sustainable style foundation*

from haberdash.org...Kiehl's has long offered a line of men's grooming products that are effective, affordable, and use all natural ingredients. They recently upped their sustainability commitment by partnering with Brad Pitt on a aloe vera biodegradable liquid body cleanser with 100% of net profits going to Make it Right, dedicated to the construction of environmentally sustainable, affordable housing for the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans in 2005. But that's not all, Kiehl's also provides resources to educate consumers on actions they can take to protect the environment and most recently partnered with Parsons The New School for Design to create Sustainable Design Review, a student competition to highlight innovative sustainable design.

(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!

We just came across this very cool website, Urban Reinventors. Great look and feel plus lots of great articles on the ideas of urbanism...both positive and negative. There are beautiful images, innovative ideas, and lots of other materials on the topic, both artistic and academic. The site was recently reworked and their second issue of their online magazine adds a lot more to the mix as well.

My most recent book review request came from Yale University Press. The title? Auto Mania: Cars, Consumers, and the Environment by Tom McCarthy. Now I am a sucker when it comes to anything history, biography, environment and so would probably give any book in these categories a pretty glowing review, but I must say I REALLY enjoyed this book. It is a very thorough look at our ever so addictive relationship with cars with all its eccentricities from the need for speed, keeping up with the Jones', to ever present power and greed. And he does it with a bit of humor tossed in here and there. Essentially an environmental history of the automobile, McCarthy points out early that scientists and engineers were well aware of the many challenges that came with cars and even goes into Henry Ford's sincere interest in reducing waste in his uber efficient assembly lines. Pop culture played a key role too, from Elvis Presley to Will Rogers. And, no surprise, even early observations of global warming - and how they were ignored - show up in the book. After reading McCarthy's book, we better understand America's romance with the automobile with all its wires, belts, and oh so many other social, political, economic, and environmental 'strings' attached.

(Pier Paolo - Torino, Italia) - Apologizing for my basic English I am starting blogging today, first post, first pictures, of course from Torino, the city where I live. A special thank to Sean who invited me to join SSF, I am really proud to do this. Why blogging from Torino? First because the city has been changing a lot for 5-6 years, when was appointed to be Winter Olympic Games in 2006. After the Games, the city has continued to enhance its development and now we are approaching the Year of Design. Torino has been changing very rapidly from One company Town (Fiat Group Automobiles) to a city of services, of culture, of creativity, arts and sports. And the city today shows all the signs of this profound transformation.

Now we are awaiting 2011 when we will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. In the meantime the city will be the first World Design Capital for one year, a leading project of the International Design Alliance (IDA), currently managed by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). Twelve months of events, exibitions in Torino and in the entire region to offer a clear vision on the design culture in Piedmont. A design approach that sometimes seems bold and multi-faceted, other times hidden, anyway almost always high level projects.

The real commencement of the World Design events was fixed for the New Year’s Eve of Design, December 31, 2007. After that the programme will tie up with the well established calendar of fairs, exhibitions and festivals that take place in the city’s major venues all through the year. For instance in October the main subject will be design and food, to coincide with the Taste Fair and Terra Madre World Food Meeting edited by Slow Food movement. In November the focus will be on the relationship between art, media and industrial design (Torino Art Fair and Torino Film Festival) and before the summer period two important appointments: “Changing the Change: Design Visions, Proposals and Tools”: this is the title of a conference that will be held on July 10-12, 2008 at the Politecnico di Torino in the framework of Torino 2008 World Design Capital. It will highligt new visions in the field of sustainability and outline the state of the art of ecodesign research. The second event is the 23rd International Union of Architects World Congress that will bring to Torino the International community of architects, planners and designers (June 29-July 3). Green will be the colour of the visual communication of the Year of Design. Why green? First because green represents the combination of the two “corporate” colours of Torino: blue and yellow.Second because it occupies a central position on the scale of human visual perception, it is the colour of reason and of course also the one of sustainable design (green design, eco-design, systems design).

Last but not least I want to mention the Luci d’Artista works and installations. It is a real art gallery en plein air set in streets and squares of Torino from November to February. It has become one of the symbols of the city for 10 years. The 2007 edition includes 19 installations with the well known works of Rebecca Horn, Nicola De Maria and Mario Merz (who used the first Fibonacci numbers written with red neon on one side of the Mole Antonelliana four-faced dome).

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.

Coming up next week, on November 9, The Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment and Con Edison are sponsoring a daylong conference on sustainable development and preservation practices called the Green Brooklyn Conference 2006. With discussion panels, hands-on workshops, and exhibitor tables, the conference hopes to bring new energy and excitement to discourse on the built and natural environments and how to transform Brooklyn and all of New York into a more sustainable city. Included in the panelists will be the good people from Bettencourt Green Building Supplies, Green Map System & Sustainable South Bronx. The event is free, and will be held at Borough Hall at 209 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment] via [New York Times]

Recognizing the tremendous advancements made in industry, building, media and public policy that move the world toward a sustainable and secure future, Global Green's Designing a Sustainable and Secure World Awards will be presented tonight in New York City. The event features a reception and eco-auction, followed by dinner and a program that features a discussion with Green Cross International Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev. Award honorees include Goldman, Sachs & Co. (receiving the Corporate Design Award), Tesla Motors (receiving the Industrial/Product Design Award -- we've mentioned them not once but twice), Sundance Channel (receiving the Media/Entertainment Design Award) and Bank Of America (receiving the Green Building Design Award).

The event will include a presentation on Global Green & Brad Pitt's Sustainable Design Competition (check out our coverage of the winners) for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and awards will be presented by Edward Norton, Josh Lucas and Steve Curwood of "Living on Earth."

Much like SSF's Outstanding Sustainable Style Achievement (OSSA) Awards, Global Green (who received an OSSA Award in 2005) aims to recognize and inspire more of these achievements. They believe that the sustainable designs of these remarkable companies and individuals deserve to be applauded and celebrated in order to inspire others toward a similar path and to encourage our honorees to shine ever brighter in their endeavors. [Global Green] via [3r Blogging]

Washington, D.C. architect Carib Daniel Martin designed the Help House to provide emergency housing that is not just a roof over one's head, it also provides a sense of home. It's really amazing how much functionality he squeezed into the 8' x 12' space but it really is all there. AND it has a great asthetic which is what makes it so much more than just another portable temporary house. I actually came across a website with lots of tiny houses that are worth taking a peek at. Maybe we could all use a little downsizine now and then.

For anyone who missed the excellent series on PBS this summer, design: e2 is now available on DVD. Exploring the economies of being environmentally conscious, the series included six episodes (The Green Apple, Green for All, The Green Machine, Gray to Green, China from Green to Red and Deeper Shades of Green) and was narrated by Brad Pitt. From the design: e2 website: "Eight different topics - from sustainable architecture to water culture to alternative energy to organic farming to recycled clothing and more - are each presented in six thirty-minute episodes, challenging us to live smarter, live greener and live with the future in mind. DESIGN launches our e2 series and introduces us to the inventive leaders and technologies driving sustainable practices in the buildings where we live, work, and play. Through DESIGN, and future series - WATER, ENERGY, FOOD, TRANSPORTATION, BOTANICALS, TEXTILES, and HEALTH - e2 demonstrates that living in harmony with nature is not only a matter of progress; it's a matter of survival."

Order the DVD from the PBS website and learn about all the great ways that design and environment can live happily ever after. [PrairieMod] via [Hugg]

File this one under the "Yeah, that makes sense" category: Michigan Avenue Tower, in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood, is poised to become the first residential condominium in the Windy City to be powered by the wind. The building will use 100 percent renewable energy to power the 29-floor structure; the condo association brokered a deal to purchase renewable energy credits from Midwest Renewable Energy Credits in the amount that offsets the total quantity of electricity used by the building. The cost of purchasing wind credits to association members will be a little more, approximately $7 per unit per month, but the association plans to pick up the tab through smart investing of its reserves from its annual budget. [Michigan Avenue Tower] via [Hugg]

Much has been made of Brad Pitt's involvement with Global Green's design competition for rebuilding a sustainable New Orleans (we've featured it not once, but twice) and the time has finally come to announce the winners. After months of planning, promoting and reviewing the designs, yesterday, they announced a winner. Congratulations to Andrew Kotchen and Matthew Berman of New York City!

Throughout it all, Pitt has been a tireless advocate for the sustainable design process, and the potential positive influence and results it can have on your house, too. This morning, on the "Today," he told Ann Curry, "You can cut your energy bill down 65 percent just by the way you position your house, the way you structure it for air flow and insulation and shielding from the sun, and again, the material that you use." Sounds like a man who knows his stuff. Awesome job, Brad! [Today] via

Yes, I know this is old news but I just have to bring it up again. The good peeps at Global Green have partnered up with Brad Pitt to bring a little attention and creativity to the future of New Orleans. Per Global Green's webssite: "the Sustainable Design Competition for New Orleans is a design challenge that combines Global Green USA's commitment to green affordable housing, sustainable cities, and climate solutions that work for communities, with Brad Pitt's passion for intelligent architecture and determination to combat inequity". Um...NICE! Looking forward to seeing the entries.