Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Venice Beach Eco-Fest

Come and join me for some fun in the sun at the Venice Beach Eco-Fest! See below flyer for details (please click on flyer to read better).

Monday, June 9, 2008

Beware of Eco Fakes!

So... I have a bone to pick with Target. In particular, with regards to Mossimo apparel at Target.

I was running out of toilet paper and other stuff so I trekked a block away to the eponymous super-store (I looove Target). As I passed one of the racks in the women's section which faced the main pathway across the registers, some colored hoodies caught my attention. Why? Because the screenprint on them looked very much like the screenprints that another label called Zooey is doing. Simple, 2-color prints, messages that had to do with the environment in simple fonts, often with an image of a butterfly silhouette, or the earth, etc. I thought Zooey, a contemporary brand, was doing exclusives for Target.

But to my surprise, as I came across the label, it wasn't Zooey. It was Mossimo.

Knock-offs happen in the garment industry all the time. This one is way too close and I'd be afraid if I were the peeps at Mossimo. And Target! But the the thing that rattled my green cage the most was the fact that these green-messaged hoodies (about 25 per color per arm of the rack) was NOT EVEN MADE OUT OF ORGANIC COTTON! It was made out of *regular* cotton. What hypocrisy!!!!! I think there should be some kind of law in the fashion world that says if you're going to preach green, you better freakin' be practicing it!!! I am sooo livid, you guys don't even understand.

As much as I love Target, I think I'm going to find someone who knows someone who works there to alert them. Either that or write to their customer service and complain. The sad reality of it is, they will probably be more concerned of the possible design counterfeiting of Zooey, but really they should be concerned more of what kind of product they are buying from hypocritical companies who want to make a buck out of the green "trend".

IT SHOULD NOT BE A TREND. IT SHOULD BE A LIFESTYLE.

Kudos for Target, though, for bringing in Rogan as a guest designer this past floorset in their designer exclusives. At least he did EVERYTHING in his line in sustainable or organic or fair trade goods. Meantime, don't buy Mossimo at Target. Write to them and complain to be more eco-responsible instead of eco-hypocritical!!!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

INHALING YOUR WASTE

Gasoline is approaching the $5.00 mark *fast*. But with all the whining, what are we really doing about it? The people who own some kind of stake in oil are laughing their way to the bank, and we make excuses and *still* painstakenly take it from the behind by *still* paying for it.

So I've been arranging my meetings and errands to only a few days a week, making sure everyone's schedule is in sync by area and time to minimize as much driving as possible. I CARPOOLED with a friend to another friend's birthday party last week, and this week I WALKED with another friend to catch a movie at the new Americana at Brand, a few blocks away from where I live. It was good exercise, and it was good for my wallet not have to driven and spend money on gas.

Meantime, what's a WORSE crisis, is the garbage problem in Naples, Italy. I just heard about it a few days ago.


Apparently in 1994 a state of emergency was declared by the city, as ALL the landfills in Naples were FULL. No one really did anything about it, or could do anything about it, because the garbage business was monopolized by the Italian mafia (and who could regulate or audit them if they didn't want to get killed or something?). It has since gotten out of hand.

Out of frustration, people started dumping in the streets, like a horrible scene from a movie:

Naples trash in streets (flckr)

Naples trash in streets (Time)

For the second time the Italian army has been called to help clear the streets. Naples made a deal with Germany and is dumping the trash in Germany's landfills instead, some of which contained radioactive material. The crisis is far from over. I believe they should implement not a bandaid problem of dumping their trash to someone else's backyard, but to find ways to recycle and urge their citizens to help sort and recycle as well. Then there needs to be some kind of campaign not only about recycling, but to *live eco-responsibly* (use less disposable items, bring their own reusable totes to stores when shopping, etc.). Plastic, depending on its composition, biodegrades between HUNDREDS to THOUSANDS of years!


A friend of mine who volunteered at a junior high school carnival wrote me about some kids who dumped trash to the ground. He told them to pick it up, and they merely said, "Somebody gets paid to do that for me." THIS makes me *FURIOUS*. I wish I had millions of dollars so I could send every loiterer, especially spoiled brats, along with the disrespectful adults, to live a year in Naples living and breathing the fumes of waste. It's just utterly disgusting that people don't care. To those who have kids, beware and take responsibility now!


IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT EACH AND EVERY HUMAN BEING RETHINKS THE WAY THEY DISPOSE OF THINGS. As much as possible, before I throw something away, or use something knowing that it will be thrown away, I decide whether I can recycle the item (washing disposable chopsticks for reuse, saving junkmail envelopes to catalogue receipts or use to send my invoices), or NOT to even use it to begin with (using real plates as opposed to paper plates, carrying a big tote bag to the grocery or at the mall to put stuff that I buy into it, instead of getting plastic/paper bags from the stores). I wish people would WAKE UP AND SMELL THE TRASH before it actually becomes a problem in their own backyard.


For more, go to: Grab your freakin' garbage!