A designer named Chris Lindland has just sent me a press pitch for his clothing line. Chris would like you to know that it is Pants Awareness Month. O rly?

"Every autumn, millions of American men tragically go pantless while their fellow citizens turn a blind eye. This is the terrible affliction known as Pantlessteria -- more commonly referred to as Sansapant Syndrome, Trousernot, or Nay Slacks disease. With temperatures dropping and the holidays approaching, it's comforting to know that there is a cure -- and it's only clicks away at Cordarounds.com."

I was not aware.

The faux news release is funny, and the clothing is clever. The only thing missing: nothing in the line is green. I asked Chris about this  and he explained that while the various pants in the line are not cut from eco cloth, their bike pants are kinda-sorta green. Since they are for cyclists. And cycling is eco-friendly. Get it?

To be clear, this isn't about Chris or his pants. That kinda-sorta reasoning isn't some stretch of the corduroy on his part; he readily noted that the bike pants are about safety, not the environment. Nope, the greenwash is all owing to the green blogosphere, namely the House that Hill built. Treehugger was evidently so enamored with how much "fun" the company is having they didn't bother to find out if the materials and manufacturing are green. Or perhaps they decided the act of bicycling absolves the responsibility for wearing sustainable clothing while doing it. They have given the bike pants a glowing review and encourage us to "Drop their online store $95 and you can be ensuring drivers see you’re on the street in no ...Read More

Call me skeptical, but when an eco item claims to be the one and only or first ever, I start to wonder...is it an exaggeration or flat out green washing?

Journalism 101 taught me to fact-check. And for those of you not old enough to remember a time without the interwebs, fact-checking used to require hours of ...Read More

I’ve always been a vintage devotee. In high school when everyone was conforming to the Gap and J. Crew mainstream, I was hunting for unique, secondhand finds. Over the years, I’ve matured from polyester hippie button-downs and lilac corduroys to Prada trenches and Dior skirts. I’m willing to pay a pretty penny for a rare designer find – ...Read More

When you break open a new package of traditional cotton sheets, the chemical scent can blow you away. Why spend your precious R.E.M. hours enveloped in these chemicals when there are so many soft and stylish organic cotton alternatives surfacing in home stores and catalogs?

Recently, I strolled into a ...Read More

You may have seen the commercials put out by the Corn Refiners Association, desperately seeking to clean up the sullied reputation of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). A health conscious lady comes off as shrill and ignorant as she questions a mother giving a sweet purple drink to her kids. ...Read More

Who would have ever imagined the day when Clorox, makers of the ubiquitous chlorine bleach, would come out with a line of eco-friendly cleansers? 

But here they are, 7 Green Works natural products such as bathroom cleanser, dishwashing liquid, and ...Read More

As usual, we're overflowing with things to tell you. We just can't help it! So let's spill.

Joining the hot debate over biofuels is Frances Cerra Whittelsey ...Read More

We interrupt your normal EcoSalon programming for an urgent public service message, Dire, really.

Is the world's favourite super-spy greening up his act?

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Green fairs and festivals seem to be popping up more frequently all over the country as a way to teach consumers about more eco-friendly lifestyles. However, festivals in themselves are inherently ...Read More

There's a vicious cycle underway, and we need to break out of it for the sake of some close relatives.

You'll have noticed fuel prices rising recently. Here's the reason. And now palm oil production has escalated (in that ...Read More