Earth Day - Live Responsibly

Happy Earth Day, all!

To celebrate, The Zoe Report says to dress responsibly, and Modelina tells us to stock our wardrobe with "eco-friendly finds", but we say live responsibly, and stock up your life with products that fight for the environment. If you're looking to shop this Earth Day, think about replacing that MAC brush or Michael Kors watch with one of our earth-loving alternatives:

Given Goods: Part 2

Aside from fashion and retail goods, Cammy loves hot yoga, French films like The Intouchables, and sifting through her daily blogroll. Learn a little bit more about the powerhouse behind Given Goods:

Given Goods: Part 1

Dynamic, innovative businesses are usually led by powerful, passionate people. This couldn't be truer for Cammy of Given Goods, who we got to catch up with a few weeks ago.

We were initially attracted to Given Goods for their incredible, hand-picked selection of fashion, beauty, gift, and home products. Now that we know more about the thought behind it, it's harder not to resist the site. It aims to create educated consumers, especially with a new feature (that we're obsessed with)- the Good Graph. The graph helps you figure out how much of your shopping is doing good, what it's doing good for, and where in the world the magic is all happening.

But enough of our gushing- we'll let Cammy do the talking on behalf of Given Goods.

Design with benefits

Move over, Etsy- there's a new online shop in town. If you're looking for personally-curated boutique with unique, design-focused items, we've found you your match. Shop at Design with Benefits for clever, beautiful products that keep social good in mind. But the good doesn't stop there. Each month, users vote for a cause (design-related and socially-conscious, of course), and the winning one receives a percentage of all online sales. It's a complex, brilliant idea, so we thought we'd let the team behind the site do the talking. Meet Tania, Ida, and Eunice- the brains (and beauties) behind Design with Benefits.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

It's a motto that unfortunately, after 4th grade Recycling Poster Competitions, seems to lose traction in most homes.

'Sustainability', on the other hand, is a term that is in vogue as of late, and is a buzzer word for designers, retailers, and consumer product brands that want to gain the attention of the rising socially-conscious shopper class. We've found that very few sustainability initiatives from these brands seem purposeful, well-planned, executed, and evaluated for impact.

H&M, the international fast-fashion retailer, has been an exception.

Osei-Duro

"What’s the best thing about life? Some say it’s that you never know where exactly it will lead you... What was thought to be a one-time trip became Osei-Duro, an ethical fashion label that produces all of its garments in Ghana with the help of local artisans."

What strikes us as more remarkable than the beautiful mission of Osei-Duro is the story of production behind it. Luckily, we can catch a glimpse into the process of creating the stunning garments of the brand.

Afia

Finally, we think we've found it. A social venture that works both to sustain itself, and to strengthen a community. AFIA is a clothing line that produces fashions with fabrics printed in Ghana and workers in the country that are compensated at a fair rate. They do not aim to sugar-coat their mission by calling it a charity, but still exemplify the values of transparency and collaboration. AFIA's honesty is attractive, almost as much as their actual products. Though the online collection is not extensive, we can't get this one patterned peplum skirt out of our minds (they themselves brand it as a Spring 'must-have):

 

Our other half

We stumbled upon this amazing online magazine that has the same mission as the meré, which is making known philanthropic brands that promote fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. We won't say much else because we want you to check them out yourselves- they articulate (and display) their mission so beautifully. The little hint we can give you for this issue is a fresh face, red wine, and a Little Black Dress. Get lost in the world of L+C (Lifestyle & Charity) here.

Always looking into the meré,

xx

Full bloom

We first discovered Lemlem while browsing through the J. Crew Spring catalogue. The gorgeous smocked shirt that originally caught our eye is sold out now, but heading to Lemlem's website gives us more beautiful options:

via lemlem.com

Honest by

"We want to offer total clarity to our client.

We want to give our customer the opportunity to shop with complete awareness of what they are buying.

We respect the environment, we take the worlds climate challenges seriously.

We believe in the health of our clients skin. We want the impact of our products and activities on the environment and human health to be as small as possible.

We believe in animal welfare."

- honest by