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!