Plakkies - the sustainable slipper hype from South Africa

Be aware: Plakkies, the South African word for slippers are meant to become the new flip flop trend this summer!

Students of the Technical University of Delft (the Netherlands) together with the KidsRights organization started a sustainable fabric of fashionable slippers in the slums of Durban, South Africa.

The slippers are made of 40% rubber and 60% old recycled tires. Plakkies mainly uses local commodities; the leather and rubber are both from South Africa. Only the cork is being imported from Portugal, as Plakkies hasn't found a similar local quality, which guarantees the comfort of the product.

All profits gained from the sales are refunded into KidsRights organisation, which helps orphan children. These children have actively helped developing the product by designing the arts of the slipper.

Awearness Fair Fahion Event 2009

Another interesting fair fashion event will be happening soon; this time in the Dutch fashion City Arnhem, during the Arnhem Fashion Biennale.

The Arnhem Fashion Biennale 2009 is internationally known for showing the latest trends
and in modern fashion. It is now the first time that the Biennale takes ‘sustainable fashion' as an important theme.

The Awearness Fair Fashion Show is the first fully sustainable catwalk show organized in the Netherlands. Put together by Joke Bom from fair fashion web shop watMooi, the show will be marked by prêt-a-porter, couture and arty designer clothes.
Brands shown on catwalk: Alchemist, Merunisha Moonilal, Studio Jux, Van Markoviec, Rianne de Witte, Marlon Borgschot and Hedwig Homoet.

You want to know how fashion made of soy, lyocell, bamboo, corn, pulp or even nettle looks like? This is the place to be.

When: June 28th
Where: the Eusebius church in Arnhem, the Netherlands
You can buy your tickets (10 Euro) here.
More info about the Awearness Fair Fashion Event you find here.

But that's not it...

Catwalk takshow and guerrillastore
After the fashion show, a catwalk talk show will be organized where a lively discussion is expected between key figures from the sustainable fashion industry and fashion retailers, fair fashion experts, politicians and other policy makers.

From June 29 June until July 4, the Awearness Fair Guerrillastore (Turfstraat 1a in Arnhem)
will be open to buy fair clothing, unique bags and accessories from recycled material. Young designers will turn old pieces of clothing into new, original pieces. Workshops will be given by writers club Loesje and the StoereVrouwen will be present to give sustainable shopping tips.

Well, I would say go there, enjoy and get inspired. Hope to meet you there.

A watch working liquid energy

Have you ever seen a watch that does not work with the use of batteries, adapters or wining up- systems? I had not either! But here it is: The water watch!
Without additional energy it works on the power of liquids, not necessarily water.
How? I have no clue, it might be a scientific simple solution. But hey, that's why I chose to write and spread the word! For sure it is a way to ban the apparently unhealthy electric devices out of your house.

Weight: 250 grams, size: 10 cm, 3,5 cm x 16 cm.
Until now I only found it at the Dutch Greenpeace webstore.

Stella McCartney on Green Lifestyle

“Why shouldn’t it be possible to adopt a more natural, organic lifestyle without forgoing luxury?” - Stella McCartney

Eco Luxury - Van Markoviec

Today I found out about a new Green Fashion Brand 'Van Markoviec', and I just loved it! Dreamy photographs, elegant yet classy casual styles, beautiful artwork and fashion you just want to grab and wear...

Everything is perfectly thought of and very much sustainable; Van Markoviec contributes to reduction of CO2 (e.g. production at short distance), they reduce waste production (reuse and recycle leftovers), only use certified textiles with natural nickel-free metal trimming and last but not least focus on transparency (cooperation with Fair Wair Foundation and all based on ILO standards).

The Dutch Brand 'Van Markoviec' aroused in 2005 as an initiative of fashionista Kasia Markowska and environmentalista Zazie Andziak. They met each other on the next green fashion level, aiming at a synergy between luxurious garments and clear eco philosophy,. The result was what they call 'Eco Luxury'.

Currently the collection is only available at the Van Markoviec store in Anhem (the Netherlands). Is this too far away? Have a look at this list of webshops:
WatMooi.nl
EcoChicShop
Ecotex
Some pieces of the earlier collections are available at:
Made In Ethic
Les Roseaux Sauvages

The Key - Event for Green Fashion & Sustainable Lifestye

thekey.to
International event for green fashion, sustainable lifestyle & culture
Berlin 1st - 4 th of july 2009

For all people who are looking for inspirational concepts and brands to green-up their lifestyle, you should not miss this event! But be aware: tickets are limited and you have to put some effort into receiving the key to enter the fair...

Thekey.to is the new international trade fair for green fashion and sustainable lifestyle in Berlin and showcases a selection of high quality, innovative fashion brands: on offer will be a vibrant mix of street styles and elegance, sustainable innovations and green trends, the newest green developments and most forward concepts.

Thekey.to presents brands, labels and designers that are all pioneers in creating sustainability in their production chain. Their innovative concepts and social business approaches are explorations in the ways in which future fashion can develop.

Green phoning with Samsung Blue Earth

In an attempt to help consumers be more eco-friendly, Samsung has come up with the Samsung Blue Earth, a pebble-shaped, solar-powered touch screen phone.

The Blue Earth is free from harmful substances such as beryllium and phthalates and is made from recycled plastic. A full solar charge of around 10 to 14 hours will provide enough power for around four hours of talk time. It also features a special “Eco Mode” that users can access with a single click to wring the maximum energy use from the device. Another function is the ‘eco walk’ that uses a built-in pedometer to show you how much walking, instead of driving, reduces CO2 emissions. The packaging is made from recycled paper and the charger uses less than 0.03W in standby mode.

I really can see myself sitting outside with this beautiful gimmick recharging at the sunny days. I hope that the cloudy rainy winters will be shiny enough to have the same effect... Yet I want to say, this is definitely a great green step forward in lifestyle products!

Alchemist Fashion at WatMooi.nl

Today I found another pearl in the Green Fashion industry, a sustainable label called 'Alchemist'.

Super feminine yet with a stunning simplicity, one piece is even more desirable than the other. The natural colors and fine materials give a fragile style, but targeted at the strong, decisive women. The mission of Alchemist: 'No thing or person is an isolated phenomenon. Chemistry only starts when different elements interact.'

According to myth and legend, alchemists were able to transform everyday, ordinary objects into something extraordinary and fantastic. They sought the formula to create gold.

Want to buy your own golden piece?
Have a look at the 100% fashionable and 100% green webshop watmooi.nl

Alchemist is connected to MADE-BY, who help expand the market for clothing manufactured in a sustainable manner. - By helping fashion brands clean up their production process. - By developing responsible production chains worldwide. - By giving consumers a wide choice among fashion products produced in a sustainable manner. More info: MADE-BY

Green Clubbing at Club Watt in Rotterdam

Completely out of energy after a night of clubbing? Rotterdam developed a way to use your 'wasted' energy during the night!

Watt is a eco-friendly club developed a dance floor that stores and re-uses the energy of the vibration created of the dancing crowd. But that's not it: Watt also uses 'minimum waste' bars with a focus on minimal waste of water, energy and materials. LED lights are used for the theatre light, which reduces the energy waste with 85%. The warmth of one rooms is re-used to heat the other and the ventilation is carefully regulated with rooftop units. The whole concept of Club Watt produces 30% less CO2 than usual clubs.

Watt has a city credible agenda and shows that night scene, commerce and sustainability can be perfectly combined. Still unique in the Netherlands, but this innovative project will be copied soon outside of the Dutch frontiers, that's for sure!

The longest rafting tour on earth

For my real adventurers I have a great tip: one week of rafting on Klarälven. Let yourself float along the stunning nature on a 110 km tour on the longest river of Klarälven (meaning 'clear water'). Step off your raft after 6 days and feel completely reborn!

Expect a week of complete peace and quietness, whilst you live day and night on 16m2. Think this may be boring? Just image yourself pushing your raft with a long wooden pole through the river, enjoying the virgin nature between Ransby and Edshärd (in the middle of Sweden). You might have elks, wolves and maybe a brown bear watching you from the sideline.

Got inspired and want more info? Have a look at Branäs Sverige Flotten

Let me know about your experiences!

Boho magazine about green fashion

Boho has been launched August 2008 and focuses on readers who love to look good and do good at the same time. The magazine covers topics such as green interior, fashion, beauty, travel and lifestyle and is beautifully designed exposing a wide range of very interesting and smart articles.

Boho looks good and does good itself as well: printed on 100% post-consumer waste, non glossy paper with natural soy ink. 'Soles4souls' is one of the charity events they are participating with, donating shoes to the needy.

You do not have to be a tree hugger to love Boho Magazine!
You feel like planting a seed? have a look at this wonderful poetry, it will inspire and make you happy.

Thank you Gina for this inspiring project!

Old billboards for new outdoor gear

Do you enjoy riding, surfing, skiing, boarding, biking, hiking, skating, climbing, running, walking, swimming...? Ever thought about the impact that the products you use for this sports have on the environment? For the outdoor freaks of Green Guru Gear this was the first concern and the first step in establishing this brand.

Being aware of the fact that thousands of billboards are produced annually with just a short period of use, they decided to recycle the colorful, strong and water resistant vinyl material to produce new outdoor gear. All purses and bags are beautiful 'on of a kinds', as no billboard piece is the same.

Definitely have a look at it: www.greengurugear.com

Vers sound system: refreshing sounds and beautiful design

Give your iPod and extra boost with the handmade sound system of the Vers!

This sound system is not just a jewel itself, the rich and clean sound are top of the bill.
The wooden walls of the cabinet are made of a rigid, environmentally friendly wood fiber material preferred by most high-end speaker manufacturers. Any trees that are harvested are replanted. In the end, the wood used in a Vers system replaces 80% of what could have been plastic.
But there is more: The Vers products use less energy compared to other sound systems and are produced with less to no toxic components.

Vers on sustainability: "In our view, no product is truly ‘green’. Any manufactured product requires energy and resources to produce, transport and operate through out their entire life cycle. While ‘green’ is the all-important guiding vision, ‘less brown’ are all of the 100’s of small steps made along the way that get you there."

Love that...

More info and sales: www.versaudio.com

How to grow your own fresh air...

Today I saw a short film of the remarkable speaker Makal Meattle (New Delhi) about how to grow your own fresh air.

After profound study he and his team discovered that just by using 3 different, very common plants in your house or building, you could provide yourself with enough natural fresh air to live. Even if you would find yourself is a closed bottle, you would still have enough oxigine to survive.

The natural life-saviours are the Oreca plant, the Mother-in-Law plant and the Money plant. Together they can cause amazing results: an increase of human productivity of 20% and a reduction of energy requirements in buildings by 15% because of no need of fresh air.
The importance of these kind of studies is clear, thinking about the 4% increase of energy requirements by the next decade, the fact that 40% of worldwide energy is used in buildings, 60 % of the worlds population will be living in buildings and there is a growing preference of working in airconditioned areas.

Thank you Makal Meattle!

See the full film on TED.COM using this link

A beautiful story

A beautiful story is a shop, or shall we call it a beautiful market, with a range of interesting products being either social or ecological produced. Each piece has a slightly different look, because it is based on true hand craft and often produced with recycled material.

The shop offers wonderful accessories (such as the so-called Lucky Bracelets made of re-used material, that brings fortune to you and the craftsmen in Nepal), bags and purses (such as the brand RagBag which are produced of gathered plastic and gives more than 60 rag pickers in New Delhi a job) and fashion items (as from the brand Rambler, with t-shirts made from and for homeless teens).

Just have a look around the website. For sure you do not know what to buy first, simply because all brands are worthy. From the inside and the outside...

eco friendly Yoga

As a huge fan of Yoga, I have to admit I never thought of using a eco-friendly mat. And I am ashamed of that...
Yoga is certainly not about getting body and mind in balance, whilst using products that ruin the worlds nature balance in the first place.

So all the yoga lovers out there, who are still thinking about buying a mat, have a look at www.yogashop.nl for the Eco Yoga Mat from the lovely label Love Generation.
The mat is 100% photodegradable, contains no heavy metal, is chlorine-, pcv- and latex free and hypoallegenic. The comfortable 6mm thick mat is available in different colours. Delevered with free carrying strap. Namaste!

Wonderful Dutch Fashion Webshop: watmooi.nl

Yes, I could't resist the bag as well... Said to be Oprahs favourite shopper... so hey!
Did you know by the way that we are consuming one million plastic bags a minute?! Who says I am a shopaholic?

To be honest, more interesting is where I bought it:
www.watmooi.nl, a lovely dutch webshop, is selling the most beautiful, elegant and fashionable clothes, bags, accassories. Of course all clthes have a positive background, some being ecological, others fairtrade.

And last but not least, watmooi.nl also sells ecofriendly GREEN STOCKINGS!!

Green Search System: Forestle.com

Just about finishing up my standard grid for this blog I received a notice from my brother about a new, great and green initiative: Forestle.com.
As for who believes in signs, that must have been one...

Forestle says: ''Save 0.1 yd² / 0.1 m² of rainforest with each search you do at Forestle. So far we have already saved over 206,122.9 yd² / 188.502,5 m² of rainforest!''

I saved the search system to my mac and it seems to work perfectly. As I have not used it to much I cannot tell you if the search results are as good as the other providers, but hey.... every time I search the web my day seems a little brighter. 0.1 yd2 per search!
Helping the climate change never has been that daily and easy.