Published October 2, 2007
in Do Good.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and some of our favorite designers have created products specifically for the cause. There are now products that help the fight against breast cancer for every aspect of your life.
For the kitchen: Kitchen Aid has their most popular tools in pink for their Pink Cook for the Cure Collection. When you buy from the collection (which includes the stand mixer, measuring cups, spatulas and more) Kitchen Aid will donate 10% of the retail cost to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
For your body: Keeping fit is a great way to reduce your chances of getting breast cancer. Stay fit (or get fit) with Valeo’s pink body ball and Valeo will donate part of proceeds to support breast cancer research.
For your face: Chances are you need new cosmetics, so why not buy cosmetics that support fighting breast cancer? Clinique, La Mer, Este Lauder, Go Smile, Tweezerman and more are supporting the fight.
For your closet: Lisa Kline, C&C California, Splendid and Christian Dior are a few of the names in the industry that have created fashions to support Breast Cancer Awareness month.
There are so many great options this month, so shop for a good cause.
I will be the first to admit that I am not the greenest person around. I don’t ride a bike; I don’t recycle very often; I leave plugs plugged in. However, there are some very simple green things that anyone can do (myself included).
Number one is to use green cleaning products. I have been using Method cleaning products for years because they are great for the environment, and because the bottles are so pretty. Another simple green effort you can make is using reusable grocery bags. Not only are these bags great for the environment, but they are sturdier than plastic bags (makes my life easier while hauling groceries up four flights of stairs.)
Right now after the insane hype of Anya Hindmarch “I’m Not a Plastic Bag”, Method cleaning products have come up out with the Plastic Bag Rehab bag. I actually like Method’s version much better and it can be yours when you spend $20 on Method cleaning products.
Not a bad deal, might I suggest the Daily Shower Cleaner and the Granite Counter Top Cleaner.
Don’t you love it when you can “look good” and “do good” at the same time? It’s not very often that you can find clothing that are both good for charity and aesthetically pleasing. Don’t get me wrong, clothing that help people in need are always a good thing, but sometimes we would rather wear those articles to sleep rather than out in public.
Don’t lie to yourself. You know it’s true.
ShopBop and Glamour Magazine have teamed up to create five limited editions t-shirts that help support the charity Malaria No More. Five hot designers were tasked with designing these “do good” tees: Peter Som, Erin Fetherson, Marchesa, Jovovich-Hawk, and Thakoon.
Each white tee shirt has a unique pen and ink like drawing and will be sold on ShopBop.com for $68. For each Fashion Gives Back tee sold, six bed nets will be donated to women and children in Tanzania through Malaria No More, an organization dedicated to fighting a disease that kills one million children in Africa each year.
Fashion for a good cause is a good thing, so get your shirts while they are still available.
OK ladies, spill. Where do you hunt for a fine-lookin’ man? I haven’t been single in awhile (and even when I was, I was trying to date women, not men), but I’ve heard that people pick up hot dates in all sorts of random places (like their local grocery store, for instance). But never in a million years would I think that attractive guys would be hanging out in mortuaries.
That, however, is exactly the myth that the makers of the Men of Mortuaries calendar are trying to dispel. They’ve found the beefiest morticians from around the country, and convinced the men to go topless in a series of hunky poses. I’m no expert on the male physique, but I’d say these dudes don’t look half-bad.
What makes it even better, is that the proceeds from the calendar will go to benefit Kaamcares, a foundation dedicated to those with cancer.
So what do you think, ladies? Would you look past a man’s ominous occupation if he was a stud with a heart of gold?
With models dropping like flies because of dangerous eating disorders, it’s about time the fashion world worked to make eating cool.
As it stands in Spain, models with a body index below 18 are banned from the runways, and in London models under 16 can’t strut it either. Even with those changes, models, actresses, and average women are going to great lengths to keep those size zeroes in their closets.
It seems like skinny is here to stay, but not if clothing company Project E has anything to say about it. Inspired by the line from the television show Heroes “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World”; Project E has designed the shirt “Feed the Models, Save the World.” 100% of tee shirt sales will go to the Eating Disorders Information Network. “People need to be aware” of the dangers of eating disorders, said Michael Hecht, the president of Project E. “Hopefully we are making Hollywood aware.”
The clothing company had launch party a few weeks back in Los Angeles which was model-heavy (trying to inspire those who need it most). According to the LA Times, although the message was to eat, the food was not flowing at the party. Hey, it’s L.A., these things take time.
The “Feed the Models Save the World” T-shirt costs $44 and is being sold in L.A. boutiques Fred Segal, Lisa Kline and M. Fredric.
I have a soul, and a conscience, so the thought of buying things made by near-starving children who get paid $3 a day in developing countries is hard for me to stomach. Hence, I’m draw to the idea of fair trade goods.
Unfortunately, it seems like the only fair trade products I ever run into are potato-sack skirts decorated excessively with beads, wood-carvings of elephants and a wide variety of products made from hemp. Plus, these products are inevitably sold by a store with “Earth” or “Mother” in it’s name — so if I’m even thinking about buying something, I have to put up with patchouli stench, world music, and all that other irritating new age stuff.
Fortunately, there’s hope. The UK’s Guardian newspaper has put together a photo essay called “Ethical bling,” that’s comprised entirely of fair trade jewelery. Some of it’s a little hippy-dippy, but for the most part, these are all cute pieces that you can wear without looking like you work at your local leftist coffee shop.
Not that there’s anything wrong with hippies, coffee shops, or world music — I’m just happy there’s something out there for the rest of us.
When I hear “sweatshirt dress,” right away I think of something from Juicy Couture or perhaps Hard Tail. It’s a dress that’s really just a very long sweatshirt hoodie that is more a piece to throw on when you have to run out on the fly for an errand, not something you’d actually wear to…dinner.
However, Beau Soleil has changed my view on sweatshirt dresses. The company is “green,” and uses organic cotton in Beau Sweat, their dark gray sweatshirt dress pictured at the right. The dress features wide, three-quarter length sleeves, pockets on the front, and a sexy deep V neck.
Available for $295.
Feeling the heat?
If so, you might want to look into Japanese Kuchou-fuku’s air-conditioned clothes. The shirts and jackets keep the wearer cool with two small fans sewn into the back of each garment. The fans are powered by a pocket-sized rechargeable battery pack.
They aren’t the most fashionable thing I’ve seen, even in any of the 10 different styles and a variety of colors, but they do help the environment because they use about 1/50th the energy of a small air conditioner. If you don’t mind that you might look like a human blimp, you can get one of these shirts for 11,000 yen ($96).
Ah! Everywhere you turn someone is going “green.” I am torn on my feelings about this. On one hand it’s good because it helps to save the planet. On the other hand, we have to ask, “Are people really going “green” or just being trendy?” There is no real green-o-meter as far as I know, so how can we know what is “green” and what is jumping on a marketing bandwagon?
All of my crazy theories aside, another company has gone green. Fashion Week Daily reports that Green is the New Pink, Victoria’s Secret is now “green” so our underwear can be eco-friendly too! Last December the lingerie giant agreed to adopt eco-friendly alternatives for its mass mailing business. Oh thank goodness, does that mean I won’t get 7 different catalogs a week?!
Victoria’s Secret’s Pink line, which is aimed at a younger set of shoppers, will be launching mini collections of environmentally friendly garments. The eco-friendly Pink line will include fleece tees, tank tops, and accessories that are made of organic cottons.
Victoria Secret believes that going “green” is just becoming a part of our daily lives and are very pleased with their environmentally conscious efforts.
To tell you the truth, if I actually start getting fewer catalogs, I will be pleased too.
