sustainable style foundation*

Titan TV, an internet broadcast network, has a great lineup of environmental casts and resources. In their channel Titan Greens, Liza de Guia is their green go-to girl and hosts a lot of the clips under the 'Daily Greens' Title. Her most recent offering "Green Resolutions 2008" interviews folks at the NY Greendrinks Holiday Party and is quite entertaining. Lots more from Liza and other environmental content is available from Titan's main page above. Looks like Liza may be the next rockstar in environmental journalism.

In her Laboratory blog, sustainable style maven Jill Danyelle reports that Nordstrom has officially started down the green path. Having worked for the company for 14 years (this is Sean blogging here) I know they've been doing organic and other sustainable textiles for years so it is a dream come true to see them starting to publically showcase their offerings. A quick visit to their dedicated Organic Style boutique turned up over 5 pages of products for women, men, kids, and the home. Not a bad start at all but I can't wait to see their organic style collections keep growing...and to go on sale of course!

In her line, Undesigned, LA-based fashion designer Carol Young has been crafting her simple, yet stunning sillouettes for women since 2003. With a goal to "create well-loved pieces that will live and long an cherished lifetime", it's should come as no surprise that Undesigned sports a lot of sustainability as well, from textiles such as organic cotton, recycled cotton, tencel, and bamboo to being active in the community and producing her garments right in LA. Carol was also featured in GEN ART's 2005 Fresh Faces in Fashion LA fashion show, a group and event near and dear to our SSF hearts. Kudos to Carol, a new sustainable style shining star!

Just released - The California Film Commission just published their Green Resource Guide for greening film productions. It's got the usual suspects like green office supplies and recycling but a few items are quite novel such as issues around generators and donating set food. I smell an Academy Awa...uh, I mean OSSA Award for sure. Sustainable Sean.

You may have all heard that America's Next Top Model has gone green. I'm still waiting to see how it all plays out, but so far, I'm impressed. They're living in an eco-friendly mansion, producers are giving them tips on eco-living, and they're running around in a biodiesel bus. Not only have they put in some good green tidbits, there are several other ways in which this season's girls may actually turn out to be more than just pretty faces. There are some smarties in the group, an aspiring model with a disability, and Tyra even made the bold move of banning smoking from the show after a photoshoot on the topic. We'll keep a close eye on this one.

Awhile back, a user at Chowhound was inspired to eat more local, ethically-produced food, but couldn't find any restaurants in the Los Angeles-area who did so. The resulting thread turned up some interesting finds, including the Los Angeles branch of Slow Food and Farmer's Market Wednesday at Josie Restaurant. We can also recommend a few spots, found in the "food & restaurant" section of the Los Angeles online sourcebook; anyone with any other suggestions should head on over to the thread at Chowhound to add to the growing list. [Chowhound] via [Eat Local Challenge]

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]

Big news from our favorite sweatshop-free apparel designer/manufacturer in Los Angeles: the Slim Slack, American Apparel's first go at jeans, is coming very soon. This month, they are releasing the test run of the Slim Slack, the original style from the unisex colored jean line. According to
Pam, AA's Associate Web Manager, they're "now just about ready to send out this exclusive batch to 20 select stores, in order to ask customers for their feedback before finalizing the design. Those who buy a pair and take the time to write in will get 25% off their first "real" Slim Slack, as well as a chance of winning one of five $100 gift certificates redeemable at any of our stores."

Exciting stuff! Their site reports that "coming out with a jean has been a very big, but really exciting undertaking. Staying true to (their) vertically integrated process (where most everything happens in the same building) has meant: learning jean design, training a sewing team, and having just about everyone in the company try them on to ensure wide appeal." When it comes to making sweatshop-free apparel hip and sexy, it doesn't get much better than American Apparel, so we're interested to see how it goes. Stay tuned! [American Apparel Slim Slack]

Just launched today, Lexus Hybrid Living is a new site with information and ideas about experiencing a life filled with sustainable style. There are two sections: Hybrid Living Tours takes you on video podcast tours of New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, guiding you to spas, hotels, boutiques and more; Hybrid Living Profiles features architects and fashion and interior designers who are on the cutting edge of the fusion of sustainability and style, and features some of our favorites, including Q Collection and Linda Loudermilk. Nice! [Hybrid Living Tour]

This week, the always excellent Lazy Environmentalist radio show features two visionaries in the eco-fashion world. Designers Linda Loudermilk (who we just featured here) and Rowan Gabriel (founder of Organic Leather) both exemplify savvy designers who are hard at work introducing environmentally aware clothing and accessories that look great, fit perfectly and are healthier for you and our global environment. The show premiered this morning at 9 am EST; encores happen all week: Wednesdays 9PM; Thursdays 3AM, 2PM, 8PM; Fridays 2AM; Sundays 1PM at lime.com and Sirius Satellite Radio 114.

SSF was featured on Lazy Environmentalist late last year, and we really recommend giving it a listen; each week, host Josh Dorfman (head honcho at Vivavi) delves into a different angle of the sustainable lifestyle with some of the most prominent practitioners, thinkers and stylemakers around.

OK...so I'm completely addicted to Daryl Hannah's site DH Love Life. love it, Love It, LOVE IT!!! It's basically just a collection of short videos in which Daryl explores all sorts of topics, from biodiesel to gorillas in Rwanda. Being a closet conservation biologist, I was of course drawn to the gorillas. She's got a great positive attitude about things too which we always dig here at SSF. Hope is out there! I was lucky enough to chat with Daryl briefly at the Environmental Media Awards last year and was TOTALLY inspired. Sustainability needs an army of folks like her.

Another pleasant surprise on the newstands this week. Newsweekdevoted a cover and issue to their Giving Back Awards. A few expected folks (like Brad Pitt) but quite a few surprises including Benita Singh and Ruth DeGolia, co-founders of a great startup/nonprofit, Mercado Global, that SSF remembers well from our small beginnings. They've been doing sustainable style form the beginning...and doing it well. Surfers to Mercado Global may also notice the face of the very sustainable and stylish Summer Rayne Oakes as the face of Mercado Global.

I've said it before and I'll say it many times more I'm sure. Current TV is the coolest thing on television these days. I get addicted everytime I turn it on. I could spend the whole weekend watching pods on everyhing under the sun. Just watched pods on journalism in Iraq, pop-culture christians in Philidelphia and Hotel Chelsea. Best part is the pods are produced by pretty much anyone and everyone, folks from all walks of life.