converse sneakers look quite snazzy as well.

So, what's the moral of this story? You can be sexy, stylish, and green - all at the same time. :D

Image courtesy of Del Forte

[Reposted from Victoria-E.com]

"Knit a bag, save the world" - who said being green and crafty can't make a difference? Trendy Knit.1 magazine, published by VogueKnitting, is sure their readers want to have a positive impact on the planet. "I’d like to think that as knitters, we’ve always been a pretty resourceful group. By practicing our craft, we are 'recycling' (for lack of a better word) countless generations of traditions and techniques, giving them our own modern spin," writes Adina Klein in her Editor's Letter for Knit.1's Summer 2007 issue, also know as "the green issue", on sale May 15th.

"Since we started working on this issue, it seems that every other magazine, from Town & Country to Fortune, has “green” plastered across its cover. It’s easy for us here at knit.1 to do a photo shoot in a garden and call it “Greenhouse Effect,” or to put a model in shiny gold hot pants and call it “Solar Power.” What’s harder is practicing what we preach. I know I have to stop filling landfills with individual containers of my favorite Greek yogurt and to finally start using those long-lasting light bulbs that have been on my to-buy list for months. But luckily for us knitters, doing the right thing comes naturally. To paraphrase blogger extraordinaire Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, we are good at making a difference because we understand how one little effort—the stitch—repeated hundreds and thousands of times, can make an enormous impact."

Unlike many of the major magazine doing green issue for April/May, Knit.1 has added a green element to just about every aspect of their next issue. Below is a small snippet of the many eco-offerings in the Summer issue; a visual preview of the patterns offered can be seen here:

GREEN SCENE
Shannon Okey searches the Web for all things purlable and earth-friendly.
IT’S A BIRD! IT’S A SKEIN!
...it’s Annette O’Toole and the knitting cast of TV’s Smallville. By Vickie Howell
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Projects, tips and other goodies that will help you knit and save the planet. By Leigh Witchel
ECO KNITTING
Yarns with a cause: Knitting goes green. By Leigh Witchel
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Flirty knits that will make you feel like a natural woman.
PAPER OR PLASTIC?
How about neither? Carry your sundries home in a hand-knit bag instead.
SOLAR POWER
Hot knits for hot days.
CONCRETE JUNGLE
What’s black and white and knit all over? Business wear for urban warriors.
KNIT YOUR VEGGIES
Get out your Wishbone Italian! Yummy knits made from corn to bamboo.
THOSE LEAVES OF GRASS
A salad bar of fibers.
THE BIRDS AND THE LEAVES
Nap in style, swaddled in a blanket that evokes the natural world.
ANIMAL PLANET
Go for faux with a pack of fierce pillows.

Like watching the stars? Check out your Summer knitstology horoscope, complete with eco tips for each sign. An issue like this is all the more proof that green living is more mainsteam than ever before, and I wouldn't have it any other way. On a related note, keep your eyes peeled for my green knitting piece in Yoga Journal Magazine's September 2007 issue.

[Reposted from Victoria-E.com]

New sustainable fashion brands are popping up faster than celebrity
gossip blogs. With only a handful of truly sustainable fabrics available, trying to set yourself apart from all the other eco-style companies is the key to success. Selling basic, classic organic cotton pieces for men and women, not much about New York’s District Cotton stands out … at least on the surface. While focusing on stateside production and the use of organic cotton, DC is also working on integrating certified fair trade practices and products into their line. Their simple website is quite easy to navigate, the most exciting page being for the printed t-shirts.

These T’s are about showing off your social conscience without all of the pretentiousness. The idea is to raise awareness and a little money for something that we believe in, donating 10% of the proceeds to some cool organizations.

Sponsored design contests give artists (and wanna-bes like myself)
and change to submit designs for t-shirts, focusing on a particular
social theme/issue. For the launch of the District Cotton brand, the
first contest centered around “This T-shirt supports an organic
farmer.” The winning four designs (including the Blueberry Head shown above) can be seen an purchased here, with 10% of the proceeds going to the Northeast Organic Farming Association.

The next contest has not yet been announced, but once details have been released, you’ll find them right here!

[Reposted from Victoria-E.com]