Although most students use the beds and chairs already provided by their university, everyone must bring their own sets of bedding and most furnishings. Next time you do your Tuesday shopping at WalMart or Target, consider the sustainability factor of whatever you decide to purchase. Sustainable and organic wool or cotton sheets, blankets or comforters can be fairly expensive, but they will greatly outlast the cheap alternatives while simultaneously decreasing your carbon footprint. Sites like gogreenbedding.com have a ton of great options for eco friendly sheets, pillows, and accessories.  We also have great products you can buy now on our shop.  Also, look for desk lamps that have organic or fair trade seals of approval and fill them with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs. They will last all year in addition to helping the environment.  Purchasing power strips for your electronics can also make an impact. Having a phone charger plugged in all day still sucks up energy, even if the phone isn’t connected.  A simple push of a button on the power strip can turn off all the electronics you are not going to use while sitting in class.  Even though you aren’t paying for the monthly energy bill, it is still necessary to think about the overall effect every student can make when collectively changing a few daily habits.

Day 1 – Stop using bottles of water!

After a weekend of fun, you need to rehydrate and especially during those long stretches of boring lectures, we all get a little thirsty.  Probably the easiest and quickest change to dorm living is to purchase a table top filter such as Pur pitcher , and reusable bottles.  Altogether, this change will cost about $30 to $40 upfront (just think, on average if  you purchase a bottled water for $2 two times every day while on campus, in 10 days you’ve surpassed the cost of a filter and reusable bottle) and will save you time and money in addition to helping the planet.  So, when Monday rolls around skip the individual plastic bottles and purchase a refillable one instead.

1)      September 12-14 – New York
What is to become the epitome of fashion in the United States hits the runways during New York Fashion Week, and this year, that includes The GreenShows, which is committed to showcasing designers who are all dedicated to producing only eco-friendly, ethically sound and fair-trade fashion.  Their mission is simple: to share the belief that “fashion can be considerate of the earth, animals and mankind.” Let’s hope everyone in attendance agrees!

2)      September 17-21 – London

Located in the Embankment Galleries and in its 9^th season and founded by The British Fashion Council, the Estethica shows are now considered London Fashion Week’s epicenter for the ethical fashion industry.  This season’s 37 designers all adhere to Estethica’s demands for incredible social and environmental ethicality, as well as brilliant and unique designs.  These runways will showcase what many consider the future of ethical fashion.

3)      September 24, 25, 26 – Toronto

Consisting of both art galleries and runway fashions, the Clothing Show will house over 300 booths of local jewellery, accessories, art and eco-friendly clothing all at once.  Although they are not showcasing strictly sustainable fashions, nearly one third of the designers and artists are local to the area and eco-conscious so it is definitely worth supporting those who are making strides towards sustainability.

4)      September 25-28 – Paris

Arguably the world’s epitome of fashion begins in Paris and their sixth year of the Ethical Fashion Show will definitely reach the masses! The EFW makes it a point to publicize the human, environmental and economic aspects of ethical fashion by assembling designers whose garment production techniques focus on the protection of the environment and people involved. If Paris, one of the world’s fashion capitals, can support those who are designing with sustainability in mind – why can’t we all?

5)      September 28 – 30 – Vancouver

Considered the up and coming “place to be” for progressive and trend-setting fashions, the Vancouver Eco Fashion Week is dedicated to celebrating the combination of style and sustainability.  Unlike other fashion weeks around the world, the VEFW will be showcasing only those designers whose practices are environmentally and socially friendly in order to educate and inspire change to the majority of current fashion industry practices.

In the widely influential world of fashion, it is great to see these cities begin to challenge the dated practices of making garments and instead support the artists and designers who are making the necessary sustainable changes.

Next time you’re ordering your favorite flavor get hands on with your choice and ask for a cone.  Not only are cones just fun and delicious but by choosing one you’ll actually reduce your impact on the earth.  Think about how long it takes you to enjoy your ice cream – that’s the life span of the cup. You can eliminate a paper or plastic cup sitting in the landfill by simply picking a cone…Now that’s some tasty and easy eco-friendly living.

We love alternative uses for stuff.  Next time you find yourself swatting at mosquitoes grab a dryer sheet, from an eco company of course, and slip it into a pocket.  Mosquitoes don’t like the scent and will veer away from you.  Why spray chemicals on your body when you can use commonly found dryer sheet to get rid of those unwelcome “suckers?”

One easy thing you can do to help reduce new plastic entering the ocean environment is simply remembering to  securely tighten the lid to your soda or water bottle when you’re at the beach – Plastic lids have a sneaky way of making their way into the ocean.  If you remember to “pack-out what you pack-in” and recycle once you get home you can help reduce ocean pollution.

CRAZY FACT 2: Eating one pound of meat emits the same amount of greenhouse gases as driving an SUV 44 miles

This Labor Day honor our country, your health, and do your part to minimize climate change by trying out tasty vegetarian grilling recipes.  Here’s a few for you to try:

Cilantro Lime Grilled Tofu

Korean BBQ Lettuce Wraps

Grilled Portobello Sandwich with Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella

Barbecued Seitan Ribz

Packet-Roasted Balsamic Green Beans and Peppers

Grilled Artichokes with Tarragon-Lemon Aioli

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Grilled Caramelized Bananas

Grilled Plum and Goat Cheese Dessert Pizza

Want to try and keep the vegetarian recipes going?  Get a vegetarian starter kit here.

Source:

*H. Steinfeld et al., Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, Livestock, Environment and Development (2006).

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Media Contact:
Adriana Herrera
Fashioning Change, Inc.
(619) 550-2808

New Product and Sourcing Coordinator for Fashioning Change, Inc.

San Diego –  Eco-tech startup, Fashioning Change, Inc., has announced Merry Hill as its new product and sourcing coordinator.  In her new position Hill will source design-driven sustainable products and apparel on behalf of the company.

“Merry is a great new addition to the Fashioning Change family,” said Adriana Herrera, founder and CEO.  “Her knowledge of sustainable textiles and passion for fair-trade manufacturing practices will assist the company in developing a reliably socially responsible product catalogue.”

As product and sourcing coordinator Hill will also help support retailers to enhance their eco-friendly practices and ultimately incite equality for all people and environments in the supply and manufacturing chain.

Her studies and involvement in the Raleigh community led her to create a mission of challenging the fashion industry’s exploitation of the environment and the workers involved in the manufacturing process.  Hill received a Bachelor of Science degree from North Carolina State University College of Textile Engineering.

About Fashioning Change
Founded in 2010, the mission of Fashioning Change, Inc. is to empower consumers with information, tools, and opportunity to make the world a better place.  A values-driven company, it is fusing together the best practices in technology, sustainability, social justice, and corporate responsibility.

For more information about Fashioning Change please call, (619) 550-2808.

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Editors Note: To read Hill’s position on Sustainable Design please click here

• Store a few around – If you have reusable bags strategically placed in your garage, pantry, trunk, and mini bags in your purse/ messenger bag or office desk you’ll never have a plastic bag faux pas
• Ask for a reminder - Kids, spouses, and roommates are great eco-accountability partners.  If they see you headed to the store and you’ve asked them to remind you to grab your reusable bags if they see you without them chances are you’ll get a reminder
• Add them to the list - If you take the time to create a shopping list make “reusable grocery bags” the first item on every list…writing a personal reminder down and then seeing it again on your list before you walk out the door will mentally help you recall the action of grabbing your reusable shopping bags

Do you have any tricks that help you remember your reusable shopping bags? We’d love to hear them – please post them below.

Merriam-Webster defines the term sustainable as “being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged”.  That is exactly what sustainable designs strive to do, they utilize manufacturing techniques that are more environmentally-friendly in both the material and production processes.  These techniques can be anything from employing low-impact dyes to make a pink blouse or a factory operating on alternative energy sources. Here is a great website and video about sustainable designing, compliments of ESPDesign.

Currently, the entire world is going through a period of both environmental and economic crisis.  Every person has the responsibility to stop and reflect upon what we can each do individually to help ourselves, others and the environment.  Together, we can take this period of unfortunate events, look at them as opportunities for advancement, and turn them into positive impacts for the future.

Next time you make a purchase, whether it is a shirt, a headband, or a lampshade, try to ask yourself who and what were impacted during that item’s lifetime.  Were the farmers exposed to deadly pesticides or were the plants grown organically? Did the chemicals used for dying runoff to a nearby stream or were they properly disposed of? Was the packaging filled with Styrofoam and new plastic or made from recycled items?  These are all simple questions that we can ask ourselves in order to make a better decision when buying almost anything in our daily lives.

But the question remains – why do it? Why go out of your way and spend a little extra money on something as small as a shoelace? The answer is simple – because the joint effect your one change will have upon everyone and everything involved in the lifecycle of the item. Here is a great flow chart of a t-shirt’s lifecycle!   Presently there are about 6.8 billion people in the world; just think about how many lives you can impact, both today and in the future, with your every purchase.  When you make the decision to shop for sustainable designed items, you single handedly influence numerous people and the environment for the better.