sustainable style foundation*

(Ari, Seattle, WA) First, welcome to my new blog, "Green Revelation". This is my first entry to I hope you enjoy. Now, on to business...

I have a confession to make: I am a terrible person. Now, I don’t produce child porn, I’m not in charge of a human trafficking ring or anything--I don’t even honk my horn when I’m driving (which I don’t do very often). See, these things are all obvious, big terrible things in which to partake. My crimes are much more slippery. I commit them in thousands of tiny decisions each week—decisions I make because I’m tired, or broke, or late and unorganized. It’s only after a while, when I’ve realized how far I’ve slipped from my original intentions that the guilt of my sins begins to weigh on me. It’s only then when I start feeling like a hypocrite, when the guilt makes me clench my jaw at night and I get defensive over every little thing, that I know I need to make a change.

I am a young, well-educated, recently graduated 22-year-old woman. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. My best friend has convinced me that the apocalypse is coming, perhaps related to peak oil, rapidly approaching in 2012. Last year I wrote a paper on the true state of organics, where I investigated how good organic farming really is for the environment. For the first time in my life I am living on my own and I have total control over what I do with my money and myself, but I am not upholding my beliefs. It is time for me to try harder.

Last night my roommate and I got in a fight over some vegetables. On the way home, we happened by this fruit and vegetable stand with awesome looking stuff at dirt-cheap prices. We stocked up, and I was thrilled at the giant load and the tiny bill. Later, he lamented over all the pesticides we’d be eating, all the guilt he felt for not buying local and organic stuff. It’s not fair trade. It’s genetically modified. It’s covered in pesticides. It’s from so far away. Think of all the oil! And the workers! And your body!

I got mad. We can’t afford all organic food! It’s so privileged to be able to! I’m not a yuppie! Fine, let’s just throw it all away, would you like that!!??

It’s a tough thing, to be criticized for the way you live. It’s tough, after making all these rationalizations as to why, at this particular store, at this particular time, it’s okay to buy conventional. It’s especially hard to see the all the milks, side by side, ranging from $2.99 to $5.99 and picking the more expensive one. But the thing is, regardless of all the ways in which I think it might be better for me, when I make the decision to buy conventional, I am not alone. If I can’t make the change, as a young, educated person who believes all the hoopla and searches “apocalypse” and “2012 peak oil” just to freak herself out on a regular basis, what does that mean for the rest of the population? If it’s so easy for me to make it okay not to buy local organics and other green products, many other people must be making the same decisions.

For me, it all comes down to this: If you type “peak oil” into wikipedia, it will tell you that depending on how quickly supplies become scarce, and depending on how much we have prepared alternative energy sources for the occasion (which isn’t much), the chain reaction might cause a global depression that may lead to the collapse of global industrial civilization as we know it. Now, regardless of whether all of this actually happens, things have got to change. It might already be too late! In any case, I want to start trying to live differently now. I want to save energy, reduce my impact on the planet, and stop benefiting from the exploitation of workers worldwide. And if that means buying milk for $5 instead of $3, well, that doesn’t seem too bad anymore, does it?

New Orleans natives Harry Connick, Jr. and Bradford Marsalis recently teamed up with the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity to create Musicians' Village, a community that will both provide housing to NOLA musicians affected by Katrina, as well as a focal point for teaching, sharing and preserving the rich musical tradition of the city. The project also includes the new Ellis Marsalis Center. From the website..."Another important innovation in the Musicians’ Village effort is the inclusion of the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, named in honor of the New Orleans native and legendary jazz pianist, educator and patriarch of the Marsalis clan. Focusing on the ethnically and culturally diverse musical heritage of the city, the Center will include a 150-seat performance space with state-of-the-art lighting and sound. The Center will also support the growth of emerging New Orleans talent and music by providing classrooms, technical and administrative support, and producing the accomplishments of its students. These facilities will be available for residents of Musicians’ Village as well as artists and students citywide." From horns to hammers, here's to sweat harmonies in the 9th Ward!

I (Sean here) was the proud recipient of a Make It Right (MIR) Caputo Cap this holiday season. Made with eco-friendly materials, proceeds from the hat will help build sustainable homes in New Orleans. Brad Pitt has been doing a lot down in NOLA given his sustainable housing work with Global Green and all so I wasn't surprised to find him behind Make it Right and its Pink Project. The very hip hat is sold out now but there are still quite a few items for you environistas out there including another cap, t-shirts, and cool totebags made from recycled Pink Project materials.

Attention Seattle area SSF Members...It's time for another edition of our very popular Cocktails for a Cause (CFAC) events. As always, we'll have music, cocktails, munchies and fun while learning about great nonprofits doing important work in our community. See you there!

2008 Cocktails for a Cause Holiday Progressive Party
(all events are in downtown Seattle on First Avenue between Stewart & Virginia)

**Date Change** - Due to inclement weather on December 17th, 2008 we have changed the date of this event.
New Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009

6:00-6:45 Peter Miller Books
6:45-7:30 Baby & Co.
7:30-8:15 Polite Society

>> more info on our Cocktails for a Cause events...

I attended the International Sustainability Institute's Trash Fashion Bash tonight and must say that I was totally blown away by the amount and quality of the designs. Many of the designs were from the fabulous design divas at Haute Trash but there were many local designers that wowed the crowd too, from a tofu packaging wedding gown by Chaco to women's business suit made from circuit boards. And then there were the models! Several SSF favorites including Lynne Baker (pictured at left) part of the City of Seattle's green building team (and frequent SSF OSSA Award judge), Diane Sugimura, Director of Planning & Develolpment for the city of Seattle, Joanie Parsons of Parsons Public Relations, Kaye Smith-Blum of Butch Blum who was one of the evenings MCs. There were many other architects, urban planners, and even several budding high schoolers striking a pose for sustainability as well. Any why did the models look so fabulous you ask, well, becuase SSF Co-founder and Senior Stylist Rebecca Luke was on the scene in wearing her les Egoistes hat training all those high-profile sustainability celebs how to strike a pose on the runway of course. All in all, another great example of how we all can look fabulous, live well, and do good.

Now here's a campaign we LOVE! Did you know that October 15-21 is National Cupcakes for a Cause Week in support of CancerCare for Kids? Well, neither did I until I saw a segment on the Today Show. The website has a listing of cupcake makers around the US where you can take part and even a 'make your own cupcake' section (as you can see in our SSF inspired cupcake to the right. Enjoy! Sean

Attention, Seattle-area sustainable style enthusiasts! Please Save the Date: Friday, April 6, for the next Cocktails for a Cause event. We're really excited to be partnering up with La Rousse to host the event, which will highlight the good work of Chaya and feature a trunk show of Del Forte's fabulous organic denim (and a discount!). Here are the details:

Date | Friday, April 6 -- 4 - 7 pm
Location | La Rousse, 430 Virginia St (here's a map)
Cause | Chaya

As before, we'll have music, a featured cocktail, munchies and fun; stay tuned for the official invitation, with more details, coming next week. We hope to see many of you there!

The Humanitarian International Design Organisation (HIDO) has announced a call for entries for their latest contest. Designers of all fields around the world are asked to submit designs that will ultimately help increase the awareness concerning the violence towards girls and women in developing countries. From the site, "Unfortunately the developing world is making less progress due to the fact that girls and women are still not considered equal to men," and HIDO is hoping that raising awareness is the first step to changing this inequality. If you're a designer (or know someone who is) who believes that design can help change the world for good, the following details are for you: "The poster should be graphically attractive for young African girls and women and a dynamic and inviting message should be used to attract girls/ young women in different African Cultures, who suffer in silence, to discuss these gender based violence issues." Entries will be accepted until Friday, May 11, 2007, with the winning poster announced in June. [HIDO call for entries] via [Core77]

Our friends over at Global Green are throwing a green pre-Oscar party next week, and you're invited! The event is next Wednesday, February 21 at 8pm, at Avalon Hollywood. Tickets are $100, and will benefit Global Green's global warming initiatives, including the green rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The crème de la crème of Hollywood's green celebs will be there, including event co-chairs Leo DiCaprio, Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek & Ed Norton, along with host committee members Charlize Theron, David Duchovny & Kate Bosworth. Learn more & get tickets at their website, and get ready to go rub some green elbows in Hollywood. [Global Green] via [Ecorazzi]

We first covered pro skater Bob Burnquist's enviro actions and sustainable style way back in summer 2004; he was working with Frank Scura (they're pictured together on the right) and the Action Sports Environmental Coalition (ASEC) to spread the word about sustainability to the X Games crowd -- when he wasn't busy on his organic farm, that is. Grist recently caught up with Bob to check in on what he's been up to lately; turns out that he's still working on spreading the good word, when he isn't launching himself off a ramp into the Grand Canyon, that is. He's a smart guy, and has some good things to say about being a celeb, a pro athlete, and an environmental advocate all at once. About ASEC, he says, "ASEC became the perfect thing to do to be able to get the word out using my celebrity status -- whatever that is in skateboarding and beyond -- and connect with other like-minded skateboarders and BMXers and whoever's involved. We called it 'Action Sports' because we wanted to be all-involving. I think it involves surfing because of the coastal [aspect], and snowboarding because of all the mountains and the wilderness there, and skateboarding's important because of the urban impact. So if we try to get across to all the different lifestyles, we'll make an impact together." Keep up the great work, Bob! Read the full article over at [Grist]

The good people at Shift Media (they're behind Shift Magazine) have launched a very cool project for the holidays. Shift Your Gift is a great sustainable holiday shopping option that offers 5% of each sale to their non-profit partners. They've partnered with over 25 non-profit groups and picked 50 great environmentally-friendly products that would make fantastic holiday gifts; with categories that include apparel & accessories, health & beauty, home, kids & pets, tasty stuff & tech, there's something for everyone on your list. Some of our favorites that are available for sale include Green & Blacks chocolate (see our product review for more details) as well as the Solio solar battery charger, Edun organic cotton t-shirts and Voltaic solar bags. Once you're shopping cart is full, you can select a non-profit to benefit from your holiday spending; not only are you helping support the non-profit sector, but your patronage will benefit a company doing good work to spread sustainable good further into the mainstream. We know that the world can't shop it's way to sustainability, but if you're going to buy gifts for friends & family this holiday season, you might as well get them something sustainable and help out a deserving non-profit at the same time. [Shift Your Gift]

Update: SSF is now one of the organizations who can benefit from each sale from Shift Your Gift. We won't be on the "Charities" page until tomorrow, but you can select Sustainable Style Foundation as the beneficiary organization at checkout. SSF doesn't want to encourage rampant overconsumption, but if you see something you like or that might look nice under someone's tree, we'd love to have your support!

Fun loving Canadian popsters Barenaked Ladies are at it again. Jim Creeggan, who plays bass for the group, has written a nice piece in the group's blog about the group's recycling and carbon offset efforts while they're on tour. He tells an engaging anecdote about how his mom started a little recycling depot for glass and tin in his neighborhood; he's been a recycling enthusiast ever since. The group is also working hard to offset some of the carbon emissions from their current tour, and have put up some pretty impressive numbers. They're selling stickers at each of the shows; the revenue from the sticker sales goes to fund carbon offset programs. So far, the 175 stickers sold at the show in Washington, D.C., equaling 52,500 pounds of carbon offset, is the big winner, with Denver's 167 stickers and 50,100 pounds a close second. Jim finishes his post with this:

I told my mom about the recycling that we're doing on tour, and how proud I was of it. She congratulated me, and then said, “Recycling is Good, but Reduction is Better.” I hear you Mom. One step at a time.

Keep up the good work, guys! [BNL Blog] via [Ecorazzi]

Calling all graphic design enthusiasts: Architecture for Humanity is redesigning their logo, and they want your ideas! They're looking for a logo that will reflect both the mission and spirit of the organization, and the criteria include things like global recognition & versatility (applicable to chapters all around the world), reversible, using both light on dark and dark on light and versatile enough to be readable everything from silkscreened T-Shirts to dodgy fax machines in far off countries (read the full criteria here).

The top ten designs will be awarded signed first editions of 'Design Like You give A Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises' and the winning design or team will receive $1000, though the winner can also donate the winnings towards an Architecture for Humanity project of their choice.

Architecture for Humanity is a great organization doing really important work around the world; we wish them luck and look forward to the results. [Architecture for Humanity]

Our friends at WorldChanging have been working really hard lately: a new site, a new book, and a tour to support the book, all at once. Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century hits the shelves today (we mentioned this before), and they need your help to make it as successful as it deserves to be. By ordering the book via Amazon today at 11:11 am PST (or anytime, if you can't make it by then), it'll boost it up the hugely influential Amazon bestseller list (learn more about how that works here) and spread the good word about ideas, systems and products that will drive the future in a more sustainable direction. We're all for it, we've added the book to our print media online sourcebook, and we'll be ordering along with the rest of the Worldchangers today. If you're interested in learning about how to guide the future toward sustainability, please consider ordering a copy, too. We think the 21st Century will be better off for it. [Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century] available at [Amazon]

We got a chuckle out of this ghoulish postcard from Environmental Defense, reminding us that "nothing is scarier than old, inefficient light bulbs." It accompanies ED's guide to energy-efficient light bulbs for all types of fixtures. Just plug in your search criteria and the Web site will draw up a list of light bulbs to match your needs, along with user reviews from staff members.

Mark over at 3r Blogging also points us to Care2's Halloween Tricks & Treats, with tips for candy, parties, pumpkins and costumes for the big day. Good stuff! [Care2] and [Worsted Witch via [3r Living]