DBTV: Girlie Girl & The Brute at The Green Shows, Pt 3

This is the third part of our series on the Green Shows for Fashion Week in NYC. Featuring author, model, and activist Summer Rayne Oakes, designers Johanna Hofring & Tor Soderin of Ekovaruhuset (House of Organic), and John Masters of John Masters Organics.

DBTV: Girlie Girl & The Brute at The Green Shows, Pt 2

This is part 2 of our series about The Green Shows at NYC Fashion week. In this installment we meet Tara St. James of Study, Suki Kramer of Suki, and Eric Dorfman, founder of The Green Shows. Look out for part 3, coming soon!

DBTV: Girlie Girl & The Brute at The Green Shows, Pt 1

The Green Shows were an extravaganza of sustainable designers showcased over two days during NYC’s Fashion Week just days ago! Check out part 1 of our series from The Green Shows, featuring yours truly, Chloe Jo Berman from Girlie Girl Army, and designers Bahar Shahpar and Lara Miller. Stay tuned for more!

LIFE+STYLE

When was the last time you went to a panel discussion of everything eco-aweosme? Next Tuesday, Cinco De Mayo (May 5th), please mark this down on your calendars! Yours Truly, along with Chloe Jo Berman of The Girlie Girl Army, Michael DuDell of Ecorazzi.com and VEGdaily.com & Elizabeth Olsen of Olsen Haus Shoes, will be discussing the latest and greatest in green lifestyle excellence.

May 5th, 8pm
North Face Store,
2101 Broadway (@ 73rd)
New York, NY 10023
(212) 362-1000
1 2 3 trains to 72nd st

*This is a FREE event w/ raffle prize!

Olsen Haus Features DB & GGA!

First, check out the exclusive interview Chloe Jo and I did with Elizabeth Olsen on set of her photo shoot!

Olsen Haus genius, Elizabeth Olsen is finally doing mens’ shoes! She asked me to model them for her new Fall/Holiday 09 lookbook! Showing the ladies shoes are Chloe Jo Berman of Girlie Girl Army, Marisa Miller of Kind Green Planet, Princess Supertar, Samantha Ragsdale of Farm Sanctuary and Ashley Lou Smith of Bloodless Bling! The very talented, vegan, awesome friend of DB, Ryan Pfluger took the photos. Check out the rest by scrolling below:

Fresh Friday Finds

Fact! There are 700,000 homeless people in the U.S., and 18 million vacant houses and apartments…
Source

1. Turk + Taylor, Spring 09 is looking good! T+T is one of our favorite designers, who we’ve been following for a few seasons now. The collection is almost 100% organic cotton. Check them out! Also check out their new organic tees.

2. These shoes are golden! Cool, Vegan, fair-trade, and eco-friendly, does it get any better than that ? Jinga was started 3 years ago by two gals who give back at least 5% of sales to a social project in a Rio de Janeiro favela (shantytown) which provides activities and education to children to keep them away from gangs! (Thanks to reader Michael B. for this info!)

3. Undercover Animal Lover. This guy is an ethical vegan who risks his safety killing animals all day and shooting undercover footage so we can get a glimpse into the heavily-shrouded meat and dairy industries. Can you imagine? Read this rare interview with TIME magazine, and check his HBO documentary Death on a Factory Farm airing March 16.

4. This Sunday, March 15th, eat good vegan food and help farm animals!

Farm Sanctuary’s Dinner Night Broadway East
171 East Broadway, New York, NY 10002
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Reservations for your party are available between 7:30 and 10 p.m.
Reserve your table online at www.opentable.com or by calling Laurie at 212-228-3100.
Be sure to mention Farm Sanctuary when making your reservation.

5. One of our favorite organic companies, Loomstate, is having a party at one of our favorite eco-boutiques, Kaight, on Friday March 20th. Get a free Loomstate organic tee with any purchase of Loomstate S/S ’09!

6.  Person to know: Historian and Activist GEORGE DRAFFAN

” ‘Development’ is a euphemism, much like the word ‘efficiency.’ Efficiency within the current system is really about how fast you can turn forests and mountains into wastepaper and soda pop cans. Is that good? If the purpose of life is to consume and destroy, then international trade and industrial civilization are definitely proven ways to speed that up .”

7. Chloé Jo and the GGA weigh in on the myth that leather can be ‘eco-friendly‘ , on the best Vegan Cheeses, and on the controversy surrounding veganizing your companion animal. Watch out for those crazy cat people! They get their claws out!

8. You might need a french terrycloth motorcycle jacket. I’m just saying….

9. From the folks who brought you EcoRazzi, Veg Daily is Born!

10. Veteran vegan rockers Propagandhi talk to VegNews about their forthcoming album, Supporting Caste.

Gala Gallery

March 24, 2009, Vegan Food and Wine Tasting at The Max Studio

Come meet Yours Truly: Joshua Katcher, and Chloé Jo, as well as Golden Girl: Rue McClanahan, Moby, Morgan Spurlock, and Dan Pirraro as “Celebrity Guest Wine Pourers” at a special evening to benefit PCRM. Hosted by Mary and Peter Max and PCRM president Neal Barnard, M.D., Featuring food and wine from Bonobo’s, Candle 79, Dessert Diva – Fran Costigan, 4 Course Vegan, and Organic Vintages. Register NOW as tickets are going fast!

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March 14, 2009, ARFF 20th Anniversary Gala

Bob Barker, of The Price is Right fame, will host the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) 20th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, March 14, 2009, at 7 p.m., at the Broward County Convention Center. Pamela Anderson is the guest of honor. The black-tie-optional affair will provide members and supporters the opportunity to meet, mingle and relax while enjoying an exciting, eventful evening. Highlights of the gala will include a gourmet vegan dinner, an open bar, silent and live auctions featuring items from actress Kim Basinger and basketball player Yao Ming, and book signings by PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk and PCRM’s Dr. Neal Barnard. All proceeds from the gala will be used to fund ARFF’s Humane Education program, which has educated thousands of schoolchildren in Florida on veganism, companion animals and wildlife. Tickets for the gala are $250 and can be purchased by calling (954) 727-ARFF or visiting http://www.arff.org <http://www.arff.org&gt;

Prelovers, Superfoods, Fur Foibles, & Veganic Farming

From the left: Shelley Whelan - Montreal Retail Manager & Rep, Julia Grieve - Founder & CEO, Colin Seymour - Toronto Retail Manager & Rep

PRELOVED held their first US in-store event on Sunday evening at the Greenpoint, Brooklyn boutique, ALTER. The Spring ‘o9 collection is made entirely of reclaimed items like bed sheets, shirts, suiting, and even curtains! These items would otherwise end up in a landfill, and have been reconstucted into really gorgeous garments for ladies and gentalmen, alike. Founder and CEO,  Julia Grieve told me that she never intended to be an environemntalist, she just liked working with reclaimed fabrics. But now, as Preloved heads to the forefront of the green-fashion movement, she realized the importence and gravity of making sustainability ‘cool’. Nothing says sustainable like turning trash into gorgeous, head-turning garments. You won’t find find any granola on their runway!

The Zuri Tee $169.00 at ALTER

The line does include wool, but it is recycled from old sweaters that would otherwise be garbage. I’m not going to be complaining about it. Hopefully this trend will catch on, and with styles as awesome as the Zuri Tee, who can resist?

ALTER consists of two boutiques across the street from eachother in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Owned and operated by Roy Caires and Tommy Cole, they carry a great selection of eco and veg-friendly items incuding their own repurposed line “This Old Thing?” as well as Matt & Nat accessories, Melissa shoes, and they have more coming! ALTER is carrying the women’s collecion for Preloved currently, and will be carring the men’s collection within a few weeks.

Speaking of Matt & Nat, I love their new vegan, canvas, Bauhaus bag with 100% recycled lining.

Girlie Girl Army shows us how to get superpowers from superfoods! This is a 101 for anyone who wants to know the basics of the superfood phenomenon! This is for dudes too! Wanna stop chugging sugary, milk-protein-laden workout ‘food’ and get a longer-lasting, healthy high for that extra curl, press, or pull-up? Try these foods! Also, if you didn’t hear Chloe’s sexy visit to the boys at Hot97, click here.

Veganic farming is wha…? Veganic farming takes organic farming and brings it to it’s logical conclusion. Who wants to eat organic potatoes that grew in factory-farm feces and blood? Ugh..  the vegan permaculture movement is taking hold! The Huguenot Street Farm in New Paltz, NY is one successful example. Check out their funny video here, and stay tuned for more updates on the veganic farming movement:

FICA is full of it. The ‘Fur Information Council of America’ insists that fur is the “natural, responsible choice“.

If you’ve already started rolling your eyes or laughing, you are not alone. In WWD, for the final day of NY Fashion Week (The Feb 20th, 2009 issue), FICA paid for an ad that was disguised as a part of the paper to make it seem as though fur garments were heavily talked-about in the publication.

In fact, aside from one shawl by Issac Mizrahiny, there wouldn’t have been any fur in the publication that day. Boo hiss to Issac for his hideous new fur collection. Also watch his attempt to lose weight eating “vegan” M&Ms.

"Peanut M&M's are vegan" ...right

Also boo, hiss to TV Host and supposed ‘style expert’, Robert Verdi who I spotted in the lobby, surrounded by plastic fur-hags, wearing this atrocious hood (Did his Court-Dress wig fall back, or was he going for the evil Skeksis look?).

Skeksis from "The Dark Crystal"

Tim Gunn should give them both a stern talking-to in the ways of educated and compassionate elegance. The only way to look like a bigger jerk is to have tan-lines in the shape of aviators on your head. Oh wait…

What I love (and by love, I mean hate) about FICA’s pretty-in-pink website is the total avoidance of ever mentioning an animal oustside of abstractions like “species” or “populations”. If they did acknowlegde that individual animals with brains and nervous systems existed, they’d have to follow through with logic that would contradict their reference of animals as “natural resources” to be used “responsibly”. I won’t even make the historical comparisons, you can do that yourself.

Fresh Friday Finds

1. If you thought they couldn’t possibly be any more disgusting, the parting Bush Administration has denied dwindling, drowning and starving Polar Bears protection under the Endangered Species Act. Human generated global-warming, mostly caused by meat & dairy production, is the #1 culprit. Read the full article here.

“This rule makes a mockery of the Endangered Species Act, our nation’s most important wildlife protection law,” said Defenders of Wildlife executive vice president, Jamie Rappaport Clark. “The polar bear doesn’t have time for political maneuvers. Its habitat is melting away, its food is becoming scarce and the science is clear that the cause is global warming – yet the rule this administration released today affirms that little will be done to save the species from sure extinction.

2. If you wear glasses or sunglasses, and you don’t know about Fabulous Fanny’s, you are missing out! Get the most amazing selection of thrift & vintage frames and shades. Buying thrift is the greenest way to shop! It’s one of the East Village’s best kept secrets, and one of my personal favs.

3. Farm Sanctuary strikes again!

Daniela Sea, Joshua Katcher, Alison Becker photo© Ecorazzi

With an awesome party, of course! With Miss Guy on the turn table, more amazing vegan food than your eyes and tummy can handle, and the most inspiring crowd of activists and celebs from Danilea Sea and Alison Becker to Jennifer Coolidge, Corey Feldman & Inder Bedhi of Matt&Nat – this Winter Wonderland fundraiser was not to be missed – but if you did miss it, make sure to make it to next one! Farmsanctuary.org

4. Our friend Karl at PARTYBOTS has designed some awesome, 100% post-consumer recycled, originally designed notebooks! These are sweet and under $6 each! Cheap gifts for everyone this holiday!

5. This holiday, you may be feeling philanthropic. However, be very aware of organizations like Heifer International – whose promises of alleviating malnutrition and poverty through providing animals, actually has disasterous results. Like the little fact that over 90% of the Africans who are given dairy cows are lactose intolerant. Our friends at WFAS school us on this, and tell us how we can really help:

“While this might sound good on paper, the water and land needs of livestock in areas that are often short on both quickly outweigh the benefits — instead it increases human dependence on an unsustainable food-system that depletes the environment and does not fulfill all of a community’s real nutritional or long-term survival needs” Read the full article.

6. Organic Cotton from Alternative Apparel is so much better than conventional cotton from the notoriously homophobic Urban Outfitters.

7. December 20th is National “Adopt, Don’t Shop” day.

The Saturday before Christmas is the biggest puppy-buying day of the year. This year, In Defense of Animals is teaming up with activists in dozens of cities around the country to educate the public about the horrors of pet factories (puppy mills) and encourage people to adopt a homeless animal from a shelter or rescue group instead of buying one from a pet store. Enzo and I say you should adopt!

8. In case you missed it on Ecorazzi, Chloé Jo Berman, and yours truly were interviewed about ethical fashion. Read the interview!

9. Elephants should not be in zoos. For example, the Los Angeles zoo has killed 13 elephants. Help close down this horrible slave-trade, and save Billy from the same fate that his previous 13 fellow elephants experienced. These intelligent, emotionally complex and gorgeous beings belong in their native habitat, not in captivity.

You can view video of Billy and the Los Angeles Zoo here.

You can donate to IDA’s campaign to Free Billy here.

10. The sleek Pool Collection from Matt&Nat has arrived! Get it while it’s hot,  then take a dip in the pool. 100% vegan, recycled lining, and cool as hell.

Winter Wonderlands

• If you aren’t doing anything on December 4th, you should absolutely come party with me at the Farm Sanctuary Winter Wonderland Benefit.

Thursday Dec 4th,
6:00 – 10:00 p.m.
The Art Directors Club,
106 W. 29th St. New York, NY 10001

My gal-pal Chloé Jo of the Girlie Girl Army did an amazing job putting this event together and invited special guests like Justin Theroux, Jennifer Coolidge, Corey Feldman, Peter Max, Patrick McDonnell, Tatum O’Neal, Daniela Sea, Ally Sheedy, Princess Superstar, Justin Theroux, and many more. Picture a festive cocktail party with hors d’oeuvres and sweets (can you say BABYCAKES?!) from a variety of the city’s finest vegan restaurants (think Candle 79, Blossom, and so many more), holiday shopping at a silent auction, gorgeous (and potentially single!) guests mingling, and overflowing goody bags.  What are you waiting for – visit the event web site to rsvp now (tickets are $100 per person, with sponsorship levels from $350 and up).

• Speaking of partying for the animals, I recently attended the Humane Society of the United States‘ Cool Vs. Cruel event at the Bowery Hotel.

Photo: Erin Gleeson / Art Institutes

Supermodel Agyness Deyn sported her no-fur button, and I got to meet her, and everyone from Jay McCarroll (winner of Project Runway, Season One) to fashion icon Marc Bouwer to Nigel Barker.

Agyness Deyn is a DJ, Supermodel, and Fur-Free. Photo: Grzybowski/HSUS

Marc Bouwer gets down with HSUS Photo:Grzybowski/HSUS

•Speaking of Nigel Barker, get your tickets now to tomorrow’s screening of A Sealed Fate in NYC. Join Nigel Barker, renowned photographer, “America’s Next Top Model” judge, and one of The Humane Society of the United States’ top spokespersons, for a benefit screening of his moving documentary film “A Sealed Fate?” Will I see you there?