Archive for May, 2011
Seven years ago, Wal-Mart began to undertake an unexpected transformation. The world’s largest retailer, so often criticized or sued for a variety of its labor and sourcing practices, partnered with some of its onetime critics — environmentalists — and embraced going green. Since then, the company has dramatically reduced its waste, cut down on packaging around the goods its sells, improved the fuel efficiency of its truck fleet and asked its suppliers to track and monitor their products’ carbon footprint. As author Edward Humes describes it in his new book, Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story Of Wal-Mart’s Green Revolution, the...
By making just a few small changes to your daily routine, you can save water, save money and preserve water supplies for future generations. Yes you can save money by being environmentally conscious. The average household spends as much as $500 per year on its water and sewer bill. By making just a few simple changes to use water more efficiently, you could save about $170 per year. If all U.S. households installed water-efficient appliances, the country would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and more than $18 billion dollars per year! Also, itt takes a considerable amount of...
The Every Mother Counts CD compilation features 15 songs by 14 mother/musicians. We asked them to contribute an original song or a cover around the theme of motherhood. It could be anything they wanted, and many chose to tackle lullabies or wrote songs for their children. Early on, I worried a bit about an album supporting an issue as serious as maternal mortality, as it could potentially become a heavy listen. But thankfully I found the resulting record veers back and forth between the sweet and the bittersweet, capturing a richness and a greater complexity – exactly like life. The collaboration...
When summer time comes around it’s always fun to experiment with loud colors. Whether it be your accessories, your clothes, your shoes, a pop of color always freshens up an outfit when done right! One of my favorite ways to throw some pop into a look is by having fun with nail polish colors. So temporary and such a statement at times. I’m not into too many eco beauty brands because I think they need to step up their game A LOT if they want to be on the same playing field as some of the larger costmetic houses out...
The Adidas SLVR lines is one of my absolute favorite eco lines. You can never be mad at Adidas. Some of you might not know about this line that they launched a couple years ago with it’s own store on 108 Wooster Street, New York. Made from eco-friendly materials, such as organic cotton, soybean fiber, and bamboo, the line is made of clean and basic yet chic styles. And affordable too! Here is the SLVR nylon backpack which is perfect for all your summer carryon traveling priced at $160. ...
This month, music lovers throughout France are getting a real treat: a series of ten concerts, featuring mostly up and coming French artists. One catch, there’s no cash entry fee: you just have to bring an old electronic to recycle. French 18 to 30 year olds are among the country’s biggest consumers of electronics, but aren’t too big on recycling. The European Recycling Platorm in France first conceived of the Recycling Party in 2009 as a game-like way to teach youths about the importance of recycling their electronics. For the third edition, ERP France has partnered with online music platform BuzzMyBand, and the...
According to the founders of Sweet Green the Sweetlife Festival went down last Sunday and was absolutely EPIC. Below is a photo recap of the event. If you didn’t make it to the festival this year be sure to make the trip out next year! I know I will! Over 15,000 sweetlifers made it out to Merriweather Post Pavilion to enjoy 9 hours of music, local and organic food (including sweetgreen) and some cool festival activities by our great partners. We are so grateful for all of the people who helped make it a reality. Thank you to everyone who...
One thing I dislike most is the misled assumption that if you purchase something made from sustainable materials you will be sacrificing style for ethics. And I totally understand where that assumption comes from seeing as that most sustainable brands out there just don’t get it. Incorporating environmental choices into your routine shouldn’t mean having to dress like someone you aren’t. Most sustainable brands are very plain, resist color, and are just note cute! But Stella McCartney proves wrong any doubts you may have about “eco fashion.” Just one catch – it might cost you a penny. A long time...
