Filed under: beauty, eco-friendly, fashion, green, organic, parenting, sustainable | Tags: california, carbon footprint, clothes, clothing, eco, eco-friendly, environment, environmental, fashion, global warming, green, greener, hemp, landfill, leather, los angeles, mommy, organic, PVC, recycled, recycling, sustainable
I’m turning thirtysomething this year. And though until now I’ve gotten by on the bare-bones makeup routine, I took a long, hard look in the mirror this morning and realized I need to grow up and break out the big guns. Blush. Highlighter. Maybe even some—egads—shadow. Because these days, my natural look needs a little, shall we say, assistance.
With that said, what’s working still does its job. I’ve got my go-to mascara, my favorite lip gloss and the concealer that got me through last month’s break out. This is no time to be messing with the basics, right? Wrong. I’m viewing a looming 4-0 as the perfect opportunity to create an entirely new look, and if I’m starting from scratch, it might as well be green.
The truth is, that go-to drugstore concealer and eyeliner I’ve been hanging to to contain parabens, which have been found in breast cancer tissue. And the mascara? It might just be formulated with mercury, a known neurotoxin, according to the Skin Deep Database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com), a resource for cosmetic ingredients that was created by the non-profit Environmental Working Group.
I tossed the lipgloss after I learned that the average American woman will ingest more than four pounds of petroleum over her lifetime just by licking her conventionally lipsticked lips. And that, frighteningly, last year the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics released an aptly-named “Poison Kiss” report alleging 61 percent of brand-name lipsticks contain lead in excess of .1 parts per million, the FDA’s limit for lead in candy. (The FDA has no limit for lead in lipstick. Go figure.) Ick!
Then I went to the woman who knows from eco-beauty, Josie Maran (www.josiemarancosmetics.com), who was the face of Maybelline for 10 years until she got sick and tired of promoting chemicals and launched her own line. Her lip glosses taste like Dulche de Leche, but you can lick your lips all you want—there’s not an ounce or petroleum (or lead, for that matter) in the lot. And her mascara is to die for, but without mercury or any neurotoxins to speak of, you don’t have to worry about dying to wear it.
For shadow, I wanted to try mineral since it’s reputed to stick around longer and lord knows I have little time for touch ups. I adore the aptly-named tints in mineral master Alima’s new Silver Screen collections—Garbo is the perfect neutral, and Bette a retro blue. Minerals are also key in my new chemical-free concealer. You can’t beat Alima’s $1 sample sizes to get your color right (www.alimapure.com).
Tarte’s new offerings are chemical-free, and their signature Berrylicious Cheek Stain (www.tartecosmetics.com) is totally clean. It gives a sexy flush without looking weird and is so easy to apply: Just touch the stick to your cheeks, then rub with your fingers to blend. Now they’re paired the Stain with Rise & Shine, which, on one end, is this amazing stain, and on the other is a perfectly slick but not sticky gloss. And it’s pocket sized—or purse-sized, if you’re a grown-up like me.
Are you hitting a milestone this year? Or thinking about greening your look? Tell me about it!
Filed under: eco-friendly, fashion, organic, parenting | Tags: california, carbon footprint, clothes, clothing, eco, eco-friendly, environment, environmental, fashion, global warming, green, greener, hemp, landfill, leather, los angeles, mommy, organic, PVC, recycled, recycling, sustainable
Window shop or just plain rack 'em up: You decide.
I’ve always been a pretty sustainably-minded person. My father is a professor at UCLA whose specialty is Native American literature; I grew up going to pow-wows and taking cross-country trips to the Badlands. My nickname in college was, embarrassingly, “Flower.”
But, like most of us, my eco-focus stopped at water conservation and recycling. I bought conventional cleaning products because that’s what I was used to—even though I saw the “natural” cleaners on the same shelf, I wrote their claims off as marketing rather than turning over the bottles and comparing the labels.
I didn’t really make the connection between the environmental impact of how I lived until I met Christopher Gavigan at Healthy Child, Healthy World. I was nine months pregnant with my third child, and we met to talk about my helping with publicity and marketing efforts for the organization once the baby was born.
We sat in his no-VOC painted office filled with oxygen-emitting plants and as he explained to me what his mission and focus was I basically had a panic attack. We talked about lead and VOCs in paint, furniture and carpets; I was in the process of remodeling my house and had been living and working as the workmen stripped old paint and installed new carpets. He told me about pesticides and how they work their way up the food chain; I vowed to eat less meat and make it organic, and to buy locally produced food as much as possible.
I went home and got rid of all my chemical cleaning products after learning how much they contributed to indoor air pollution. When my baby was born, I took Christopher’s advice and used BPH-free bottles (after breast feeding first, of course). With the other two babies I had used disposable diapers; with this one I alternated between cloth, flushable inserts and chlorine-free disposables in a pinch.
I started doing my own research. And I quickly realized how much of an impact what I bought for myself and my family could have on the environment—and the marketplace. For example, most clothing is made of cotton, which is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world, accounting for 25 percent of all pesticides used in the U.S. according to the Sustainable Cotton Project. It takes an astounding one-third of a pound of pesticide to make one t-shirt and two-thirds to make a pair of jeans. (Dump a pound of flour into a bowl and keep that visual in mind the next time you go shopping.)
Let’s say one manufacturer makes the decision to buy conventional cotton, and a second manufacturer decides to make a similar t-shirt in organic cotton. They make the shirts, and put them side-by-side in a store. Now if everyone in that store has made the decision to not buy conventional cotton t-shirts but buy organic cotton instead, that regular cotton t-shirt will go unsold and the other will sell out. The next time the first manufacturer goes to make his shirts, hopefully he’ll choose organic cotton. The organic cotton farmer will have more business. There will be more competition in organic cotton and the price will go down. And so on.
This analogy could be applied to food, makeup, furniture, clothing, cars—I was astounded at how simple and easy it was for me to think outside of the conventional box when it came to shopping. Just putting a fresh perspective on it also helped me look closer at whether I truly needed something, or just wanted it. When I did end up in a shopping situation, I looked at labels and origin and typically ended up putting back on the rack what I might in the past have purchased.
Has going green helped reduce your shopping habit? Tell me about it!
Filed under: eco-friendly, organic, parenting | Tags: california, carbon footprint, clothes, clothing, eco, eco-friendly, environment, environmental, fashion, global warming, green, greener, hemp, landfill, leather, los angeles, mommy, organic, PVC, recycled, recycling, sustainable
Haut? Check. Hemp? Check. Free? Check. These $700 boots are this month's freebie at www.ecostiletto.com!
‘Tis the season for a spring fashion overhaul. Obviously, the most eco-friendly thing to do would be to disregard the hype and dust off last year’s duds, but let’s be honest: Even green-minded folk get the urge to shop now and again. The question is, what’s the most sustainable way to update your closet?
Vintage is at the top of the eco-fashion list, but it takes time—and effort—to find what you want. Designers like Deborah Lindquist, who works in recycled cashmere, and PreLoved, which estimates they “rescued” about 6,000 trench coats to rework into their Spring collection, make reducing and reusing a lot easier, but aren’t the first place you might look for everyday basics.
Regardless of whether it’s new or recycled, green fashion is so not about tie-dyed hemp and Birkenstocks anymore. With designers like Stella McCartney and Linda Loudermilk at the helm, today’s eco-friendly fashion is oh-so-haute.
COTTON-FREE ZONE
To put what these designers are doing with eco-fabrics in perspective, keep in mind that most clothing is made of cotton, which is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world, accounting for 25 percent of all pesticides used in the U.S. according to the Sustainable Cotton Project. It takes an astounding one-third of a pound of pesticide to make one t-shirt and two-thirds to make a pair of jeans.
Dump a pound of flour into a bowl and keep that visual in mind the next time you go shopping—it’s easy to avoid conventional cotton when you’re searching for updates. Loyale Clothing makes amazing tops and dresses in organic cotton, plus the most perfect little black dress in environmentally friendly silk which will get you through a season’s worth of dinner parties. In the jeans department, Del Forte offers au courant styles in organic denim, manufactured under fair trade standards. Doucette Duvall’s little “green” dresses are made from rescued remnant fabrics and Viridis Luxe creates to-die-for hemp/ cashmere sweaters, perfect to layer up this Spring.
THE TRUTH ABOUT BAMBOO
Another cotton alternative is bamboo, which is a fantastic source for material because it’s totally sustainable–meaning it can be grown without chemicals and with a minimal impact on the earth. However, there are some downsides to bamboo productions. First, it’s currently grown primarily in China, and increasingly as a forest-clearing mono crop, which decreases biodiversity and can lead to an increase in pests—plus, the transit to production and sale in the U.S. is fossil fueled.
Bamboo can be mechanically processed without the use of chemicals into a soft, linen-like material. But chemical processing is less labor-intensive—and cheaper—which means most manufacturers working with the stuff use this method. Unfortunately, there has also been some question about the safety of the sodium hydroxide (or, lye) that’s predominantly used to “pulp” the bamboo from a fiber to a fluff that can be woven into textile.
Currently there is really no way to know exactly how bamboo fabric has been manufactured—unless it’s part of the designer’s marketing plan. However, the actual cultivation of the stuff is a clear environmental winner when compared to cotton. Conventional cotton is clear-cut at time of harvest, meaning the bare earth during that time is releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. In contrast, bamboo grows just like grass, sending up shoots continually, and is harvested in the same way–just like you mow your lawn. Plus, bamboo absorbs five times as much green house gases and produces 35% more oxygen than the equivalent amount of trees. No wonder the pandas are happy!
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SHOES
Greening your closet doesn’t stop at your ankles—the next time you reach for a pair of leather boots, think about the impact of the estimated 225 toxic chemicals used its tanning process. Yet vintage can be a little more challenging in the footwear department. Because most shoes mold to their wearer’s feet, it can be difficult to find pre-worn that fit right.
With so many faux leathers and suedes out there, it’s easy to eliminate leather completely from your footwear repertoire. Look for shoes made from dioxin-free polyurethane (a slightly more environmentally-friendly option that PVC) or natural elements like hemp. Kailia and Charmone both manufacture completely vegan shoe lines in artisan factories in Italy, and the drool-worthy hemp Nadia Ankle Boot from Sui Generis by Beyond Skin made sweatshop-free in Spain (pictured above).
If you do plan to buy new and still want to wear leather, look for shoes made from so-called “eco-leather,” which is basically leather tanned without heavy metals like chrome, from reputable companies such as El Naturalista, Coclico and PURE by Rickard Shah, which also utilize eco-elements like recycled elements and packaging.
Oh and about those Birkenstocks, the symbol of social consciousness since 1966: They’re eco-leather, and the company uses every ounce of its scraps, and recycles the cork from the soles. Plus, with the right outfit, today’s Birkies can look downright chic!
Filed under: eco-friendly, organic, parenting | Tags: birthday, blue bin, california, carbon footprint, children, eco, eco-friendly, environment, environmental, global warming, green, greener, infants, kids, landfill, los angeles, mommy, organic, parenting, parents, party, plastic, recycled, recycling, sustainable, trash, waste
The Barnacle (read: baby) turns two next week and I’ve got 30 people descending on my house on Friday whose ages range from one to 100. (Seriously. The genes in my husband’s family are ridiculous.)
Since I had to schedule it after nap time for her and relatively close to end-of-work hours for the adults, the party is from 4 to 7. All you veteran birthday party throwers know what that means: Not only do I have to do decorations, party favors and cake, but now I’m making dinner, too. Oh, joy.
But did you watch the video yet? I mean is there anything I wouldn’t do for that adorable little monkey to exend the photo opp? Dinner it is.
Now the temptation at this point is to grab a bunch of cheap disposable plates, order Domino’s and call it a day. But that would be very un-green. In fact, I would say that’s Mommy Brownest behavior. So my quest is to create a kids’ birthday party that’s relatively eco-friendly and, most importantly considering the economic crisis my family is feeling so sharply these days, cheap.
FIRST ADD FLOWERS
First on the agenda: Decorations. I’m going to skip the balloons this year. Despite the fact that latex is a natural substance that biodegrades, and I can buy compostable ribbon, I’m going with tiny bouquets of flowers scattered on the table. Flowers don’t take six months to biodegrade, during which time even a latex balloon could wreak all kinds of havoc to a wayward pelican. Although I really love these gnome-shaped numbers embedded with flower seeds!
My cost? Free, if you don’t count labor, since I’m making bouquets of flowers and herbs from my garden. Environmental cost? If you can’t get them from your ground, find flowers at EcoFlowers, which sells in bulk for less and is all kinds of sustainable.
SERVE IT UP
Instead of using disposables, I’m committed to washing dishes later in the evening. But because I simply don’t have enough glasses for that many kids, I’m going to invest in some corn-based biodegradable plastic cups to fill with organic apple juice diluted with water. Rather than going to the landfill, these will go into my compost, where they’ll break down into water, carbon dioxide and organic material within three months–as opposed to plastic cups, which take 500 years or more and never fully biodegrade, but just break down into tiny pieces that can distrupt the eco-system. But I digress. These days, you can get biodegradeable plastic cups, cutlery, plates and bowls in many supermarkets, including, of course, Whole Foods.
My cost? $20 for 50 for the cups. And about $7 for the juice. Environmental cost? Minimal, unless you get all nitpicky about it and figure out how much fossil fuel the cup company used in production. Whatevah.
PEACE A PIZZA
Rather than ordering pizza made from inorganic ingredients and a whole lotta sugar, I’m going to make my own. I like the whole wheat dough ($.99 for enough dough for two pies) from Trader Joe’s, but in a pinch I’d use a Boboli. Making that much pizza dough is just plain scary. TJs also has some great organic tomato sauce ($1.39 spreads on four) and organic shredded mozzarella (enough for four at $3.79). For an adult option, I’ll spread organic pesto ($2.19 for two), cover it with organic diced asparagus ($5.49 for two), throw on a few basil leaves from the herb garden (free!) and add chunks of feta cheese ($2.99 for two) to the mozzarella. Yum! To save plates, we’ll serve on mismatched cloth napkins, rather than some vaguely Disney-an character she’d barely recognize.
My cost? $18.82 for six pies. Environmental cost: All organic, so no chemicals there. And I’ll try to buy as much as I can locally produced. Too bad it’s not still tomato season, but we eat ours faster than I could’ve canned them, anyway.
LET THEM EAT CAKE
Now the piece de resistance: The cake. After a serious boxed-batter dependency–I have three kids; we make a lot of cakes–I broke out the old Joy of Cooking last week and was pleasantly surprised by how damn easy a homemade sponge cake can be. Flour, eggs, baking powder, sugar; powdered sugar for the frosting. That’s pretty much it. And it’s a non-crumbly cake that can be served–you guessed it–on napkins.
I’m not going to itemize the cost, but I’d estimate about $4 for the whole shebang. And that’s using organic and free range everything.
FINISHING TOUCHES
What’s left? We’re doing a gift trade, where everyone brings a gift for a two-year-old and they all pick one to take home, including Chloe. So that takes care of the gift bags.
Hmm… entertainment. What’s more entertaining than a bunch of two-year-olds wreaking havoc on my house? Free and eco-friendly!
That’s $49.82, start to finish. Wish me luck.
