We’re still mourning the loss of Prince over here.

How do you work through sadness? By remembering the good times. One of those good times was this interview that Prince did with MTV. Watch it below.

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The post Prince was so Wise [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

Uh, Carrie Fisher just gave the best… the very best… interview of the year.

In the video below, watch Fisher, a goofy dog, and this totally game ABC anchor talk about the new “Star Wars,” how it is to be an actress in Hollywood, and the magic of genetics.

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What do wine making, beautiful artwork, and natural skincare have in common? Cruelty-free and vegan personal care line, CREO, has managed to blend the three. We found out how in an interview with co-founder and chief chemist, Karl Wright.

How many of you shop by label appeal? You know, buying a product because it looks pretty or would match your bathroom? We are all guilty of this, but it is also important to make sure the products you purchase are good for you and work the way you want them to.

That’s where CREO comes in. These products obviously offer major aesthetic appeal with beautiful artist-created labels. Even better, the brand uses healthy ingredients to create the hand-crafted skin and hair care products. As for the wine making? You’ll just have to read the interview.

An Interview With CREO Co-Founder and Chief Chemist, Karl Wright

Liz Thompson: You call yourself a “consulting winemaker”. How did wine lead you to natural hair and skincare?

Karl Wright: I was working in the Napa Valley when some friends I grew up with were taking the pressed grapes and harvesting the seeds to make oil, and composting the skins. We formulated a skincare line which used the cold pressed grape seed oil and an antioxidant grape seed extract that I made from the seeds, as well. Then I got involved in a project where we patented the extraction and use of germinated seed extracts.

A lot of the protein chemistry and antioxidant chemistry crosses over from winemaking to personal care. This also involves molecular interactions, free radical oxidation, polyphenols / antioxidant effects and enzyme chemistry.

Formulating skincare products has also made me a better winemaker.

LT: What is your ingredient commitment?

KW: We are committed to using plant-derived, cruelty-free ingredients and to provide products that are designed to make hair look better through true hair health without the use of silicones or plastics, [which are] designed to produce a cosmetic effect without enhancing the overall health of the hair.

(Note: CREO also makes products for face and body.)

LT: Who are your products designed for?

KW: Our products are designed for discerning individuals, primarily women, who are ecologically sensitive but also demand a product that provides salon professional grade performance.

LT: Where did you get the idea to blend art with personal care?

KW: We started with the idea that perhaps a shampoo bottle could be something more than just a clinical looking piece of plastic. So much of the packaging nowadays has a “sameness” to it and we truly feel that the hand crafted nature of the CREO product (all of our products are produced by hand, not in a giant factory) deserved a more hand touched look. In addition, we felt that the meaning of the brand name, “CREO”, should play into a more creative approach. CREO finds its roots in Latin and means “to create or to make”. When we started to brainstorm with a local artist, it was actually she who first posed the question, “what if we put an actual painting on the bottle?” Our hope is that in time we will be able to use CREO as a vehicle for bringing a wide variety of artists to the public eye and to devote a portion of the proceeds toward art oriented non-profits.

LT: How do you choose the artists you collaborate with?

KW: We do it the old fashioned way – we talk to people. Our approach is very simple. We mock up labels and go out into the world and gather reactions. What we’re looking for is a smile, an immediate gut reaction that will often be accompanied by an outreached hand and an observable desire to interact with the bottle. If we don’t see that, we keep looking. If we do see it, we know that we have that magical “it factor” to lend an additional element of delight for the consumer.

LT: What is one healthy tip you can offer our readers?

KW: Don’t be fooled by silicone. Although it is not inherently bad, it can deceive you into thinking that something meaningful is happening when it is not. Although it can have a somewhat beneficial effect of holding moisture in longer, silicone mostly works to fill in rough hair surfaces, making them appear smooth. While this isn’t inherently bad, it is temporary. So, our one piece of advice would be “pursue truly healthy hair with a smooth outer surface”. Once that is attained, all of the products designed for temporary cosmetic improvement will usually be completely unnecessary.

Related on EcoSalon

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Image courtesy CREO

The post CREO Co-Founder Talks Wine, Art, and the Worst Ingredient for Your Hair appeared first on EcoSalon.

EcoSalon caught up with Anthony Vargas, founder and CEO of anti-aging skin care line, Tilth Beauty.

What do you get when science and anti-aging meet? That would be Tilth Beauty. The line, created by “Skin Care Scientist and Beauty Expert”, Anthony Vargas, is a combination of anti-aging chemistry and natural ingredients.

Vargas was behind the launch of some pretty big beauty products while working at Elizabeth Arden. He took his knowledge and experience on a mission to create safer products that deliver on a conventional beauty level. The result is a mix of ingredients, some natural, some synthetically processed. While these may not be an option for those of us into straight-up clean beauty, Tilth Beauty offers a safer alternative for women who’d like to steer clear of the worst cosmetic offenders.

Liz Thompson: You are a “Skincare Scientist”. What education and experience do you have in the skincare field? How about the natural skincare field?

Anthony Vargas: Well, I have a B.S in Chemistry with a minor in Biology. I have been formulating and leading the development of skin care products for over 30 years working for two of the biggest personal care companies in the world. During that time I have also collaborated with some of the top researchers in the skin area. That work included skin barrier, antioxidants, irritation and moisturization not to mention skin lightening and aging. In the natural area when I first started to work in the field we actually used many natural ingredients. But, the industry turned away from them and started to use more synthetic ingredients that were easier to obtain. Now we are going back to more natural ingredients because of their benefits to the skin.

LT: What caused you to become interested in natural skincare?

AV: I actually started my career using natural ingredients and knew of their benefits. What got me back to them was the fact that many synthetic ingredients did not have any real benefits for the skin and some of them became questionable safety wise. I would rather use a natural oil or butter that gives a beautiful feel to the skin than a synthetic ingredient which gives the same feel but offers no benefits. You see the natural oils and butters help to nourish the skin with the abundant fatty acids, antioxidants and moisturizers that the synthetic materials do not have.

LT: Which ingredients do you not use in your products?

AV: I use natural oils such as jojoba, argan, rose hips, sunflower, olive and butters such as shea, coco raspberry leaf. Not to mention many botanical extracts.

LT: Are your products completely free of synthetic ingredients?

AV: Well, we do use peptides in our products and they are made through a synthetic process. Peptides are amino acid chains and amino acids are what make up all the proteins in your body so they are not harmful or toxic to the skin or body. But all of our other ingredients are naturally derived.

LT: Are the cosmeceuticals you use synthetic or synthetically processed?

AV: The peptides are synthetically processed and are made under strict processes to not use any toxic intermediates.

LT: Who are your products for? 

AV: Our products are for everyone and yes, that includes men. Anyone who needs to protect their skin or needs anti-aging products to help with the premature signs of aging. Also, the products are formulated for all skin types so you will find a product for your skins needs.

LT: How would you recommend a woman get started with your products?

AV: They should start by addressing their need. By that I mean what issue does she want to address? Moisturization, aging, protection, etc. By doing that first she will be able to choose the correct product or products to address those needs.

LT: Do you recommend any tips, other than skincare, that are healthy for skin?

AV: Diet is import to skin as eating the correct foods will help replenish the body’s and skin’s supply of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients. Water is also essential, so make sure you drink plenty of it to keep your body and skin hydrated.

Related on EcoSalon

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Images courtesy of Anthony Vargas at TilthBeauty.com

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EcoSalon caught up with fashion designer Tara St. James of Study NY on her latest socially conscious collaboration with prison women in Mexico, ethical fashion and what made in NYC really means.

Juliette Donatelli: Your newest work involves a collaboration with a women’s prison in Mexico. How are you working together and how did the partnership evolve?

Tara St. James: On a recent trip to Oaxaca I discovered a shoe line that I really loved called Taller Nu. I got along very well with the designers, they invited me to their workshop in Mexico City, so we decided to do a collaboration together. They work with a women’s prison group. They train them to do cross-stitch on leather, and they use that cross-stitch for their shoes. What I did was send them an image of one of the sweater knits that I am doing from Peru, and I asked them to reinterpret that knit pattern into a cross-stitch. So they did the interpretation themselves, I approved it and we designed the shoes and the bag together. That will be for late summer, fall delivery because of the lead time. I will be working directly with the designers and the collaboration co-op.

JD: The cross-stitch is done in Mexico. Are the shoes also made in Mexico?

TSJ: Yeah, everything is done in Mexico. They source the leather there, it is all domestic leather. They have it perforated so the cross-stitch can be done more easily. They bring just the panels to the prison and give them the instruction.

What is really kind of interesting that I love about it, is that if you look inside the panels each one has a different finishing on the inside. You can tell it is done by different women, and it’s just the way they interpret it. So on the outside they are all uniform, but on the inside they all have this signature.  I love that. And I love that you can see that.

And the only other thing I am importing are these alpaca knits from Peru. I have been working with this women-run co-op there for about a year now and this is the first development that we have done together.

And then the rest of the collection is made here in NYC.

The other thing that I am launching for this year, which will be early than fall, it will be a spring launch, is the open back shirt dress style that I always do. But instead of one piece, I am doing it as a piece that can be worn different ways, and convertible. So you can mix and match the fabric and remove certain panels or add on other panels.

JD: What about made in NYC? Is that a selling point for your brand?

TSJ: As far as wholesale buyers are concerned, I find the reaction not super encouraging. They are not all that inspired by it, although I think they like having the story to tell to their customers. Because I do see the reaction, you know when we had this space [Market 605] as a retail space, people coming in, whether they were tourists or New Yorkers, loved the fact that everything was made here. And so I think having that story associated with the brand, or even part of the brand, is important for the buyers, not for themselves necessarily, although some of them really care, but they like to communicate that to their customers.

I am not sure a lot of people are seeking it out yet, but they are definitely interested in it.

I have always felt the same way about the sustainability of the brand: I don’t think people really care about organic cotton, as long as it felt good and could be worn easily and washed easily and cared for easily. So it was really my responsibility to make it sustainable, but also my responsibility to make the design last long and be a quality good. And part of that is making it here in New York, I think the workmanship here is just good. I am lucky, I have a great factory that I work with and they do a really great job. I am not going to lie, I have had great factories in China too that do a really really great job but if I can get that quality and workmanship here then why shouldn’t I?

Want more interviews? See also:

Hannah Jones, Nike VP of Sustainable Business: Behind-The-Scenes Interview (Part 1)

Interview: Nike’s VP of Sustainable Business Hannah Jones (Part 2)

Interview: Author Kate Fletcher On New Fashion & Sustainability Book

Author Interview: Elizabeth Cline of Overdressed The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

images: Study NY

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One half of the dynamic ethical fashion label, Feral Childe’s Alice Wu, chats with EcoSalon for an inside discussion on their work as made in New York City designers.

Designing all their prints by hand, the bi-coastal team, Moriah Carlson, in Brooklyn, and Alice Wu, in Oakland, are never short of eye-catching designs, easy feminine silhouettes and intelligent ethical values. We sat down with Alice Wu of Feral Childe to talk about their carefully sourced fabrics, ethical production and why having a keen eye for practicality matters for sustainability.

Juliette Donatelli: Feral Childe is best known for its prints and fabrics. Where are the prints made and is there a story behind them?

Alice Wu: Some of the prints are done right in Los Angeles. We use a sample dye house in Marin so we work with our dye guy to create the sample palette for the season. We have our printer print one color and do different dye lots. The same fabric comes out different ways so you get a nice tonal range.

This one is actually printed in Korea. So our silks come from either Korea or India. It depends on what fabric our suppliers have on offer. Everyone has different specialties and fiber qualities. We used a silk linen which was really nice. And for a really vibrant silk, this is digitally printed on a silk cotton.

So we make the image and then we try to find the right fabric partner to do it. Then you have to wrestle with the fabric to make it into the garment. But we try to make it fun altogether.

JD: And all the clothes are made in NYC?

AW: Yes, all the clothes are made either in midtown sewing facilities or we also have started working work sewing contractors in Sunset Park.

JD: When you have a buyer, or the general public come in and see the collection or see the clothing in a store, and then find out they are made in NYC, is that a selling point?

AW: It is. I think people like it. I think it is really wonderful to know the person who made your clothes, to say hello, and thank you for cutting my fabric and putting it together. It adds a very personal touch to something you are going to be wearing for a long time. That is something that is very important to Moriah and me–to try to work with people we can interface with. Even my fabric supplier from India I have met. The first time we worked together was over email, but about a year later he came to New York on business and we met up. It was really wonderful to put a face to all the email correspondences.

JD: How important is it to you to think about where and what fabrics you are using?

AW: For us it is very important to consider materials and where they come from at all steps of the design process. It is choosing materials that have meaning.

In the beginning, whether that meant discovering Garment District castoffs or remnant fabrics, we like to have a story to go along with the fabrics we find. Even though we aren’t necessarily working with remnant fabrics right now–we are creating our own–it is still important for us to have personal connections with the fabric suppliers that we are in contact with each season and to know as much as we can about where the fabrics are coming from, whether they are durable, and are they easy to care for.

It is less important that it is specifically organic — but we try to use organic whenever possible just because it is better for everybody. But for example, even though this is not organic cotton, [this fabric] is woven in Japan working with a small mill that has restored all this vintage production equipment. So you could say it is more of an artisan fabric or made by people who really care.

For instance, take [a product] blend of modal, cotton and polyester. There was a time where I thought, ‘I am never going to make anything with polyester again, I am only going to use natural fibers.’ But if there is a little bit of poly blended with natural fibers it sometimes helps to make the garment withstand more wear and tear. You can throw it in the washing machine, or we have customers that are vegan but want to look nice. So there are lots of things to consider.  But we certainly want to make things to treasure.

Related on EcoSalon

Author Interview: Elizabeth Cline of Overdressed The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

Interview: Author Kate Fletcher On New Fashion & Sustainability Book

Hannah Jones, Nike VP of Sustainable Business: Behind-The-Scenes Interview (Part 1)

Interview: Nike’s VP of Sustainable Business Hannah Jones (Part 2)

images: photographed by Jonathan Hökklo for the brand

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EcoSalon sits down for a fun conversation with jewelry designer Natalie Frigo on her made in New York ethically sourced stones, the three kinds of fashion consumers and what it takes for people to change.

Juliette Donatelli: All your jewelry is made in New York. How important is that to your customer?

Natalie Frigo: I launched my first line in 2010 and I would say that it was made in NYC, and it didn’t matter at all. Nobody cared. There were, like, three people who cared. How could you not care about this? This is awesome! You don’t want something domestic? There would be a couple of stores that would say, ‘Oh, we love that. We will totally promote that.’

So, now people are more excited about it. And I have people who will contact me –buyers and retail customers who will contact me and say, ‘I love your designs, but then I saw it was made in New York, and I knew I wanted to get it.’ And it’s this thing that justifies it to them.

If you are interested in that it matters, but this is not going to convince you to be interested in that.

I definitely still get from buyers, they seem to understand it more, but I do get a resistance on price because my stuff is made domestically. And my stones are ethically sourced. If you don’t know where your stones are coming from, it is like apparel, a little child cut that stone. There is no question in my mind. I would put money on it. Awful. My stones are not like that. They cost more money–two to ten times as much. And so some people are like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s all great but our customer won’t pay more.’ They like the designs but there is a price resistance and they would just rather have a cheaper good. As much as they think that it’s great that it’s made domestically, it’s not worth it to them, or they don’t want to educate their customer or try to get a new customer base.

JD: What do you think it would take?

NF: Really. What could it take? How much more information do you need to make things domestically? The economy fell from underneath us.

There was a woman who came in [to Market 605], she was dressed pretty cute, and she started going through the clothes. I was wearing something from Feral Childe, and I said ‘I love this jacket, I just bought it.’

And she looks at the tag and it’s a four hundred dollar jacket and she’s like, ‘Oh yeah. That’s too expensive.’

And I said, ‘Well, you know, it is an investment piece. I am going to have it for a really long time, it’s very classic, this isn’t going to go out of style.’

And she said, ‘Yeah, I don’t shop like that. I buy multiple things every season and I never invest in anything. I have friends that do that, I am so impressed. But I can’t do that.’

You can do that right this second! You could get that one thing right now and just start. So people who shop like that are also the buyers.

What does it take to change a person?! I feel like some people are just never going to think it matters. And then there are people on the fence, and the more they learn about it they get super excited. And then there are people who have always known about it and they’ve always been into it and they are all about it.

I would say most of my accounts are galleries or local stores that have been in their communities for a long time and are interested in developing relationships.

JD: It’s all about the relationships we build.

NF: Yeah. You don’t have to have everything made domestically but you could have some things. People want to buy domestically, but they are so used to not having to pay for things on that level.

JD: Getting the conversation started is so important. If Michelle Obama, someone who is always being asked who she is wearing, made a simple statement about where it was made, because it was probably made in the USA because of the designers she wears and the quality of the pieces–a little awareness like that could go really far. 

NF: Yes, we need good fashionable ambassadors.

I got into a conversation with this guy, he was one of the workers at a show that I was setting up for. He came over to my booth, and said, ‘Oh your stuff is really cool,’ and I said thanks, it’s made in NYC. He said, ‘That’s awesome. I had to stop buying Carhartt because they don’t make it in America anymore, they make it in Mexico.’

He was amazing! Just this regular guy wearing t-shirt and jeans, and he’s all mad because Carhartt stopped producing domestically. You need people like that in all walks of life. He’s probably lecturing his friend non stop about wearing something made in China!

Related on EcoSalon

The Promising Future of Men’s Fashion: An Interview With the Discerning Brute’s Joshua Katcher

Interview: Lingerie Line Enamore Promotes Design Over Eco

The Insourcing Trend: What is the Impact of Clothing Made in the USA?

images from the brand

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ColumnThe joy of delving into a good cookbook.

When I was home earlier this summer, I asked my mother for a recipe. She pulled out her worn 3-ring binder. This binder is blue, has yellowed pages falling out of it and has sat in the same place on the bookshelf for as long as I can remember. In it are recipes scratched in her handwriting of her earlier years, additions by her sisters, and almost four decades’ worth of recipe inspiration ripped from magazines.

My natural instinct when I need a recipe is to go to that online thing that starts with G. For my mother, it’s to go to her recipe shelf. If it’s not in the blue book then there has to be a recipe that can be improvised on elsewhere among the culinary titles. In fact, it was only recently that she called to tell me that she was wondering about a specific recipe and went to her computer herself to search around the internet for it (normally she calls me and has me cull the pages and select a few links, her personal search engine so to say).

I am ashamed to say that I have not started such a recipe collection myself. Raised in the digital age, my own is a mish-mash of bookmarked links and emails that I always plan to organize but never get around to. But although I am quick to tap in a search query that combines a few ingredients that I have lying around and I don’t know what to do with (raspberry, kale, go…), I have an affinity for my small cookbook stash.

The collection is small because I have limited space, and it’s worth committing to the tried and true: The Essential New York Times Cookbook (Amanda Hesser what would I do without you?), Vår Kokbok (a Swedish essential) Swedish Cakes and Cookies, a few from Moosewood Collective, Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking, and Sheila Lutkins’ All Around the World Cookbook. There are a few others here and there, but that is the staple collection and it doesn’t shift very much. I have a favorite recipe in each, and they all have numerous dog eared pages.

In need of dinner inspiration? Sit on the couch with a few of the books and a pen and paper and good things are bound to happen.

There is something that happens with cookbooks that doesn’t happen with food blogs or obsessively looking at food porn on Pinterest. Away from the screen, you engage with a recipe in a different way. You take time to think about the preparation and the process. That is why I prefer predominantly text cookbooks; you are not seduced by photos the way you are int he digital world, your are swayed by words and culinary combinations. A good cookbook is the one you can put your trust in; let it guide you through the cooking process.

And that is what a cookbook should be: a guidebook, a resource. The kind of thing you can go to again and again and again. Not because you loved one recipe, but because no matter how many times you read it, you’ll always learn something new. That is what I discovered in Roots: The Definitive Compendium with more than 225 Recipes, which arrived at my doorstep just a couple of weeks ago.

Let me restate the fact that I am hesitant to add new cookbooks to the collection; my appetite for more food inspiration is countered by an acceptance of the reality of space, and the fact that too many cookbooks can be a bad thing. But Roots was meant to be added to that space, it hit all of my cookbook expectations. It’s a resource (and a good one at that), the photos are beautiful but the recipes aren’t over dominated by them, the story is personal, and in reading it, you get a lesson in food. For example, I had no idea that carrots are believed to have originated in Afghanistan.

I had never given root vegetables much thought, but after reading through numerous sections I soon wondered how I had gone without this book for so long. Sauteed beet greens with a little lemon juice will now certainly be a regular concoction.

Newly obsessed with root vegetables, I caught up with Roots author Diane Morgan to learn more about the cookbook, the most underrated root vegetable out there and her favorite recipe (hint: it might be the only time I am ever tempted to make a cupcake, because these look good).

This book is such a valuable resource. Why do you think something like it hasn’t been done before?

There are a couple of much older books focused on the “common” root vegetables (beets, turnips, rutabagas, sweet potatoes), and there are encyclopedic books written on vegetables, but an encyclopedic book written on the large family of root vegetables along with a large selection of recipes hasn’t been written until now. I went looking for the book I wanted to own and realized it didn’t exist, so I decided to tackle the subject and write the book I wanted to own.

As a very comprehensive guide, this cookbook packs in a lot of information. How long did the research and writing process for it take? Any glitches along the way?

It took me two and a half years to develop the book proposal, and then research and write the entire book. I am not a botanist(!), so the research to make sure I found all the edible roots that exist was challenging. Even as I was turning in the manuscript I would double check some exotic root to make sure it was classified properly. With regard to glitches, there is a lot of confusion between malanga and taro and it took me time to resolve the distinctions. They are fascinating roots with interesting cooking properties. The high starch factor makes them delightful to mash and terrific as fritters.

I am assuming you ate a lot of root vegetable dishes while doing recipe development. Are you sick of them now? Or do you incorporate more roots into your diet than before?

I have never tired of eating roots. They are so varied and so seasonal that something that goes out of season, such as celery root, delivered a new-found excitement when I see it again the next season.

What was the most interesting thing you learned while writing the book?

There were many interesting discoveries, but I did love learning about all the edible tops – beet greens, radish tops, carrot tops, turnip tops – all are edible and highly nutritious.

Which is the most underrated root?

It would be a toss up between rutabagas and burdock root! Rutabagas take on many flavors – they are delicious when braised in beer and also paired with apples for a wonderful wintertime sweet galette. On the other hand, burdock root, used commonly in Japanese cuisine, is amazing when paired with mussels. If you love mussels then you must try my recipes for Steamed Mussels with Burdock Root, Shallots, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.

If you had to pick one, what is your favorite root and why?

That’s like asking which is your favorite child. They all have such unique characteristics! However, since writing the book, I have incorporated the dark orange-fleshed sweet potatoes into my diet more often. They are an incredible superfood, packed with vitamins. I roast them or even grill-roast them and then rewarm them for breakfast. Skip your morning toast and eat a sweet potato!

Can you share one of your favorite recipes with us?

While I have many favorite recipes in the book, I am delighted with the Red Velvet Cupcakes because it is so unexpected and most folks think red velvet cake is made with food coloring, when, in fact, the gorgeous magenta color of the cupcakes comes from pureeing fresh-roasted beets.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream

These darling magenta-hued cupcakes are brilliantly colored all the way through. No food coloring is used here; the color comes from pureeing freshly roasted beets. I tested the recipe with canned beets and the color is drab and faded, but given how easy it is to roast beets this simple step can be done while you measure and prepare the ingredients for the cupcakes and buttercream. I finely chop the roasted beets and then puree them in a food processor. It is important to let the machine run for a couple of minutes, scraping down the sides of the workbowl once or twice, until the puree is completely smooth.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes

• 2 cups/200 g sifted cake/soft-wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups/342 g puréed red roasted beets
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp/225 g granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup/180 ml canola oil
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Orange Buttercream

• 1 1/4 cups/280 g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners’/icing sugar
• 1 tbsp heavy (whipping)/double cream
• 1/2 tsp pure orange oil (see Cook’s Notes)
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 tbsp fresh orange juice

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the beets, sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, stir in one-third of the flour mixture, and continue stirring just until the flour disappears. Do not beat or overmix. Repeat, adding the remaining flour mixture in 2 batches.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing the batter evenly and filling each cup almost to the top of the liner. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let the cupcakes rest in the pan, set on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely, about an hour.

To make the buttercream, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter on low speed. Add the sugar, cream, orange oil, and vanilla, and beat until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the orange juice, a little at a time, until the buttercream is fluffy and smooth.

When the cupcakes are completely cool, spread a thick layer of buttercream over the tops, swirling the frosting to decorate the tops. Alternatively, the frosting can be transferred to a pastry bag and piped around the tops of the cupcakes. The cupcakes can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store, covered, at room temperature.

Cook’s Notes
Pure orange oil is an essential oil cold pressed from the rind of oranges. It is different from pure orange extract. Look for pure orange oil in the baking section of natural foods stores, at baking supply stores, or Middle Eastern grocers. Two brands I see often is Boyajian or Frontier.

The cupcakes freeze well and are handy to have on hand for a party. Freeze the cupcakes unwrapped on a baking sheet/tray. Once frozen, wrap them individually, first with plastic wrap/cling film and then with aluminum foil. The cupcakes can be frozen up to 1 month. Unwrap the cupcakes and thaw at room temperature.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

The post Foodie Underground: For the Love of Roots and Cookbooks appeared first on EcoSalon.

InterviewJessica Alba wants to make sure that we regulate chemicals and protect our children.

You might have seen Jessica Alba kill a bad guy with a stiletto heel in the gory action flick Machete. You might also have spotted her on the cover of Maxim (twice). But fewer people probably caught her on C-SPAN lecturing Congress about the urgency of passing laws to regulate the chemicals in the products we buy. A staunch environmental advocate, the 31-year-old star recently launched the Honest Company, which makes nontoxic, ecofriendly baby gear. She took some time to answer our questions about her commitment to safe chemistry.

Q: Why did you go to D.C. to lobby for the Safe Chemicals Act last year?

A: Basically, it’s legislation that hasn’t been reformed in more than 30 years. It’s about regulating chemicals in everyday products. There are more than 80,000 chemicals in the U.S. marketplace right now — only five have been banned. In Europe, 1,100 are banned because they’re not safe for humans. When they’re creating and selling new chemicals, companies aren’t thinking about how they affect people’s health — it’s about their bottom line.

Q: You had asthma as a kid, right? Does that make you worry more about air pollution?

A: I grew up with asthma and allergies, among other health issues. That forced me from a very early age to look at my environment in a different way. I don’t take things at face value. I don’t automatically trust the conglomerates. I question processes, I question ingredients, I look for a better way. I always try to find a more natural and holistic approach before just slapping on a Band-Aid. Better to prevent something bad from happening in the first place.

Q: We assume that you’re the only woman who’s topped Maxim’s “Hot 100” list and also testified before Congress about environmental legislation. How do you walk that balance?

A: [Laughs] I don’t know. I don’t even really think about it in those terms. The marketing I’ve done to promote TV and film has been wonderful because it’s given me a platform to be able to speak about things that are important to me.Q: What’s the main message you try to deliver about the environment?

A: That there’s a cause and effect to every action you take. So all of your purchasing and consuming choices are going to affect the planet and the people around you in some way, be it positive or negative. Just being a thoughtful, conscientious consumer is the first step.

Q: Do you get overwhelmed thinking about how many chemicals kids are exposed to?

A: I felt overwhelmed as a parent at first. But now I know that there are steps we can take. You can really change the health of your environment by doing anything from buying fresh, organic food to choosing the paint and carpeting in your home. Just understanding the quality of those products and what the potential hazards are. I’ve taken steps to eliminate as much that’s hazardous as I could from my home. So I feel great about the environment now that I’ve been able to create for my family. I know it’s possible.

Q: What else do you do to go green in your personal life?

A: I spend time outdoors with my kids. I have a nontoxic turf lawn instead of grass so we don’t have to water it. We have all energy-efficient appliances in our house, and most of the materials that we used to build it — probably 70% of them — are upcycled. I bought them off Craigslist or at flea markets or vintage stores. With the rest, I made an effort to buy sustainable materials, bamboo flooring, recycled glass tiles, things like that.

Q: Are people surprised to see a Hollywood actress buying things from them off Craigslist? 

A: I don’t go and pick them up [laughs]. I don’t even think that’s safe for a girl by herself to go to a random address and go pick something up. No, I have a family member — a guy, obviously, my husband or someone — go and pick up a piece here and there.

Q: You’ve said that your favorite place in the outdoors is Franklin Canyon Park in Los Angeles. Why that spot?

A: I like any piece of nature in urban environments because it feels like you can get a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. You can just escape and quickly be surrounded by nature. One of my favorite places in New York is Central Park, for that same reason. In L.A., Topanga Canyon is another really great place, and so is Malibu Canyon.

Q: What made you want to start the Honest Company? 

A: Frankly, I needed a company like it. As a parent, I think there’s a lot of confusion in the marketplace around what’s eco, what isn’t, toxic chemicals and how they affect the health of your family. There’s just so much information out there that there needed to be one company that’s done all the research and finds the formulations that perform best.

Q: How does the Honest Company work?

A: It delivers nontoxic products straight to your door, everything from laundry detergent to bubble bath to diapers and wipes. We also have what we call an “essentials kit”: Out of 16 items, you get to choose five, and that’s what you get delivered every month. Ninety-nine percent of our products are made here in the U.S. Our diapers are really the best on the market — they’re made from plant-based materials, are completely nontoxic, and have the cutest designs. We really wanted to innovate the diapering space. It was important for me as a parent to make sure that everyone could get these products delivered straight to their door.

Q: Do you have Hollywood mom friends who’ve signed up to use the service?

A: Yeah, quite a few!

—interview by Orli Cotel / photo courtesy of the Honest Company

This post originally appeared in Sierra magazine.

Sierra is the magazine of the Sierra Club. Our motto: Explore, Enjoy, and Protect the Planet. Follow Sierra magazine on Twitter.

The post Interview: Jessica Alba is Saving the World One Chemical at a Time appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new here, we’ve been on a road trip down the West Coast this summer with our sustainable clothing company, {r}evolution apparel. You can track our journey here!

Whew. What a journey.

Over eight weeks ago, we set out to learn more about sustainable fashion and what we could do to help push the movement forward.

We met professors, designers, farmers, CEO’s, and people on the streets. We filmed it all. And this is a tiny, small bit of what we learned from these amazing individuals.

This is just the beginning for {r}evolution apparel; as we learn, and share, and converse, we realize that our work is crucial. We are all connected. We all matter. Every decision we make – from which tank top we buy to how we recycle our clothes – makes a difference.

Now, we’re taking time to sort through our footage, process our experience, and ultimately, create a short documentary chronicling our summer’s journey. Until then, we’ve loved posting here at EcoSalon and hope to stay connected to this community. We’ll be saying “au revoir” with a short trailer by our filmmaker, Steve Celano – enjoy!

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