Landfill Harmonic

Even music instruments can be organic...

This is a teaser for the new film about the Recycled Orchestra. It's truly inspiring and shows us that music and beauty can be found anywhere and made out of almost anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=O6rgkCUstaE&NR=1

Another toothpaste

Decided to try a new one. Went for Weleda Salt Toothpaste this time.

The sea-salt is what's cleaning your teeth in this toothpaste, there's no flouride in it. There's also no preservatives, colourants or synthetic flavours.

It really doesn't taste great, but my mouth and teeth feels really clean after brushing. Since it's developed in collaboration with dentists it should work properly.

They have other ones to try if you don't like the taste of this one.

Read more about other Weleda products I've tried here.

The Climate Account

This truly is a great page! In a few easy steps it helps you to calculate your own carbon footprint.

When you're done it gives you a few hints on easy things you can change to reduce your impact.

Check it out and find out what steps you can take for a healthier world.

More from Stella

I want these!!!

Stella McCartneys new boots and pumps for A/W12

was seen on every fashionistas feet during the fashion weeks in NY, London, Milan and Paris.

I'm completely in love with the look, and it sure doesn't hurt that the sole is completely biodegradable.The rest of the shoe is made with Stellas usual care about the environment and impeccable attention to detail.

Keep me appdated

All the social media mentioned yesterday are of course available as apps on your smart-phone too. If you haven't got a smart-phone yet..... What are you waiting for? I promise you'll love it and you'll be wondering what took you so long....

There are some great apps for keeping up with your organic life-style. These are just a few;

Don't ever print papers again. Share your documents with friends,
family, colleagues and business-partners. On your phone or on your computer.





 



Vegetarian recepies to use on Meat Free Monday.
Good inspiration!





Photos - so many apps to choose from;

Hipstamatic, Camera+, Pixlromatic,

Disposable, Instagram. 

Add filters or flashes to create unique pictures.

Saves your pictures in one place

and no need to print them out.











Lists Swedish farms shops.

Easy way to find locally produced greens, meats and more.

 Complete with a map function and short information about each farm.





Norwegian app. Scan the barcode of a cosmetic product
and the app will tell you if that product contains

 ingredients that can mess with you hormones.

There's a list of common chemicals and products. Such a great idea!

Play a game about climate change,
read the latest green news or donate money.

I only found a Swedish version.
Gives information about Fairtrade products
and where to find them.
Read stories from farmers,
and find out what you can do to help.

Green Guide (in Swedish only unfortunately).
From The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. 

Has tips about what to buy, how to recycle, how to travel

and a smart way to find an eco-friendly store close to you.

App from from Swedavia, the Swedish company in charge of all major
Swedish airports. It's a game where you help passengers to reach their flights.
It should be quick and with as little environmental impact as possibile.

Chanel SS13 Paris

When Chanel showed their collection for Spring/Summer 2013 tonight at the Grand Palais they had a really creative setting.

I don't think it was intended to make a statement in the energy-debate, but it kind of does anyway. The runway itself is is painted to look like the models are walking on solar-panels. And take a look at the cool catwalk decorated with almost real size wind turbines.

Makes a powerful impression anyhow, doesn't it?



I really want this fab t-shirt...

Social media

I'm a social media geek and I use and explore all those fab social media sites for up to date information.

Twitter is my new drug and such a great source of information. Every minute, every day you can keep yourself updated with news, sports, fashion, politics, food, environment, health, economy, weather etc etc. You can interact with you favourite popstar, follow the race between Obama and Romney, watch Greenpeace trying to stop Gazprom or look at Anna Dello Russos beautiful outfits. What can possibly be better?

Twitter, blogs, Facebook, Google +, Flicker, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc etc. For inspiration, keeping up with friends, share ideas, getting hired, share your photos, share your stories -  you name it, they've got it!

A great way to be more environmentally friendly than buying newspapers that are outdated the minute they are distributed. And you get the news faster, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than newspapers and magazines with all that paper, ink and emissions during transportation.

Just perfect!

Ella's Kitchen

Ella's Kitchen is the coolest brand for kids right now. It was invented by a dad who wanted to provide his kids with nothing but the best; organic food with a great taste. In addition to being organic, their products contain no sugar, salt or nuts and of course there are no E-numbers or GM products.

There are a lot of different types of food to choose from, from fruits to full meals to desserts and snacks. The meals come adjusted for certain ages and also special diets like lactose or vegetarian.

And the containers are just the cutest! No glass that can break, they are completely chemical-free and can easily be re-sealed and finished later. If you stock up, they can even be put in the freezer. Perfect when you're on the run since they are so easy to bring and the kids can eat straight from the container. Good news for all parents I think.

Another great thing is that you can easily bring the products on the plane when travelling. British Airways has actually included Ella's Kitchens fruit-smoothies in their child breakfast meals. How cool is that?

Ella's won the Grocery brand of the year award in 2011 in Sweden and they have recieved several other awards for their products.

When the containers are empty, you can recycle and reuse them with TerraCycle. So far only in the U.K, Ireland and Sweden.

Strawberries

In Sweden strawberries are the biggest sign that summer has finally arrived. Ask any Swede and he/she will tell you that there is absolutely no strawberries anywhere in the world as good as the Swedish ones. We eat them for breakfast, lunch and dessert and we put them in salads for dinner together with grilled meat. We eat them as snacks, as appetizers together with feta-cheese, or in smoothies. The best thing ever is to go to your local farmer and pick them yourself. You spend hours in the fields eating as many as you're picking and leave sunburnt with red fingertips and many, many liters of bright red berries. Those get in the freezer to enjoy wintertime or they are turned into jam or cordials.

Pesticides used when growing strawberries in Sweden are Betanal SC/Kemifam SC. The company that sells these products in Sweden (Bayer CropScience) writes on their own website that whatever is left of the pesticide after spraying the fields shall be kept away from children and animals and separated from food. I really don't see how that goes together since we serve those sprayed strawberries to our children later....

In a test carried out in 2009, 94% of the conventionally grown strawberries (Swedish and others) contained traces of pesticides. Several of the pesticides discovered are suspected to cause cancer.

The good news is that the industry is working to find solutions that allow less harmful farming, so I hope it will soon be easier to find organic ones. Strawberries grown organically will meet challenges like weed, fungus and different pests, so you need to grow tough species and to put in more work to keep your plants free. It's definitely worth doing so though since studies have shown that organic strawberries can actually prevent cancer. Makes the choice quite easy... You can read more about this at krav.se. 

According to a recent study made at Lunds University in Sweden, bees really like organic strawberries. They pollinated 45% of the strawberry-flowers on the organic farms and only 17% on the conventional farms. So you can basically turn one wrong into two rights and have bee-hives next to your strawberry-farm.

Eat!

Eat! Ekostore is a fantastic little store in the centre of Stockholm that has everything you need, just as your regular supermarket. You can find milk, meat, juice, vegetables and grains. They have a selection of schampoos, detergents, baby-products and sunscreens as well as chocolate, candies, nuts and much much more. So there is nothing you can't find in here. It feels good to know that you don't have to check for the organic labels, instead you just buy what you need and you'll know it's not harmful in any way. They are open 7 days a week with really generous opening hours, so there's no reason to shop anywhere else. It's also nice to support the local community and to make sure we keep wonderful places like this one open.

If you're a company they're able to deliver fruit to the office; a nice and easy way to care about your employees. They will even bring coffee, milk or other products if you want to. Of course your shopping will be delivered in a car that runs on biogas.

As an ECOmmunity member you'll get special deals and invitations to events, and if you're on Twitter or Facebook you'll get all the latest news and offers. Also, check out their website were you can read their blog and find some delicious dinner inspiration in the recipes section.

Earth from Above

The French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes truly amazing pictures of our earth.

What's important to this photographer is to show the impact humans have on the planet, and his book Earth from Above has sold millions of copies all over the world. I have a version of that book called Earth from above - 365 days. It's a fantastic book with amazing photos and next to each picture he talks about the beauty of that particular place but also what difficulites they face and what steps needs to be taken to take care of the planet, the people and the animals that lives here.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is also the creator of Goodplanet Foundation that aims to raise awareness on environmental issues. They have several interesting projects including "7 billion Others". In this project they have interviewed 6000 people in 84 counties about their daily life and their hopes and dreams for the future. It's meant to show what unites us, to make us reach out to each other and to realize that we're all in this together.

Check out his website and browse through many spectacular pictures. The book Earth from Above is a perfect gift to friends and family.

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood has always had a strong sense of social and environmental responsibility, and in her collection Red Label Summer 2012 she introduced a cooperation with Cool Earth. This organization is protecting our rainforests, and their main goal is to save those parts of the forests that are in immediate danger of being destroyed. They are working together with local communities to provide a sustainable future for the people of the rainforest.

Scary fact - The Amazon rainforest provides 20% of the world’s fresh water and a fifth of the world’s oxygen.
Still 400 000kvm (100 acres) of rainforest is being cleared every minute! Cool Earth caluculated it like this - In the next 24 hours, deforestation will release as much CO₂ into the atmosphere as 8 million people flying from London to New York. That really puts it into perspective, doesn't it?

Vivienne Westwood is also involved in another important project. For the winter 2012/2013 she has designed a collection of handbags made from recycled materials and handmade in Kenya. This project is carried out with support from the U.N. Ethical Fashion Program designed to empower women in some of the poorest communities in the world.

Check-out and shop Viviennes cool outfits and accessories on her homepage. 

Mad Men goes organic

Check out this cool commercial that won the Grandy (Grand Prize) for the most brilliant commercial 2012.

 Chipotle -   Back to the Start

Cell Phones

Using headphones when speaking on you cell phone is one of the easiest ways to keep radiation away from vital parts. Make sure also to keep your cell phone away from your body, i.e. in your purse, not in your pockets.

Recent research shows that we should keep our cell phones at least 15cm (6inches) away from our bodies. WHO has even put cell phones in the class 2B which means they are possibly carcinogenic to humans.

Check out this really interesting and scary information from Dr. Devra Davis;  Cell Phone Dangers. She shows the danger of radiation and especially warns pregnant women and children.

There is also some great tips on how to reduce the risks.

Eleven.se

I buy almost all my skincare products from eleven.se. It's such a great place to shop! They have a fantastic range of organic products including many I've written about here; Burt's Bees, Bulldog, Naturligtvis and Luxsit

It's easy to find out which products are organic and there is a great variety of make-up, skincare, nail-polish, perfumes, shampoos, brushes etc.

You get your products within a few days - I've never had to wait more than three. Even if you have questions or special requests you get a reply from them in just half-an hour, and they listen to suggestions about products that you would like on the site. The prices are good and you always get samples of products with every purchase. Check it out!

Ecobags

Ecobags is an American brand based in Ossining. They make cute, cool organic bags to carry you groceries in, to use to the beach or to pack your lunch in. There are a lot of different shapes, sizes and colours and the prices are good to. Since they ship to the U.S, Canada and Europe it's easy to get a hold of them. Check it out and order you own at Ecobags

Diamonds are forever

If you want to make sure that your gold and diamonds come from a sustainable source there are a few things to consider.

The Kimberley Process is a social initiative that started in May 2000 to stop diamonds from conflict areas, so called Blood Diamonds. Many countries and companies in the diamond trade participate in this important task and they have reached great results in just over ten years. You can read a lot of interesting information about the process in the webpage. Since the KP certification is not legally binding for the participants every consumer plays an important role. The Kimberly Process really emphasis the importance we all play as consumers and what we need to ask for when shopping jewellery.

You can also look at Fair Trade Gems for more information and finding retailers.

Coalition for Green Gold is an interesting initiative on sustainable mining. Working against rainforest deforestation and mercury, cyanide and arsenic contamination this is extremely important. For example; mercury is used when extracting gold, and it's poisoning the water, the animals and the people living close to the mines. You can also find information about this work on Fairtrade and on Alliance for Responsible Mining.

If you want to shop some gorgeous jewellery, check out these websites;

Noën is a german company making beautiful jewellery in organic gold and diamonds. They don't want to compromise between beauty and social responsibility, and they really manage to mix those two together. The gold is extracted without chemicals and their diamonds are certified through the Kimberley Process. On their homepage you can even watch a video from one of the sites where they extract gold.

Ekoguld is Sweden's first Fairtrade certified goldsmith. Their gold are Fairmined certified and their gems are from sustainable and fairtrade sources. They even offer their customers to use recycled gold if they want to.

Goodstore

Goodstore is located in Stockholm and committed to organic and vegetarian merchandise. It's a cosy place with a wide range of food, cleaning materials, candy and beautyproducts. If you don't live in Stockholm they even deliver for you. Visit their webshop to see the complete range.

As well as providing you with everything you need for dinner you can also buy ready to go meals, smoothies and fruit. If you want a vegetarian wedding or birthday party they'll help you with the menu and cater the event.

Goodstore sell produce from a lot of different brands such as Kung Markatta, Saltå Kvarn, Ellas and Clipper. They also have their own brand, Goods, which provides organic produce at good prices. If you're a member, Goodfriend, you always get 3% off every purchase.

Neutral

Neutral is a Swedish brand approved by the Swedish Asthma and Allergy foundation. They have a lot of different products from skincare to laundry detergent. There are also special products for children and infants.

All products are free from perfume, synthetic dyes and unnecessary additives and some products are marked with Svanen ecolabel (the Swan).

On their web-page you can find good tips on how to prevent allergies.

You can find Neutral in your regular supermarket.

Power of consumption

Nobody can do it alone, but with the small steps and choices we make every day, we can all do our part. That's the most important thing I want to show with this blog. We can really do it together. All consumers of food, drink, clothes, fuel, skincare etc etc can put the pressure on our governments and all companies to work for a better and more sustainable future for all of us simply by choosing what we spend our money on.

-Buying organic milk/wine/juice/coffee instead of regular shows our farmers that we don't want to drink chemicals and hormones.
-Buying toys painted with non-toxic paint or made of non-toxic plastic shows our toy-stores that they need to produce and sell things that won't give off poison when our children put them in their mouth.
-Buying organic skincare will tell the producers that we don't want to rub chemicals on the biggest organ we have; our skin.
-Using public transportation whenever possible and buy cars with alternative fuel-sources will show the oil-industry that enough is enough.

If we keep asking at our local stores for those products and keep buying the things that are good for us those things will be produced in a larger scale. We can make the power of money work in our favour.

Yes we can!