When Guayaki stepped up and claimed that they are now offering the world’s first Fair Trade Certified yerba mate’, I thought “Really? Are they really the first?” With so many mate’ brands out there, I thought surely there must be others. But after Googling around a bit, it seems that yes, indeed, Guayaki is it.

Your first question perhaps: What is yerba mate? It’s Argentina’s national tea and comes from a shrub, actually a relative of holly, that grows in subtropical South America. …

Does reducing water pollution mean dried-on crust on your dishes? It does if you ask some residents of Spokane, Washington, who are defying last July’s ban on selling phosphate-containing dishwasher detergents like Cascade and Electrasol.

The move was aimed at greening the area’s rivers and lake which often have algae build up as a result of the phosphates. The cleaning agents may cut through grease but it’s hard to break them down in wastewater treatment plants. The algae hogs the oxygen in the water that fish need to survive.

According to the …

Menswear inspired eco suit jackets? Heck yeah!

But I’m not talking Miami Vice pastels, I’m talking the tailored and the rocker – definitely a worthy wardrobe staple you should be considering.

Why? Because it’s a versatile piece that will always be there for you at the office, for cocktail parties or late night at the underground bar you’ve always wanted to go to but couldn’t because you didn’t have the right suit jacket.

Of course.

In fact, I not only want a black suit jacket, I want the

…

There are two ways to persuade people that fossil-fueled cars are a blight. The popular method is to offer alternatives while suggesting why you “really shouldn’t” . And then there’s the other way.

Last week, TechCrunch ran an article suggesting that California was going to ban black cars because they soak up the most heat. The Washington Post got hold of it, then Rush Limbaugh added fuel to the flames (most unlike him, I know)  by advising listeners to buy up black cars before they became …

A unique alternative to a duvet cover, the Kalamkari bedding accents will add a trendy touch without making your sleep spot too busy.

Created by skilled craftsmen employing a centuries-old Indian tradition comprised of 15 painstaking steps, this chic set takes 40 days in the making. Talented artisans use specially carved teak tools to hand-press a myriad of elaborate designs onto sun-bleached organic cotton with all-natural dyes. So, not only will your bed be modish and green, it will be infused with culture as well. (On sale at …

In the worldwide struggle to get clean water to those in need, it’s people who are the biggest problem.

That’s the conclusion of the World Water Forum, which met this month in Istanbul to examine global water supply problems and offer suggestions to world governments. At the Forum, the United Nations published their summary of the state of world water supplies. In a word – mismanaged. The summary pointed toward the lack of international cooperation, the often unbalanced allocation between commercial, food-producing and domestic supplies and, in particular, the absence of …

Curiously, the most esteemed and luxurious material of the past several millennia is one created by caterpillars. It is the fate of these caterpillars, or silkworms, that has animal rights organizations concerned. Many thousands of silkworms are killed in the processing of just one pound of silk; if any two or four-legged creature were involved this would be considered outright cruelty.

Somehow the situation is less clear when it involves the lowly worm – albeit cute worms that eventually become moths and fly freely. Becoming more curious about the origins of …

I’ve always shied away from art that’s hidden away in cold galleries. Rather, I want to see art that is spontaneous, context-driven and made by the imaginations of people like you and me. Learning To Love You More is a website that’s done just that.

Artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher have posted open-ended artistic assignments online and anybody can choose one (or more), do the work and post their outcome online.

Paintings, photographs, poetry, video – all forms of media are there, and the results have come from everyone, …