Fresh Friday Finds

1. Conference of Birds

I attended the COB runway show for the Spring 2009 collection and was thrilled to see some organics! Andrew Holden’s ‘excellent bad-boys’ looked as if they were just back to London from a desert excavation or an Egyptian urban-safari. This collection featured gorgeous canvas jackets, Hebrew-inspired scarves, lots of layers, an organic hooded trench coat, vests, and a bright but soft color palate of yellow, bone, black, gray and pale blue. DB contributer Jodi worked on this collection. Most of the spring collection was vegan, but there was some wool and leather, unfortunately.

2. Blog of a Vegan Pirate

SuperVegan has been publishing the blog of Tod Emko who documented his time serving on the Sea Shepherd pirate ship, The Steve Irwin, and their mission to stop illegal Japanese whaling from February and March of 2008. In light of the 2008 IWC Meeting finishing with the usual deadlock, and Sea Shepherd officially announcing its 2008-2009 anti-whaling campaign, Operation Musashi, it seemed a good time to show people what’s going on in the world of whaling.

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3. ‘Top Model’ Judge Protects Seals!

America’s Next Top Model judge and renowned photographer Nigel Barker opens A Sealed Fate? tonight in New York. If you are in NYC, go check out an exhibition about the world’s largest slaughter of marine animals. Tyra, no doubt, would approve—even if she didn’t think of it first.
July 25-27 at 401 Projects, 401 West St., New York, (212) 633-6202, humanesociety.org/protectseals

4. Victoria’s (Dirty Forest Destroying) Secret cleaned up!

LISTEN to CEO Todd Katzenmeyer as he talks about how the Forest Ethics campaign changed the company’s catalog practices. Also pay attention to the insanity of Corporate monsters like VS and the insanity they foster.

5. An Olympic-Sized Fur Trade

China is one of the world’s largest suppliers of fur garments. More than 95 percent of China’s finished fur garments are exported for sale overseas, and many of them go to North America. Cat and dog fur is often deliberately mislabeled as “Asian jackal” or “rabbit” fur. This summer, with the world’s eyes focused on China during the Olympics, PETA is exposing the horrors that take place on Chinese fur farms. This is a historic opportunity to speak out against the global fur trade and influence consumers worldwide.

6. Ontario has made the largest conservation commitment in Canadian history, setting aside at least half the Northern Boreal region – 225,000 square kilometres – for permanent protection from development.

7. CBS News Joins FOX in revealing the true role of mainstream media: Lies.

8. Click to feed shelter dogs (for free!)

9. VINYL from Olympia

10. Graphic Tease

Some fresh Organic Prints from Edun & Loomstate:

Sears’ Saws, Horny Party, & Sustainable Collective

1. I just got a boner for my new favorite place to shop, and sustainable just got sexier (and more affordable)! Convoy Apparel’s Sustainable Collective menswear Spring/Summer 08 collection is chic, sleek, and organíque. Get your hemp, bamboo, and organic cotton skinny jeans, vests, hoodies, button-downs, and ties here. Their policies? Sweatshop-free, made in the USA, natural organic dyes, and all styles are shipped in custom “bio-bags” made of 100% compostable and biodegradable corn material. All boxes are 100% recycled. If it wasn’t for the organic wool, I’d get the ring out… And ladies, no need to feel left out. they have the hot stuff for you too

2. I had fun at the Time Out New York “Horny Issue” Party! Here I am on Fleshbot (!!!) w/ the lovely Kerin Rose. Where did I put those clothes? For those that missed it, I was the centerfold in TONY’s Horny Issue.

3. Sears is the largest producer of catalogs that has refused to adopt a progressive environmental policy. Tell them to stop fucking up the forests! Father’s Day is big sales-time for Sears, click Here to let them know your dad would rather have clean water, a safe climate, and thriving forests than a tie, tool, or new grill.

Sign up now to host an event.

Forest Ethics will help you plan your action. Here’s what you can do:
* Organize an event at a Sears storefront, on your campus, or in your community
* Flyer and postcard at a Sears store or on your campus or in your community
* Host a letter-writing party

Getting All Huffy & Shoes by the Gram

1. Getting All Huffy About It:

Photograph by Phillip Toledano – Vanity Fair ‘Green Issue’ 2008

Right before Earth Day, Todd Paglia, Executive Director of Forest Ethics, a forest protection organization, blogged about the hypocricies of Vanity Fair and other copycat magazines’ so-called ‘green’ issues in the Huffington Post. Vanity Fair is printed on paper from clearcut forests. None of its 12 issues per year are ‘green.’ In his editor’s letter, Graydon Carter laments the lack of stage time some of our largest looming challenges — global warming, the true costs of the US’s energy-ineptitude — have received in our current presidential race. While he goes on to say that those topics get their due in the subsequent pages, he conveniently neglects to mention another problem: the fact that every year, the magazine industry destroys an area the size of Rocky Mountain National Park — at an average of one tree per second — to print its 12 billion magazines. Read more…

Want an easy way to help protect endangered forests? Petition for a “Do Not Mail” Registry.

2. Gram Shoes

I wish these were organic, but at least they’re not leather! These hot shoes are as sophisticated as they are bad-ass. I spoke to their super-friendly and helpful US agent (BRNDNU, also associated with Good Society) to find out about their labor policies and ecological footprint. I was informed over the telephone that Gram is made in China by a Japanese owned and staffed factory. They are paid living wages, so no sweatshops. The fabrics are from England, and the design headquarters are in Sweden. Their new range is entirely nylon & denim, but in the past they’ve used leather, suede, and lambskin. Buy them at Mauve.