I must admit, I’ve never been much of a fashionista. In fact, if Garanimals came in adult sizes, I’d probably check them out. OK, that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point.

However, I do find the innovations in green clothing fascinating, and for that reason I plan on attending EcoNouveau this Saturday. Billed as LA’s definitive EcoLifestyle experience, the event is a precursor to LA Fashion Week, which begins October 14th.

The event will feature the Spring/Summer ’08 collection of eco-fashion designers in a non-traditional runway show (I’m really curious to find out what that means!) The show will spotlight innovative uses of organic materials and processes.

EcoNouveau will take place on September 29th at 8pm at the Architecture and Design Museum. The A+D, as it is commonly known, is an all-inclusive information and education center for design including architecture, interior design, landscape design, fashion design and product design. It is the only museum in Los Angeles where continuous exhibits of architecture and design are on view.

At the event, organic hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served, accompanied by music by Dublab and drinks provided compliments of VeeV. The suggested donation for entry is $20.

EcoNouveau is the brainchild of Rob Ganger, of Pollinator Media Group, and co-founder of The Evolver Project, an incubator that launched a print magazine (Evolver) and an online directory and media portal (evo.com). The event has two additional sponsors: Sarah Shewey, owner of Pink Cloud Events, a full-service event production and design company that specializes in eco-friendly resources, and Peter Gurnz of BOXeight, an art/media/production company.

A few months ago, in an effort to green up my health and beauty products, I ran across National Geographic’s The Green Guide. The site included a handy wallet-sized guide called The Dirty Dozen in Personal Care Products, which allows me to pick products that don’t contain harmful chemicals.

Then last week, my issue of Whole Life Times included a tear-out seafood guide. It lets me know what to avoid eating, due to contamination or unsustainable fishing practices.

This got me thinking…what other guides are out there, which would help me make decisions on the spot, in the store, when I don’t have fast access to online information?

Since The Green Guide’s personal care wallet guide was so good, it seemed like a logical place to start. Little did I know that I was about to hit the mother lode. With guides on everything from home renovations to eggs (yes, eggs), you might need a bigger wallet to contain all of the information. But a few guides in particular caught my eye:

Plastics: As it turns out, not all plastics are created equal. So though it’s better not to use plastic at all, some are worse choices than others. For example, if you see #3 PVC on the bottom of a container, avoid it. Not only is PVC not recyclable, but it releases carcinogens and hormone disrupters when it’s made or incinerated. PVC can also leach chemicals into food – especially hot, fatty foods – so don’t reheat left-overs in it. Instead, look for the recycling codes #1 PETE, #2 HDPE, #4 LDPE and #5 PP on the bottom of containers. Even better? Glass, metal, paper, or ceramic.

Household Cleaners: This one will be obvious to anyone who’s ever gotten a snoot full of Tilex. Conventional cleaning products contain lots of fragrances and petroleum-distilled chemicals that vaporize into the air, known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. These can cause breathing problems and asthma, and contribute to higher levels of toxicity inside homes. The wallet guide lists specific products in many categories that are better choices.

Toys: With all of the news about lead paint in children’s toys made in China, this should be at the forefront of parents’ minds. Again, PVC makes the list of things to avoid – instead look for natural elements, like organic cotton and unfinished sustainable wood. My favorite surprise in this category? LEGO. They are PVC and phthalate-free, and you can still get a bucket of them for ten bucks. Who says going green has to cost an arm and a leg?

Like many people I know, I constantly struggle with the feeling that I’m not doing "enough." Not that I know how much "enough" is, or whether I could actually achieve it, but still. So, to try to simplify things for myself, I’ve decided to use some very crude true cost guess-timating, along with Reduce-Reuse-Recycle as my guide.

What is true cost? It’s most commonly defined as an economic model that involves including externalities into the pricing of goods and services. These externalities are most apparent in harm caused to living beings, including the environment as a whole. True cost includes everything from the depletion of non-renewable resources to pollution from shipping the product to you. Toothpaste from China may be cheap in price, but if it has anti-freeze in it, your true cost just went way up.

I love the concept - it applies the old adage of "you get what you pay for" in a new way. More importantly, it also allows us to calculate the real impact of our choices. For an everyday, real-world example, if I need to run an errand and decide to drive, at a minimum it will cost money for gas, add mileage to the car, and emit CO2. Even though I can’t really put a specific dollar cost on the CO2, at least I can recognize that there is a clear cost to the environment. If I walk, it only costs a little extra time, which I usually have. The better choice becomes clear.

The Reduce-Reuse-Recycle hierarchy comes in to play most often when considering purchases. I say "hierarchy," because this really is how it should be used: the best choice is reducing consumption. So, although I’ve been feeling pressure to have the coolest green products, it’s actually better not to buy anything new. At all.

To see how this felt, a week ago I decided not to buy anything new products (not including food, of course). This eliminates the use of resources in every stage of a product’s life cycle, from raw materials to disposal. It actually wasn’t too hard where I was concerned, but a baby shower broke my resolve – surely, it’s tacky to take used merchandise to a baby shower!?! I suppose I could have made something, but Martha Stewart I ain’t!

Gifts aside, this experiment felt really good, and not just for the sense of reducing consumption and saving money. More than that, it has taken the pressure off - I don’t have to have a new organic cotton shirt, because I don’t need another shirt, much less a new one. Whew! And I’m actually greener for it!

Of course, a complete ban on stuff can’t go on forever. But there are plenty of great options for reusing merchandise – the second level of the hierarchy – including thrift stores and garage sales. Check out Google’s new maps tool, which allows you to find all garage sales listed on craigslist near you. Cool events like swap-o-ramas are also popping up all over. Who needs bamboo underwear? OK, bad example.

Image credit: www.swaporamarama.org

During my recent search for healthier personal care products, I couldn’t help but encounter Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. Available in many natural stores, it’s been around since the 1940s. I began to wonder…are its ingredients really organic, and who was Dr. Bronner?

As it turns out, the ingredients are truly organic, and there is quite a story surrounding Dr. Emanuel Bronner. Born in Germany in 1907, Dr. Bronner was a third-generation master soap-maker who immigrated to the US in the 1920s. Sounds like the beginning of a typical American success story, but here’s where things get a bit squirrelly.

A self-proclaimed rabbi and (allegedly) Albert Einstein’s nephew, Dr. Bronner escaped from a mental institution in 1947. Soon thereafter, he invented his now famous Magic Soap, made from all natural ingredients. Dr. Bronner developed a philosophy born from the loss of his parents and most of his family in the Holocaust: “All-One!” The phrase emphasized his belief that we are all children from the same divine source. This message, along with the organic soap’s popularity, catapulted Dr. Bronner to the forefront of counter-culture in the 1960’s and 70’s.

Wow, you really can’t write this stuff, and fortunately, you don’t have to. Documentary filmmaker Sara Lamm’s creation, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox, makes its Los Angeles premiere on Friday, July 13th, at the Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills.

Documenting the life and legacy of Dr. Bronner, the film delves into the complicated issues he left behind. One surprising example: his son Ralph (now 68) spent much of his childhood in orphanages and foster homes, yet remains a staunch supporter of his father. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

So the question is, does any of this make me want to buy Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap? Well, after hearing this wild tale, I've got to try it!

Photo credit: www.magicsoapbox.com

Having grown up reaping the rewards of my parents’ huge vegetable garden, I know what real food tastes like. Compared to most of what I can get in the grocery store, fresh, homegrown vegetables actually have flavor, not to mention color and nutrients. Plus, I got to pick them or dig them out of the ground myself…a 10-year-old's dream. But here in Los Angeles, it sometimes seems like that kind of food is a world away.

Where can I get the kind of food that reminds me of home? Fortunately, LA has some great Farmers’ Markets, including one down the street from me in Santa Monica. Not only are the veggies great, but they come from local farmers so they aren’t shipped halfway around the world to get to me.

But sometimes cooking just isn’t on the menu. Then what?

I’ve begun looking for restaurants that use local or organic food, and it seems that there are a growing number of options for eating out, while still eating well. One of my favorites, Tender Greens in Culver City, offers amazing salads, sandwiches, and grilled stuff, with produce coming from local farms.

Another Culver City favorite, Cook’s Double Dutch offers a long list of vegetarian and vegan specialties in addition to their pork tenderloin and turkey meatloaf, emphasizing their philosophy that vegans and omnivores should be able to eat together. Every day the menu features Niman Ranch specialties, using meat from the sustainable ranch north of San Francisco.

This spring, Double Dutch also offered The Sustainable Supper Club. Inspired by the Clubinas in Italy, the monthly events featured an entirely plant-based menu of local, organic foods paired with organic wines. Served party style with guests at communal tables, the event was designed to encourage discussion of our food systems, as well as increase the awareness of the benefits of moderation and incorporating locally grown meals into our daily practices.

But, we live in a hectic culture, and sometimes it seems like we only have time for a drive-thru. Luckily, there is an answer for those times when you need food on the run: Organic to Go. I was introduced to the chain at a meeting last month when the hosts ordered sandwich bags for our working lunch. Organic to Go uses organic and natural ingredients in their sandwiches, salads and wraps, and they even have a breakfast menu.

This movement against nutritionally bankrupt, unhealthy fast food is not new. In 1989, the international non-profit Slow Food was formed “…to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.”

This mission really underscores the complex relationship that we have with food, and how far away from that relationship we’ve come. But hopefully, by buying produce from local growers and looking for restaurants that use sustainable practices, perhaps I can go home again.

At last week’s Sustainable Business Council event here in LA, the topic was health and wellness. As a cool bonus at the event, the organization brought in Green Bliss, a mobile eco-spa, to provide free treatments. It was then that I realized just how much is going on in this industry.

Of course, the signs have been around for awhile. It seems that I’m constantly meeting people who are starting new organic soap or skincare lines. And at the LOHAS Conference in April, an entire section was dedicated specifically to the booming green spa industry.

But it looks like I’m behind the curve on this one, though talking with the Green Bliss folks last week was enlightening. They reminded me that every ingredient in a particular product would be absorbed through the skin or nails…eeks! They also pointed out that many products, like nail polish, were developed decades ago. Science has come a long way since then, and we’re all more knowledgeable about what we put in, and on, our bodies so we should take the time to educate ourselves. And, you can’t rely on labels that tout a product as “natural” or “organic” – you have to read the ingredients.

Whew! OK, I finally get it. I need to “green up” my products.

To help me in this quest, I went back to Green Options writer Rebecca Carter’s Tip O’the Day: Cosmetics That Cause Concern. She recommended going to the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetics safety database, Skin Deep. There, I searched for the products that I use most, and got a few surprises, both good and bad. This was great for the products I already use, or am considering, but what about when I’m in the store…what ingredients do I really need to avoid?

I found a list of some of the worst offenders at National Geographic’s Green Guide, which lays out the “Dirty Dozen” one by one, along with the scary stuff that results from their use. They even have a downloadable wallet card so that you can always have the list with you.

With tremendous growth occurring in the Natural Personal Care category, it’s important to be educated consumers. By resisting old habits and spending a little more time educating ourselves, perhaps we can push new products in a healthier direction, and do better for our bodies in the meantime.

Photo Credit: SpaFinder.com

Suggs Exhibition at the Maltz Gallery

If you’re a business person in the Los Angeles area with an interest in sustainability, there’s a new non-profit designed specifically to help you improve your profits, your community, and the environment.

The Sustainable Business Council (SBC), headed by business executives, was created with one goal in mind: establishing Los Angeles as a leader in the sustainable business sector. To further that cause, the SBC holds quarterly events, each dedicated to a specific topic related to sustainability. The summer event, to be held on Thursday, June 21st, will focus on issues related to the health and wellness sector.

So, what is a sustainable business? According to the SBC, a sustainable business takes full account of the environmental consequences of economic activity and uses resources that are renewable, replaceable, non-depletionary or regenerative. Sounds like a good goal for all companies.

As with past SBC events, a panel discussion is the featured event of the evening, followed by a Q&A session. Since the attendees at each event are business people involved and interested in sustainability, the questions are generally right on-point and make for an interesting discussion.

In addition to the panel, there will be plenty of time for networking. Thanks to the decidedly business focus of the SBC, the events are well-attended by professionals from all industries.

Prior events have also featured raffles - at November’s green building event, I won a basket of green goodies from Livingreen. The bounty included Mrs. Meyers cleaning products, a Klean Kanteen (replacing all of those bottles of water) and even a doormat made out of recycled flip flops! At the spring event, one lucky winner won a free pass to the LOHAS conference.

Sponsored by Valcucine and VeeV vodka, and held at the Otis College of Art and Design, the event begins at 7pm and has a $20 entry fee. As a bonus, the Maltz gallery's current exhibit, a survey exhibition spanning 35 years of the work of Los Angeles-based artist Don Suggs, will be open during the evening.

Well, if you’re reading this, you probably are.

LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. Representing an estimated 50 million American adults, the name LOHAS is now synonymous with the “Cultural Creatives” segment of the population originally identified in 1996 by sociologist, author, and market researcher Paul Ray, Ph.D. Ray, along with psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson, described the segment in their 2000 book, The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World.

So what’s so special about the LOHAS segment? Usually, market segments are identified using things like lifestyle, buying behavior, and demographics. But here’s where the LOHAS consumers diverge: they are distinguished solely by their values, as they care strongly about issues like the environment, social justice, sustainability, and health. Is this starting to sound familiar?

As the segment grows, more and more businesses have begun to take notice – the marketplace for LOHAS consumers is now valued at over $220 billion. This means that more products and services, meant to serve our needs, will be coming to the market. Good news for anyone tormented over having to buy a product that is no friend of the environment, due to the lack of an alternative.

I got to learn about and even sample some of these alternatives this week at the 11th annual LOHAS Forum, held in Marina del Rey, CA. Though some established brands, like Burt’s Bees, were in attendance in the exhibit hall, many were new to me. I especially liked Green & Black’s Organic Chocolate and VeeV, a spirit made from Brazil’s açai fruit and billed as “a better way to drink.” Count me in!

Of course, the Forum wasn’t all about food and drink. The program featured a variety of speakers and break-out sessions designed to educate and inform LOHAS companies. My favorite session, “Giving Sustainability More SIZZLE”, focused on the shift of the LOHAS segment from a small niche to the mainstream, and some of the keys to making that jump as a company. Not surprisingly, communicating with authenticity was at the top of the list. LOHAS consumers can see through greenwashing a mile away…even through a chocolate haze.

For those unable to attend the conference, session videos will be posted on the website: www.lohas.com