2006 OSSA Awards

Style & Substance Award
Angelina Jolie

OSSA Awards
by Jonathan Adler

OSSA Award – Arts & Entertainment
Cameron Diaz

The Outstanding Sustainable Style Achievement (OSSA) Awards recognize outstanding social and environmental efforts across the many and diverse style and design industries that help us all “look fabulous, live well and do good”. The OSSAs are designed to showcase the amount and breadth of sustainability efforts underway in style industries, as well as foster cross-industry awareness and inspiration. They are one of the few places where stylemakers, community organizations, businesses and government come together to celebrate the many ways we can make positive change in the world as we express ourselves in our individual style choices. Above all, the OSSAs provide incredible role models for us all to look up to.The awards are presented as a part of SSF’s “recognition and inspiration” program area, designed to highlight the best in sustainable style and showcase the positive power of making more sustainable lifestyle choices.

You can find all the 2006 nominees and recipients below and in issue 009 of our SASS Magazine. For more information on the OSSA Award nomination and selection process, click here.

[2006 Premier Awards]

Style & Substance Award – Angelina Jolie

SSF’s highest honor, The Style and Substance Award in honor of Audrey Hepburn was presented to Angelina Jolie, for her tireless work as a concerned global citizen and active United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador. The dedication to her craft that garnered Angelina an Academy Award for her performance in Girl, Interrupted in 1999 is reflected in her efforts for the UNHCR, a UN agency that currently assists 20 million refugees in approximately 120 countries. Angelina’s involvement with UNHCR began with a mission to Sierra Leone, a small African country that, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been devastated by years of brutal civil war. Seeing firsthand the enormous challenges that refugees face was a life-altering experience for Angelina, who decided to use her fame to aid their cause. In 2001, she was named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. “It is an obligation to be here and to help the people,” Jolie said of a recent trip to Pakistan. “I’m sorry we’re in this situation, but I am so glad to be here for them.”

Angelina Jolie As a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina uses her status as a superstar to generate media coverage about the plight of refugees and the conditions under which they live. She has traveled widely to remote refugee camps and receiving centers in countries including Tanzania, Namibia, Cambodia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Ecuador. To further raise awareness, she has released her personal journals for select field visits that can be accessed at USA for UNHCR. For her efforts, Angelina has been honored with the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program Humanitarian Award. While hosting “What’s Going On?” Angelina was inspired by the stories of the Fataki brothers, Echa Nyange and Sofia Mocke, all children living at the Lugufu refugee camp in Tanzania. Tragically, their stories are all too familiar to Angelina, who has met thousands of men, women, and children forced to flee from their homes and struggle to survive as refugees. “You go to these places and you realize what life’s really about and what people are really going through,” says Ms. Jolie. “These people are my heroes.” She has visited a dozen war zones, and adopted her Cambodian son after a mission to his native country. She first contacted the UN to see if she could help after spending 10 days in refugee camps in Afghanistan. Ruud Lubbers, the UN high commissioner for refugees, said: “She has helped put the spotlight on the disenfranchised group — refugees — and also those who are not in the headlines and who are victims of long forgotten crises. She gives a voice to millions of uprooted people across the globe.”

The Style and Substance Award in honor of Audrey Hepburn is SSF’s highest honor and recognizes outstanding efforts by a celebrity, style professional or public figure to improve the quality of life of children around the world. Originally inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s work with UNICEF, this award is selected by SSF and Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund (AHCF) boards and advisors.

Vision & Innovation Award – Ben & Jerry’s

The Vision & Innovation Award was presented to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, for their social and environmental leadership and vision to improve the quality of life for people around the world through their business practices. family-farms Since their inception in 1978, Ben & Jerry’s has married their passion for making great ice cream with changing the world for the better; their numerous social and environmental efforts and programs include supplying a pig farm in Stowe, Vermont with ice cream waste in 1987, using recycled and recyclable plastic and cardboard packaging, coming out against recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), based on concern about its adverse economic impact on family farming in 1989 and Ben & Jerry’s Circus Bus, which hit the road for a national tour in 1991 complete with solar panels atop the bus to power the on-board electronics. Ben & Jerry’s 2001 CERES Report also won the award for Outstanding Sustainability Reporting – the first-ever such award given by the CERES organization.

lick-global-warming 2002 saw Ben & Jerry’s partner with the Dave Matthews Band and SaveOurEnvironment.org to form Lick Global Warming, a campaign to fight global warming, as well as begin an ongoing partnership with NativeEnergy to offset carbon emissions by investing in new wind farms. In 2003, they launched a sustainable agriculture program in Hellendorn, Holland, that’s developing criteria for sustainable dairy farming practices. Through it all, they’ve proven that it takes more than great ice cream to be a great ice cream company, and that sustainability can be more than just a smart business practice; it can be fun, and it can be a way of life.

The Vision & Innovation Award recognizes an individual, organization or company that has demonstrated ongoing leadership and vision in a style/design industry. This award is selected by the SSF board and advisors following nominations from the SSF membership.

Outstanding Public Expression Award – Prince Charles and Lady Camilla

Prince Charles & Camilla The Outstanding Public Expression Award is presented to His Royal Highness, Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, for their high-profile visits to organic farms in California and their outspoken support of organic farming in 2005.

The prince is a firm supporter of sustainable agriculture and runs an organic farm on his Highgrove estate in England. He also has a multimillion-dollar line of organic foods, Duchy Originals, whose profits go to charity.

Quoted as saying, “I have always believed that agriculture is not only the oldest, but also the most important of humanity’s productive activities,” the Prince has long been a supporter of organic food, sustainable farming, and raising awareness about the benefits of the food for both consumers and producers: “My commitment to organic food and farming goes back twenty years when I first endeavoured to put my principles into practice on the farm at Highgrove. Since then I have also developed a food company, Duchy Originals and, through the sales of Duchy products, I am not only trying to enable consumers to use their buying power to support sustainable and organic food production, but also to create a virtuous circle. That is why all the profits are donated to charitable causes, including educational and development projects, such as those run by the Soil Association and the HDRA in the United Kingdom as well as some small-scale sustainable development ventures overseas. Indeed, last year we made our first million pounds for charity which is something of which I am extremely proud.”

The Outstanding Public Expression Award recognizes outstanding efforts by a celebrity, style professional or public figure that uses their high profile position to bring attention to pressing social and/or environmental issues. This award is selected by the SSF boards and advisors following nominations from the SSF membership.

[2006 OSSA Jury]

Lynne Barker | City of Seattle, Green Building Team>

Josie Briggs | Studio Celadon, interior designer

Dr. Leslie Burns | Oregon State University, Apparel, Interiors, Housing, and Merchandising College of Home Economics and Education

Thor Peterson | City of Seattle Sustainable Building Program, single family homes

Dave Rider | Copernican Design, sales and marketing

Deborah Vandermar | Fashion Group International, Seattle Chapter Chair

Shanle Vandermeer | University of California, Santa Cruz, student, community studies

[2006 OSSA Awards]

Communication & Communication Design

Dwell Magazine for their Dec 2005/Jan 2006 “Green is Good” Issue
Greenlight Magazine, for launching their very green online publication
Sublime, for publishing “the first international ethical lifestyle magazine”
Salon.com and Rolling Stone for their “Climate Warriors & Heroes” special report – **OSSA RECIPIENT**

Designed Environments

Team led by Matthew Coates and Tim Meldrum, for winning the international Cradle to Cradle Home Design and Construction Competition
Volvo, for building the world’s first co2-free auto plant – **OSSA RECIPIENT**
Wal-mart, for opening a green superstore in McKinney, Texas

Arts & Entertainment

Urban Outfitters and Filter Magazine for their CD benefiting UNICEF and tsunami relief
Cameron Diaz and MTV for the show “Trippin’” – **OSSA RECIPIENT**
Destiny’s Child for their song “Stand Up,” an anthem for World Children’s Day
PBS for their documentary “Global Warming – The Signs and Science” narrated by Alanis Morissette
Participate Productions and Warner Bros Studios for the movie “Syriana”

Fashion & Beauty

Linda Loudermilk, for her 2005 lines of eco-coutour clothing featured at New York fashion week, and for opening her eco-boutique in L.A.
Bono, Ali Hewson and Rogan Gregory for Edun, their line of sweatshop-free apparel – **OSSA RECIPIENT**
Druide, for being the first company in North America to have its products certified “ecological and organic”
Polo Jeans, for their “G.I.V.E. – When Style Meets Substance” Campaign
SalvationSacks, for starting a company with dedication to recycling through the creation of individually designed accessories

Food & Restaurant

Starbucks Coffee Co., for purchasing 5% of the kilowatt hours used in 6,376 company-owned stores in North America
Safeway, for purchasing enough renewable energy to power all the companies fuel stations in the US and 15 grocery stores in San Francisco
New Belgium Brewery, for using 40% less energy per barrel of output than the average American brewer and supplying 60% of its own power – **OSSA RECIPIENT**
Appellation Wine & Spirits, for opening the first wine shop in NYC to focus on selling organic & biodynamic wines
Bon Appetit Management Company, for sponsoring and organizing the “Eat Local Challenge” where 150,000 diners at restaurants from Seattle to Washington D.C. had the option to eat a 100 percent locally grown meal, made entirely of ingredients from within 150 miles of the kitchen where they are served. The event took place September 29, 2005.
LocalHarvest.org, for expanding their website directory of local farms, sustainable agriculture, farmer’s markets and restaurants to over 9000 sources across the country.

Industrial Design & Consumer Products

Angela Adams, for producing her rugs in partnership with RUGMARK to end illegal child labor
Whole Foods Market, for opening their very hip sustainable lifestyle store, the first of its kind, in Hollywood – **OSSA RECIPIENT**
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) for their Cradle to Cradle certification program
Apple, for announcing its iPod recycling program

Mobility

Honda, for introducing the Accord hybrid
Ford, for introducing the first hybrid SUV, the Escape
Lexus, for offering the RX400h, the world’s first luxury SUV hybrid
Mercedes, for offering a vegan option in all their cars
OZOcar, for offering the first eco-luxury car service in New York City – **OSSA RECIPIENT**

Sports

HillBilly Wax-Works for producing the first eco future-friendly ski and snowboard wax
Stopglobalwarming.org, NativeEnergy, the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams for the first climate-neutral football game – **OSSA RECIPIENT**
Clif Bar, for partnering with the 2006 Golden Eagle Awards program, which honors the nation’s most eco-friendly ski resorts

Travel

Airbus, for producing the A380, the world’s most environmentally friendly airplane
Pineapple Hospitality, for offering dozens of 100-percent biodegradable guest toiletries and other hotel amenities
Hyatt Hotels, for running two Dallas-area hotels on 100-percent renewable energy – **OSSA RECIPIENT**
Royal Carribean, for receiving the Kuoni Travel Group’s 2005 Green Planet Award for environmental excellence and innovation

Nonprofit

National Environmental Trust, Breast Cancer Fund and Breast Cancer Action for their efforts to secure passage of the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005 – **OSSA RECIPIENT**
Architecture for Humanity for Project Re:Build benefitting tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and India, for their post-Hurricane Katrina work, and for working with Kashmir earthquake victims
Ricky Martin Foundation for his post-tsunami work in Sri Lanka
American Red Cross and Salvation Army for “Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast” that raised approximately $30 million for relief from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The ONE campaign, founded by 11 global non-profits to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.