News Room : Archives : July 2010

Eco Friendly Clothes Shopping – Verdessence

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

A topic covered often here on The Chic Ecologist are brands and stores which carry eco friendly clothing. Based in Chicago, Verdessence is an on-line retailer opened by Lauren McGinty and Michael McCarthy out of a desire to promote positive change in the world. They were kind enough to send me an item from one of the many eco-friendly brands they carry, a sustainable hoodie by Edun (and no, that is not me in the picture).

Edun is probably best know by its celebrity co-founder, Bono from the band U2. Edun is a socially conscious clothing company launched in spring 2005 by Ali Hewson and Bono with a mission is to create beautiful clothing while fostering sustainable employment in developing areas of the world, particularly Africa.

The hoodie I received was made in Africa (Madagascar to be exact) by sustainable and recycled elements like wool, polyamide, cashmere, and PBT. It has a very modern fitted look and is top notch quality, as I would expect with all the brands Verdessence carries.

I actually initially ordered the Sameunderneath hooded coat (which was brilliant by the way), but I indicated the wrong size. The return/exchange process was very quick and easy making it painless to get a really great item. Verdessence adheres to sustainable values and makes sure that each of their products falls within at least one of the following guidelines:

• Organic – grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers.
• Recycled/Reclaimed/Repurposed – made from existing materials and/or products.
• Natural – made from non-synthetic, non-toxic materials found in nature.
• Sustainable – fabrics or materials made from easily renewable resources.  Some of these include bamboo, Tencel, Modal, and hemp.
• Fair Trade – obtained from sources where fair labor practices are in place, sweat-shop free.
• Handmade – factory free, made without producing toxic fumes and without draining valuable resources.
• Energy Efficient – resulting in a reduction of the energy used for a given energy source

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Eco Friendly Clothes Shopping – Verdessence

“Living Goods” Barcode App Makes Buying Local a Breeze

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

How many miles did your lunch travel to get to your plate? Even if we eat organic and fresh, most of us don’t know the origin of our produce, meats and dairy, and we often fail to realize that our food probably spends more hours in transit than we do getting to work. One of 18 Greener Gadgets finalists , the AUG/Living Goods Program is a conceptual mobile phone app that scans product barcodes and then instantly gives the low-down on the producer, how far the food has come, if the product is in season, historical pricing, detailed consumer ratings and your own purchasing history

The AUG/Living Goods Program aims to promote the localization of “live foods” via a barcode-accessible “Producers” directory. One of its primary goals is to show consumers their local impact every time they make a purchase. Connection is a snap, since consumers can receive all the pertinent info via a smart phone or even through SMS.

The benefits are clear: buying local food reduces our carbon footprint, ensures higher nutritional values, and re-infuses money back into the local economy. Moreover, for the farmer, partaking in the program allows them to market their farming methods (e.g. no pesticides, specialization in certain veggies, etc.) and develop stronger relationships with their distributors and most importantly their consumers.

Providing access to local farm information

Original Post by Diane Pham, Inhabitat

Eco-Friendly Bark Shingles Home Siding

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

Thinking about re-siding your home? Take a look at this eco alternative. Just like a trees own weather proofing, these bark shingles insulate, protect, and are virtually maintenance free. It is made up of tulip tree bark waste from timber operations that would otherwise get burned, mulched, or left to rot.

Lasting up to 75 years, renewable, sustainably harvested and containing no chemicals, it is quite possibly the greenest siding on the market today. The textured look only adds to its appearance and acoustic properties, blocking out sounds much like another bark, cork.

Bark shingles are nothing new- dating back millenniums in some societies, it first appeared in 1895 made from American chestnut trees in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Some hand-trimmed slabs of two-inch-thick chestnut bark still exist today, untreated and in their original state in the resort community of Linville, N.C. Chestnut blight wiped out the main source of bark in the early 20th century making the practice all but extinct, but the resurgence of bark shingles today are made from Poplar.

Installation is a bit more complicated and expensive than traditional cedar shingles, so be sure to consult an expert. Check out more examples of building with bark and uses from Barkhouse.com.

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Eco-Friendly Bark Shingles Home Siding