The Andean Collection - socially conscious jewelery

Being a real Brazil lover, I absolutely adore the 'Tigela de Açaí com granola e banana'. Every day I wake up in Rio, I walk down the road to the typical juice bars and have a super healthy fruit ice-shake with banana & grains for breakfast (yes, I know it has a LOT of sugar, but isn't it impossible to resist...?).

Today I found out about another side of the Açaí fruit, incorporated in the US based brand The Andean Collection. I was very much surprised that the cascades of the açaí fruit could be used for jewelery, like beautiful necklace & bracelet sets! The cascades of açaí seeds are hand dyed with vibrant colors and make a gorgeous statement. Perfect for day or evening wear.

Fair Trade & sustainable harvest at rain forest:
All seeds are sustainably harvested from the rainforests and lowlands of South America (Ecuador). The commercialization of these seeds helps to ensure the survival of the world’s rain forests by providing an alternative income for its inhabitants rather than logging or selling their land to destructive industries. Through a very manual process, seeds are transformed into beads with gorgeous natural irregularities, both in color and form, which truly makes each piece one of a kind.

Hapiness comes from Experiences!

Here I am again, today I'm in my spread the word-mood...
Just read the info about a recently published study and you will know why!

Psychologists at Cornell University found out that 'experiences', such as vacations or a nice cup of coffee at a sunny terrace, are more rewarding than 'things'. The research showed that people tend to evaluate their happiness by comparing themselves with others. Comparing a product is easily done, fact is that your newly bought jeans instantly seems less interesting when you see an more beautiful jeans worn by a friend or colleague. But the experience of a sunny terrace is nearly incomparable.
Also good to know: with the quest for this happiness experiences, you do not need to make any waste!

Thomas Gilovich, one of study authors explains at The Guru: "If you go on a hiking trip, and the weather is terrible, you might not view it as a pleasurable experience in the here and now. Instead, you may view it as a challenge, and over time remember the positive aspects of the experience more than the negative aspects. With material things you can't do this, because they are what they are."

Owh yes!
Off I go to my yoga class to invest in my Monday Evening Happiness...

Charming Fair Trade Fashion - Bíbico

Every time I find a beautiful fair trade fashion brand I find it another relieve. It is as if a ray of sunlight touches your face and makes you smile instantly. Yes, there are are a lot of fair trade fashion treasures out there, you just have to encounter them...

That is why I want to start this day spreading the word about Bíbico, a UK based, design-led fair trade clothing company that loves beautiful, simple, charming clothes. I picked out the Brittania Blouse, with anglaise panel & pop-up buttons. It is hand stitched and absolutely fair trade made in India. Perfect for the spring that finally decided to enter Europe. Enjoy!

New sustainable shoe-box by Puma Vision

Puma has recently released an agenda to incorporate long-term sustainability. Developing a shoebox replacement with the 'clever little bag' was the first step taken. This sustainable packaging was designed by Yves Behar of Fuseproject. He and the Puma team spent 21 months coming up with a shoebox replacement. The new bag is going to save save 8500 tons of paper and 1 million liters of water.

Puma is also sponsoring a new exhibition at the Design Museum in London called Sustainable Future-Can Design Make a Difference? The exhibition explores cool things like the world's first carbon neutral city and a refrigerator that doubles as an aquarium.