eco-chic design

sustainable fashion and jewelry with a mission

NOW Showcase in NYC last month featured some of the newest trends in sustainable fashion and accessories. The location made it easy to get around this year since it was at ICO gallery. Los Angeles based eco-fashion designer Linda Loudermilk had a great quote on a banner leading up to her collection that read “nature is the original punk.” I loved her white shirts for men and women that featured a cool illustration of a water faucet on the back and are part of her water is a human right collection. I had seen the powerful icon on t-shirts, tank tops and scarves before and it’s even available as jewelry in copper, silver or gold. Her website states that more than 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s why 17% of proceeds of her mission wear collection are donated to clean water initiatives all around the world.

Two other jewelry designers caught my eye as well. I loved Kimberlin Brown’s coral reef pendants that are handcrafted from recycled 18 karat gold. She recently joined SeaWeb’s coral conservation campaign entitled ‘Too Precious To Wear’ that’s dedicated to celebrate the ocean without harming it. And last I was really impressed by Article 22’s hand cast aluminum bracelets made from repurposed bomb metal from the Vietnam War. I guess you can tell by now that I really love design for a cause.

eco-friendly journals that tell their own story

At NYIGF last week I discovered a sleek alternative to my Muji notebook made of 100% recycled paper. Ecosystem introduced a green yet stylish take on Moleskine books with their eco-friendly planners, journals, and notebooks. The colorful ecosystem products are made of 100% post-consumer recycled paper in the USA. What makes them so cool besides the fun and contemporary design is that you can track where and how your eco-friendly book was made. To my delight I received a sample of the ecosystem ruled journal Author in watermelon with a flexi cover. Each eco-friendly journal has a unique identification number on the back page. It allows you to find out about the origin of the various materials used to make your specific journal. Plus you can register it online in case it gets lost. So last night I registered my journal at ecosystem’s website to view its ecosystem book ingredients. It was made in July 2009 and a chart displayed each step of the manufacturing process with its eco-friendly practices. For example the elastic band is woven with 100% organic cotton fibers and dyed using water soluble low-impact dyes in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Or the flexi cover is 100% post-consumer recycled base paper and coated with water-based acrylic technology in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It’s great to see how transparent the company is about their supply chain. It makes you feel like we’re all part of the same ecosystem.

sustainable pillows to green your decor

My favorite sustainable designs at NYIGF this week are k studio’s figure shaped decorative pillows that double as toys and the zipper pouches with their signature oval faces. I love the elongated shapes of their human and animal figures with the whimsical drawings and the friendly faces on the pouches. K studio’s line of sustainable soft goods is made of green materials such as organic cotton, hemp or recycled wool. Plus the eco-friendly pillows offer a kapok-filled insert option. I had admired the charming designs on shopping sites dedicated to sustainable living like Branch but was thrilled to finally see them in person. The oval face pouches are really well made and quilted with cotton batting which makes them perfect for keeping things in your purse organized. K studio was launched by mother-and-daughter team Mary and Shelly Klein in 2004. All sustainable designs are hand-made at their studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I adore the subtle humor in the drawings that are inspired by Shelly’s paintings. Make sure to check out their customizable eco-friendly pillows for Valentine’s Day on their website. There you can mix and match your own couple based on several drawings of men or women that are equally as cute. They are not only great for green Valentine gifts but also make fun wedding gifts for eco-chic brides and grooms.

reusable gift bags for a green holiday season

As I’m scrambling to get my last minute gift shopping done I was happy to discover the reusable LivingEthos gift bags through Organic Spa magazine. Not only do they make wrapping gifts easy without a need for scissors and tape but they are also an eco-chic alternative to traditional wrapping paper.

LivingEthos was founded by Josie Gaillard in 2008 to offer people stylish yet eco-conscious choices for their every day lives. Her modern looking gift bags are a smart way to go green with your gift wrap since you can reuse or regift them. They come in 4 different sizes so that you can wrap or store anything from jewelry, cosmetics to toys. The LivingEthos gift bags are made out of 100% cotton and the grosgrain ribbon is made out of 100% recycled PET like soda bottles. Her fun website lets you shop by occasion, giftee, style or color. As a big fan of modern eco-friendly design I love her contemporary fabrics such as retro squares, ripple stripe or martini that are all formaldehyde-free and AZO-free. The eco-modern gift bags come with a paper wraparound label made of 100% recycled paper and printed with soy based ink. It can be transformed into eco-conscious “to-from” tags for the gifts. I love that you can reuse the bags as well as the packaging. The tough part will be to decide if you want to give them away or keep them for yourself.

green networking accessories

Last Saturday I attended the event Green Is: Digital organized by the newly founded company Green Is: in New York. Besides the amazing speakers of course I loved that I received Muji’s PET business card holder made with 50% recycled plastic bottles as a welcome gift. As mentioned before I’m a big fan of Muji’s no-frill products that are designed with the environment in mind. I’ve been using their sleek aluminum business card cases but was always on the lookout for a green alternative to hold more cards.

The reason that I attended the seminar was to learn more about sustainability in the digital age. The speakers included the digital strategy consultant Daniel Schutzsmith, the web editor of The Daily Green Brian Clark Howard, the president of GreenT Digital Christopher Conway and the co-founder of PageTurnPro Anurag Ahuja. The message was pretty clear that the green digital revolution is here and social networking sites are a driving force. A lot of helpful tools and tips were shared on how to green your digital life through networking and technology. For starters get rid of energy vampires through the Belkin Conserve as I had done earlier this year or consider offline data backup. In regards to green networking sites I still need to check out Justmeans or care2 myself. Upcoming seminars by Green Is: are Green Is: Beauty and Green Is: Social. I’ll make sure to take good notes in my Muji notebook made from recycled paper.

bottled water design with an environmental cause

Finland has some of the world’s best water on tap and you might wonder why anyone who lives there would want to buy bottled water. Unless it looks as cool as the donut shaped bottle from Plup that donates 10 euro cents from every purchase to the Baltic Sea Action Group to help with the cleaning of the Baltic Sea.

The Finish company Plup was founded by designer, artist and director Stefan Lindfors. The innovative donut shaped design allows for the bottle to be stackable, durable and portable which makes it easy to reuse. Even that the 0.4L bottle is made from the highly recyclable plastic HDPE the company would rather see you refill and reuse it. The HDPE bottle looks modern with its clear round body and the starfish-shaped cap. It almost functions as a hip accessory so that you’re less likely to forget your reusable water bottle at home. An optional beltclip makes it easy to carry for hiking or boating. So far the Plup bottle is only available in Finland. Soon it will come in different colors and transparencies depending on other content such as juice. Plup is planning an expansion to other countries like the US and Australia and is on the lookout for charities that fight major local environmental problems. It might be worth checking out.

stylish and sustainable coffee sleeves

Occasionally I still use disposable paper cups for coffee or tea but I make it a point to opt out of the cardboard sleeves to reduce my eco-guilt. Megan Auman’s cozy/cuffs made out of wool felt are a great eco-modern alternative. Not only are they reusable and keep your fingers from getting burnt but they also double as eco-chic bracelets. I’ve raved about the sustainability of wool felt in pillows before and I’m glad to see the eco-friendly material used in a multifunctional application. It’s another way to reduce waste.

The design of the cozy/cuffs is inspired by Megan’s jewelry and sculptural objects that explore floral patterns found in textiles and decorative ironwork. They are laser cut and made of 100% wool felt imported from Germany. All designs are locally manufactured at her studio in Jonestown, Pennsylvania. I love the modern take on floral designs and the contemporary use of colors like light green, turquoise blue or simply grey and black. Not only can you color coordinate the eco-chic accessories to any outfit, but they also make a statement that you care about the environment. The eco-friendly cozy/cuffs are a great conversation starter about wasteful paper consumption. Maybe next time you’ll pick up more than fair-trade organic coffee at your favorite coffee shop.

the perfect mix of solar and style

At the end of summer I usually try to catch every hour of sunlight and the eco-fabulous Noon Solar bags seem like a perfect accessory for that. I discovered them through the book “ecological design” published by TeNeues that’s a great resource for modern eco-friendly designs. In the past I’ve seen many backpacks or laptop bags with integrated solar panels so that I was really intrigued by the Solar Noon bags as a stylish alternative for eco-conscious women. They combine style, technology and eco-friendliness in a contemporary way. The Noon Solar bags look less like a gadget and more like a fashion accessory that happens to make a statement about the environment. The solar panels are strategically placed on the outside to charge a lithium-ion battery pack inside the bag.

My favorite bag is the Cortland made from chrome-free, naturally tanned and dyed, full-grain cowhide leather and sage colored organic hemp/cotton lining interior. It’s not only made of biodegradable materials except the solar panels and hardware but you can easily carry it from summer to fall. I like that the solar panels are on the back so that you can collect solar energy at the park and inside the windows of your office, car or home yet look eco-chic when carrying them. They are a great way to keep your cell phones and iPods powered in sustainable style.

a rebel approach to green design

You have to be a little rebellious to be a part of the new green revolution and Rebel Green certainly gets that with their edgy eco-friendly designs of their reusable bag system. Their retro-inspired graphics created by hip design company Wink are a big departure from traditional green granola designs.

Green Rebel makes packing your own eco-lunch or bringing your own produce bag to the grocery store look cool. Their designs are sophisticated yet edgy and I love that you can get the lunch bags in black as well as pink. But most importantly all their products are made in the US to cut back on unnecessary carbon emissions and are specifically designed to minimize waste. The eco-friendly bags are made from 100 percent certified organic cotton and printed using low impact inks. Green Rebel’s mission is to create a shift in awareness to buy locally but think globally. The company donates a percentage of their sales to clean water initiatives and the fight against hunger to such organizations like Charity Water, Great Lakes Water Institute and Growing Power. Their apparel line appeals to small and big green rebels alike as with their eco-friendly bibs. It makes it so much easier to get your eco-kids to eat their green veggies if they can feel rebellious while eating something that’s actually good for them.

go green with your daily coffee fix

It’s much easier for me to cut my paper and plastic consumption than coffee. That’s why I love that these chic insulated mugs from Earth Lust are a stylish green alternative to take out coffee that typically comes in a paper or styrofoam cup. They are cool enough to bring to the office or the park during the summer. Just think about all the paper cups, plastic lids and cardboard cup jackets that you’ll be saving every single day if your coffee consumption is similar to mine.

The 20 oz insulated mugs or thermos come in two sleek designs that are both inspired by nature and reflect the company’s commitment to promote a green life-style. One is a simple feather design and the other one has a botanical design with the word change. It’s a great reminder to change your coffee consumption habits to reuse, refill and recharge. The double walled #304 food grade stainless thermos keep your cold drinks cool for up to 16 hours and your warm drinks hot up to 8 hours. They are consciously produced in China with fair trade and labor conditions but designed and tested in California. Both designs feature non-toxic paints and BPA-free safe polypropylene #5 caps. Now go ahead and enjoy your cup of organic, shade-grown and fair trade coffee.