eco-chic design

my top eco-chic designs from New York City Green Festival 2012

To find out what companies are behind my contemporary eco-finds from today's Green Festival in NYC visit the flickr photostream in case the slideshow doesn't work in your browser. Over the next few weeks I'll also dive a bit deeper and give you more of a backstory on some of these eco-products. In the meantime here's why I like them in order of appearance:

• "Material change" - design thinking and the social entrepreneurship movement by Eve Blossom & Yves Béhar. Good read about sustainable entrepreneurship at ABC home & planet.
• SCOSHA jewelry. Handcrafted in Williamsburg using recycled materials. 
• Organic cotton "Poo Happens...!" baby onesies. Made out of 100% organic cotton and made in the U.S.A 
• Divine Chocolate. Fairtrade & DELICIOUS. 
• Ford's C-Max Energi. Fords new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle will come out in fall 2012. 
• SustainU clothing / American Recycled Apparel. Uses fabrics made in the USA from 100% recycled materials. 
• Wembé baby soaps. Organic aromatherapy skincare from the tropical rainforest of Paraguay. 
• Kids Konserve Ice Pak. Ice-pack made of recycled PET to cool your lunch. 
• "We Add Up" T-shirts. An organic t-shirt campaign that includes your support into the design.
• Playback T-shirts. Made of recycled materials. 
• Wool and the gang. DIY clothes made from 100% Peruvian wool. 
• Reusable gift bags by in2green. The printed labels encourge reuse of the same bag instead of wrapping paper.

I hope you'll get the chance to visit tomorrow. The Green Festival is a lot of fun with interesting lectures, organic and natural food tastings, or you can even test-drive the brand new  Ford Focus Electric.

celebrate a green Easter with soft organic bunny toys

Last time I was at a christening the parents received some super-cute gifts from Apple Park. The eco-friendly toys came in a pretty red box made of 100% recycled paper printed with soy ink. It had a die cut that revealed Apple Park’s Picnic Pals (Ducky, Lamby, Bunny, Cubby and Monkey) as part of the organic blankie collection. The adorable pals have safety eyes made of recycled and non-toxic plastic and their fur is 100% organic cotton. All eco-friendly toys for babies and children by San Francisco based Apple Park are naturally hypoallergenic, made from 100% certified organic cotton, free from chemicals and carcinogenic materials. Not a small matter when it comes to the health of little ones and our planet. Now with spring season arriving Apple Park  offers the cutest Mommy & Baby Bunny made of soft organic cotton and the Birdie Crawling Critter Teething Toy. The organic bunnies make cuddly companions for all ages. It’s a nice touch that their pink nose and long ears are made of a natural silk and hemp blend. The interactive teething toy has an environmentally friendly rubberwood ring that can be pulled. This in return causes the critter to crawl up the branch towards the silk leaf. And of course Birdie is made of 100% organic cotton and filled with corn fiber. Even that I would prefer that these adorable toys would be manufactured locally, it’s great that Apple Park is China’s first organic soft toy factory certified by GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).

modern decor for eco-friendly nurseries and homes at NYIGF

You don’t need to have children to fall for Petit Collage’s modern designs with a vintage twist. They make great home accessories for eco-minded kids and grown-ups alike. I’ve always admired the folksy yet modern look of their bamboo mobiles through Branch and was thrilled to see them in person this week. The sustainable mobile designs range from farm animals to owl families and are laser-cut from sustainably harvested bamboo plywood. The latest addition is the forest friends mobile that includes a squirrel, a fox, a deer and a bear with her cub. And of course, bamboo is a rapidly renewable resource. Petit Collage produces additional eco-friendly product lines with  the same playful sensibility. It’s no surprise since the company was founded by San Francisco based artist and designer Lorena Siminovich who has illustrated numerous children’s books. Other products that caught my eye were the collages made from found, vintage, and painted papers applied onto FSC certified maple plywood that’s formaldehyde-free. All designs are limited editions and hand made in her studio. The colorful collages are incredibly charming with simplistic animal characters or nature themes. Then there’s the eco-friendly animal alphabet poster collection printed with soy-based ink on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. The posters are a fun way to learn the alphabet and come in multiple color schemes to complement any eco-modern home. And since the designer knows that moms are busy there’s even a key on the bottom that displays the animal names.

eco-modern bags created from recycled PET felt

Now that summer is in full swing eco-friendly bags for the park and beach come in handy. And this really great 7-Pocket Tote designed by the founders of Museum of Robots stuck in my mind since I saw it at NYIGF earlier this year. The company has many cool and innovative products but the great thing about this tote bag is that it follows the cradle-to-cradle philosophy of green design. The material is made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and the entire bag plus the fabric are made in the USA. It has no added components such as hardware so that the entire bag is recyclable at the end of its useful life. What really got me hooked at NYIGF was its softness. Most totes made of eco-friendly felt are usually coarser. I learned that its soft nature is partially due to the fact that the fabric was originally created for the display industry intended for velcro-friendly applications. Initially the eco-modern bag was designed as a diaper bag so that the softness made a lot of sense. But I’m thrilled to see that it’s now offered for all ages. It comes in blue, charcoal and red. Other bags by Museum of Robots made of recycled PET felt are made from fabric originally created for the automotive industry and look more industrial but are very durable. You can never have enough bags as long as they are reusable or in this case fully recyclable.

organic baby bedding for sustainable baby showers

This weekend I’ll be at a baby shower and I was thrilled to see that the parents mostly picked eco-modern gifts for their registry. Since they are very popular parents most of the items were already taken. But I was able to secure some super-cute crib sheets made of 100% organic cotton by Q Collection Junior in Roxy. They combine my love for sustainability with great design through their contemporary elephant parade pattern. Q Collection Junior is the latest addition to the family tree of Q Collection and has the same sustainable values. As it so happens with younger members of the family they are simply much cuter. Q Collection Junior offers an entire line of eco-modern children's furniture and bedding that are safe for people and the planet. Each of their products is made from non-toxic materials and manufactured in a sustainable manner. Their children’s furniture uses only zero or low VOC, formaldehyde-free materials as well as water-based, non-toxic glues. The baby bedding is only made of organic cotton printed with low-impact, non-toxic fabric dyes. All this is especially important since babies spend most of their time close to ground surfaces. With this knowledge I hope that the soon-to-be parents will be able to get some sleep. Well, most likely that won’t happen with their new eco-chic baby.

safe playdates for modern eco-kids

As a big fan of bamboo and modern eco-friendly design it was great to see the Kumo Friends organic pillows from Jaya Love's Tekeko at the sustainable display at NYIGF this summer. I’ve always loved the designs, but was surprised how soft these eco-modern pillows were even that I knew that bamboo fiber can be super soft and similar to silk and cashmere. The benefits of the rapidly renewable bamboo fiber are endless since it’s also highly breathable, antimicrobial, hypoallergenic and biodegradable.

But it’s really the fun and whimsical designs that makes these pillows great companions for eco-modern kids and cool home décor for eco-conscious parents. You don’t even need kids as an excuse to keep these eco-fabulous pillows around. The assortment of characters includes professor acorn, eggboy, hedgehog, leafgirl, owlie and raindrop. Every single one makes the perfect green house guest. I love their names as much as the hand-drawn quality of their designs. The colorful pillows are made of organic bamboo and organic cotton, printed with non toxic, waterbased inks and stuffed with a kapok insert. In case you didn’t know what kapok is like myself: it’s a natural vegetable based fiber that’s very sustainable and a great green alternative to down. And last you might rest more peacefully knowing that Jaya Love's Tekeko donates a portion of their sales to Planting Peace that provides sustainable initiatives for the protection of the environment and humanity.

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.

for earth-loving babies and moms

It was inspiring to hear Erbaviva’s co-founder Robin Brown speak with so much integrity about USDA certification at the speaker series about sustainable design at NYIGF. I always loved the modern eco-design of their products and you can even download his presentation. Erbaviva is a USDA certified organic personal care line that has always been organic. It became USDA certified in 2007, which is mostly only given out to food. That’s quite impressive.

Erbaviva balances its carbon footprint through the purchase of renewable energy certificates to offset 100% of the electricity used by their offices and manufacturing facilities. All products are handmade and packaged in earth-friendly recyclable, eco-friendly bottles and containers. I love the company’s social responsibility that’s reflected in the packaging of their baby soaps, baby washbags and milk bath pouches. They are made by the Pwo Karen Hill tribe in Thailand and Burma that also hand-weaves their baby baskets. The pouches travel down the mountain via elephant back and are shipped down the river on a raft. You can’t get more energy-efficient than that! Plus it makes for a great bedtime story.

future-forward hot rods

No doubt the Roddler designed by Kid Kustoms is expensive, but even eco-chic moms and dads are allowed to dream. Joe Iacono and Jamie Coblentz founded the company with the goal to reinvent juvenile products like the traditional stroller. Their background is in the automotive and apparel industry.

The design and name of the Roddler is inspired by classic hot rods and looks incredibly cool with its retro inspired fenders. But that’s not all. What makes the Roddler eco-smart is that you can expand the life-cycle of a stroller by converting it into a tricycle once your kid outgrows it with the trike conversion kit. I love any type of multifunctional product especially if it looks this chic while saving material and space. In addition Kid Kustoms donates 1% to the planet.

the next generation of baby bottles

You can never start too early to live eco-friendly. In this case 0-3 months might do, thanks to Babylife’s mini wee-go bottles. They are the younger siblings to the original classic wee-go bottle, which has a modern silicone sleeve (patent pending) and is free of plastics and 100% non-toxic.

It comes in adorable colors like pink, raspberry, orange, yellow, sky and ocean and is easy to grip. The silicone nipple is latex-free and non-toxic and the bottle itself is bisphenol A, phthalate, PVC and polycarbonate-free. The plastic ring, plug and cap contain no polycarbonates and are food grade, FDA approved and recyclable. It’s great to see what can happen if a doctor teams up with a designer. Babylife was founded by the pediatric physical therapist Pam Marcus and the integrative designer Daren Edward Joy with the goal to make developmentally-appropriate and eco-friendly baby products. No wonder they are sold at the MoMA and sported by the coolest babies and toddlers.