It’s amazing to think that February 2009 marked the sixth season of London Fashion Week’s estethica showcase of ethical fashion. The initiative of the British Fashion Council (BFC) has become one of the hottest invites in town, and the enthusiasm perhaps mirrors the public’s current fascination with all things green and eco stylish. Some of our favorite designers exhibited at esthetica this past week – Ada Zanditon, Beyond Skin, Del Forte Denim, Elena Garcia, From Somewhere, Izzy Lane, Junky Styling, Marc Lui, NOIR, and Veja - to name a few. Eco fashion is edging its way into the lexicon of fashion forwardness in ways that are becoming truly synonymous with chic, timeless style. The folks at BFC and estethica are definitely working hard to insure that each season’s runways and the lifecycle of our clothes extend a long way into the future.
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Original post by blogs@bobvila.com (Dave)

While our designs can never control people, they can encourage good behavior and discourage bad. In this excerpt from Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web 2nd Edition, Christina Wodtke tells us how to make products that delight people and change their lives by remembering the social in social architecture.

Original post by nospam@example.com (Christina Wodtke)

Filed under: News, Polit-eco, Plants and Wildlife

The woman who wears a polar bear lapel pin is at it again. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has announced intentions to sue the federal government for protecting the Cook’s Inlet beluga whale and its habitat.

You see, the beluga whale in Cook’s Inlet has been listed as an endangered species. It’s population has dropped from over 1,000 in the 1980s to just 375 today. The beluga in this region is genetically distinct from other belugas, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s unclear why the population has dropped so drastically, though hunting had been one cause, and there is the small fact of the oil and natural gas industry’s still has the right to pump toxic waste into the bay.

The Bush Administration actually put the whale under the Endangered Species Act protection. Palin disagreed with the decision then, and in her state of the state this year she said the federal government was, “misusing the Endangered Species Act … to impose environmental policies that should be debated and approved legislatively, not by court order or bureaucratic decree.”

The real concern seems to be that protecting the whales is one step away from protecting the Inlet. That would limit commercial development in one of Alaska’s population centers. It could also force oil companies to clean up their own environmental act when it comes to Cook’s. As scientists study the whales more they will also look at how the loss of the beluga could hurt the rest of the ecosystem in the Inlet. That would likely strengthen their case for limiting what goes in and around the area.

It’s not something Sarah Palin is happy about, but it’s also not something she’s likely to win on. The Obama administration’s EPA is even less likely to side with her than the Bush Administration’s.

[via Salon]

Sarah Palin Is After the Endangered Beluga Whale originally appeared on Green Daily on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:35:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by blogs@bobvila.com (Dave)

Filed under: Food, Tips

This is my own, non-scientific opinion, but I think brewing your own beer can be eco-friendly. Let’s think about the process.

You can collect glass beer bottles at home and from friends, or even pick up a few at the recycling center, sterilize them and reuse them over and over, getting much more than just one use from them before they are recycled.

Beer, like wine, in glass bottles, is heavy and is transported across the country and around the world on a regular basis. If you make it at home, it is transported from the fridge to the couch - not a very big carbon footprint there!

If you really get into it, you can grow some of your own hops and grain to produce your beer, making it even more eco-friendly since the ingredients are being produced very locally.

So, it seems like making beer at home could be a relatively eco-friendly option. Even if you regularly buy beer in cans, you are still saving the transportation miles involved in shopping those cans all over the place.

There a nice beer-making tutorial over at The Simple Dollar that shows how home-brewing can be very cost effective as well. So, start collecting those beer bottles and look for some beer recipes.

Is Brewing Your Own Beer Eco-Friendly? originally appeared on Green Daily on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:03:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by blogs@bobvila.com (Dave)

Filed under: Fashion

I love the irony in the next statement — I have just found the most perfect vegan leather jacket ever. Yes, I said vegan and leather in the same sentence.

Most of the time faux leather is so horrible and plastic looking that it’s almost criminal to actually call it leather. But, Alpine Stars is selling a jacket that’s rock and roll enough to make the cut.

I love the irony in the next statement — I have just found the most perfect vegan leather jacket ever. Yes, I said vegan and leather in the same sentence.

Most of the time faux leather is so horrible and plastic looking that it’s almost criminal to actually call it leather. But, Alpine Stars is selling a jacket that’s rock and roll enough to make the cut.

The Perfect (Faux) Leather Jacket originally appeared on Green Daily on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:59:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by blogs@bobvila.com (Dave)