Why we can’t shop our way to sustainability
June 1, 2011 by green team
Filed under Food, Green Reporter
Eco labels are cluttered, confusing and unreliable.
Organic food gets a tiny slice of the market.
Most shoppers don’t pay much attention to environmental factors. Perhaps understandably so. They’re busy, or ignorant. Or they don’t care.
Which makes me believe that we can’t count on consumers to bring about a sustainable food system.
So, like it or not, that it’s going to be up to business to fix the food system.
via Marc Gunther.
The Super Green List: Connecting Human and Ocean Health
May 24, 2011 by green team
Filed under Food, Green Reporter
The Super Green list includes seafood that meets the following three criteria:
Low levels of contaminants (below 216 parts per billion [ppb] mercury and 11 ppb PCBs)
The daily minimum of omega-3s (at least 250 milligrams per day [mg/d])*
Classified as a Seafood Watch “Best Choice” (green)
RSPO celebrates first 25,000 certified palm oil family farms
November 16, 2010 by green team
Filed under Green Reporter
As part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s 8th Roundtable meeting, held this week in Jakarta, Indonesia, RSPO President Jan Kees Vis honored representatives from six smallholder communities and the palm oil mill owners which they supply. “These smallholders prove that RSPO is not and should not be just about large palm oil producers and users,” Mr. Vis said. “Over the next few years, hundreds of thousands more smallholders will become certified producers of sustainable palm oil.”
via GoodLight Natural Candles.
EcoChic At The UN Headquarters In Geneva
January 23, 2010 by green team
Filed under Fashion & Beauty, Green Reporter
Sketch by Bora Aksu
Over 450 influential figures from government, private sector and non-governmental organizations were inspired to learn of the opportunities that fashion has on protecting biodiversity.
On the catwalk were one-off couture creations by prolific designers such as Diane von Furstenberg, John Rocha, Manish Arora, Bora Aksu and Thakoon. Sustainable labels such as Noir, EDUN and Ciel also featured at the exciting spectacle.
In attendance at the event were international fashion designers Peter Ingwersen (Denmark), Anggy Haif (Cameroon), Sarah Ratty(UK), Evgeni Petkov (Bulgaria) and Magdalana Schaffrim (Germany). Celebrity models on the runway were Kate Dillon, renowned US plus-sized model and MPA in international development and Summer Rayne Oakes, TV presenter and sustainability strategist.
“It was a great success,” said Eduardo Escobedo, Economic Affairs Officer of UNCTAD. “Several governments welcomed this creative display of a longer-term initiative in this important year for biodiversity. The event was a breath of fresh air for the United Nations and served as a tangible way to engage people in the need to protect biodiversity.”
Christina Dean, founder of Green2greener, said “We hope that this event will push the point that sustainable fashion can be both high-end and mainstream, showing to consumers that they can look gorgeous whilst also helping the environment. Our collaboration with the United Nations proves just how important these issues are.”
Sustainable ready-to-wear and couture garments were made from a variety of biodiversity-protecting fabrics such as hemp, bamboo, alpaca, soya, organic cotton and organic silks. Accessories used included necklaces made from the off-cuts of African blackwood clarinets, to recycled industrial waste and sustainably harvested seeds from South America.
The fashion show was presented by Hong Kong charity Green2greener and hosted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in celebration of the United Nations 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.
Green2greener’s next 2010 stops include EcoChic Mumbai and EcoChic New York.
