When the easy summer breeze blows, images of a remote island retreat lined with coconut trees and tied hammocks pop in my head.
But aside from providing that cool shade, the ubiquitous tropical fruit even finds its way in the fashion plate's closet. Check out our earth-friendly coconut-derived bags by Aranaz ON SALE this season: But even more fascinating is that each part of the coconut provides its unique use:
1. Mesocarp - Inside the outer coat of the fruit is the mesocarp, which is packed with vascular bundles. This fiber is called the coir and is used for making mats and rope.
2. Endocarp - What we buy in the grocery store is the "stone" of this drupe, which has a hard "shell," the endocarp, and the seed, which is inside of the shell. The shell is used for containers and is widely employed by artisans to make ornaments, decorations, fashion accessories.
3. Seed Coat - The thin and white flesh or copra and the "coconut milk." is found inside. Copra is harvested, dried, and then pressed to release the oil, widely used for chief ingredients of shampoo and hair conditioners.
4. Palm - An excellent source of food for native peoples in the tropics. The plants have many fruits per plant at any time, and fruits are rich in calories and essential vitamins.
Who would have thought that gawky tree was THIS useful? So sport that beach bag made of coconut shells to pay tribute to that ubiquitous "tree of life"!
Earth day was first celebrated in April 22, 1970 to spark a revolution against environmental abuse. The recent attention brought by the Academy Award winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth", highlights the urgency of the imminent threat brought about by global warming. It's cool that Hollywood A-listers and Capitol Hill politicos now work together to educate people on the environmental crisis. Loving the earth has now become the chic ideal.
In NY, there are a variety of events happening on the week of April 22nd. The festivities kicked off in style last April 19th with Project Earth Day, an Eco Fashion show, showcasing emerging eco-designers such as aGaiN NYC, Contessa d'Eleganza, Bahar Shopar, NaturevsFuture, Entermodal, Ekovarhuset and many more*. And in Washington DC, a week-long congressional educational campaign launched with Earth Day on the Hill 2007. It's great that loving our only lonely planet is making a big come back.
While exploring the depths of the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market in Istanbul, I discovered a trove of exotic and organic treats. Aromatic spices and pistacchios, all wholly fresh and natural, were baked in the purest of honey and dusted with raw sugar to produce the delicious Turkish Delight. Bars of natural soaps were neatly stacked along a wall in a quaint stall selling olive oil soaps and all-natural ingredients. The fragrances reveal their precious origins: orange, tea, sesame, cinnamon, lavender, chamomile, and rose. Take a sensory reprieve by immersing in a hamam, the communal steam bath where they use loofahs made of pure goats' hair to scrub your skin until it literally glows.
To adorn the home, vivid pottery abound the souk: all hand-hewn using the clay abundant in the region, later meticulously painted with tints and dyes derived from plants, and finally fired to solid perfection in an old non-descript oven. Beautiful hand-spun carpets made of silk, lamb's wool and mohair, are dyed in natural colors and woven by hand to incorporate the lush patterns in locales such as the wondrously ancient town of Cappadocia. The carpets are both functional as warm covers on cold winter nights and decorative that reflect the pride of the nomadic clans that made them. Most traditional Turkish products come from natural raw materials and made in small workshops that are mostly family-owned and can be traced back generations. So is Turkey, the old Asia Minor, as naturally delightful as it seems? Definitely worthy of your next road trip.
It was a rainy night last March 22nd, when the Wharton School of Business kicked off its "Social Impact Conference" in great style with their first-ever charity fashion show. The weather did nothing to dampen Philadelphia's spirit as students and yuppies lined up in the city's art-nouveau theater The Trocadero. B-school students by day/ramp models by night strutted their socially responsible clothing and accessories provided by various designers. Product sponsors included American Apparel, Under the Canopy, Loyale, Sa Va, Deity Aton, and Matthew Izzo.
Guests were later treated to a silent auction of "green" products and services such as ever-cool and eco-friendly Sun and Earth cleaning products, relaxing spa treatments, and products from your very own Bamboocloset.com. A cocktail reception sponsored by Finlandia and Hennesey, as well as a very entertaining Zoolander-inspired walk-off competition followed. Goes to show that good old fun, fashion, and ethics can mutually co-exist.
