sarazucker:

welp, i’m just about finished wrapping the few presents i have bought for this holiday season. my magazine collages have become a “signature” in my household, so this is expected; they just add a bit more personalization than regular wrapping paper.

I wrap my gifts in magazine collages, too!

Verrrry sustainable, dahling.

(That is, doesn’t make me feel so guilty about reading glossy magazines with their big ol’ carbon footprint and fancy pants things I can’t afford.)

Recycling is so chic.

simko:

Paper dress made from old phonebook pages by Jolis Paons. More photos available here.

Celine, a CUNY grad student intern working on a NYSERDA research project on greenhouse gas cost abatement curves* in my office, wore this super-chic coat the other day.

Best thing is, it’s by Camilla Norrback, designer of “ecoluxury” clothing made with low-impact textiles, dyes, and other materials.

* A method of comparing the cost of emission-reduction measures to their projected results.

grapefruite:

EcoChick’s Guide to a Greener You

Why does the marketing always have to be super cheesy ‘chick’ guide b.s. in order to target the ‘young modern woman’.  I like the idea but I would never buy the ‘how to be fabulously green’ guide on principle - ick.

You know green is bankable when it’s being marketed as a substitute for Carrie Bradshaw.  (“I couldn’t help but wonder, would wearing second-hand shoes really save the planet?  And more importantly, would it get the attention of that bearded refuse artist with the solo show at Deitch Projects?”)

But that’s unfair of me, never having cracked the book (the review posted on Inhabitat notes that “it’s possible to glimpse a burning seriousness below the chirpy veneer”).  The truth is that while I may enjoy cocktails and cocktails rings as much as the next post-Carrie career girl, I’m not the target audience.  (My green book purchase of the month was The Green Collar Economy — nothing fabulous about it.)

This is a book for women who care about climate change but just want to stick their toe in.  And since combating global warming will require lifestyle changes from everyone, I applaud the effort to target micro-populations and meet them half-way.  I can’t wait to see Recycling White Trash: The Redneck’s Guide to Green Living.

Nine nice things from Pivot, an “eco smart fashion” boutique in Chicago that offers free ground shipping. The store recently curated an exhibit at the Museum of Sustainable Style.

Like farm-raised beef, sustainable fashion doesn’t come cheap.  When a cute dress, like that cobalt plaid one, costs $326, it’s best to think of it as the purchase of the season (if you can afford to think of it at all.)  There’s a lot to be said for purchasing just a few ethically-made pieces that will last for years, rather than piles of “fast fashion,” more often than not manufactured by a company that uses harmful dyes and doesn’t pay its assembly line workers a living wage.

(This is where I admit I’ve yet to learn that particular lesson.  I love my H & M.)

UM, EXCUSE ME? Who you callin’ a no-makeup environmentalist?

Today on “The Colbert Report,” GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz plugged Chevy’s new electric car, the Volt.  I’ve got a couple bones to pick.

First of all, Lutz made this misleading claim:

Eighty percent of Americans drive 40 miles a day or less, and all of those people will basically never use a drop of fuel [with the Volt].

I take issue:

A: Electric energy is generated in a very wasteful process using coal, natural gas, and, in some states, petroleum.  Those are dirty energy sources / fuel.

B: At the beginning of his interview, Lutz explains that the car runs for 40 miles on a charge and t”at the end of that, a little gasoline engine kicks in — that’s like an emergency generator.  And you’ve got another two- or three-hundred miles of range.”

So, let me get this straight: fuel would be used every time the driver travels more than 40 miles.  “Never use a drop of fuel” is … ridiculous.

Now, my second complaint with Lutz is, admittedly, petty.  It’s his characterization of green-minded girls:

Stephen Colbert: “How about this: is [the Volt] sexy, would it get me laid?”

Lutz: “I think, um…. You’re going to get a lot of nice, no-makeup, environmentalists….[awkwardly trails off].”

HEL-LO!  I wear makeup, high heels, and even — gasp! — fur (but only from a thrift store.)

I make sacrifices where it counts — namely: living in an urban environment where I don’t have to drive at all — but I believe in making the world a more beautiful place, any way I can.  ;)

Then again, Lutz is a guy who doesn’t believe in what he called “the CO2 theory.”

I wouldn’t sleep with him, anyway, cute electric car or no.

Of course we know a vodka martini is good for the soul, but who knew it could be good for the planet?

TRU Organic Vodka takes steps to reduce its carbon footprint, including planting trees in tropical zones to offset emissions:

Six cases for a party? That’s 36 trees that can remove up to 1,800 lbs of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year when mature — the equivalent of 2 months of average driving!

Lately, I’ve been thinking twice and even three times before I buy things. Not just because I’m starting to get what that whole “save your money” thing is about but because I want to consume less on every front, from electricity to handbags.

That said, I want a new scarf. Never mind that I have about thirty (including warm wooly ones, mid-weight pashminas, and airy wraps); a large scarf collection is sensible and timeless. They’re the ideal foil to an increasingly unpredictable climate, they breathe life into the weary workhorses of your wardrobe, and they lend a saucy, bohemian vibe to classic clothes.

And when the scarf is made from organic cotton, the justification becomes so much easier. This scarf by Organic Giraffe is screen-printed with fabric care instructions — in Basque, the language of the Spanish separatist region. Glamorously subversive and eco-conscious, to boot.