stylish

November 15, 2010

PACT: Eco-Friendly Undies for Your…Umm…Sensitive Areas

The one person in our family who regularly gets new clothes is my daughter — and that’s mostly because she outgrows stuff so fast. But every once in a while, it would be nice if my husband and I can treat ourselves. If that “treat” also happens to involve something we’ll regularly need anyway, all the better.

Pact organic cotton undies are NOT your mother’s underwear. When I was a kid, I used to dread opening a gift box on Christmas morning to find some family member had given me underwear. If I opened a box containing these underwear, I’d be really happy about it! They are bold, graphic and anything but boring. Even the solid colors are vibrant, in shades like purple and blue.

The women’s undies are available in a variety of styles, including bikinis, boy shorts and thongs. The men’s undies are available in boxers, trunks and boxer briefs. And beyond the fact that these are made of organic cotton, each pair is inspired by a social or environmental cause. For example, the Green Belt collection is inspired by The Green Belt Movement, which was founded by environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Wangari Maathai in 1977. It began as a grassroots tree-planting program aimed at addressing environmental damage, but since has evolved into a vehicle for empowering women, advocating for human rights and supporting peaceful democratic change. To date, more than 40 million trees have been planted throughout Africa.

What’s not to love?

Why It’s Green:

Made of organic cotton
Shipped in a compostable envelope
10% of every sale goes to our Pact’s non-profit partners

Price: $18-25/ea.; $44-66/gift set

Pact is featured in the Green Your Decor Green Gift Guide. Looking for more gift ideas? Check it out now!

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September 1, 2009

When Simple Shoes Go on Sale, I Take Notice

While it’s getting easier and easier to find organic cotton t-shirts or restyled vintage clothing, when it comes to shoes, sustainability can be hard to achieve. We can go for vegan looks, but those are usually made with toxic leather substitutes like vinyl. Simple Shoes is one of very few companies I can buy from without wondering what their shoes are made of and what their environmental record looks like.

So when Simple has a huge sale like this one, with some items as low as $4.90, I jump at the chance to buy the necessities.

Particular for my daughter, whose feet grow like weeds, I can’t really wrap my mind around paying a premium for shoes that probably won’t fit her in a few months. With clearance like this, I don’t have to sacrifice my green values just to save some money. The kids’ GT Janie in Nile green is on sale for just $8.90. And as you might imagine, my daughter does have some green in her closet (thanks to my love for Earth-themed t-shirts).

For myself, I’ve been looking for a pair of stylish, but comfortable red flats that can be dressed up or down. So I consider myself extremely lucky to have found the women’s Entire-Silk flats for just $14.90, on sale from $55. The peep toe makes this shoe cute enough to wear with a business casual outfit.

There are some affordable options for men too, so for less than $50, I can outfit the entire family with eco-friendly shoes I can feel good about buying. There’s even an eco-friendly laptop sleeve for just $4.90. Sounds like a great deal to me. I’m getting one for my HP DV2.

Why It’s Green:

Simple Shoes are made with sustainable materials like organic cotton, recycled rubber, hemp, recycled PET plastic bottles, wool, coconut husks and 100% post consumer paper pulp
Packaged in post-consumer recycled boxes or sustainable jute bags

Price: $4.90-69.90 on sale (majority cost $19.90 or less). Search for the word “sale” (aff)

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August 21, 2009

Just Give Me a Mohop: One Shoe You Wear Infinite Ways

I may not be a fan of shopping for clothes these days, but shoe shopping is second only to buying a new purse. I know, I know. Overconsumerism. I need to stop it. But I will definitely make an exception for a pair of Mohop shoes. Not because I want them so badly (though that is definitely a part of it), but because with one pair, you literally gain infinite styling possibilities.

Mohop creator Annie Mohaupt makes the wooden shoe bases by hand in her Chicago studio. She uses sustainably-harvested wooden cores, topped with select veneers, and the rubber soles are made of recycled tires. All these parts are pressed together on molds that she designs herself. And since I first discovered Mohop late last year, Annie has added a new treat: she now screenprints her own original graphics onto the bed of each of the shoes.

So how do you wind up with infinite styles from a shoe with such simple beginnings? Well, first you select a base: either low-, mid- or high-heel, in one of three colors. You can even select a square, round or pointy toe shape. And each pair of Mohop shoes comes with 5 sets of ribbons. This is where the magic happens. With a little creativity, you can literally make a shoe that looks any way you want in any color you want, just by switching out the ribbons.

Don’t believe me? All the beauties shown above are Mohop shoe bases styled in different ways. And you can see many, many more possibilities in Mohop’s photo gallery. I’m breathless! And I want a pair. Like now.

They are admittedly a bit pricey, though realistically, they only cost a fraction of what traditional (read: not green) designer shoes cost. When you can wear one pair of shoes this many ways, and you know that they are handmade in the U.S. by an environmentally conscious artisan, they are more than worth the price. Given the current 6-8 week waiting list for shipment, I’d say that lots of other women agree with me.

If you don’t want to wait, you can also shop the Mohop Etsy shop for some ready-made styles. And I believe I know where my next $150 will be spent.

Why It’s Green:

Handmade in Chicago, IL
Wood is sourced from sustainably-managed forests in the U.S.
Soles made from recycled rubber

Price: $136-148; prices start at $90 for ready-made pairs on Etsy

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August 13, 2009

Bagonia’s Busy Bag is for Women on the Go, Like Me

If there’s any one word that accurately describes my life, it’s “busy.” Between my two blogs and my graphic design business, my 4-year-old and my husband, there is very little down time in my life. So when I stumbled upon Bagonia’s Busy Bag, I was more than a little intrigued.

I’ve told you that I’m addicted to purses, and I wasn’t kidding. But because we’re trying to live a simpler lifestyle and pare down our belonging to the essentials, I recently decided to part with the purses I rarely use. They will either be sold at our yard sale or be donated to a local thrift store, which benefits a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence. I’ve also been looking for a single bag that can meet most, if not all, of my needs. I tend to switch purses a lot, based on my outfit, how much I need to carry, etc. The Busy Bag would certainly simplify things for me.

It is made of vegan leather, vegan suede and reclaimed fabric and has a super-organized interior with compartments for everything. These days, I find myself attached to my iPhone and my new DV2 laptop from HP, and it would be great to put them all in one bag. And I can’t tell you how much time I usually spend hunting through my purses for my keys, or my cell phone, or a pen or whatever. Separate, purposeful compartments and pouches for each of these things would save me an immense amount of time.

To make it even more unique and desirable, the Busy Bag has a hidden compartment in the back that contains three reusable shopping bags. I have a stash of reusable bags, but most are too big to fit in my purse, so I usually carry either my Chico bag or my RuMe bag because they each fold into their own pouch. Having a purse that comes with multiple bags and has a special place for any I might want to add would keep me be a huge plus that would keep me from forgetting them at home.

The Busy Bag is available in two styles: bow & ribbon, shown at top. Bagonia has a bunch of other great styles too, so check out all of them. If you covet them as much as I do, you’ll be happy to hear that Bagonia is working on a new line of products that will launch soon. I can’t wait to share them with you!

Why It’s Green:

Designed and made in the U.S.
Made of vegan leather, vegan suede and reclaimed fabric
Contains reusable shopping bags

Price: $225

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August 2, 2009

Bag-Nista? These Green Purses will Make You Drool

Want to see the obsessed consumer in me come out? Put me in front of a rack of beautiful purses. In the days before I become a much more conscious shopper, I practically lived at TJ Maxx. Racks upon racks of designer clothes at steep discounts? Every day? I thought I was in heaven.

These days, it’s pretty rare for me to walk through the discount retailer’s doors. But when I do…it’s a challenge for me to walk past the purse department without finding at least 1 (or 5) I just can’t live without. So I’m thankful that my constant search for gorgeous eco-friendly finds often leads me to beautiful handbags that won’t leave me with a crisis of conscience. In this case, I also won’t have to break my pockets either.

These beautiful printed bags from Overland are an eco-diva’s dream come true. They are incredibly green in terms of materials, though I do wonder where they were made. Just as important, however, they are drop dead gorgeous! I’ve always been a fan of the combination of chocolate brown and just about any other vivid color. The green, nature-inspired pattern used on these purses makes me want to pull out my debit card right now!

I promise I’ll try to restrain myself, but I make no guarantees I’ll succeed