Green Cotton

Food, fashion and fun were all on the agenda at last week’s Boston GreenFest, held from August 19-21. Featuring eco-minded exhibitors from all over New England, the family-friendly event took over Boston’s City Hall Plaza. Organic food vendors, green design companies, and plenty of local businesses were on hand to both showcase their wares and generate eco-awareness.

The event kicked off on Thursday morning with a green business breakfast and green jobs forum (featuring former Governor Michael Dukakis). Other highlights included 50/50 raffle (wherein the winner received half the winnings while the other half went to the Foundation for a Green Future, Inc.) and continuous performances held on the City Hall Plaza’s main stage. The concerts, dance performances, stunt work, fashion shows, yoga and workout bootcamp dominated the stage all weekend long. Thursday also featured the One Gallon Challenge, a “race” to see how far the latest fuel-efficient, eco-friendly cars could travel with one gallon of gas… from 110 miles away in Northampton, MA.

Friday’s highlights included the Eco-Runway, featuring Nancy’s Gone Green! Eco Boutique of Framingham, MA. Festival goers could also enjoy another night of performances and shop in the Eco Bazaar. They could also sample organic “world cuisine” in the Eco Cafe, including North Indian dishes from Mela Restaurant, Korean cuisine from Choi Food, Mexican treats from Cha-Cha-Cha, and coffee from Dean’s Bean, a fair-trade, organic company and a Green Cotton favorite! Saturday saw still more exhibitors, concerts and another staging of the Eco-Runway.

New Englanders are fortunate to be able to enjoy large green festivals like this, and the Boston GreenFest is sandwiched between two other major eco-conscious events: April’s Down2Earth and October’s Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. Plenty of healthy, organic food, along with fashion designers and green companies, will descend on VegFest next month, so if you missed GreenFest, be sure to check it out!

Green Cotton was happy to receive a gift from a local eco-friendly vendor that will be reviewed (and raved over!) here on this blog… stay tuned later this week to find out what it is!

Images from: http://www.bostongreenfest.org/index1.html

http://www.bostongreenfest.org/onegalchal.html

http://www.bostongreenfest.org/fashiontent.html

From April 10-12, the third annual Down 2 Earth Sustainable Living Expo (d2e) took over the Hynes Convention Center, filling it with an indoor garden, solar panels, organic fashion, gourmet coffee and chocolate and fun for everyone, from the eco-novice to the eco-expert. For those just getting into the idea of green living, the event showed just how easy it can be, showcasing some fabulous, innovative companies whose principles and practices are truly down to earth. For Boston area eco-conscious consumers, this was the place to be.

Serving as both an educational forum for sustainability and a green goods marketplace, this year’s d2e boasted a number of eco-minded exhibitors. Paino Organics, Larabar, Clif Bar, Cascadian Farm, Taza Chocolate, Glee Gum and more sampled yummy organic treats, from granola to salsa and vegan mayonnaise. Equal Exchange, Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee, Mocha Joes and Honest Tea provided the much-needed caffeine fix.

Ideologie and We Add Up were both selling innovative organic cotton tees with a message. Earth Elegance Jewelry and Acero Studio showcased compelling pieces that make the green life that much more beautiful. Blissfully Organic, Nat and Victoria Solutions and Amazon Beauty by Liz showed that it’s a snap to green your beauty routine. The Holistic Moms Network, along with kid’s fashion by JOJO, chic totes from Go GaGa Bags, silk baby slings by Sakura Blook, cleanup by Bum Boosa Bamboo Baby Products, and reusable (and insanely cute) snack bags from snackTAXI and ReSnackIt, all helped make life a little easier for the earth-conscious mom on the go. Boston’s own Greenologist community, which will deliver fresh farmer’s market produce to your doorstep, even handed out complimentary reusable grocery totes.

If the fun, food and freebies weren’t enough, the event also featured eco-savvy demonstrations, cooking demos, videos and notable guest speakers. Keynote speakers included Dr. James Hansen of Columbia University, a climate scientist who advised Al Gore on An Inconvenient Truth, and actress Mayim Bialik, celebrity spokesperson for the Holistic Moms Network.

Green Cotton attended on Sunday and was present for Bialik’s speech. Bialik shared a touching and relatable insight into her Hollywood eco-lifestyle, describing how she was a “weird” kid who liked to recycle, went vegetarian as a teenager, and now raises her children vegan (without any paper towels!), and even makes her own household cleaners and shampoo.

One topic of particular interest was the “greening” of Hollywood. Bialik is one celebrity who has been “eco” for the long haul, and recalled going to events with Ed Begley Jr., who drove (and probably still drives) a vegetable oil-powered car. Bialik may have labeled her early interest in the environment as “weird,” but of Begley’s innovative, if slightly eccentric, lifestyle, she quipped, “Who’s laughing now?”

Of green living, Bialik reminded the crowd, “This is not a lifestyle for rich people; this is not an elitist thing…not because it’s hip and trendy… We congregate around celebrity, [but] it is important to realize that there are those of us who are green like you.”

And if anyone entered the convention center feeling not quite green enough, we are sure the many vendors and presentations like Bialik’s helped them learn an eco trick or two. We know we did. Green Cotton had a blast exploring the booths and chatting with each vendor (and meeting Bialik, who, as it turns out, is a Jute & Jackfruit fan). While there was not a fashion runway show this year, we hope that eco-fashion designers and boutiques continue to showcase their wonderful (organic, sustainable, fair trade) wares, and that New Englanders continue to show their support and passion for all things green. Next year, we hope to see you there!

By Erin Dale

Photosource: Denimology

Famous singer Alanis Morissette and actor Woody Harrelson are the founders of this new denim brand that uses 50% of recycled denim.

Reco is currently the only denim company that is making the attempt to reclaim and recycle materials to make a more eco friendly fashion jeans. Denim is unfortunately is one of the most environmentally-intensive clothing items out there. Not only is the cotton used notorious for its exorbitant use of water and pesticides but the washing, dying and finishing are equally as detrimental. Reco is an attempt to mitigate the impact for one of fashion’s timeless staples. And Morisette and Harrelson just might be the right pair to bring successful to this endeavor.

On recojeans.com, learn how Reco jeans are made and why the jeans cannot be made of 100% recycled material, “we need to have fresh cotton regardless, to make it durable”. Reco is also the only company using solely denim product and being certified as an innovative new recycled fabric.

But the originality doesn’t stop here. Reco is auctioning off 300 limited edition Reco jeans boxed sets in a “dutch auction” to determine the prices of these very hot, eco jeans . The boxed sets include a reco i-pod case. Be one of the first bidders for these trend-setting pieces.