H&M Organic Cotton Isn’t 100% Organic

Over a year ago, H&M announced that they were introducing more organic cotton into their lines.  I’ll admit- I buy from H&M (yes I contribute to fast fashion too) and I have purchased at least 3 tshirts based on the fact that I was sold on the whole organic cotton thing.  Well, looks like someone pulled a little “Sigg has no BPA’s” white lie.

Lothar Kruse, a director of the independent testing laboratory Impetus in Bremerhaven, who examined the cotton fabrics claimed around “30% of the tested samples” contained genetically modified (GM) cotton. The head of the Indian agricultural authority, Apeda, Sanjay Dave, told the newspaper they were dealing with fraud on “a gigantic scale.”

The GM cotton found in the brand’s collections has been traced back to India which now supplies nearly half of the global supply of organic cotton. According to Organic Exchange figures – to be released shortly – India produced 61% of the total amount of organic cotton produced in 2008/09 with some 107,000 tonnes of fibre out of the total 175,113 tonnes grown worldwide.

Via GOOD

I Love Lalalu Organic Pride Tee’s

How adorable are these organic tee’s created by Bay Area native, Luz Tello?  I love the multi cultural and earth conscious messages.

I’m without a baby friend at the moment but these are making me want one ASAP!

Visit Etsy to see the rest of the line  I Love Lalalu

Thank you Karl.  That Pho clip has my name all over it!  xx

The Godfather Goes O.G.anic

There ain’t nothing organic about The Godfather but apparently the licensing alcoholic Sicilian gods thinks so.

Paramount Pictures and Iconic Brands this week announced their upcoming launch of The Godfather Italian Organic Vodka. Branded after the classic film The Godfather, the imported Italian vodka will make its debut in April 2010. Sounds like my kind of party. Can’t wait.

Source Ecorazzi

Posted by thuy

Autonomie Project Ethletic High-top

Classic, old-school style high-top sneaker made with 100% Fair Trade-certified organic cotton canvas upper and tough rubber sole. Sole is produced and stamped with Forest Stewardship Council-certified all natural and sustainable rubber. 100% vegan and entirely cruelty-free! Imported from a Fair Trade certified workshop in Pakistan.

I like them better without the Chuck Taylor star.

Available at Nimli

Posted by thuy

Hugo’s

Vegetarians, vegans and organic food followers can take comfort at Hugo’s. Even after recently revamping its interior, the West Hollywood favorite for breakfast and brunch remains committed to its use of free-range, organic and sustainable ingredients.

Their egg scrambles, breakfast a la carte plates (Chilaquiles above- to die for!!) and pancakes are popular morning options; their create-a-plate feature allows flexibility for lunch or dinner.

Hugo’s Restaurant
8401 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 654-3993

Posted by thuy

Michelle’s Bachelorette in S.D.

We arrived to the 5 bedroom house and felt like we were in an episode of The Real World. Meeting our roomies and having our minds blown by the fully equipped house full of goodies.

Day at the beach where we were all treated to mani’s and pedi’s courtesy of Michael.

We pretty much spent the entire weekend at the house.. doing exactly what I said we would be doing..

Lots of this, that, that and that.

There were actually some eco-friendly elements to the weekend. The home water treatment system at the house provided us with an eco-friendly home water purification and water softener solution. Most of the food used at home had organic ingredients (thanks for the delicious meals Edean & Jenni.) And we also had our very own keg of Fat Tire Beer- (one of the few beer breweries that practices sustainability.

I won this ca-ute reusable shopping bag from playing ‘Pin the Macho on the Man.” Hungover, bindfolded and spun several times I somehow managed to make a bulls eye target.

And that’s all I can mention… there are images and reputations to uphold. Not mine of course, but for the sake of others.

Thanks to all the lovely ladies for making this a memorable weekend full of love, laughs and liver problems. And thanks to everyone for contributing in bringing/making food and to all that helped with cleaning and to the ones that provided games, prizes and crafts. Most of all thanks to Edean for putting it all together!

Congratulations Michelle! Love you. BTW- is that a penis straw in your cake?

Posted by thuy

Must See Movie: Food, Inc.

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.

We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield’s Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms’ Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Visit the Food, Inc. website

Posted by thuy

FRESH The Movie

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

FRESH

Postd by thuy

Pocketflops

Pocketflops are foldable flip flops for women that are made with 95% recycled tire rubber and come in a carrying case made of either recycled or organic fabric. Their durability and thin design make them ideal for yoga bags, purses and backpacks.

Check out the other designs at Floc Designs.

Posted by thuy

Michelle O Inspired Cupcakes

I’ve been loving me some cupcakes lately. When I saw these around Earth Day, I automatically thought of Michelle Obama’s influence on organic home gardening. Peep the recipe on Woman’s Day

Garden patch cakelet pan. Makes 20 veggie cakes that you can place on a dirt garden thats actually a pan of brownies. Williams Sonama

Posted by thuy

The 2nd Annual Wilshire Center Earth Day / Car Free Day

The 2nd Annual Wilshire Center Earth Day / Car Free Day this Wednesday, April 22, 2009 from 11AM-2PM at 3700 Wilshire Blvd.

• FREE Electronic Waste Recycling
  Bring your old TV, computer, monitors and other electronics to be recycled for FREE!
• We will host a farmers market featuring organic and locally grown produce.
• The Mayor’s Million Trees Initiative along with KYCC will be giving out over 200 fruit trees.
• There will be NO street closures. Wilshire Blvd and all adjacent streets will remain open.
  The entire event will take place at 3700 Wilshie Blvd. on the grass lawn between Oxford and Serrano.
• To learn more go to: http://www.wilshirecenter.com/earthday

Kanye X Guru

Guru energy drinks are organic, low in calories and 100% natural.

I would have never guessed it but apparently Kanye is going to be creating his very own flavor for the brand.

From Kanye’s press release: “I express myself through music, fashion, art, and design, and that’s why I am excited to collaborate with Guru; because the brand values what I value, and I can put what inspires me into this new product.”

ALL I WANT TO KNOW IS, IF I DRINK THIS, WILL IT MAKE ME WANT TO EXPRESS MYSELF IN ALL CAPS LIKE KANYE?

Grist via Pitchfork News

Posted by thuy

What’s The 411?

Obama in the doghouse: WH pup coming soon and he isn’t a rescue. Obama Dog Blog

Still got love for him. The big O getting 17,000 hybrids for his government posse. Swoon. Washington Post

Mmm. It’s that pesticide flavor that taste so damn good in Mickey D’s fries. Daily Green

5 million w/o water for 36 hrs in Mexico City. Learning to reserve water the hard way. Eco Worldly

Posted by thuy

Propr

It’s nice to see that even despite these times we’re in, people are still moving forward and dropping eco-friendly lines. But these aren’t just any ol’ people. Nope, it’s David Arquette, Ben Harper and David Bedwell (former Penguin vice president,) debuting their new line, Propr, their mostly organic new line for women and men.

I saw two dresses I would rock so that’s a good thing.

Here’s an invite for a viewing of the spring collection, this Friday night at My House. Enjoy!

Posted by Thuy

GG&S Styles Coco Eco Magazine

Jen and I styled our first eco-friendly photo shoot for Coco Eco Magazine. Our subject was the stunning supermodel Josie Maran, who also has her own makeup line out that features organic ingredients and is free of fragrance, parabens, and petrochemicals. www.josiemarancosmetics.com

We pulled from Mr. Larkin, Elena Garcia and Puridee . We fell in love with the entire wardrobe, especially the pieces that were made of milk fibers.

You must visit www.cocoecomag.com. It’s a paperless online magazine, it’s free and it’s pretty bad ass as far as “green” publications go.

Congrats Anna on another great issue. Already looking forward to the next.

Posted by thuy & jen

Isn’t She Lovely?

About two dozen elementary school students helped first lady Michelle Obama break ground on the first day of spring for a garden on the White House grounds.

The 1,100-square-foot garden, the first of its kind since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden during World War II, will grow dozens of vegetables, berries and herbs.

The collection of crops, a wish list from White House kitchen staff, will include lettuces, squash, fennel, rhubarb, cucumbers and sweet and hot peppers. White House chefs will use the produce to prepare meals for the family and for official functions, and some of the produce will be donated to Miriam’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen near the White House.

There will also be a beehive.

“We’re going to try to make our own honey here as well,” Obama told the fifth-graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington before they got to work on Friday.

The students will be brought back to the White House next month to help with the planting, and after that to help harvest and cook some of the produce in the mansion’s kitchen. The first harvest is expected by late April.

With the garden, Obama initiated a public campaign to help Americans better understand where their food comes from.

I think I’ve made it clear how I feel about Obama, but just to let ya’ll in on a lil’ secret, I crush on Michelle too.

Picture Win McNamee

Source Kansas City Star

Posted by thuy

Green Tip: Buy Organic

It’s common sense; organic food is good food. Good to eat, good for the environment, good for the small-scale farmers and farm workers who produce it. By the year 2000, the USDA estimates that half of all U.S. farm products will come from only 1% of the farms. The EPA says that agriculture is responsible for 70% of the pollution to the country’s rivers and streams caused by chemicals, erosion, and animal waste runoff. Organic farming may be one of the last ways to keep both ecosystems and rural communities healthy and alive.

Organic food doesn’t contain toxins like pesticides, heavy metals, dangerous industrial chemicals (for example, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives). And everything in it is natural: it’s real food, not “Frankenfood” created in a laboratory for profit regardless of the fact that genetically modified, synthetic foods have massive, well-known health hazards

Posted by thuy

Drunk In Public

I’ll take what they’re having. And make mine a double! These are pretty much the same steps I go through when spending a night out on the town.

1. Gorge on boozin’.
2. Strut and sway.
3. Stumble into bed.
4. 5 a.m. walk of shame.
5. Spend the next day suffering.

Hey at least their sauce is natural, local and organic.

Posted by thuy

Organic Cotton At H&M

We’ve been seeing more organic cotton available at H&M lately and that is a good thing. Read more about their environmental work here.

Posted by thuy

Organic Cotton Is The New Black!

Love the Skin You Are In

“Product junkie” doesn’t even begin to explain the obsession I have with all things that you can lube and lather all over your skin (keep your minds out of the gutter). I am a girlie girl to the fullest, so you can imagine what my makeup bag and vanity cabinet looks like. If it was invented and it smells good… then I own it. This obsession, however, is certainly not jibing with my newfound commitment to REDUCE, plus it’s been taking it’s toll on my pocketbook as well.

My new commitment is to donate the products I can’t use, to friends who are more than happy to give my sloppy seconds a new home. I’ve also made a promise to not buy any new products until I’ve finished every last drop of the ones I currently own, and then it’s strictly natural, eco-friendly products from here on out… Goodbye $225 La Mer face cream (yes I really spent that much on a 2 ounce pot).. hello Whole Foods Natural Beauty section…

Posted by jen