sustainable style foundation*

Attention, sustainable stylers in New York: Architecture and fashion come together to produce the 2007 Project Earth Day fashion show, a showcase for the future of clothing featuring sustainable practices and materials from up & coming designers. Presented by Teknion, o2-NYC, Green Drinks and the New York chapter of Emerging Green Builders (part of the US Green Building Council), the show will featured the work of SSF pals aGaiN NYC, loyale clothing, Terra Plana and many more of the best in sustainable fashion. Garments made of reused material and sustainable fibers like organic cotton, hemp, soy, bamboo, seacell (seaweed), tencel (wood pulp) with recycled fiber fabrics such as POP (recycled soda pop bottles) and INEGO (created from corn) will strut their stuff, along with a student competition showcasing wears made from recycled and biodegradable textiles with a cash prize of $1500 and a mentorship opportunity awarded to the winner. A chic runway with a bamboo backdrop constructed from salvaged materials and flooring made from recycled detergent bottles provides the backdrop for the event.

What will we be wearing tomorrow? The beautiful future of sustainable style will be this Thursday, April 19th at the Teknion Showroom at 641 Ave of the Americas (here's a map) from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Get more details at Project Earth Day's site. [Project Earth Day 2007]

Last minute alert: SSF Co-founder and Style Ambassador Sean Schmidt (who's SSF blog is here) will be featured on KUOW (Seattle's local NPR station) tomorrow -- Thursday -- on "Weekday" with Steve Scher. They'll be chatting about socially responsible products and design, so please tune in and see what Sean has to say. Listeners in Seattle can find the show at 9:00 am PDT at 94.9 on the fm dial; those outside the Seattle area can listen to a live stream of the station. We'll update this post with more links after the show tomorrow. [KUOW] and [Weekday]

Update: The show is now available in streaming audio, either in Real Audio or MP3: High | Low. Great job, Sean!

Paul and I were off to Grenoble for the weekend today to visit Paul's friend Susan from college. The road to Grenoble from Turin was filled with many tunnels and even more toll gates to pay for the tunnels and other road access. I actually think that is kind of a good idea...charging for road use and such. Needless to say, the drive was beautiful. The French side of the trip was especially beautiful with many castles and sweeping vistas along the way with the Alps as a background.

Besides a lot of wonderful time with Susan's family in Voreppe, a village just outside of Grenoble that included lots of incredible food, cheeses, and coffee we did get a little sight seeing in too. The big trip was to the tram in Grenoble up to the old fort. My first green discovery was that the tram was powered with green power and the sign hanging right by 'les boulles' little cabins made sure everyone knew it. The view from atop the fort, La Bastille, was incredible and I even discovered a little mural celebrating recycling.

Later, in Grenoble, we stopped by the local Sunday market which had quite a few local and organic options. I noticed all the organics were labelled "bio" so not sure if they were organic, or even better...biodynamic. Best of all, while sipping a bit of espresso outside a street cafe, a Prius drove right up and parked in front of us. How picturesque, Non? On the way back home, we ran across a road sign identifying the local hydro power plant. Kind of neat that that they brought attention to it.

Today my friend Paul and I set out to visit Oasi Zegna, a conservation area in the Biellese Alps established by the Itialian men's clothing company Ermenegildo Zegna. I first came across Zegna while working at Nordstrom several year's back. I discovered that the company had been working on environmental, particularly conservation, efforts in Italy for over 70 years. They also sponsored the Environmental Media Association (EMA) Awards in Hollywood for several years during the 1990s. I later discovered that their environmental interests were taking hold in their products as well and two years ago purchased a beautiful sportcoat made of bamboo.

So, when my friend Paul said he would be staying in Turin for a month and invited me to stay for a week, I confirmed that one of my tourist stops would be Oasi Zegna. And, as a conservation biologist and fashionisto, I must say it was well worth it.

One has to be determined to find Oasi Zegna. It is located about an hour northeast of Turin. There are a pretty good sprinkling of signs to Oasi Zegna along the way, but you certainly wouldn't find the Oasi by accident. Luckily, we had a GPS to help out on certain sections along the way. The Zegna Panoramic Road leading to the Oasi was quite beautiful, and once on the route, you're certain to find the Oasi.

Unfortunately, it was off season in Oasi Zegna, they hadn't had much snow fall over the winter so a lot of the winter sport areas and attractions were closed. It wasn't spring yet either so a lot of the spring sport areas and attractions weren't open either. Regardless, the countryside and panoramic views along the way were breathtaking. I did see a few birds and small mammals along the way as well. We drove through Bielmonte, the ski resort area, but it was closed down for the season. I was pleased to see lots of interpretive signs along the way describing the area and various conservation efforts. We had hoped to find the offices and load up on lots of brochures and such but didn't discover that we had missed it until we had made it through the whole park to the other side. The office and the Zegna factory were located in Trivero, the town from which we started our drive. We came out of Oasi Zegna into several small hillside villages and then into Bielle for lunch. I tracked down a phone number for Oasi Zegna and gave them a call. I spoke to a very enthusiastic woman named Laura who, although she wouldn't be able to meet that day, did give me information on the Oasi and where I could find tourist info on the park in Bielle. She was very pleased to hear I was a biologist and felt bad that she couldn't give me a tour since Oasi Zegna has such incredible conservation efforts underway. I told here that I would be coming back for the World Design Symposium in 2008 and so we made plans to meet up to tour the park then. She also suggested that we stop by the Zegna outlet store in Bielle and said she would arrange a discount. A Zegna outlet store! On top of that a DISCOUNT at a Zegna outlet store! Being a conservation biologist and huge Zegna fan I must admit I was in heaven. When we found the tourist office in Bielle, we gathered lots of brochures (including several copies in Italian to bring back to the hotels and friends) and had a great chat with the women in the office. They then told us that we had spoke to Laura Zegna herself. Whoa! Very cool indeed. Needless to say, we had a great time shopping at the outlet store as well. Lucky for me, the size and cut of their clothing doesn't really work for me. I did get a knit polo shirt, a Zegna Sport baseball cap and a very cool military inspired, casual sportcoat that is a hemp/cotton mix. I am really looking forward to my next trip when I can spend some quality time at Oasi Zegna learning about their efforts, meeting their staff, and touring the factory.

Last night my friend Paul and I had an incredible five course meal at a nearby restaurant that offered several items from the local area. It's amazing that five courses made up of very small portions can fill you up, but it did. And did I say that the food was incredible? Just goes to show that local and fresh is the best way to go. With Italy being the home of the slow food movement, I figure I might as well make the most of it. After dinner, Paul and I spent a couple hours walking around central Turin visiting some of the sites, but more importantly trying to walk off the very filling meal. As often happens to Americans, we were blown away by the amazing architecture and bountiful history in the city. For example, we visited a small piece of the original wall protecting Turin during Roman times, dating back over 2000 years.

This morning, I had the honor of meeting Luigi (Gino) Bistagnino and Pier Paulo Peruccio in the Department of Architecture and Industrial Design at the Turin Polytechnical Institute. The department is located in the breathtaking Valentino Castle along the river PO in Turn. I can't even imagine trying to do work in the building, it is so beautiful. Gino and Pier Paolo are very involved with sustainable design work in Italy and internationally and are part of a sytems design Masters program that focuses on sustainable systems in industrial design. After some great discussion on their efforts and state of sustainable design in Italy, Pier Paolo gave a copy of his book on design in the Piemonte area that included a sustainable design project in Korea and a copy of Gino's book "Design con un Futuro". Apparently, I just missed Janine Benyus, founder of the biomimicry movement, who had lectured the previous Sunday. Pier Paolo also pointed me to a great company based in Novara, Novamont. Novamont has been working with bioplastics since 1990.

Later, I came across a great children's museum on environmental issues, Museo A come Ambiente, and on my way back to the hotel from the days events, I picked up the latest issue of Natural Style, an Italian magazine for "the woman who has chosen a new lifestyle: that natural one".

Supper was filled with another five course meal that would have made the slow food movement folks quite proud of me. We dined (I can truly call it that) at the famous Il Cambio, a restaurant that has been serving Turin's citizens and tourists since the 1700s. As usual, I tried to keep all my slections local. Not being a food critic, I cannot put worthy words forth about how wonderful everything was. The service was even better though. And eating in a restaurant that has existed for two hundred years...priceless.

I'm one day in to my trip to Turin, Italy and am pretty impressed with the sustainability efforts I've run across so far. As usual, the trip starts with purchasing carbon offsets for my flight via Native Energy Next on the list is usually what magazines I find for reading on the plane that have sustainability in them. This time Fast Company, Dwell, and Outside. Interestingly, Arnold Schwartzenagger is on the cover of two of the three. Fast Company's "Fast 50" includes people and companies working to improve the planet while making money. Arnie is #1 on the list with his "Green Ultimatum" effort to promote green markets in California. Arnie is also on the cover of Outside's Green Issue. Dwell's headline is "Renovate!, Reuse!, Recycle!"

My next brush with sustainabilty was in the Frankfurt Airport where recycle bins could be found everywhere. They had a very cool look to them and they accepted many different materials. I was also impressed to see recycled content paper towels in the bathrooms. They were a green and probably the most effective paper towels I've ever used, including conventional.

Upon arriving in Turin, I met my friend Paul (who is working in Turin for a month) and then taxied in to the Hotel, the Golden Palace. Can't quite tell how eco the hotel is, but a few things pleased me: 1. they use cloth napkins in their restaurant and bar, 2. water, yogurt, and such come in glass containters (I'm not a fan of plastics), 3. the room has an automatic power shutoff when you leave (shows they're interested in conserving energy), and 4. their toilets have small and large flush options to conserve water.

I took a short nap and then we took off to explore Lingotto, a former Fiat factory with a rooftop test track. Several of the design compenents are quite impressive, including the car helical ramp leading up to the track. Next to Lingotto was a great find by my friend Paul, a huge food store called Eataly. It is an AMAZING store, a cross between Ikea and Whole Foods if you will. Paul had found a lot of bamboo plates and such and we then found some biodegradable plastic items called 'Bioplat' made by Scatolificio Del Garda (SDG). Very cool! Italy is also home of the slow food movement and you could certainly feel the spirit of the movement alive in well in Eataly. We tried to buy an issue of the Slow Food magazine but discovered they were only for display when we were checking out. Doh!

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!

SSF is a huge fan of FLOR, Interface's sustainable, fabulous carpet tiles that puzzle-piece together to built creative, colorful area rugs or carpets. They've been available online for some time, but we've never seen 'em in a retail location...until now. They've partnered up with Target (who've been working hard to incorporate more products from well-known designers in their stores) to offer a select group of FLOR tiles, both at target.com and in their stores. It's a move that makes sense for both parties: FLOR gets exposed to a big, mainstream audience, while Target gets a little more sustainability cred. For now, tiles are available two styles -- solid colors and stripes -- in a couple color combinations; a box of six will set you back about $60. [FLOR] and [Target] via [Apartment Therapy LA]

One of the critiques about Al Gore's documentary version of An Inconvenient Truth (what?! You haven't seen it yet? Get a copy of the DVD and watch it!) is that, while chock-full of information, was a little hard to swallow for those in the audience who weren't well versed on the theory and general science behind global warming. To help spread the message to a more diverse audience, Al Gore has begun training people from around the globe to give their own version of the slideshow he presents on the film; the idea is that different people can put a different spin on it, to appeal to the audience they're likely to encounter while presenting in their individual community.

One of the lucky folks chosen for an early round of presentation training was Lisa Shimizu, whom keen readers will remember from our interview with KEXP radio last summer for the music issue of SASS Magazine (read the interview here). We wanted to talk to the hip, listener-powered station about their recently (at the time) unveiled global warming PSA, encouraging their listeners in Seattle and around the world (via their live stream) to take action to fight global warming in their lives, and Lisa was the one heading up the campaign. Lisa went to Nashville, Tennessee to meet with and get trained by Al Gore, with the promise that she take her version of the show on the road and spread the word about climate change. She recently began presenting her show, tailored to youngsters, here in Seattle, and our friends at Grist were there to check it out. As it turns out, the message translated, as Shimizu's presentation was well-received by young and old(er) alike -- check out the full article for details on what it's like to teach global warming to first graders. Kudos and a big thumbs up to Lisa & Grist for helping to preach the gospel of global warming to an audience that will really have to do something about it: kids. [Grist] and [KEXP's Global Warming PSA]

Just a quick reminder about EPIC, Vancouver's first sustainable living expo, happening this weekend. Designed for the Ethical Progressive Intelligent Consumer, EPIC will introduce the new breed of environmentally friendlier, smart, stylish products and savvy services that allow shoppers to feel good about their purchases in more ways than one.

Tickets are available online at a reduced rate, and at the door for $12 for general admission and $10 for students and youth ages 13-18; children 12 and younger are free. The event promises to be a weekend full of sustainable style, including ideas and products in the fashion, food & drink, health & beauty, technology, transportation, home & leisure and business & community industries. We think it's going to be a fantastic event, and encourage anyone who hasn't already made plans to attend to consider making the trip to Vancouver. Get all the details at EPIC's website. We hope to see many of you there!

The modern, sustainable prefab homes designed by LivingHomes have exploded onto the green building scene this year with the first residence to receive the US Green Building Council's Platinum LEED certification. Steve Glenn is not just the founder & CEO; he's also a client (so to speak), moving in to the prototype after it opened and living there ever since. He sat down with Alissa Walker from Core77 to chat about green building for the residential sector, modern prefab and where the two meet, and the result is a pretty interesting conversation. It's available for listening and as a download from Core77's site (or just click on his picture at left); Glenn's home is also available to virtually tour at livinghomes.net. [LivingHomes] via [Core77]

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]

The boys in Guster, long champions of the planet, sustainable living and green touring, have announced that they've teamed up with Warner Music Group (WMG) (we mentioned their green efforts in the Spotlight section awhile back) to make a pretty sustainable record. Star Pulse reports "The band has purchased renewable energy credits from Native American renewable energy company NativeEnergy to offset the manufacturing process. In addition, the packaging has been printed using soy inks on paper certified as sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council." WMG also announced that it would make Guster’s entire catalog of nearly 1 million CDs completely carbon neutral through offsets. The band is currently on tour to support the 8-song EP, to be released on April 10; the majority of the shows are part of Guster's "Campus Consciousness Tour", which aims to "spread awareness and support for the environment as well as inspire students to get involved with earth-friendly causes." Go Guster Go! [Star Pulse] via [Ecorazzi]

Over at Wired, there's an interesting, useful article about computer recycling and e-waste. Long the bane of hardware recycling enthusiasts, big companies like Dell and Hewlett Packard have started to turn things around, offering easy, accessible ways to recycle their PCs and insure that they aren't left to rot (and leach harmful, toxic substances into the ground) in a ditch somewhere. From the article: "'The computer companies are definitely embracing the idea that they need to deal with their products at the end of their useful life,'" said Barbara Kyle, who coordinates the San Francisco-based nonprofit Computer TakeBack Campaign. "'There's been a complete turnaround.'" While that's good to hear, it isn't time to start celebrating just yet: "'The United States is not responsibly managing this waste stream,'" said Sarah Westervelt of the Basel Action Network, a Seattle-based group that seeks to stop the spread of hazardous waste. "'We're allowing it to go offshore and poison developing countries.'" There are almost 150,000 PCs discarded each day by homes and businesses in the US, and only 10 to 15 percent of them are recycled; of those that are recycled, up to 80 percent is exported overseas to dismantling shops where poor workers are exposed to hazardous fumes and chemicals while trying to extract valuable metals and components...yuck. While the US doesn't have federal laws to protect against such things (most European countries, along with Japan and South Korea, do), states are taking the fight into their own hands; Washington, Maine and Maryland have all recently passed "take-back" laws, and California has integrated the cost of recycling into many products so they're easier to properly dispose of. Dell & HP, who collectively sell over half of the PCs the country buys, have both recently stepped up their commitment to recycling; hit the article for all the details, including resources on how to recycle your PC when you're done with it. [Wired]

Local is quickly becoming the new organic as the notion of eating food grown in season in your neighborhood (or within 100 miles or so) has grown increasingly popular. In many ways, it makes lots of sense; buying organic bell peppers from Chile hardly seems as sustainable as picking some up grown in the next county over, considering how far the organic version had to travel to get to your plate. Food & Wine has also caught wind of the idea, and they profile a couple of "Locavores" and give some good local recipes in their February issue. On their winter menu is a Yukon Gold Potato, Leek, and Fromage Blanc Frittata from California and Watercress Salad with Beets and Roasted-Garlic Crostini from Vermont, proving that it doesn't matter where you live or what season it is: local is more and more available, and it tastes dang good. Read the article for a profile of the "Locavores" and check out the sidebar for a quick list of resources for finding local food near you. [Food & Wine] via [Hippyshopper]