what's wrong with wool

So by now we know not to EAT meat and definitely not to WEAR fur or leather (gross) but what about wool? This seems to be fuzzy (pun intended) topic because many people think that the sheep are simply given a "hair cut" every now by a nice shepherd which is then woven into a little sweater by someone's grandma. Well, sorry to break it to ya, but not only are most of the sheep raised in horrific living conditions, non-organic sheep's wool is dowsed in harmful (to us and the sheep) chemical pesticides and insecticides. In addition, one of the world's largest sources of wool, Australian merino wool, practices a technique called mueling- essentially cutting off chunks of flesh to ensure the greatest wool output. When the sheeps are no longer needed/ usable for wool production, they are shipped of for slaughter. This is all illustrated nicely in this video by PETA narrated by Pink:

While organic wool seems like a great alternative to conventional, it unfortunately comes with a heafty price tag and isn't nearly as widely available. I'm still a firm believer that second-hand is the most eco way to go because you don't have to factor in the impact of production, packaging, shipping etc. let alone labor practices and inhumane treatment of animals. One eco-company that I'd like to highlight is Vaute Couture. Created by Leanne Mai-Ly Hilgart, these gorgeous coats are artfully made out of inovative fabrics such as recycled soybean pod fibers! I'm still always on the lookout for ways to stay warm without harming animals or the environment.

What are your thoughts on wool?

the new MEAT in my life...

I started my new internship at VERAMEAT today. Here's a little but about the company taken from their website:

Each piece of VERAMEAT jewelry mirrors a self-sufficient life form with a sculptural presence. Hand-crafted in New York City from such fine materials as ecologically sound recycled silver and pure 14k gold, VERAMEAT designs are artfully refined contemporary heirlooms to inspire your own individual flair.

VERAMEAT is Vera Balyura, a teller of winding tales in search of the extraordinary. Born in Ukraine, she recalls woodcarving with her grandfather, horseback riding in Utah & moving to New York to be a high fashion model all before the age of 14. Each design reflects a personal (yet universal) inspiration—from traveling the world, making music, maritime ny sagas, botanical structures of light, futuristic visions of rogue spacemen in beer, and before history.

VERAMEAT’s collection is characterized by richly articulate surfaces, wearability, and subtle details exacted with precision inherited from her grandmother, a surgeon. The repertoire is playful and ferocious: Hearts stitched by hand into Godzilla Robot’s gilded circuit board show he has love; A Deathly Beautiful Ballad keeps vigil reinventing your finger; Dinosaurs devour fried chicken yum; When Knight in Shining Armor bumps against your heart, you’ve made a friend for life.

I'm doing typical intern-y stuff like putting together orders to ship out and bookkeeping what not but Vera is super chill and cute and so is her little doggie Fred (who is a girl!) We talked a bunch about how she started her company, the industry etc. while I packed up jewelry in boxes. I already want to buy so many of her pieces but even after my employee discount I think I will be broke if I don't narrow it down to one or two things. I'm going in again tomorrow because there is a lot to be done between all the holiday orders and preparing for the biggest shipment yet---to Urban Outfitters! Huge! I'm really excited to be jumpin' on the band wagon with such an awesome company that is obviously going places while staying conscious of it's impact on industry workers and the environment.

November Linky-Links

Today is America Recycles Day! Woo. Even though I am not in America, I would like to celebrate by noting some dope recycled things out there

-these bangles made out of recycled newspaper are real cute. and they're made in Brooklyn!

-I recently discovered and quickly became obsessed with Osborn handcrafted shoes. They started to ditch leather soles use recycled rubber tires aka also vegan! yeeee!

-Genius! Jar tops that allow you to transform your old jars into real kitchenware. So futuristic.

-Bodkin often uses vintage or salvaged textiles in combination with other eco-fabrics like organic cotton. I was totally blown away by the hand-dyed cotton pieces in their Autumn/ Winter 2010 collection. Check out the laundry list of natural items used to make the dye!!

-8 ways to reuse a t-shirt. dope!

-"Just because it's a green shoe doesn't mean it has to look like an Earth shoe or Birkenstock." True that. And if you don't already agree, check out these awesome shoes by Olsenhaus made out of recycled T.V. screens.

in other eco news...

-The Free People blog is has a ton of great diy projects, like this diy dream catcher. Who would have thought to use it for anything besides catching your dreams?

-VOTE for your favorite eco-fashion designer

-The Rise of the Power Vegans:Steve Wynn, Russell Simmons, Bill Clinton and a comparable cast of heavies are now using tempeh to assert their superiority. A look at what gives.

-The only reason I an excited to return to cold weather: new vegan boots!

-Food as art: art as food.

-Why you should bake with weed!

-A look at fashion industry labor regulations- or should I say not-so-regulations?

Oh, and couldn't leave out these gems...

-Four Loko banned in New York. Probably a good thing?

-The Sabbath Manifesto:designed to slow down lives in an increasingly hectic world. So jumpin on the band wagon on this one!

-50 reasons to be pretty damn euphoric you live in New York City.

Happy September Linky-Links 9/2

In honor of the September issues hitting the stands (or should I say "having already hit"-excuse me, I'm on Ghanaian time...) this collection of Linky-Links are strictly about fashionnn!

• When cheap clothes just aren't worth the costs
• What makes $500 brand name sunglasses better than $10 drug-store sunglasses? Or what do they have in common?

• Holy Crap: Stick-On Fart Neutralizers Are Things That Exist
• J Brand launches Green Label: Their newest line made with 100% organic cotton and uses vegetable dyes!! and check out their green tips!
• Third world factories – and their employees – are being overwhelmed by the demands of western fast fashion **wayy longer post on this to come
• Though nearly identical to TOMS in appearance, the Working World’s alpargatas come with a feel-good back-story all their own.
• Etsy Spree: If I stumbled upon a large sum of cash, I would buy these, although I'm skeptical about the whole mosquito net thing...these boots are pretty much and embodiment of all things me...who says your eco-friendly travel mug can't make a fashion statement?