LivingGreenNZ

“Most of the clothing we’ve seen in shops is labelled as “bamboo”, not as rayon. It’s also being sold with environmental claims that are likely to mislead consumers.”

The low down on eco friendly fibres - the most friendly?  Hemp, followed by linen and organic cotton… soy, eucalyptus and bamboo…can one even call them natural?

Only half of Chicken McNuggets are actual meat

—Say what?

ECO MERCHANDISE WISHLIST

I want these sandals!  Sseko is a socially responsible company that has made an awesome product - namely a sandal where you can change the way in which you tie the sandal and colour of the straps - it’s like 10 sandals in one!  (so it’s kinda eco friendly too).  Check out their tutorials on how to tie your shoes at http://www.youtube.com/ssekodesigns

This is on my wish list! 

About Sseko Designs

Sseko Designs is a footwear and accessories company based in Uganda. We produce beautiful, unique leather sandals with interchangeable fabric straps.

The base of every sandal is the same, but the sandals can be tied in hundreds of ways and the straps come in a variety of colors, patterns and materials, so every Sseko sandal is totally unique.

Here at Sseko we are using fashion to educate and empower women in East Africa by employing them during the gap between high school and university. Our beautiful products are handmade by some of the brightest women in Uganda. The money they save during this nine month period will allow them to further their education and go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers, teachers and so much more.

Lower income for all women, particularly those of color, means less money to support their families with necessities such as housing, food, education, and health care. Closing the pay gap is even more important for women of color who are more likely than their white counterparts to be breadwinners.

The long-term wage gap hurts families of color tremendously, forcing families to choose between putting food on the table or saving for a college education and retirement. On average, an African American woman working full time loses the equivalent of 118 weeks of food each year due to the wage gap. A Latina loses 154 weeks’ worth of food. The stubbornly persistent gender-based wage gap adds up substantially over the lifetime of a woman’s career. For women of color the loss of savings over a 30-hour-a-week to a 40-hour-a-week work lifespan is significant. A woman of color will have to live on one-third to 45 percent less than a white man based on the average benefits that are afforded through Social Security and pension plans. Research shows that a woman’s average lifetime earnings are more than $434,000 less than a comparable male counterpart over a 35-year working life.

Analysis done in 2012 by the Center for American Progress illustrates that the money lost over the course of a working woman’s lifetime could do one of the following:

—Feed a family of four for 37 years
—Pay for seven four-year degrees at a public university
—Buy two homes
—Purchase 14 new cars

Simply be saved for retirement and used to boost her quality of life when she leaves the workforce

Lifetime earnings are even lower for women of color because they face higher levels of unemployment and poverty rates. In March 2013 unemployment rates of black [women] and Latinas were significantly higher than their white counterparts at 12.2 percent and 9.3 percent respectively compared to white women at 6.1 percent. According to the National Women’s Law Center, poverty rates among women, particularly women of color, remain historically high and unchanged in the last year. The poverty rate among women was 14.6 percent in 2011—the highest in the last 18 years. For black women and Latinas that same year, the poverty rate was 25.9 percent and 23.9 percent, respectively.

—Sophia Kerby, “How Pay Inequity Hurts Women Of Color,” Black Politics On The Web 4/9/13 (via racialicious)

(via babydykecate)

Sheryl Sandber ,COO of Facebook and author of Lean In.
She is awesome

Textile Upcycling

Inspired by my cargo hiking trousers ripping (or in kiwi speak, cargo tramping pants, haha) I looked around for some upcycle ideas.  Check out this site on how to make a messanger bag out of them:

http://www.noodle-head.com/2010/01/tutorial-messenger-bag-from-cargo-pants.html

And how to make a yoga mat bag:

http://www.ecouterre.com/upcycle-a-pair-of-cargo-pants-into-a-yoga-mat-bag-diy-tutorial/

I came across this video aswell - it is a few years old now, but I love the idea of places like these.  I want more around!!!

4.5 Pounds. This is the estimated waste thrown out by an average American, each and every day. In all this amounted to about 250 million tons of trash in the United States in 2010 alone.²Trashed follows that waste from your garbage can to transfer stations and ultimately to incinerators or landfills that are quickly reaching their maximum limits.

Seriously… watch this.

ecologicalanarchism:

Now that we are deep into the Plastic Age, questions about material safety and environmental impact have become a bit more complicated than in previous technological epochs like the Bronze or Iron Ages.

Your yogurt containers are probably made of polypropylene (PP), or #5 plastic, which does not…

(Source: sierraclub.typepad.com)

moorbi:

This article considers the rise of the new generation in sustainable brands. Generation Y, those born between 1977-1998, are showing signs of a major shift in green attitudes and behaviour. Often considered to be “born green” because they grew up in a society where eco-consciousness was…