Highlights from our event.

To kick off a green Fashion Week, EcoSalon was pleased to co-host a (Sustainable) Fashion’s Night Out party Thursday, September 8th in partnership with New York’s Textile Arts Center, Of Rags, and the New York City Fair Trade Coalition. Over 500 guests came by to nosh on raw, vegan brownies, swig delicious organic bubbles, talk eco fashion and check out new looks from some of New York’s rising green talent at the TAC’s new West Village location in Manhattan. We loved meeting with all the designers, artists, nonprofit folks, fair trade entrepreneurs and fashionistas in attendance.

Party goers also scooped up goodie bags and EcoSalon’s exclusive Feral Childe “Stop the Fashion Pirates” tee shirts, partial proceeds of which help to support Feral Childe, the indie brand currently embroiled in a lawsuit against Forever21. Scroll down to see some of the highlights of the event, which culminated after 10 p.m. in a surprise birthday celebration for Editor-in-Chief Sara Ost (who broke down in a shameless frenzy of gluten glory to eat at least two delicious frosting-topped cupcakes). Photo evidence, oh yes.

While we were all there to shop and support eco fashion and participate in Fashion’s Night Out, of course, these two editors have to say it: Damn if we don’t have some good looking’ readers. (Special thanks to stylish vegan man-about-town and EcoSalon’s favorite ethical raconteur Dan Mims for swinging by, as well.)

Jewelry and fiber designer Erin Considine and Textile Arts Center Co-Founder Owyn Ruck

Of Rags crew: Liz Westendorf, Liz Ricketts and Branson Skinner

Event guests mingle and talk eco-fashion

Knitwear designer Kaelyn Garcia, New York City Fair Trade Coalition’s Pamela Alimurung, Lori Imbesi, writer Alyssa Alimurung and Afia designer Meghan Sebold

EMpower’s Virginia Dooley

Designer Eliza Starbuck, EcoSalon Managing Editor Amy DuFault and EcoSalon Editor-in-Chief, Sara Ost

Our (Sustainable) Fashion’s Night Out bags were chock full of great goodies!

Nature vs. Future designer Nina Valenti and social media and marketing guru Camille Marchand

Designs by Feral Childe, Ohm-Mongo, and more

Kaelyn Garcia shows us knits are hot

EcoSalon Editor-in-Chief Sara Ost and writer and social media maven Alyssa Alimurung

Co-Founder and Editor of Green House of Fashion, Zanna Schumacher

Guests at our event were invited to cut the tags from their clothing and pin the tags to the corkboard. The Textile Arts Center will then trace the origin of their clothes, helping party attendants learn more about where their fashions come from.

Fashion writer and founder of Greta Guide and FASHIONmeGREEN, Greta Eagan

Designer Nina Valenti, Buddha Nose founder Amy Galper, RESTORE co-designer Celeste Lilore, Social Media expert and writer Anandi Premlall and the ever fabulous, RESTORE co-designer and mayor of New York, Anthony Lilore

Kestrel Jenkins, writer for Ecouterre and founder of Hoverstyle and Jill Danyelle, Occupational Therapist and founder of FiftyRX3

Erin Considine Jewelry

The feisty Eliza Starbuck ready for war wearing her exclusive Feral Childe for EcoSalon “Stop The Fashion Pirates” t-shirt

Shabd’s luxe maxi dress

Rachel Miller, Sustainable Fashion Professor at Pratt, Rhea Alexander, Founder and Designer of DIGS, DIGS architect Ali Soltani

Each designer provided an interactive statement for guests to learn more about the inspiration behind their brands.

Designers Meiling Chen and Eliza Starbuck

EcoSalon Managing Editor Amy DuFault and designer Nina Valenti

Exclusive Feral Childe for EcoSalon “Stop the Fashion Pirates” t-shirts

Source 4Style’s Elizabeth Cloyd and Afia Designer Meghan Sebold

The Textile Arts Center’s Manhattan Manager Addison Walz and TAC co-founder Owyn Ruck

Wool and the Gang takes knitwear to new heights

New York City Fair Trade Coalition’s Pamela Alimurung and DIG’s Rhea Alexander

Happy birthday to EcoSalon Editor-in-Chief Sara Ost!

Countdown to sugar high in 3, 2, 1…(please don’t tell Marketing Manager Anna Brones about the cupcakes).

EVENT Join EcoSalon and SF’s craziest cyclist at Swig next week for a good time, a good cause and a chance to win an iPad and other prizes!

By now, you’ve probably heard of the AIDS/LifeCycle: a 7-day, 545-mile bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, starting June 5. The 2500 riders who participate, in addition to riding thousands of miles to train for the event, also raise money to benefit the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

Join EcoSalon as we sponsor one (slightly crazy) Zach Morvant of San Francisco’s Anatomy Creative. Zach is joining the ride this year, but, wait for it…he is riding a single speed bike, otherwise known as a ‘track bike’. (For the uninitiated, that is a stripped-down, single-speed, fixed gear machine.) To train, he’s been rising with the sun to ride up Hawk Hill before work, and recently charged Mount Tam via Four Corners to East Peak (which is reportedly “the hard way”…we’ll take his word for it).

To reach his $3000 fundraising goal, Zach needs our help: he’s got $1500 to go.

Good cause? Good time? You know we are so there.

EcoSalon is proud to co-host an event this Tuesday, May 31st at San Francisco’s very own Swig. ‘The Last Mile Fundraiser’ will feature some coveted items for raffle as well as discounted drinks, and, of course, Zach. Your $20 donation at the door gets you two raffle tickets. Additional raffle tickets will be sold for $10 a piece. Bonus? Top shelf susty cocktails with Fair vodka will be poured for just $3.00. Limited quantity, so get there on time!

Raffle prizes include: An iPad, a bottle of biodynamic bubbly, fair trade vodka from Fair, a $75 gift certificate from our favorite eco fashion boutique, Ecocitizen, a $75 gift certificate from EcoSalon’s stylish sister company, eco-chic home goods retailer VivaTerra, Giants’ tickets and other surprises.

Who, what, when, where: Everyone (including you!), “The Last Mile Fundraiser”, May 31st, 2011 6-9 pm, Map

Mark your calendar – we’ll see you there, sister!

Thanks to our friends at Swig for their hospitality. Special thanks as well to @LA, Fair, VivaTerra and Ecocitizen. All donations are tax deductible and receipts will be provided.

EventAn Earth Day party hosted by EcoSalon and SF’s Bar Agricole.

For greenies and foodies alike in San Francisco, one of the best things to come out of 2010 was the launch of Bar Agricole, the gorgeous modern tavern in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. The all-star founding cast includes legendary mixologist Thad Vogler (Beretta), chef Brandon Jew (Magnolia), Eric Johnson (Delarosa), and Mark Ellenbogen (The Slanted Door). Tucked in next to Slim’s on 11th, Bar Agricole is rustic and sleek, a LEED-certified gem of reclaimed woods, exposed beams and enormous blown glass fluted chandeliers.

But it’s not just the design that wows. Bar Agricole serves delicious seasonal fare – think creamy chopped liver on toast and organic squash fritters – and farm-to-bar cocktails. Ingredients are sourced locally, including herbs and lemons from the patio garden. This comfortable, beautiful space is run by some of the friendliest bartenders and staff in the city, which is part of why I’ve been stopping by for happy hour and dinners since the restaurant opened last August. So when our managing editor, Amy, and I were there for a business meeting recently, we decided to ask Thad what he thought about an EcoSalon party on Earth Day.

Where else but a green, chic spot like Bar Agricole for EcoSalon’s Bay Area readers? Thad agreed, and a plan was hatched. We invite you to an EcoSalon gathering this Earth Day (April 22nd). Come by between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. for special organic EcoSalon cocktails by Thad and the team – a perfect way to end a day of volunteering and Earth Day activities. We’ll be enjoying drinks, tapas and chat, plus a few surprises. Stay tuned for updates! We look forward to meeting you.

Date and time: April 22, 2011 7-9 p

For location: Bar Agricole

For further information: editor at ecosalon dot com

Allow me to wax cosmic: There are certain events that take us outside of ourselves. Big ones, dwarfing our most significant human travails. Events where we look up for a moment and submit to the understanding that we’re part of a stupefying stellar picture, passing through a heavens so overwhelming that we’re simply owned – and there’s nothing to do but watch and accept our role in the show. Beautiful stuff.

I’m talking solar and lunar eclipses. I’m talking comets. And I’m talking meteor showers, the most intense of which is about to make its annual clockwork appearance, erupting out of Gemini early next week to the delight of night-sky devotees who never miss its arrival. The Earth, says NASA, “will pass through the Geminid debris stream, producing as many as 120 meteors per hour over dark-sky sites.” The shower will peak probably between midnight and sunrise on Tuesday, “when the Moon is low and the constellation Gemini is high overhead, spitting bright Geminids across a sparkling starry sky.” (See NASA waxes, too.)

The thing about the Geminids is that they’re unlike other meteor showers in that their “shooting stars” do not come from our passing through the tail of a comet, but rather from a “weird rocky object” called 3200 Phaethon. This smallish rock with an odd orbit is believed to have come from an impact event with asteroid called Pallas. In any event, there’s a ton of strange and unique features to this show, many of which remains a mystery to scientists. Its big deal, though, is, well, its bigness.

“Of all the debris streams Earth passes through every year, the Geminids’ is by far the most massive,” says NASA astronomer Bill Cooke. “When we add up the amount of dust in the Geminid stream, it outweighs other streams by factors of 5 to 500.” Says the NASA site: “This makes the Geminids the 900-lb gorilla of meteor showers.”

So go. Watch. Obey the heavens and enjoy the show.

Images: Dr. Rawhead, St0rmz, Nasa Images, Navicore, Noel Feans

Join Sara and me and a handful of our writers for drinks and treats tomorrow, Tuesday, November 23 at Rye, located at 688 Geary, from 6 – 8pm.

Something else you may want to know – we’ll be giving away a gift certificate for a luxurious facial from Avra Organic Spa, five gift certificates to shop at the SF-based boutique, Eco Citizen (valued at $50 each), a pair of bamboo leaf earrings from Feisty Elle (valued at $36 each), plus freebies from our sister company VivaTerra – not to shabby, right?

We hope you can make it and look forward to seeing you there.

Image: Greg L

Last week we announced our first ever reader meetup in San Francisco – did you mark it on your calendars? Join Sara and me and a handful of our writers for drinks and treats next Tuesday, November 23 at Rye, located at 688 Geary, from 6 – 8pm.

We’ll also be giving away one luxurious spa package from a top organic spa in the city, five gift certificates to shop at the SF-based boutique, EcoCitizen (valued at $50 each), a pair of bamboo leaf earrings from Feisty Elle (valued at $36 each), plus freebies from our sister company VivaTerra.

We hope you can make it and look forward to meeting you!

Image: Greg L

Come one, come all because we’re hosting our first ever reader meetup in San Francisco! In case we missed you at the EcoSalon Shops! event in NYC this past June, this is your chance to join Sara and I and a handful of our writers for drinks and treats on Tuesday, November 23 at Rye, located at 688 Geary, from 6 – 8pm.

And if seeing our smiling faces isn’t enough, we’ll also be giving away one luxurious spa package from one of the top organic spas in the city, five gift certificates to shop at the SF-based boutique, EcoCitizen (valued at $50 each), and stay tuned next week when we’ll be announcing more prizes!

How’s that for getting the pre-holiday party started? Only two more weeks – we look forward to meeting you!

The world will be saved by western women.  Or so says the Dalai Lama. But feminism in the 21st century can be problematic. That is, unless you’re watching Sex and the City 2, where formerly relatable post-feminist characters enthusiastically embrace an outstanding materialism and emotional mediocrity. In this world, even burkas are just fun gift-wrapping for Gucci and Prada! Right?

Wrong – and it was never more wrong than a recent breezy day in Los Angeles. Saturday, June 12th saw the first-anniversary of the Women of the Green Generation with a one-day interactive event dedicated to green women. Founded by eco-preneuer Kris Willey in 2009, Women of the Green Generation aims to create a space where women can share their ideas and passions for solving social problems with economically viable eco-solutions.

Kris Willey, Founder of Women of the Green Generation

Over 300 women and 50 green businesses came together last Saturday to inspire, motivate and empower women in the green world. The event was hosted at Evo-South, the only LEED silver certified eco luxury high-rise in down town Los Angeles. Along with the other guests, I had the chance to check out the latest in eco design, green lit, beauty, fashion and more.

But what was way more impressive that the goods displayed were the women speaking about them. I spoke with green fashion activist Jennifer Miller of Mission Savvy. Marilyn King of Tia’s Bakery offered up her gluten-free cakes. At a panel discussing women in green business, Siel Ju, aka GreenLAGirl, shared tips with the likes of Micki Krimmel of NeighborGoods. Randi Ragan of Green Bliss Eco Spa gave green beauty tips.

And the reoccurring theme of each speaker? We need to get educated. Tata Harper of Tata Harper Skincare stressed the importance of green knowledge. “I won’t put anything on my body that I wouldn’t eat,” she told a crowd of guests and reporters. Randi Ragan of Green Bliss Eco Spa pointed out that the greenwashing in the beauty industry is so bad that many of it is just “bald-faced lies.” Consumers need to teach themselves to read labels and turn to the Skin Deep database for their best information on healthy products. And as Ragan concluded about this gathering of green women, “Everything I see here today is a feminist issue. It’s not about what’s on the surface.” High five, green sister!

Check out Randi Ragan of Green Bliss Eco Spa giving her best tips on how to keep it green:

Slow down and take time to smell the rosés.

That’s our highly recommended approach to the eco-sensual pairing of artisanal food and terroir-expressive wines at this Sunday’s Golden Glass Wine Event at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Pavilion.

It’s also the prevailing philosophy of sponsor Slow Food USA, an organization dedicated to advocating the importance of sustainable farming practices that respect traditional knowledge and taste.

Complementing more than 100 no-pesticide wines from around the globe will be exclusive sampling from some of the Bay Area’s top restaurants and artisanal producers, including: A16, Absinthe, Aquarelle, Heaven’s Dog, La Poggio Trattoria, SF Baking Institute, Slow Club, Stella Cadente and Trattoria Corso.

Whew! And you thought this coming Sunday was for popping the top off a Bud Light for dad as he basted ribs on the BBQ in celebration of Father’s Day. How “Ëœbout a radical departure? Treat him to a brave new world of pure, delicious food and fruity no-nonsense wines fast by the San Francisco Bay.

The best news about the Slow Food Movement – as on display in this event – is that it combines high-minded principles with unsurpassed gourmet pleasures.

A few bites and sips later, your dad just might be more than happy to trade in his brewski and back rib for a Bordeaux and brioche.

When: Sunday, June 21, 2009
General admission: 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Entrance fee: Advance purchase: $60 (Slow Food members: $55); at the door $70; Food only and under 21: $20 (all entry tickets include 5 food tasting tickets. Additional food tickets can be purchased in groups of 5 for $20).

Where: Fort Mason Center, San Francisco
The Festival Pavilion

Images: Joe Budd Photography

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Victoria Everman.

Having a sustainable wedding is as easy as locally-grown, organic pie. In the midst of planning my own event, I’ve found that being planet- and money-conscious is not only feasible – it is fun.

It is so easy to get overwhelmed by the wide world of weddings that you might forget about your green goals. Even I’m guilty of it. That’s where my eco-wedding blog comes in, where I catalog my visual inspirations and favorite sustainable wedding companies.

Ready to save some time and a nice chunk of change? Just check out my list of eco-conscious wedding-related companies and creative ideas that are a click away!

Ink and Wit

There are a number of wonderful eco-friendly wedding invitation companies out there, but Tara Hogan’s Ink+Wit has a special place in my heart. I’ve been a long-time fan of her letterpress art and stationary, so when the time came to began planning my own wedding, I knew she was the designer for me.

Just recently, Tara launched a pre-designed line of wedding invitations that can be easily customized and come in any Pantone color you can imagine. Working with her on my custom invitations has been a fantastic collaborative process; I couldn’t ask for anything better.

Earthly Affair

For those who like more traditional invitation designs, Jen Stambolsky’s Earthly Affair collections are just the thing. With
18 designs to choose from, you can choose the type and colors on all the styles. Though she doesn’t do custom work, she does stick firmly to her sustainable manifesto. A small, eco-friendly, affordable business – Earthly Affair is a triple treat!

Sarah Seven

Choosing a dress is one of the toughest tasks when planning an eco-friendly wedding. For the non-traditional bride, my favorite handmade gowns come from Sarah Seven. Handmade in Portland, Ore. with recycled bustiers and fabrics, Sarah’s designs are mostly above-the-knee, but she will happily customize them to any length (and color) you choose. She has also developed her first bridal line that will make any bride stand out … sustainably.

PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com

If you like traditional styles but can’t bring yourself to pay $6,000 for a dress, check out PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com. The site features over 2,000 gowns by any and all major designers you can name, all of which have been either never worn or worn only once. I’ve found over 20 gowns that fit my style, budget, and body. Of course, most gowns will need to be tailored after you receive them, but is a small price to pay compared to how much you can save!

Krikawa Rings

Sustainable rings are another difficult task for a green wedding. There are a number of great companies out there for ethical diamonds and recycled metals, but that is all too traditional for me. Instead, I prefer lab-created color “diamonds” and gems set in palladium – the lesser-known (and more affordable) sibling of platinum. Krikawa Rings specializes in both and makes some beautiful custom bands in varying prices.

Snippet & Ink Budget Tips

Saving money can easily be connected with saving the planet. Snippet & Ink, one of my all-time favorite wedding blogs because of their constant source of inspiration, has a full category of real and idea weddings based on budgets. I’ve found money-saving ideas in their posts that I’ve never seen elsewhere. Inventive and thrifty – that’s a winning combination in my book.

Martha Stewart’s Free Templates

No one can deny the mastery of Martha Stewart and her Weddings magazine is always fantastic. Add a bit of her crafty world to your wedding, thanks to her free downloadable templates. Available in a host of patterns and colors, she offers up options for everything from favor bags and seating cards to centerpieces and thank-you postcards. Who ever said you can’t get anything good for free?

Laurie Cinotto + OnceWed’s DIY Projects

Creatively-endowed or not, you can easily pull off one of Laurie Cinotto’s spectacular DIY wedding projects. Flower arranging, ring pillows, vases, boutonnieres, garlands – there are six pages of simple projects that will create a big impact for your special day. Each project has clear step-by-step instruction and pictures, including an item-by-item cost roundup to help budget. These are not to be missed!

The Small Object Cake Toppers

Be prepared to say awwww, because these cute creations are incredibly swoon-worthy. Handmade by The Small Object’s founder, Sarah Neuburger, these wooden cake toppers are made specifically for each couple and can be customized right down to their wardrobe and flower colors. Sarah recently added cupcake toppers to her list of creations, perfect for anyone with a smaller budget or quirky sense of humor.

Have your own favorite green wedding vendors? Share their website links with us in the comments section.

Victoria Everman is an eco writer, consultant, model, photographer, crafter and yogi. You can check out her process of planning a local,
eco-friendly, independent wedding at Planning an Eco-Indie Wedding. For more eco inspirations, visit her main blog at victoria-e.com.

Images: Fevi in Cayman, Victoria Everman