COCO ECO MAGAZINE, Issue 18, July / August, 2011

ISSUE 18: JUL / AUG 2011

SMART. SEXY. SUSTAINABLE.

FASHION:

SENSUAL DRAMA

CONNECTED TO THE CORE:

DAPHNE ZUNIGA, SHARON LAWRENCE LUSH MEN WE LOVE: & SOPHIA BUSH BEAUTY: TROPICAL

Billy Zane, Austin Nichols,Youtchi Von Lintel, Courtney & Carter Reum, and more!

THE PLANET ISSUE

EDITOR IN CHIEF

ANNA GRIFFIN

DIRECTOR OF TRANSMEDIA & BUSINESS DEV. KAREN SNYDER WEBMASTER WOLFGANG KOVACEK CREATIVE DIRECTOR SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER EDITOR-AT-LARGE GUEST EDITOR

K.Y. SNYDER LUKE TRIMMINGS STARRE VARTAN DAPHNE ZUNIGA

FASHION DIRECTOR MICHELE LLANOS FASHION EDITOR SARAH GRIFFIN BERNS ASSISTANT FASHION EDITOR THUY NGUYEN BEAUTY DIRECTOR

EMMA PEZZACK

EUROPEAN EDITOR SASS BROWN FEATURES EDITOR BETH DOANE, POLLY WALTER, GRETA EAGEN PHOTO EDITOR

EMILY PEREZ

EVENTS EDITOR

VICKI GODAL

NY EDITOR MEN WE LOVE EDITOR

JOHANNA BJÖRK NIKKI LIN

WOMEN OF THE WORLD EDITOR

NICOLE LANDERS

TAKE ACTION EDITOR

HEATHER CARTER

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

ZEM JOAQUIN

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ALEXA CHIPRA KATE DILLON VICKI GODAL MORGAN MCKEAN ALEXANDRA PAUL

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

JEFFREY FITERMAN RUSSELL BAER PETER FOX TRACY TOLER

ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHER KEY HAIR STYLIST CONTRIBUTING HAIR STYLIST

ANGEL ROMERO JUDD MINTER DRE BARRANON BRIAN BOWMAN ANDREA PICCOLO

KEY MAKE UP ARTIST CONTRIBUTING MAKE UP ARTIST

JULIANNE KAYE KELLY HUNT REBECCA CASCIANO

CONTRIBUTING STYLIST

ADEEL KHAN ANNA KATSANIS

MANICURIST

DANA MATOS

COCO ECO MAGAZINEd is published by Coco Eco Magazine. a Copyright 2008-2011 Coco Eco Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher.

EDITOR LETTER TO YOU BY ANNA GRIFFIN LETTER TO YOU BY DAPHNE ZUNIGA CONTRIBUTORS COCO ECO EDITOR LOVES

FASHION TOUCH THE SURFACE

This summer experiment with texture: whether the shimmer of crisp sequins for edge, the breezy float of tulle for romance, or the sensual touch of silk for drama, make them want what’s on top!

SLOW JEWELER: Monique Péan NY EDITOR LOVES EUROPEAN EDITOR LOVES SPOTLIGHT ON FASHION: Prophetik’s Jeff Garner: The Past Shapes the Eco Fashion Future

BEAUTY SUMMER ESCAPE

Our summer beauty looks captures lush escapism and will transport you to somewhere exotic, so even if you’re not travelling this summer, you can feel as though you are...

TRAVELOCITY SUNSCREEN 101 BRAZILIAN BLOWOUT: THE FLIP SIDE BEAUTY DIRECTOR LOVES SPOTLIGHT ON BEAUTY: STEM CELL BEAUTY INNOVATIONS Science and Nature Vs. Aging

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COVER STORY CONNECTED TO THE CORE Daphne Zuniga, Sharon Lawrence and Sophia Bush

WOMEN OF THE WORLD PLANET WARRIORS

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Dianna Cohen, Jayni Chase, Kathy Freston, Stacey Malkan, Sharon Salzberg and Dorka Keehn

TAKE ACTION UGLY BEAUTY

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MEN WE LOVE MEN WHO CONNECT Austin Nichols, Youtchi von Lintel, Bill Gallegos, Billy Zane, Courtney and Carter Reum

GO 44 52 54 60 62 64

THE ECO-CHIC GUIDE TO SOUTH FLORIDA ECO-LUXURY ESCAPE TO COSTA RICA

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84

90 92

98 106

WHO’S DOING WHAT? WHY THE WILD WEATHER? CHERNOBYL CHILD ONE CHILD

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CONSCIOUS REVELLER GLOBAL GREEN MILLENNIUM AWARDS JP SELECTS LAUNCH GALA 25: FARM SANCTUARY VANISHING OF THE BEES

SHOPPING CONCIERGE GET IT ALL HERE!

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THE PLANET ISSUE Jul/Aug 2011 / ISSUE 18

Photo Credit: Angel Romero

L to R: Sharon Lawrence, Anna Griffin, Judd Minter, Daphne Zuniga, Sophia Bush, Brian Bowman, Julianne Kaye, and Russell Baer (kneeling)

LETTER TO YOU THE PLANET ISSUE

I am so thrilled to share what has been a really inspiring journey creating the July-August issue of Coco Eco with Guest Editor Daphne Zuniga. I meet and work with eco-conscious celebs often, but when introduced to Daphne, I knew that I must ask her to guest edit the Planet Issue.

Daphne is a true eco-warrior in every sense of the title. Her commitment to save our planet is pure, and she is a woman powerfully moved to use her celebrity to make a difference. For her, this is not a fluffy conversation or a cause to attach her name to, but a dedicated pursuit to raise awareness and halt global warming in its tracks. True to her heart, she surrounds herself with those who mentor and educate her, and is extremely gracious towards those she calls friends. However, what makes her a really compelling voice for Mother Earth and role model for women, is her authenticity and the candor with which she approaches life. She is refreshingly sweet yet direct, incredibly grounded, and possesses a wry sense of humor, all of which belie her celebrity status.

and from the moment they stepped on set, their mutual connection and respect for one another was apparent. They are all equally vested in protecting this Earth, and actively utilize the opportunity of working together to not only support each other’s initiatives, but also raise awareness through their multiple directives.

Through Daphne, we were blessed to work with her One Tree Hill Co-Stars, friends and fellow eco-warriors Sharon Lawrence and Sophia Bush.

To be in the company of these three powerful and engaging women was extremely inspiring,

Sincerely,

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We are also really lucky to work with some other inspired women in this issue, and I am excited to feature editorial content from Alexandra Paul and Kate Dillon. Both of these ladies are leaders in the sustainable space, and to include their voices in the pages of Coco Eco is a dream come true. We also thank Jayni Chase, Kathy Freston, Dianna Cohen, Stacy Malkan, Sharon Salzberg, Dorka Keehn, Bill Gallegos, Austin Nichols, Billy Zane, Youtchi Von Lintel, and Carter and Courtney Reum for lending their voices, and of course our wonderful editorial team who once more have delivered a stellar issue. Without them, none of this would be possible.

As you read through this edition, I hope you find something that inspires you to connect with this place we call home, and to one another. We all now know about the law of cause and effect and that for every choice, there is a consequence. No truer can be thought than for the Earth and how we treat it, so with that said, let’s proactively choose to look after our planet and each other.

Anna Griffin Editor In Chief, Coco Eco Magazine

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www.cocoecomag.com

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LETTER TO YOU DAPHNE ZUNIGA, GUEST EDITOR

I remember walking home from school in second grade and seeing a tree with a stump where a huge branch had been. It had been sawed off.

Troubled, I stopped and asked, “Why did you chop that big branch off of this tree?” One of the tree choppers said to me calmly and smiling, “It was a mistake dear, have you ever made a mistake?” “Yes,” I said, “but a mistake is something you can erase with your eraser.” I felt sad and scared as I continued home thinking, She should be in big trouble! She’s hurting a tree in broad daylight! Will there be any trees left with people like her around?

As Coco Eco’s Guest Editor, I knew immediately the people I wanted to bring into the issue.These are people I continually learn from, who raise the bar and remind me what it means to live from one’s core and passion for the planet. Jayni Chase has brought environmental information into schools for 20 years, seeing first hand the positive effect on children. In her article on over population, Alexandra Paul takes on a touchy topic we simply can’t afford to ignore when talking about environmental problems. Veteran environmental justice activist Bill Gallegos tells us about the important work the most polluted communities are taking on and why we should care. When vegan and bestselling author Kathy

Freston challenged herself to eat more in alignment with her values she found huge health and planetary benefits. Dianna Cohen, an artist who used to ask for spare plastic bags from her friends (me included) has since co-founded Plastic Pollution Coalition and wants to ban single use plastics most of which end up in the ocean. Stacy Malkan, co-founded the The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in response to the self-regulated beauty industry that puts toxins linked with countless diseases into our personal care products. Austin Nichols, whom I work with on One Tree Hill, went to the gulf with Global Green soon after the BP oil spill and reports what he saw.

There is a lot of daunting news about our environment, but as meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg shares, “We have to have skills that help resiliency, heartfulness, balance and clarity. I have seen the people who pay more attention to caring for themselves through using tools like meditation build those skills. The world needs us not to give up.”

We all know we are inextricably intertwined with nature; I hope you find inspiration in this issue. And that we all live even more in a way that supports our own wellbeing and the health of our only home, planet Earth!

Daphne Zuniga Guest Editor

Get Out of Your Head...

PHOTO CREDIT: Photography by Peter J Fox

DAPHNE ZUNIGA

NICOLE LANDERS

JEFFREY FITERMAN

RUSSELL BAER

Daphne’s long time efforts on behalf of the environment led to her appointment as a founding board member of the LA River Revitalization Corp by Mayor Antontio Villaraigosa.

She produced a short film showing the negative health impacts on hispanic communities in Southern Los Angeles, and has written environmental articles for O magazine, and the Huffington Post. Daphne is a supporter of CBE, Environment California, Waterkeeper Alliance and was awarded with the Golden Sun award at the Barcelona Environmental Film Festival.

Nicole Landers is considered to be one of Los Angeles ’ premier eco authorities. Over the last five years, Nicole has devoted her skills in the eco marketing & PR industry to aid the environmental community in changing locally to affect globally. Nicole remains committed to being apart of the solution and has immersed herself in learning and passing on knowledge about all that aids the population in having a more sustainable and healthier living planet.

Jeffrey Fiterman was born and raised in Minneapolis.

He started taking photos at the age of six when his father gave him a 35mm camera on a hiking trip.

Years later, he packed up his ‘67 Mustang and headed to California to attend Brooks Institute of Photography.

Since then he has worked for clients ranging from MTV to Seven7 Jeans and Venice Magazine. Currently he lives in LA and when he has the time he likes to travel and photograph ancient Mayan and Aztec ruins.

Celebrity Photographer Russell Baer has been shooting Hollywood’s most famous faces for the past several years. His Photographs have graced the pages of almost every magazine on newsstands today including Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Time, Elle, Teen Vogue, People, Movieline’s Hollywod Life and Newsweek.

www.econnectgrp.com

www.jeffreyfiterman.com

Guest Editor

www.daphnezuniga.net

Women of the World Editor

Contributing Photographer

Contributing Photographer

Russell has worked with some of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces including Ben Affleck, Eva Longoria, Martin Sheen and Paris Hilton. www.russellbaer.com

CONTRIBUTOR HIGHLIGHT

ALEXANDRA PAUL

MORGAN MCKEAN

KATE DILLON

JULIANNE KAYE

Alexandra Paul is an actress who has starred in over 70 film and television projects.

Most known for her 5 stint on the tv show Baywatch, Alexandra is a vegan who has been driving plug in cars for over 20 years. She has spoken to thousands of Los Angeles area kids on human overpopulation, and was honoured by the ACLU and the United Nations for her environmental work. Alexandra and her husband, Ian Murray, have chosen to be child- free.

Alexandra thanks Coco Eco’s wonderful guest editor, Daphne Zuniga, for asking her to write for this month’s issue.

From a passion for fashion, beauty and entertainment to a desire for balanced nutrition, holistic wellness and a more sustainable lifestyle, Morgan McKean is the glamour girl going green. A one time budding television producer and fashion maven, Morgan’s dedication to holistic and sustainable living was amplified upon becoming a new mother and learning about certain harmful chemicals and products she could unknowingly expose her infant son to.

Kate Dillon is known in the fashion industry as a groundbreaker and a passionate advocate for environmental and humanitarian causes.

For 20 years, she has leveraged her career in fashion to campaign for positive body image in the media, eating disorders awareness, global poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability. Her work has been widely featured in the media, including on CNN, Good Morning America, and the PBS NOVA series as well as in Vogue, Glamour, and People.

Julianne Kaye has been working in the industry for over 14 years. Her work has been published in Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and many more. She has also worked with celebrities, Scarlett Johansson, Britney Spears and Eva Mendez to name a few. She founded Revolutionbeauty.com in 2007 and is the author of Pop Tart, a sensational novel about the entertainment industry published June, 2009.

Contributing Writer

www.alexandrapaul.com

Contributing Writer

Contributing Writer

Key Make Up Artist

www.revolutionbeauty.com

GABRIELA DIAS BIKINI

UNIDOT BAMBOO EYEWEAR - BLACK AND BAMBOO AVIATOR A unique twist to an old concept, the black and bamboo aviator features hand carved bamboo arms ethically sourced and harvested from sustainable plantations, UV400 lenses, and comes with a drawstring pouch made from recycled water bottles. In addition, $8 will be donated to Unicef for every pair sold.

Hand made by local artisans in Brazil, the Gabriela Dias swimwear collection is our perfect combination of sustainability and style, for those long lazy days on the beach! In addition, 3% of sales from JP Selects will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Seen here, The Perfect Cup and The Low Riser in Cherry.

- $103.00 and $82.00 www.jpselects.com

- $260.00 www.colinleslieeyewear.co.uk

HUGO NATURALS GRAPEFRUIT HIMALAYAN PINK SALT SCRUB

JOSIE MARAN ALL NATURAL DAILY SUN PROTECTION

Handcrafted with gluten-free and vegan botanical extracts, essential oils and fragrances, the refreshing Himalayan Pink Salt Scrub removes dead cells leaving skin soft, smooth and rejuvenated, and you indulged. Free of artificial ingredients, synthetic colors, preservatives parabens, propylene glycol, petroleum products, animal fats or alcohols.

A daily-wear sunblock that naturally shields sensitive skin from the sun with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, and infused with sun damage-fighting Argan Oil. PABA and chemical free, and great under makeup as a moisturizing base.

100% natural mascara that lengthens, separates, thickens and glosses with black tea, chocolate and berry pigments, whilst Pro Vitamin B5, Vitamin E, and Oat and Wheat protein condition for long, healthy, beautiful lashes. Smudge and water-resistant make this a summer favorite.

- $32.00 www.sephora.com

- $18.00 www.100PercentPure.com

- $12.99 www.hugonaturals.com

100% PURE MASCARA

COCO ECO EDITOR LOVES Look good, feel good, be good!

CURATED by: Anna

SPRAY DI SOLE SUN GELEE

ZOYA NAIL POLISH IN SHAY

Perfect for those little touch-ups in between tans and for giving your face a gorgeous glow whether you’ve been to Brazil or not. The Sun Gelee is vegan, alcohol, perfume, preservative and paraben free, and comes with a kabuki brush for flawless application.

A dense fleshy nude polish with slight orange-red undertones, a hint of pearly silver shimmer, and an opaque full-coverage that compliments warm skin tones.

Toluene, formaldehyde and DBP (dibutyl phthalate) free keeping you beautiful on the inside and out!

- $80.00 www.spraydisole.com www.jpselects.com

- $8.00 www.zoya.com

Griffin

TARTETM FOR TRUE BLOODTM LIMITED EDITION COLLECTOR’S PALETTE This stunning collection captures the soul of the supernatural hit television series and combines it with tarte’s essence of high-performance natural formulas. Featuring 17 eye shadows, eyeliner, mascara, and natural eye primer, tarte also helps to reduce environmental waste with eco-friendly packaging, sustainable resources, charitable partnerships and customer recycling initiatives.

- $52.00 www.sephora.com www.tarte.com www.ulta.com

COCO ECO |

FASHION!

Grey sequin dress ($90), ARYN K www.arynk.com Blue abalone necklace, ($2,100) & Mabe pearl sterling silver ring, ($239), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com Vintage heels, WASTELAND ON MELROSE www.wastelandclothing.com 18 | COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

www.cocoecomag.com

TOUCH the

Surface This summer experiment with texture: whether the shimmer of crisp sequins for edge, the breezy float of tulle for romance, or the sensual touch of silk for drama, make them want what’s on top!

PHOTOGRAPHY by: Jeffrey Fiterman STORY & STYLING by: Adeel Khan MODEL: Grace Quealy with Ford LA MAKE-UP by: Julianne Kaye HAIR by: Brian Bowman ASSISTED by: Dre Barranon Shot on location at the Simon House, Beverly Hills www.simonhousela.com With thanks to Randy Simon

Blush tulle cocktail dress (price available upon request), ATELIER PAVONI www.atelierpavoni.com Titanium quartz sterling silver ring ($239), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com 20

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Green sequin top ($83), ARYN K www.arynk.com Silver metallic bubble skirt ($150), NAVEN www.shopnaven.com Purple geode sterling silver ring ($219), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com

White cotton mini dress, (price available upon request), LORIE LESTER www.lorielester.com Pyrite and smokey quartz necklace, ($1,100) & Cafe au laite agate ring, ($179), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com

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Blue chiffon dress ($140), BLAQUE LABEL www.blaquelabel.com Lunar quartz pendant ($1,289), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com Vintage rose gold & suede belt, WASTELAND ON MELROSE www.wastelandclothing.com

Titanium quartz sterling silver ring ($239), CHARLES ALBERT 26 | COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011 www.charlesalbertlookbook.com

www.cocoecomag.com

White silk gown (price available upon request), EMA SAVAHL www.emasavahl.com Quartz sterling silver cuff ($899), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com

COCO ECO |

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FASHION EXTRA!

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Slow JEWELER: Monique Pean

WRITTEN by: Kate Dillon-Levin PHOTOGRAPHY by: Monique Péan

I am staring at a set of bangles carved from the fossilized bone of a woolly mammoth collected by subsistence hunters in the Alaskan arctic. Each bangle features watery, snakelike scrimshawed motifs and tiny inset black diamonds. “They’re just so beautiful!” I kept exclaiming as Monique Péan showed me her latest Ahe collection, each piece an architecturally sculpted tale of humanity, culture, and geology.

In fact, of all those supermodels in the “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign only Christy Turlington has stayed away from pelts (although she did catch some heat for posing with leather goods in a Louis Vuitton campaign last year). What happened?

I am not the first to be mesmerized by the originality and artistry of FUR: THE TRUTH | Continued

SLOW JEWELER | Continued

Monique Péan, and she receives my gushing with uncommon humility and gratitude. The acclaimed jewelry designer has a long list of high-profile recognition for her designs, her business ethos, and philanthropy, including a prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award in 2009. We met at her studio in New York’s meatpacking district to talk about inspiration, sustainability, successful living, and how on earth her adorable new husband picked out the ring.

Péan’s inspirations for her designs emerge from her experiences with people and places. As a child her family traveled around the world, and she developed an appreciation for indigenous cultures that informs her business today. “I go to a location for at least 10 days, and I immerse myself in the culture – eat local food, listen to local music, learn about the art and architecture.

Then I combine what I experience with clean modern lines – Bauhaus – an architectural approach to design.”

For each collection, MONIQUE PÉAN employs a new group of traditional artisans. This model began with her first collection, inspired by the Tuareg tribe in Mali. The collection captured the eye of a woman from the Alaska Native Arts Foundation who then invited her to the arctic where she discovered a material that would become a mainstay of her work.

“That’s fossilized walrus penis bone,” Monique informs me of the unassuming beige stone I hold in my hand. I want to giggle, but I am also awestruck. The fossilized walrus and woolly mammoth bone Péan uses in her collections, vestiges preserved in ice, silt, and salt formations, are as old as 150,000 years. The subsistence hunters Péan employs gather the bones that wash up on shore. “It’s exciting to be able to employ these people who have such a deep respect for the land,” she explains.

“I immerse myself in the culture – eat local food, listen to local music, learn about the art and architecture.

Then I combine what I experience with clean modern lines – Bauhaus – an architectural approach to design.”

The Ahe people of the Tuamotos archipelago in French Polynesia inspired Péan’s latest collection. “There was absolutely no light pollution there – when the sun went down you could see every planet and star, and that inspired this collection. The giant clams on the shore inspired the shapes of the pieces.”

Péan’s commitment to sustainability and ethical trade is thorough - from a commendable green office policy to its labor and sourc30

ing accountability. MONIQUE PÉAN utilizes Fair Trade, conflict- and devastation-free precious stones, sustainable pearls, as well as repurposed diamonds and diamond slices. A member of the No Dirty Gold campaign, the company uses 100% recycled metals. “One wedding band can create as much as 20 tons of toxic waste - when I learned about all that waste I felt compelled to do something.” The designer is also a proponent of slow design.

New pieces are added, but the brand retains a core collection.

“Unfortunately, fashion isn’t inherently sustainable. To address this I mix old things with new things. Each piece is handcrafted to be truly sustainable and can be passed down for generations.”

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, Péan has academic pedigree and big time business credibility. But it is clear that the spirit that moves her most deeply is her sister Vanessa who was killed in a car accident six years ago at just 16 years old.

In 2005, after a lifechanging trip to their father’s native Haiti, Vanessa was inspired to help the children she witnessed there by supporting their education. Vanessa passed away shortly afterward and never had the chance to fulfill her noble quest. In place of condolence gifts, Péan requested monetary donations to the Vanessa Péan Foundation she founded and directs in her sister’s honor.

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SLOW JEWELER | Continued www.cocoecomag.com

SLOW JEWELER | Continued

“After Vanessa passed away I asked myself,‘What does it mean to lead a successful life?’” I decided I wanted to get up every day and do something I really love, and that’s indigenous art and culture, business, philanthropy, and fashion. And I wanted to continue my sister’s amazing, giving spirit.” That’s when she started making jewelry.

Péan has proceeded to devote herself and her business to the issues she cares about. Through partnerships with Charity:Water and Partners in Health, MONIQUE PÉAN has provided 20 years worth of clean drinking water to over 5000 people all over the world. “Water is the ethos of the line – the more I learned about the impact of gold and the mining process on the environment, especially water, [the more] I wanted to raise awareness of the water crisis.” Pean is also passionate about empowering women and minorities in business and founded a post-MBA mentoring program with the Yale School of Management and Management Leadership for Tomorrow for Minority Professionals.

I had met Péan’s adorable husband at an event for our mutual friend, and I couldn’t help, but wonder how on earth he chose a ring for this incredible woman. “He was smart enough to know to propose without a ring,” Péan laughs.

They actually designed the ring together, scouring antique shops for two years and four months to find the perfect diamond. Conscious, deliberate, and thoughtful. Sounds just right for Monique Péan.** PETA www.peta.org

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LICORICE ROOT TEA Scandinavians love their licorice candy, but since we’re trying to stay away from that sweet stuff, try this delicious root in it’s natural form, brewed as tea. It’s jam-packed with antioxidants and possible cancer-fighting compounds. Get the tea pre-made or buy the root in your nearest health food store and make your own.

- $11.00 www.taooftea

THE ICE PRINCESS BY CAMILLA LÄCKBERG If you’ve plowed through Stieg Larsson’s trilogy about the girl with the dragon tattoo and feel yourself longing for some more “Scandinavian Noir,” this is the book to pick up from your local bookstore. “The Ice Princess,” Camilla Läckberg’s haunting US debut, is set in the coastal Swedish town of Fjällbacka and follows heroine Erica Falck’s struggle to make sense of her childhood friend’s apparent suicide.

- $9.75 www.amazon.com

HÅKANSSON THE MASCARA IN PURE BLACK Put the eyes in focus with this fragrance-free mascara by Swedish make-up artist Katarina Håkansson. It contains beeswax for softness and rice wax for moisture. Like all Håkansson products it has not been tested on animals and comes in biodegradable packaging. It’s also easy to wash off.

EFVA ATTLING CARPE DIEM PENDANT Wear this silver pendant by Swedish jewelry designer (and ex-model) Efva Attling around your neck as a reminder to “seize the day” — something that is so important in these turbulent times.

As Attling says: “Why put things off until tomorrow when you can live and enjoy today.”

- $149.00 www.efvaattlingstockholm.com

- $30.00 www.hakanssonskin.com

PRITI NAIL POLISH IN MAGIC MAN IRIS Get back in touch with your inner punk/goth girl with some black polish. Priti Polishes do not contain any nasty stuff like Formaldehyde, Dibutyl Phathalate (DBP), Toluene, and Camphor. They’re also Cruelty Free and 100% Vegan. Yay! - $12.50 www.pritinyc.com

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NEWEDITOR YORK LOVES All Things Scandinavian For Summer CURATED by: Johanna

SWEDISH HASBEENS BAG FOR LIFE Handmade by leather artisans, chrome-free and made of genuine natural grained leather, this one is so pretty you’ll want to carry it for life. The design is based on an old book carry bag from the 70s and will only look better with age.

- $233.00 www.swedishhasbeens.com

BLLACK NOIR TIFFA DRESS

MOHEDA TOFFELN VICTORIA CLOG These stylish black nubuck leather clogs are made by a modern Swedish family company with a long history — they’ve been making top-notch clogs in the small village of Moheda for five generations.

- $120.00 www.mohedatoffeln.com

Bllack Noir was established 3 years ago as a sub-brand of Danish conscious fashion label Noir. This LBD has some badass details that will set you apart from the crowd, yet is classic enough to last a lifetime. I think even Lisbeth Salander would approve. www.noir.dk

Björk, Goodlifer.com

THOMAS PAUL TARNOFF Thomas Paul Tarnoff is renowned for his collection quirky textile prints for home accessories and stationary. This goldfish print pareo is hand screened onto cotton gauze.

- $60.00 www.thomaspaul.com

MOHOP With just one pair of Mohop wooden soles, you can achieve infinite design options by threading an endless array of ribbons, laces and elastics through the loops in varying ways. Hand made high cherry platform paired here with turquoise ribbons and beads.

- Made to measure price $462.00 or ready to wear $188.00 www.mohop.com

GUCCI Available in all Gucci stores this fall, these new shades are made from sustainable materials in conjunction with luxury Italian manufacturer Safilo, these glasses are part of a range made using an innovative acetate as an alternative to petroleum derived plastic.

- $245.00 - $345.00 Available at Gucci Boutiques in October

VITAMIN A This gorgeous, sleek, eco chic kehole and side tie halter top and brief is made from 100% recycled nylon fiber and made in the USA. The Vitamin A Green Bikini is 100% guilt free.

- $88.00 each Top & bottom sold separately www.vitaminaswim.com

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EUROPEAN FASHION EDITORLOVES CURATED by: Sass

Brown

Colorful bohemian brights for the Saint Tropez beach and jet set lifestyle of the French Riviera.

PACHACUTI The worlds first company to be certified to carry the WFTO new Fair Trade Label, Pachacuti produce hats made in the long traditional of Panama, hand made in Ecuador. This traditional Fedora with a peacock colored band is made in a Brisa weave and is totally rollable for packing.

Sizes 56 to 62 - £76.50 www.panamas.co.uk

THE ANDEAN COLLECTION Working with artisans in the Andean regions of South America, this lovely Floresta necklace by the Andean Collection features tagua chips and a leather and chain detail. 22-23” in length it is hand made in Ecador.

- $72.00 www.theandeancollection.com

MAR Y SOL This sturdy Mar y Sol beach tote is handmade with woven seagrass raffia and jute, features a cotton drawstring closure, an inside pocket and leather handles. Here in ocean colorway, it is available in 4 other colorways.

- $79.00 http://shopmarysol.com/

OLGA OLSSON This hand dyed Brazilian silk crepe kaftan is made to order by Olga Olsson, and was designed to take you from beach to bar in effortless style. Each piece is individual and unique, celebrates tradition and helps create meaningful employment.

- £350.00 Available by special order only through info@olgaolsson.com www.olgaolsson.com

COCO ECO |

SPOTLIGHT ON FASHION!

Prophetik’s JEFF GARNER

THE PAST SHAPES THE ECO FASHION FUTURE

WRITTEN by: Vicki

Godal

PHOTOGRAPHY provided by: Prophetik

As a boy exploring the Tennessee woods surrounding his family farm, Prophetik’s founder and designer Jeff Garner learned first hand the self-sufficiency and sustainability skills that are still the backbone of the Deep South. The land’s history, common knowledge amongst locals, was and is, as real to Garner as the peaceful pastures where he played with his dogs and horses. Now consider that these same pastures are the scenes of some of the Civil War’s bloodiest battlefields. The same woods where Garner now rides bareback daily.

In Garner’s life, the past remains quite present, a thread of continuity as he lives and works on the same land where he and several generations of Garners were raised. By American standards, Garner’s family tree is ancient. Until the late 17th century, his family lived in the South’s Great Smoky Mountains. For the last 200 years, the family has occupied the horse farm in Tennessee that Prophetik now calls home.

Garner’s fashion interest began when he was eight years old and hid in his closet to draw on his sister’s Barbie designer sketchpad. This was the genesis of the unique viewpoint which continues to set apart Garner’s design style and clothing construction skills. Using the knowledge, sustainable sensibilities and wisdom handed down through generations of seamstresses in his family, Garner began creating and integrating materiSPOTLIGHT ON FASHION | Continued

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als and methods from the past into his designs for the future.

“Growing up I was more interested in the things that the women in my family traditionally did.

Every one of them sewed and cooked daily and did both exceptionally well. That is, as opposed to what the men did, like hunting and fishing.”

Garner said. “I was unusual in my family, but the truth is, I’m a great cook because of it. I get to be here and do what I love while respecting both the environment and others. That’s what’s important to me.”

gether antebellum romanticism with classic American ease of function and nature’s organic beauty. Prophetik wearers make a commitment to a sustainable, individual style that is 100% American when they collect designs from the collection.

With an eye on sustainability, every Prophetik collection builds upon the last. Older Prophetik styles get a new look with the addition of a piece from a recent collection and that’s exactly what Garner wants.

With the line, Garner seeks to create long life, high style, durable pieces destined to become favorites and worn over and over.

“Everyone that works with us is shocked at how doors open and it all comes together, especially seeing the challenges.”

From Prophetik’s launch in 2002 to the present, the collection has attracted loyal followers, becoming available in many of the world’s most exclusive fashion boutiques. An Jeff Garner, in demand eco-designer, Garner dresses a fashion forward elite of celebrity clientele including singers Sheryl Crow, Taylor Swift, Kings of Leon, the Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus. Livia Firth (whose husband is 2011 Oscar Award winner Colin Firth) wore a Prophetik gown to accompany him and made international fashion headlines, and was covered as part of her Green Carpet Challenge for Vogue.com. Eco news media bulletins worldwide celebrated her eco fashion forward gown for the awards show and praised Prophetik’s designer, Jeff Garner.

Garner uses old fashioned, sustainable sense as he creates, configures, constructs or deconstructs garments the same way his seamstress ancestors have done for centuries. Recycling the best pieces of a worn out or outdated garment while saving the smaller fabric scraps for details, every Prophetik design has a little piece of Garner’s history in it.

In Prophetik’s collections, Garner integrates America’s antebellum (pre Civil War) style as a foundation for his designs. Prophetik brings to40

Prophetik

“I made a pair of fine hemp jodhpurs that I wear everyday to ride. I’ve worn them more times than I can count but they look great, no holes or worn spots,” Garner said. “My old riding pants wore out or had holes with age. Not my hemp ones, which if anything they improve with age.”

Garner wants Prophetik styles to improve with age as well, becoming heirloom pieces for the future generations, much like his great grandmother Augustus’ quilt.

“I design garments that connect, tell a story and show we can do things in a natural way, whatever we do in life and not harm our resources or others around us,” Garner said.

“The quilted pieces from our collection, ‘Artist Wonderment’ were my great grandmother’s quilted fabrics.They bring so much soul and history to the garments created.”

Prophetik’s men’s and women’s lines build upon themselves, season after season, evolving into a wildly individual brand and continuing to attract an equally strong following. Every sustainable stitch of each Prophetik collection is created, constructed and sewn at Garner’s home in Tennessee. By necessity, Garner’s design community has also built upon itself, extending into the town of Franklin where the plants and flowers for Prophetik’s dyes are organically grown in local community gardens; this direct involvement with his neighbors is important as well as a source of pride to Garner.

“The Prophetik vision attracts like-minded individuals. This creates a family dynamic filled with purpose. Every day is inspiring and open for anything,” Garner explained. “Everyone that works with us is shocked at how doors open and it all comes together, especially seeing the challenges.”

Prophetik designs use only earth and plant based dyes, sustainable fabrics and no chemicals. The vivid colors of Prophetik’s couture

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Prophetik designer Jeff Garner checking his dyes.

Oscar winner Colin Firth and his wife Livia in a Prophetik design and Jeff Garner

Prophetik Frock Coat. Autumn.

Winter 2011

Prophetik designer Jeff Garner on horseback

Prophetik Frock Coat. Autumn.Winter 2011 PHOTO COURTESY OF: Christopher Dadey.

Prophetik Autumn.Winter 2011.

PHOTO COURTESY OF: Fairlight Hubbard.

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SPOTLIGHT ON FASHION | Continued

are from Garner’s handmade natural dyes, created through experimentation over time, tying Garner’s knowledge learned from Italy’s great dye masters to his commitment to do little or no harm to the environment.

Prophetik’s Autumn Winter 2011 collection is Garner’s response to the corrupt, soulless court of France’s Louis XV and its connection to the modern world. Ornamental without pretense, beauty with nature, Prophetik’s collection combines family heirlooms like his great grandmother’s quilts or Garner’s boyhood bedspread, with all-natural organic cottons and velvets, hemps, and silks used in his latest designs.

Constantly experimenting and innovating, Garner introduced a new fabric in a collection recently, made from the agave plant, that he calls cactus silk. Prophetik’s Autumn/Winter 2011 finale dress is white silk covered in ostrich feathers that Garner reveals are shed twice a year, making them sustainable.

On a trip to China, Garner hoped to show and persuade Chinese designers how to make natural dyes using plants and earth bases as well as how to recharge their synthetic indigo dye vats, (dye used for denim) instead of discarding them. Garner met with different Chinese designers and clothing manufacturers but not with as many as he had hoped.

As long as there’s been industry, there’s been water pollution. We have been blinded by the industrial age, becoming addicts to convenience and products we do not need. We feed off the feeling of buying something new. We already have everything we need, and meanwhile tradition and cultures are dying out,” Garner continued. “A garment used to define the character of an individual and would be worn for years.

Now garments are quickly bought and discarded with each new season. No true character can be defined when the soul is jaded by the trends of society.”

“Design garments that connect, tell a story and show how we can do things in a natural way, whatever we do in life, and not harm our resources or others.”

“Many Chinese aren’t interested in deviating from traditional clothing manufacturing methods that they learned, in most cases, from us in the first place.” Garner said.

Garner next made a documentary, which included his experiences in China with Lani Netter Productions titled, “One Dress At A Time.” In a scene from the documentary, Garner visited a river used by millions of Chinese for drinking water.

“Synthetic indigo dye for denim is made with oil and coal. Imagine the dumping of that wastewater into China’s Pearl River. It creates a black, bubbling toxic river that smells like sulfur. You could light it with a match.”

Garner’s description of what is happening to China’s Pearl River is horrific, but he points out that it happened and has been happening here in the United States for decades.

“A U.S. river fire made the demand for pollution controls strong, eventually becoming the Clean Water Act,” Garner said. “The same river that a 1969 Time magazine described as ‘oozing not flowing.’

For the eco-fashion consuming public, Garner has this sustainable advice.

“Look where the garment was made; what it is made from and how it’s finished with dyes and trim. A lot of times, the more consumer based companies do an eco product or line that really does not take responsibility for all aspects of sustainability, and only capture one “eco” element to capture a sell or for marketing purposes,” Garner explained.

Garner’s legacy, Prophetik is an all-sustainable fashion lifestyle brand bringing awareness to how clothing is dyed, produced and distributed; the effect these processes have on the planet and challenging the principle of “planned obsolescence.”

Future sustainable eco fashion designers heed these sage pointers from Garner. “Keep pushing forward. Never compromise what your heart tells you…No pain, no gain,” Garner said. “If you cannot find a solution, then make it your mission to do it. “ That’s the Prophetik way. ** PROPHETIK www.prophetik.com

COCO ECO |

BEAUTY!

Dress and necklace, MISSONI www.missoni.com 44 | COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

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Summer ESCAPE WRITTEN by: Emma

Pezzack, Beauty Director

Summer always conjures images of tropical islands, lush with color and fragrant with the heady scent of blossoms pulsating in the heat. Gauguin captured summer beautifully in his post-impressionist paintings of polynesian islands, and his bold representation of color brought faraway places such as Tahiti and the Marquesas to life in a way that hadn’t been seen prior.

Our summer beauty looks capture some of that lush escapism and will transport you to somewhere exotic, so even if you’re not travelling this summer, you can feel as though you are...

PHOTOGRAPHY by: Tracy Toler STORY by: Emma Pezzack, Beauty Director STYLED by: Anna Katsanis MODEL: Celia @ Muse NY MAKE UP by: Rebecca Casciano HAIR by: Andrea Piccolo for Concept Salon, NYC NAILS by: Dana Matos

COCO ECO BEAUTY | Continued

Paradise Color is rampant during summer and no more so than in the abundant species of orchids found in the tropics. Sexy, beautiful and exotic about sums it up...

BARE ESCENTUALS ORIGINAL SPF15 FOUNDATION It looks like a powder but feels silky like a cream and doubles as broad spectrum sun protection using only natural minerals.

- $25.00 - $31.00 www.bareescentuals.com

NVEY ECO ORGANIC EYE SHADOW PALETTE - NO.4 Take a long, cool break from all the hot, saturated hues and instead choose a pretty, soft makeup palette for eyes like this one.

- $61.00 www.nveyeco.com

PERSEPHENIE ORGANIC LINDEN BLOSSOM DRY BODY OIL Delicately scented with the tropics and packaged in decadent black glass, the combination of orchid flower extracts and the finest jojoba oils will leave your skin glowing, youthful and radiant.

JANE IREDALE PUREGLOSS SUGAR PLUM Tingly mint and ginger infused with pomegranate & green tea extracts make this sexy, hot pink gloss, a summer staple.

- $42.00 www.futurenatural.com

- $19.00 www.shopjaneiredale.com

LAVERA DOUBLE BLACK MASCARA One end utilizes a precision brush to lengthen and separate; the other, a volume brush to create a va va voom fan of lashes while depositing rich, black color.

- $20.00 www.lavera.com

SCOTCH NATURALS WATERBASED NAIL POLISH - TARTAN SWIZZLE This revolutionary new formula is a water-based, non-toxic polish that actually helps create healthy nails while you wear it and Tartan Swizzle is a bright fuchsia pink, perfect for a splash of summer color.

- $14.99 www.futurenatural.com 46

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Dress, CHRISTIAN DIOR www.dior.com

Jacket, dress and headband, MISSONI www.missoni.com

COCO ECO BEAUTY | Continued

Exotica Description: There’s something about hot weather that encourages lush amounts of texture and color like no other time of year, so now is the perfect time to indulge in some hot new shades, while keeping it cool...

MADARA ECOCOSMETICS TINTING FLUID - SUN FLOWER Get the appearance of a light summer tan and feed your skin while doing it. This tinted moisturizer is loaded with Baltic algae, plaintain, rose water and other organic ingredients for a truly flawless, radiant complexion.

- $49.95 www.futurenatural.com

KJAER WEIS EYESHADOW - EARTHLY CALM

LOTUS COSMETICS LIPSTICK - CLASSIC RED

This smart (and chic) refillable makeup system is 100% organic with luxurious mineral pigments that apply silky and stay put. The casing doubles as a mirror and comes with a polishing cloth.

This 100% organic, cool classic red is right at home whether you’re laying back somewhere tropical, or in your own urban retreat. All the color comes from delicious fruit pigments.

- $44.00 www.spacenk.com

- $15.00 www.shopjaneiredale.com

JANE IREDALE TANTASIA SELF-TANNER Builds believable, natural looking color over a few days with a streak-free, hydrating formula and uplifting citrus scent.

- $36.00 www.shopjaneiredale.com

JAFFA LIP BALM Vanilla and orange extracts combine with cocoa butter and avocado oils to make this so delicious you’ll want to eat it off your lips. Keep it handy at all times for frequent re-application.

- $10.86 www.miorganicproducts.com

ORGANIC GLAM BRONZER Bronzer is a great way to get a healthy, sunkissed looking face without actually spending any time in the sun, or use it on your body to enhance your tan.

- $63.95 www.theorganicpharmacy.com

COCO ECO BEAUTY | Continued

LUSH Summer is not always about bold and bright and if you’re looking for a respite, there are plenty of subtleties and soft, pretty shades to be found that are infinitely wearable...

LOTUS COSMETICS LIP GLOSS - MELON

ORGANIC GLAM MINERAL EYE SHADOW SHIMMERS

Made with all natural & organic ingredients this super shiny formula is infused with antioxidants and essential oils to soften, protect & nourish. Melon is a pretty, soft peachy shade just right for day.

A set of loose shimmer mineral powders that come with a screw top and built-in applicator sponge for easy, no mess application in a range of gorgeous, summer tones.

- $15.00 www.lotuscosmeticsusa.com

- $36.95 www.theorganicpharmacy.com

100% PURE FRUIT-PIGMENT TINTED MOISTURIZER WITH SPF20 Summer is all about flawless, natural looking skin, and the best way to achieve that is with this Tinted Moisturizer that evens skin tone, gives a radiant finish and looks like you’re wearing nothing at all. Plus the sun factor is from zinc oxide which gives broad spectrum protection, naturally.

- $32.00 www.futurenatural.com

PACIFICA BODY BUTTER A good summer beauty routine is one that takes care of the body, so you might as well smell deliciously like the tropics while getting luxuriously soft skin from these yummy body butters.

- $18.00 www.sephora.com

100% PURE ANTI-BACTERIAL WOOD PULP & HEMP BLOTTING PAPERS An absolute must for summer, this is one of those items that every girl should have at all times for absorbing excess oil without disturbing your makeup.

- $8.00 www.futurenatural.com 50

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NVEY ECO MASCARA BLACK Nettle and horsetail extracts strengthen lashes while the mineral pigments in this mascara deliver light, natural looking color.

- $24.00 www.nveyeco.com

COCO ECO |

BEAUTY EXTRA!

Travelocity WRITTEN by: Emma

Pezzack

Refreshed. Revitalized. Restored. Exactly how you want to feel after a long day at the beach, trekking mountains or pounding the pavements on a shopping spree.

No matter what your vacation choices or speed at which you traverse them, these travel essentials are a must to help you take a load off at the end of your day...

KAIA BAMBOO CLEANSING CLOTHS No bathroom required! Brilliant for everything from eye makeup removal to cleaning your hands on the go, these cloths are made from sustainable, cashmere soft bamboo fibers and are soaked in organic & natural ingredients.

- $14.00 www.futurenatural.com

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RED FLOWER HAMMAM SET Containing a selection of decadent bath products like tangerine fig butter creme and orange quince steam mist, this collection of Hammam beauty rituals is a treat whether you’re on vacation or not.

- $56.00 www.redflower.com

PEARL ICE COOLING EYE MASK Pack it in your carry-on or your luggage but whatever you do, don’t leave home without it. Gel masks can be used warm or cold so no matter what the climate or stresses, you’re covered.

- $26.00 www.sephora.com

GIOVANNI FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRAVEL KIT Don’t let the price fool you... this is one of the best hair care collections around and if you need a fail-safe, travel-safe hair solution, you just found it.

- $7.99 www.giovannicosmetics.net

KAHINA GIVING BEAUTY TRAVEL KIT High concentrations of cold-pressed Argan Oil abound this beautiful collection. With a cleanser, moisturizer and pure Argan Oil, no excuses for not taking care of your skin the same way you would at home.

- $78.00 www.futurenatural.com

LOTUS WEI MINI MISTS Infused with flower essences and crystal energies this set will keep you blissed on a long haul, grounded when you land, and make you feel like you’re staying in a spa, even when you’re not.

- $40.00 www.lotuswei.com

COCO ECO |

BEAUTY EXTRA!

Sunscreen 101 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND WHY

WRITTEN by: Emma

Pezzack, Beauty Director

The sunscreen industry has languished for years, idly cruising by without much scrutiny. However, with the newly released Environmental Working Group report declaring “4 out of 5 sunscreens do not provide adequate protection from the sun, or contain ingredients that have significant safety concerns,” following on the heels of the 2007 FDA statement that not only are SPF ratings above 40+ misleading, “there is no assurance that the specific values themselves are in fact truthful…”, it’s suddenly become a hot topic.

If that weren’t enough and just to complicate matters, over the last two decades, vitamin D levels in the U.S. population have been decreasing steadily, creating a “growing epidemic of vitamin D insufficiency” (Ginde 2009a). Confused? Here’s what it boils down to...

We’ve been led to believe for years that the higher the SPF, the greater the protection, but out of more than a thousand sunscreens analyzed by EWG (Environmental Working Group) for safety & effectiveness, stability in sunlight, broad-spectrum protection against UVB + UVA radiation, and containing few if any ingredients with 54

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SUNSCREEN 101 | Continued

We’ve been led to believe for years that the higher the SPF, the greater the protection.

It’s just not true.

significant or known health hazards - only a measly 15% measured up. You do get more coverage with higher SPF’s but the difference between SPF 15 and SPF 100 is minimal. A general rule of thumb to remember... SPF30 - 60 offers only about 1% more protection than SPF 15, so basically the use of a higher SPF rating is more marketing tactic than a real benefit to the consumer.

Further, many sunscreen ingredients break down in the sun, in a matter of minutes or hours, then let UV radiation through to the skin. In case you’re wondering about the difference between UVA & UVB; one causes wrinkles, aging and degradation of skin which can lead to skin cancer - the other, causes dangerous melanoma and skin lesions. UVA rays do more damage because they penetrate down to the lower layers of our skin to mutate cells which can lead to skin cancer, break down collagen causing wrinkles, and release melanin to form age spots which won’t show until later in life. Also, depending on the product formulation, certain combinations of ingredients can cause chemical reactions when exposed to sunlight that can actually increase the risk of sun damage, rather than prevent it.

Sunscreen can basically be broken down into two categories: Mineral and chemical. Recently released scientific studies by Switzerland’s Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, conducted in 2001, prove a link between synthetic sunscreens and hormonal disturbances in the body. The chemical compounds in synthetic sunscreens have been found to accumulate in body fats and in breast milk, and, by mimicking the effects of estrogen, can induce undesirable hormonal changes. Synthetic Sunscreen Chemicals with estrogen mimicking effects include: 4-Methyl-Benzylidencamphor(4-MBC), Oxybenzone, Benzophenone-3 Homosalate(HMS), Octyl-methoyl-cinnamates(OMC) ,Octyl-DimethylPara-Amino-Benzoic Acid(OD-PABA) Zinc Oxide & Titanium dioxide are unanimously recognized as being the most effective sunscreens due to their stability in formulations, the fact that they repel both types of radiation, and they don’t allow harmful rays to be absorbed – they reflect the suns rays before they can do SUNSCREEN 101 | Continued

SUNSCREEN 101 | Continued

Sunscreen can basically be broken down into two categories: Mineral and chemical.

Guess which one causes hormonal disturbances?

any damage. Gone are the days when using a zinc oxide or titanium dioxide based sunscreen meant you resembled Casper the Ghost – not a good look when you’re going for sexy, bronze & gorgeous! New technology allows the mineral particles to be micronized (or pulverized if you will), into tiny pieces that more readily disperse.

The barrier against UVA + UVB is still there but the pasty white look isn’t.

As for the Vitamin D depletion, our modern, indoors oriented lifestyle and 40SPF slathering ways, are causing an epidemic in Vitamin D deficiencies. As Frank Lipman MD states, “ Independent scientific research has shown that whether you live in a sunny or not-so-sunny climate, exposure to the sun and its UVB radiation will increase your production of Vitamin D and help lower the risk of a host of debilitating and fatal diseases – including many cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure, Type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and depression. It’s now known that almost every cell and tissue in our body has Vitamin D receptors, which raises the question: Why would those receptors be there if they didn’t have a function?” Good question. It also “regulates at least 1,000 different genes governing virtually every tissue in the body” (Mead 2008). How best to obtain it without exposing yourself to risks? You can take supplements but it’s generally believed that they are non-effective due to our inability to replicate the efficacy of Vitamin D synthetically. Perhaps what’s required is an extremely limited and safe exposure using only a sunscreen with entirely organic (and/or natural) ingredients that uses Zinc Oxide as the active ingredient.

Whatever you choose, if you’ve read this article, you’re now armed, ready and informed to make safe, sensible choices for you and your loved ones. Need some guidance? Here are our top sunscreen picks that meet all the above criteria: ECOLOGICAL SKIN

VIVESANA

ecologicalskin.com

vivesana.com

LAVERA MARIE VERONIQUE

lavera.com mvorganics.com KEYS RX

keys-soap.com

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COCO ECO |

BEAUTY EXTRA!

BRAZILIAN Blowout THE FLIP SIDE

WRITTEN by: Morgan McKean PHOTOGRAPHY by: Morgan McKean

As beauty conscious women, many of us are willing to try the latest lotion, potion or cosmetic treatment that comes on the market, as long as we feel that it will enhance our appearance.

As a girl who has sported curls for over three decades, I must concede that I was highly intrigued when the “miracle” that is the Brazilian Blowout made its way to my part of the globe.

That said, I must admit that I really love my curls and rarely blow them straight. So, while I was very curious about how this product claimed it could help me maintain long silky locks without hours of blow drying, flat ironing, and having to avoid moisture of any kind to escape the frizz, I was not as tempted as some of my fellow curly haired girlfriends.

Still, after a recent video shoot where the producer wanted my hair straightened, I felt that I had to give this Brazilian Blowout process another look. I started my research with a trip to the salon where I get my eyelash extensions done from time to time, as I’ve witnessed at least half a dozen girls having being semi-permanently straightened there.

When questioned, everyone in the salon only had great things to say about the Brazilian Blowout, explaining how easy the process was, and how long lasting the results were. While all this one-sided testimonial was highly compelling, I still felt a quick Google search would give me more of the information I was looking for in terms of 60

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product reviews, ingredient lists and overall experiences.

At first, all the information I came across made the Brazilian Blowout looked like a dream come true. Simply have your hair washed with clarifying shampoo, apply the product, blow out your hair straight, use a 450 degree flat iron to get it really straight, then rinse it out, wash and style as desired. PRESTO! Straight hair for around three months.

Then, attached to a less than glorious review, I came across a more comprehensive version of what a Brazilian Blowout / Brazilian Keratin Treatment really was. While each of these systems claim a different formula and a slightly different process, the basic principle of the treatment is a hair-straightening process that uses keratin instead of chemicals to straighten the hair. Keratin -- a protein high in sulphur and cystine that is the foundation of hair and nails -- is combined with Formaldehyde to form the magical straightening solution.

Because I’ve been on a Formaldehyde-free kick ever since I discovered it to be a known human carcinogen in some of my old favorite nail polish brands, so I was skeptical. Formaldehyde, which is classified by The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a human carcinogen, is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is commonly used in building materials and many household products. When it is present in the air at certain levels, some individuals may experience adverse effects such as burning or watering of the eyes, nose, and throat, coughing, nausea, and skin irritation.

Although we know the short term health effects of formaldehyde, less is known about the long-term effects, which in some studies is linked to causing cancer in rats.

During my research, I happened to catch a story on a reputable news channel about a woman who suffered hair loss as a result of using the Brazilian Blowout treatment, adding further angst about trying it out.The article also pointed out the many technicians that have resorted to wearing gas masks in order to protect their own health.

Shortly thereafter, through a series of connections, I had the good fortune to meet Stacy Malkan, Co-Founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry. In our communication about the Brazilian Blowout and similar products on the market, Malkan told me that Canada pulled Brazilian Blowout off the market more than eight months ago, and U.S. federal agencies are just now getting around to warning the people of health risks.

While I’m not here to condone or condemn any of the specific brands of hair straightening products available today, I will say that the only straightener I’ll be using on my hair any time soon is my own flat iron.To those who choose to venture into more permanent process, PLEASE ask for an ingredient list and use the Skin Deep Database on Safecosmetics.org to see how toxic the chemicals maybe.**

PRE GAME SPRAY Want tousled, sexy, beach babe hair but live nowhere near one? This spray will recreate your days at the beach without the crunch factor and with no knots in sight utilizing 100% natural ingredients.

- $18.00 www.futurenatural.com

TAMMY FENDER QUINTESSENTIAL SERUM This is one organic skin collection that feels luxurious, is luxurious, and when you use it makes you feel like you just got transported to the most lush, calm, delicious place one earth. Enough said.

- $175.00 www.tammyfender.com

FAUST POTIONS No summer (nor it’s myriad of colorful cocktails), can be traversed without thinking about the internal implications of ‘one too many’. Herewith your elixir of health! With two options, Awake or Asleep, they give you all the help you need to neutralize the effects of alcohol and excess with ingredients like guarana, ginseng, green tea and amino acids.

- £4.99 www.faustspotions.com

BEAUTY DIRECTOR LOVES CURATED by: Emma

Pezzack

There are so many incredibly beautiful organic beauty products now it’s harder and harder to choose with each issue what my faves are. That said, there are always some standouts and these are the top of my must-have list for summer...

CARRIERE FRERES INDUSTRIE TAHITIAN GARDENIA

OROFLUIDO BEAUTY ELIXIR

Having been in existence since the 18th century, you can inherently assume that there’s something uber special and incredibly refined about these exquisite candles that utilize only the finest essential oils and plant extracts.

Smell phenomenal and look sleek & shiny.

Using Cyperis & Argan oils, as well as vanilla and amber, this hair oil will become your I-can’t-live-without-it product for years to come, adding shine, manageability and smoothness to stressed locks, like nothing else.

- $45.00 www.carrierefreres.com

- $39.95 www.orofluido.com

MADARA ECOCOSMETICS REGENERATING LIP BALM Lips are one place that constantly suffer environmental onslaught and with no inherent moisture, they need to be protected. This one uses biologically active substances such as Baltic rose hip, barley sprouts, nettle and natural vitamin E to nourish, soften, stimulate cell renewal and boost collagen production.

- $26.00 www.futurenatural.com

COCO ECO |

SPOTLIGHT ON BEAUTY!

Stem Cell Beauty Innovations Science and Nature Vs. Aging WRITTEN by: Alexa Chiprut PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED by: Stem

Cell Beauty Innovations

When you hear the words “stem cell” your first thought is probably about the debate that surrounded their use for healing life-threatening illnesses during the George W. Bush’s administration.

And while that debate is over, and scientists are able to use the cells for their research, a different kind of stem cell has been discovered to help the skin fight aging – totally naturally. In this case, the stem cells are harvested from sheep placenta, post birth, so there is absolutely no harm to the animals.

Robin Gray, the founder of Stem Cell Beauty Innovations (SCBI, LLC) was first introduced to the healing and anti-aging powers of stem cells derived from sheep placenta back in 2009. She was diagnosed with a chronic illness and it was suggested that she try stem cell supplements to help build her immune system. Robin noticed that within weeks she was feeling more energetic, her skin felt more hydrated, and her hair and nails were thicker and growing faster.

Robin thought that this source of natural healing needed to be introduced to the world. She created a line of skin care products using the same nutrient rich ovine placenta. “My goal is to change the science of skincare to become more natural, so we can have a 64

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partnership between science and nature. I want to distribute the best products to heal the skin and make it look more radiant.” The mission at Stem Cell Beauty Innovations, SCBI LLC is to introduce all-natural anti-aging products derived from the purest ingredients on the planet.

Today, she has four stem cell products on the market: the Stem Cell Gold Serum, the Stem Cell Moisturizer, the Stem Cell Ampules and the Stem Cell Supplements. The products also include antioxidants and super enriched ingredients including chamomile, grape seed, aloe vera, kiwi seed oil, and lavender.

All of her products originate from New Zealand, a country known for it’s green and healthy lifestyle and environment. Robin says that currently, it’s difficult to find powerful skin care products that don’t use chemicals to do their work. “Nature knows, we only have to listen to her secrets. SCBI offers the most effective all-natural antiaging skin care line.” ** SCBI

http://scbinet.com

COCO ECO |

COVER STORY!

PHOTOGRAPHY by: Russell Baer ASSISTED by: Angel Romero STYLED by: Adeel Khan STORY by: Sarah Griffin Berns, Fashion Editor MAKE-UP by: Julianne Kaye and Kelly Hunt HAIR by: Judd Minter and Brian Bowman ASSISTED by: Dre Barranon 66 | COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

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CONNECTED TO T H E

CORE Daphne Zuniga, Sharon Lawrence and Sophia Bush WRITTEN by: Anna

Griffin, Editor In Chief, Coco Eco Magazine

When Guest Editor Daphne Zuniga and I first discussed this issue, her direction was extremely clear.

Beyond her obvious commitment to our planet, her primary passion is connectivity and its core impact on our world. Thus began the amazing experience of a cover shoot with three very engaging women, Daphne, Sharon Lawrence and Sophia Bush who are Co-Stars on the hit show One Tree Hill.

Beyond their genuine professional respect for one another, these women share a powerful love for Mother Earth, and theirs is a deep-rooted connection to raising awareness and facilitating change. I was lucky enough to witness their passion in action as they candidly shared their thoughts on our current environmental state of affairs, their personal COVER STORY | Continued

COVER STORY | Continued

motivations, and how we can all be inspired to connect and make a difference.

DAPHNE ZUNIGA: When Anna and I spoke about the planet issue what really appealed to me was the theme of connectivity, how everything in the world is connected. Every choice we make affects the environment. The air, the water supply, poor people of color who live by the ports with all the asthma and trucks going by to transport materials. Every time you turn on a light, you use energy, every time you use water, and everything that’s made uses water. I started to think, “That’s what I want people to talk about more because there is no getting away from it. “ Imagine that you had to live in your house and could never leave, and everything you used you couldn’t throw away and had to keep in your house. Everything, once you were done with it, had to stay in your house. EVERYTHING.That’s what the planet is like. We are all in this house, and nothing that we do is going anywhere else, and so now with however many billion people we have, and many more coming (the population has actually doubled in my lifetime), we’re starting to notice it more.

of the day today, I don’t have to climb into the garbage in my wardrobe to pluck recyclables out of the trash, while there is a recycling bin three inches from the bin, I’ll buy coffee for the whole crew!” And miraculously, no more recyclables go in the garbage that day. It’s quite incredible!

“Imagine that you had to live in your house and could never leave, and everything you used you couldn’t throw away and had to keep in your house.

Everything, once you were done with it, had to stay in your house.

EVERYTHING. That’s what the planet is like. ”

We’re starting to notice it with effects on our health, with the lack of open spaces, lack of clean water and food and air. With all of those thoughts, and this issue of Coco Eco, I thought of these two women, Sharon Lawrence and Sophia Bush, as we all work together on the set of One Tree Hill. Sophia helped me with the LA River revitalization project that I am now on the board of. Last year, we auctioned off a lunch with Sophia and the cast, and she was the first to say, “Sure. Auction us off for lunch!” We made thousands of dollars [to clean up the LA river].

DAPHNE: There are other ways we support each other and work together.

Sophia and Austin were honored by Global Green and flew up to NY when we were shooting to receive their award and make speeches, and Sharon came to me and said, “Hey, do you want to go in together and buy them an ad to say congratulations, as the Moms from One Tree Hill?”

SHARON LAWRENCE: I had been working at Global Green for years, and my involvement with that organization came through something even more grassroots here in LA about 15 years ago, called the Earth Communications Office, or ECO. It was started by one of the execs at Warner Bros, Bonnie Reiss, the late producer Debra Hill, and other Hollywood notables, who recognized that we were using so much paper.

She saw the thoughtlessness behind it and one of the first moves she made was to make sure that scripts were printed on double-sided paper.

It sounds so simple, but that created a braintrust of people who wanted to green the industry more completely, and the thing that led me to it, besides being someone who had some visibility in a way that they could use, was that I

- Daphne Zuniga

We all help each other. Sophia has gotten biodegradable utensils and dishes on set for our catering, and she’s always screaming if she finds a soda can or plastic bottle in the wrong receptacle. She’s always yelling at the cast and crew, “Excuse me people! Trash HERE, recycling HERE! DUH!” SOPHIA BUSH: I’ve started to bribe people. I say, “Hey if by the end 68

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Blue ombre top, ($145) GYPSY 05 www.gypsy05.com Cream cotton pants, (price available upon request) LINDA LOUDERMILK www.lindaloudermilk.com Foxy Petite Crystal Drop Earrings ($60), TIGER LILY www.tigerlilycollections.com

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had been a girl scout. As a girl scout I really did learn about stewardship of the environment because I was camping, and it was an ethic that was passed down. I never forgot that. Neither did I forget the first time I saw a dead coral reef (I’m a scuba diver), nor when I saw under the water what was happening, and knowing that that’s a harbinger of what’s on the surface, and what’s to come. You can’t unring that bell. There were people who cared about it, but fifteen years ago, we were on the fringe, and we really were considered “tree huggers.” A lot has changed, but it has because people are seeing what I saw below the surface of the water has now progressed to our everyday essence and is what we consume through our lungs, what we consume through our water, and what we can and can’t control. I don’t want to take the pessimistic view. I do believe there is some time to at least make some choices that can have an effect, but I am also very pragmatic and believe a lot of this will have to be legislated.

of the people on our set, and it’s because we have the same goals, intentions, and loves of the world and the planet, and I think that something that really inspires me is when we converse about this.

The sort of ideas that come through and the things that we get, and the three of us know that we have to make people see it in a way that they’ll understand. If we want to break it down and make it bare bones, let’s talk about human survival. Let’s talk about how intrinsically selfish people are. Do you think it’s a really good idea to protect the ocean, or try to clean up the gulf after the oil spill?

People say, “Well I can’t see it. I don’t know what it is. It’s all under water. Who really cares? How does that affect me?” Well, it affects you. We work in the South.

People there love shrimp omelets on a Sunday morning. Where do you think your shrimp is coming from? What do you think you’re eating? When you’re eating oil and you’re my age, say, and a lot of my friends are starting to have babies, what do you think is in this food that you’re ingesting? That you’re putting into your bloodstream? That your children will be born of? We’re looking at autism spiking; we’re looking at diabetes spiking. We’re looking at all of these things happening to our children. Sickness with our friends and relatives suffering from cancer and it’s because of what’s in the air, what’s in our water, what’s in our cosmetics, what’s in our food.

“You go to neighborhoods where the young families cannot get fresh produce because it’s not even accessible, much less affordable.

How do we connect to them? That’s one of the big challenges.

SOPHIA: I think it will, and I also think as you are saying, you don’t want to be a pessimist and talk about how dire the situation is, but the reality of it is that it is dire. We’ve done so much damage, and shown so little concern or care for the environment, for our ecosystems, and sadly, this whole notion of being “green” for the average person who is not eco-minded, seems cumbersome, insurmountable, and preachy. We’ve done a really bad job of explaining the point.

What you said about the reef, that imagery should be where we try to appeal to people.

It’s that sort of notion that we understand that led to the three of us being such great friends.

We’re closer as this group of women than most

So we have to approach people that way and get them thinking about it from that perspective, I don’t care how we have to do it. I just care that we do it. We make people see, as you were saying about the theme of this issue, that everything is so interconnected, and there is no decision made that doesn’t affect everything around it.

- Sharon Lawrence

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DAPHNE: I remember, probably about 6 years ago I was in Ohio for the second election, and I was talking about the environment and all of a sudden I learned that one in five women have toxic levels of mercury, mostly from eating tuna fish and swordfish. I thought about my diet and all I ate at the time was tuna, salad and vegetables. I was a very healthy eater, low carb/low fat, because that’s what you do, especially in this business, you take care of yourself. I thought about the symptoms; fogginess, lack of memory, crying spells, cramps, and I went to the doctor and sure enough I was mercury toxic. I had double the safe levels of mercury, and it dawned on me. I’m out

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Grey silk top & blue denim trousers, (price available upon request) LINDA LOUDERMILK www.lindaloudermilk.com Earrings and spiral ring, LAURA ELIZABETH www.lauraelizabethjewelry.com

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there talking about keeping the ocean clean or the air clean, and it’s not all “out there.” It’s in here, in my bloodstream, and has already gotten in. From the coal fired plants that emit all the mercury that drops into the water that the fish ingest. Tuna fish are huge and live a long time, so they have tons of it in them. I got chelated, and a year later am mercury free and I don’t eat it anymore, but my point is that one out of five people have toxic levels. I’m not unusual. I just happen to have gotten tested. And that’s just one toxin. Mercury is a neurotoxin; it’s next to lead. As Sophia said, look at all the products that are in our unregulated beauty industry, look at all the things that are in processed food, forget the ocean and the air. What about us?

SHARON: What about the water bottle industry? I think we all know now that we can’t ignore the disposable plastic water bottles we leave in the sun in our cars, but we didn’t know that until people started equating the rising levels of cancer with [chemicals leaching into the water from the bottles]. Nobody wants to prove it though, and the plastics industry is so strong so we have to make the choice as consumers.

SOPHIA: It’s the same with the politicians in the meat, poultry and dairy industries. Milk is making our children diabetic. We have osteoporosis and cancer because of what’s in our beef and what’s in dairy products, and they don’t want to ever talk about it. They spend more money than we could ever hope to earn by fighting them, so we have to make the choice. If I don’t know that it’s completely cage-free, hormone-free, grass fed, and where it comes from and who butchers it, I’m not eating it. End of story. And it’s the same. I won’t drink water out of a plastic bottle I buy at the store because when they are starting to link the higher levels of dioxin in breast cancer tumors, with all these rising incidents of breast cancer, where’s one of main sources of dioxin? From plastic bottles that get hot, and the dioxin leaches out of the plastic into the water and we drink it. Then we wonder why it’s creating tumors in our body?

DAPHNE: It might be time before we see or experience connectivity, but it’s happening whether we acknowledge it or not.

SOPHIA: But like you said about your experience with finding out you were mercury toxic, it’s happening to all of us. Whether or not we’re aware of it yet, it’s already going on. It’s already in our bodies, and our lungs, and we have to be conscious to make the choice to wake up and pay attention, and change the way we live to better protect ourselves.

SHARON: That will connect up too. It will become a cultural pracCOVER STORY | Continued

ON SHARON: Grey silk top & blue denim trousers, (price available upon request) LINDA LOUDERMILK www.lindaloudermilk.com Earrings and spiral ring, LAURA ELIZABETH www.lauraelizabethjewelry.com ON SOPHIA: Nude and white stone embellished top ($194) T-BAGS www.tbagslosangeles.com Navy skinny jeans, ($172) WORK CUSTOM www.workcustomjeans.com Earrings, LAURA ELIZABETH www.lauraelizabethjewelry.com ON DAPHNE: Blue ombre top, ($145) GYPSY 05 www.gypsy05.com Cream cotton pants, (price available upon request) LINDA LOUDERMILK www.lindaloudermilk.com Foxy Petite Crystal Drop Earrings ($60), TIGER LILY www.tigerlilycollections.com

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tice, a culturally accepted mode that the tribe adapts to. Why wouldn’t it be? The problem is also socio-economic. You go to neighborhoods where the young families cannot get fresh produce because it’s not even accessible, much less affordable. You see a rise in diabetes in the communities with the least access to healthcare. So how do we get the message to them?

How do we connect to them? That’s one of the big challenges. Somebody like Sophia with her reach with the show, I think the young people are looking for that kind of leadership, and it’s a privilege and a responsibility and she has taken it on beautifully.

DAPHNE: I am so excited and hopeful. When I see Sophia and her reach, over 300,000 followers on Twitter, and they all just want to band together and do something. She gives them a way to act, and they want to connect and do something.

ON SHARON: Nude leather dress, (price available upon request) LINDA LOUDERMILK www.lindaloudermilk.com Vega Asteroid Ring ($160), MISA JEWELRY www.misajewelry.com ON SOPHIA: Multi-color printed dress ($207) T-BAGS www.tbagslosangeles.com Journey Oval Ring ($225), MISA JEWELRY www.misajewelry.com ON DAPHNE: One shoulder sheer top & cotton pants, (both price available upon request) BOULEE www.bouleedesigns.com Lauhala Disc Ring ($265), MISA JEWELRY www.misajewelry.com Bohemian Feather & Chain Earrings ($110), TIGER LILY www.tigerlilycollections.com

SOPHIA: It’s astonishing. I am so blown away by them. They started this thing. I am such a fan of the Water Bobble. This thing is all BPA free, completely made from recycled bottles, and the statistics on the Water Bobble is that for every person that starts using one of these, 1200 bottles a year are diverted from the landfill. They’re taking products that we’re poisoning the earth with, making them clean, and here you go, free water. How much do you spend a month on bottled water, and for what? It’s less regulated than municipal water, and here’s your free water that you’re filtering too. I wrote a blog about how smart I thought this product was, and the people at Water Bobble read my blog. I discussed our access to free, clean water that comes out of the tap. Imagine living in a third world country where you don’t have access to fresh water at all, and I mentioned Charity:Water. I got a call from the heads at Water Bobble who were so flattered that I had written about their product, that they donated $1000 on behalf of my Twitter followers to Charity:Water. We’ve now hooked up and they are designing a special filter for my COVER STORY | Continued

Nude and white stone embellished top ($194) T-BAGS www.tbagslosangeles.com Earrings, LAURA ELIZABETH www.lauraelizabethjewelry.com 78 | COCO ECOInto MAGAZINE www.cocoecomag.com PHOTO CREDIT: the Cold| July - August 2011

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campaign that I am running with the Nature Conservancy, and we’re now selling Bobbles to benefit Nature Conservancy. They’re donating half of the purchase price straight to TNC just because they think it’s a great cause, so that I think is amazing. When I told all of my followers that they had donated that on behalf of each of them, they got all excited and I get tweets every day from people who are buying their own Water Bobbles. They’re excited and they’re motivated, especially the young people, and it’s such an exciting thing, when most of the examples they have in this world are these disgusting girls who are making sex tapes and getting famous because of it. Here are all these kids who are proving to me that they are smart and motivated and educated and intelligent, and that they care about something worthwhile and their future. We have this group and are so supportive of each other, and it gives me faith every day that it’s not too late.

That we really can make changes, and that once people have the information, they know what to do with it. It’s not difficult.

It’s just a choice.

SOPHIA: It’s true. Whenever there are votes going down, I put that out on Twitter. No matter what state you live in, I say, “Call! Call New York today, or call California! Just call!” When those politicians hear, “If you pass this bill, if you ruin my future by deregulating the Clean Air Act, I won’t vote for you. I don’t care what else you are working on, if you screw up my clean air and my clean water and my children’s future, out of office! OUT!”They care, and that’s where we’re powerful, by voting and being involved. That’s been a really miraculous thing for me with this group on Twitter, to really get the ball rolling for so many of us. It feels so good!

“I’ve started to bribe people.

I say, ‘Hey if by the end of the day today, I don’t have to climb into the garbage in my wardrobe to pluck recyclables out of the trash...I’ll buy coffee for the whole crew!’

And miraculously, no more recyclables go in the garbage that day.”

DAPHNE: People want to connect. We become happy when we connect with others. There’s a physical shift and your immune system is boosted when you get to connect.

Just listening to how you talk about your Twitter family, yes it’s the new way and we are in the age of technology, but I just love that. I was at a dinner party recently and this very educated woman asked me what she could do. I asked her if she had ever made a call to a politician, a candidate, and that everyone is listed. It feels so good to call someone and say, “You tell your boss I disagree with that vote!” It helps you feel empowered, and it is empowering because as the Attorney General of NYC just told me, “Are you kidding me?

We hear of every call that comes in, and trust me, we care!” If they get enough calls, it doesn’t have to be hundreds and thousands of people, it can be a handful to one office, and they will shift.

- Sophia Bush

DAPHNE: Jam some phone lines in DC!

SHARON: Those very proactive and powerful modes of protest feel good and are effective. There are other ways as well, on a more local level, with your Congressperson. So much of what happens in the environment is truly neighborhood based. Fran Pavely, who is one of my heroes as a Congressperson here in California, spearheaded AB32, which was to change the level of emissions in automobiles. That was eventually passed here in California and challenged at the national level, but now has gone on to become the standard for the auto industry. It was a local initiative that was announced at the top of Griffith Park with Mayor Jim Hahn. I think that’s where you can make the biggest impact. In your backyard in your own district, supporting the candidates that are running. I was at an event last night and Nina Tassler, the President of CBS Entertainment, said something that was on one of the covers of the NY Times recently. It’s that women run for office to do something, to get something done.

Men run for office to seek position. Now this isn’t a men-bashing conversation, but I bet if you looked at the women that were running for office, you would find the people that actually can COVER STORY | Continued

COVER STORY | Continued

get something done. They’re the ones who are living in the neighborhoods, their roots are deep and they’re invested there. They are the ones who are watching and seeing and feeling and absorbing, because they probably are more connected to their neighborhood in many ways. That kind of attention to be paid can make incremental but profound shifts.

DAPHNE: I think that the first thing that is needed is that a person acknowledge the connections. It’s painful and it’s terrifying, but as a person realizes that everything is connected, that everything they throw away, or every time they use a plastic straw, that for every choice they make, there is a cost, then you have to really admit that and sit with it for a little bit, and think about it and everything you do, and once you sit with that, then you shift. Maybe you get scared, but then you get angry, and then you get strong and you find whether it’s local, or Twitter, or the other things Sophia’s doing like going down to the Gulf, or whatever it is. The solution and the answer will come as long as you take the first commitment, which is to understand that we are of this planet. We are all from here and it’s not like we were dropped down onto it from someplace else. This is a little blue marble floating around in space, constantly and it always will.

We are going nowhere else and we are all on it no matter what we do it. This is it, so you have to get it and then live and make choices from that place of awareness.

SOPHIA: It’s funny too, like you were saying about when you really realize it. When you talk about a plastic straw, we notice that.

Where we shoot the show in Wilmington there are a lot of great little diners, and when they bring you water they put straws down on the table. They’re all individually wrapped, so if the three of us go to lunch, there are three straws in paper, and I just give them back to the waitress. Why do I need a straw when I have a glass? And what I have also started doing is taking my bottles into the restaurant and I’ll ask to use the pitcher and put water in my own bottle which is one less cup during my meal that goes in the dishwasher.

It’s about just remembering. In the door pocket in my car, I have a bunch of reusable bags, which I take into the grocery store, and I even have the mesh bags that I use for my produce. I don’t have to take those individual plastic bags for everything because what’s the point? What do I use them for? It’s garbage and waste. I have noticed that some many more people now take reusable bags to the grocery store, but I ask if they take them when they go shopping, because why wouldn’t you take a reusable bag to the mall with you?

Why do you need a shopping bag from the store? Stop!

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COVER STORY | Continued

DAPHNE: A bag that goes from the store to your car to your closet, and then gets dumped.

SOPHIA: Exactly. We’ve got to stop. There’s so much stuff everywhere, and we don’t need it.

SHARON: In order to be and feel connected, it seems essential to pay attention, to recognize that all our actions have impact. Like that garbage patch we have created in the South Pacific. The climate change naysayers can’t really deny that humans are connected to that island of plastic, which has grown to twice the size of Texas. Even they understand that in America, we could live with less but commerce drives us toward more.

As my pals at Environment California say, nothing we use for a few minutes should pollute our oceans for a hundred years. So we need leadership that gets it and there are up and coming leaders who are connected in a real way. Like EPA Chief Lisa Jackson who just lead the way to the new stronger regulations on air pollution.

Her kids have asthma and she is recognizing the connection of bad air quality to human health and is determined to have an impact on this issue during her term. That really inspires me. Lets face it, just living on the planet means we have an impact, and via the eco community we have so many ways to make that impact a positive one.

At this point, photographer Russell Baer sweeps in and is anxious to start our photo shoot as we are running out of time. It’s a sheer privilege to have had the opportunity to spend time with these women, and I am inspired to believe that change is indeed possible, if we can only all open ourselves up to connecting with one another, and our beautiful planet.** DAPHNE ZUNIGA www.daphnezuniga.net SHARON LAWRENCE www.sharon-lawrence.com SOPHIA BUSH www.sophiabush.com

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WOMEN OF THE WORLD!

KATHY FRESTON 84 | COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

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PLANET

WARRIORS WRITTEN by: Daphne Zuniga & Nicole Landers PHOTOGRAPHY provided by: Each Featured Individual

“Vegan is a grand slam: good for everyone and everything. It’s better for us, better for animals, and better for the planet,” says Kathy Freston, New York Times best selling author of several books, including her latest, The Veganist.

Animals probably would prefer we not eat them. As for our own health, take a look at 57 Health Benefits of Going Vegan at Nursingdegree.net.

As for the planet, the UN reports that the livestock industry is among the top two or three contributors to the most serious environmental problems we have. Freston adds, “Raising animals for food accounts for 70% of global fresh water consumption, 38% of total land use and 18% (some studies show up to 50%) of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.” That is one unsustainable burger.

Freston grew up in the South loving BBQ and milkshakes, chicken fried steak--“everything with meat and cheese in it.” It was while writing about becoming more conscious in relationships and health that she realized, “I was not at all conscious about the most fundamental thing in our lives -- food.” Moving away from animal protein and “leaning into” a plant-based diet was more aligned with her values of “kindness, stewardship and mercy.”

Often perceived as a limiting or quirky way to live, Veganism has hardly cramped Kathy’s style (which, by the way, is always beautiful!). Quirky?

Other vegans include Bill Clinton, the founders of Twitter and Google, Mike Tyson, and recently in the news Tour de France cyclist David Zabriskie. Grand Slam indeed! www.KathyFreston.com PLANET WARRIORS | Continued

PLANET WARRIORS | Continued

STACY MALKAN The 50 billion dollar beauty industry is like the wild West; it was last regulated in 1938, and today it’s still not a government requirement to list all ingredients on product packages. Currently, unlimited quantities of toxins linked with cancer, infertility and learning disabilities are used in cosmetics, lotions, and shampoos, including those for children. Stacy Malkan, author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of The Beauty Industry is out to pull in the reins. She is a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and she’s got a problem with lead in lipstick, formaldehyde in hair straightener, and 1,4 dioxane (a petroleum based carcinogen that makes suds) in Dora The Explorer baby shampoo.

DORKA KEEHN

DORKA KEEHN Dorka Keehn’s new book, Eco Amazons, highlights twenty influential women who are leading the charge to create a healthier planet. Dorka explains, “I wanted to know who the women in the environmental movement were, and there was almost nothing written about them. This book brings together women who are leading a healthy environment for all life on earth.”

Dorka’s decades of experience exploring women’s rights, from her work with Gloria Steinem to her projects for the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women, inform and frame the content.

“Many women’s rights in the United States are being eroded, especially around reproductive health,” says Dorka. “If women have to worry about their children’s health care as well as their own, they don’t have time to work on other issues.”

“This is a toxic trespass on a massive scale; it’s a violation of life,” she says. Malkan adds, “When we see that babies are being born into the world pre-polluted with industrial chemicals, it’s time to ask how we can do things differently.”

With a new proposed bill, the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, the FDA will have to step in. Who is Malkan rallying? “Women are the ones making most of the purchasing decisions. We need to buy nontoxic products and use our voices and votes to pass this bill into law.”

Women are 75% of cosmetics companies’ consumers, and it’s probable a 35 billion dollar loss could likely make them think before they put that next sprinkle of arsenic in your lip gloss.** Take action to help pass the bill at: www.safecosmetics.org Find the safest products at: www.cosmeticdatabase.org

Dorka thinks that when women find meaning outside the self and work toward a collective goal, individuals and society benefit. “How lucky we are that the very things we need to get this country on a sustainable, fair and healthy path contribute most to our happiness,” she says. Eco Amazons covers important breakthroughs in environmental policy created by emerging women. “The women featured all demonstrate how individual concern gives rise to passion, how passion leads to action, and how action effects meaningful change,” emphasized Dorka.**

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STACY MALKAN

SHARON SALZBERG

SHARON SALZBERG

JAYNI CHASE

Can sitting with your eyes closed and letting your thoughts go be beneficial to the rest of us? Sharon Salzberg, renowned meditation teacher, bestselling author of Real Happiness, and co-founder of Insight Meditation Society, a silent retreat center serving the public, says yes. “I think meditation definitely has the potential to help the planet. Meditation’s essential tools are the development of greater mindfulness and compassion. Through these, we can see directly that our happiness doesn’t come from endless consumption and acquiring, but from connection to ourselves, to one another, and to life as a whole.” She should know. After a youth of intense sitting in silence in India, Burma, and Nepal, Sharon opened Insight Meditation Society with Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. Twenty-five years later she is seeing scientific studies showing “…meditation’s possible enhancing effects on resiliency, positive emotion and generosity.”

Jayni Chase founded the Center for Environmental Education in 1988 to give schools the blueprint to offer strong environmental education. Today, for Jayni, GREEN Community Schools Initiative is “where the action is.” With pilot programs in Chicago and Minneapolis, GCSI creates partnerships between schools and communities to promote long lasting sustainability.

“We meditate not to become a great meditator, but to have a different life, and that makes for a different planet.” says Sharon. This is good news for those inclined to help but need more juice.

Well aware of the challenge of long-term efforts to help the planet and the possibility of burnout, she offers, “We have to have skills that help resiliency, heartfulness, and balance, or we will give up. I have seen the people who pay more attention to caring for themselves using tools like meditation build those skills. The world needs us not to give up.”** www.Sharonsalzberg.com

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JAYNI CHASE

Why focus on schools? Jayni says, “Our children won’t be children for long and if they grow up with an understanding that we are just one of the living creatures in a complex web of life, there is a better chance they’ll live their lives in ways that will be part of the solutions.”

She adds, “Too many of our young adults feel disconnected. This is a meaningful way to help them feel part of a larger whole. I’ve seen over and over again that kids become kinder and open themselves to one another.”

Jayni describes her sense of connection to the planet, “With every breath, with every drink of water and every bite of food I am conscious of being connected to all other life. As they go, so shall I, and all that I love and care about.”

How does she keep going after all these years? “I can’t imagine stopping. It is who I am at my core so I work tirelessly to share these things with others.” She credits her actor husband Chevy Chase and their three daughters with providing the force behind her dedication to environmental health, safety and education.**

www.greencommunityschools.org | COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

PLANET WARRIORS | Continued

DIANNA COHEN Single use plastic products like water bottles, cups, bags, and utensils are used for moments but last hundreds of years. A small percentage get recycled. What happens to the rest of it? Roughly 50% is buried in landfills and much of it ultimately washes out to sea. “There are 11 gyres with plastic pollution floating in them in the five major oceans. They are spread out in the entire water column and on the ocean floor,” says Dianna Cohen, who cofounded the Plastic Pollution Coalition.

“Knowledge is power and when we begin to understand that less than 7% of all plastic is recycled (actually down-cycled) in the U.S., and we start to realize that all of our beaches are strewn with plastic, we may realize that by refusing this plastic packaging and choosing an alternative on the front end, we can turn off the faucet of this plastic into our Ocean,” says Dianna.

“Plastic Pollution is the most in-your-face issue of the day. Disposable plastics and the toxins which leach out of them are poisoning our ocean, the land, animals and our bodies,” Dianna tells us.

Her organization seeks to put plastic pollution at the forefront of social, environmental and political discourse.The goal? Ending the global dependence on disposable plastic.

As an artist, Dianna started using plastic bags in her artwork long ago, hoping to bring attention to the plastic problem. “I have been making my two and three dimensional wall pieces, sculptures and installations using plastic bags and thread as my primary material for 25 years,” she says.** www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org

DIANNA COHEN

COCO ECO |

TAKE ACTION!

UGLY BEAUTY The Future of Makeup

WRITTEN by: Heather Carter PHOTOGRAPHY provided by: As

Noted

It’s alarming for most of us to learn that until recently, the cosmetics industry was self-regulated. This means that plenty of the ingredients in our favorite everyday products contain an array of potentially harmful toxic chemicals. Working for years on this issue, nonprofit health watchdog groups like the Environmental Working Group are out to change this. In June 2011 the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 was reintroduced in the House of Representatives. The act serves to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate what goes into personal care products and eliminate chemical toxins used in products that are sold in the US. 90

The act will also require that companies list all product ingredients on their labels.

The passing of this act will serve as a major defeat against companies who were unwilling to exercise a higher level of responsibility for its consumers. On the front line of that battle are eco-conscious warriors that have sought to educate people and lobby for change.

Stacy Malkan co-founder of the Environmental Working Group’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics talked to Coco Eco about the state of the cosmetics industry and their efforts to promote education and change. “The average woman uses 12 personal care products a day containing 180 or more chemicals, many of which are toxic.

Examples include: Many popular brands of bath products, shampoo, body wash, make-up, and fragrances. Men’s products are a problem too; many colognes, aftershaves and deodorants contain phthalates, which are linked to sperm damage. These chemicals are not listed on labels.”

Many may ask themselves, “What’s the big deal?” We have been using these products with supposed harmful ingredients for decades and seemingly without consequence. Seemingly is the operative word. Recent, long-term studies on animals and people have proven that some of the chemicals we used to think were benign may not be. Now that we know that these chemicals can be detrimental to one’s health (studies are still ongoing), it is horrifying to think that companies have been allowed to compromise the physical safety of their consumers.

Malkan explained “Companies already know how to make great

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Three girls lobbying for change PHOTO CREDIT: Erin Schrode

products without the carcinogens and toxic chemicals, and that’s what all companies should be doing. The most powerful thing we can do as consumers is to support the companies that are doing it right and making the safest products.”

As consumers we hold the power to ignite change. We have the option to stop buying products made by irresponsible companies and instead trade our dollar for chemical free products that are good for our bodies and our environment. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics encourages people to share the Story of Cosmetics, an incredibly informative short film that can be viewed on their site (and passed along). Take action to make sure cosmetics are safe before they’re sold and donate to support awareness and change.

Even if the new Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 is passed, if people do not understand the effects of the chemicals that are listed they will continue to blindly buy products that are potentially harmful.

Serving as a power player in educating the new generation is Erin Schrode. This Eco-Renaissance woman already has some hefty credentials to her name; Actress, model, designer, organic foodie, ecoeducator, advocate, activist and perhaps most notably Co- Founder of the Teens Turning Green. The campaign promotes global sustainability, youth leadership, environmental education, and conscious lifestyle choices.

Schrode founded the non-profit organization with her mother Judy at the age of just thirteen. Erin’s mother raised her family to be eco conscious and Erin felt compelled to educate and inspire others.

Erin explained: “The movement began with just a few like-minded friends meeting every week after school. We would discuss what

Erin Schrode

research we had done and the results of our findings, we knew that as teenagers we did not have the purchasing power to drive eco-friendly cars but we could make positive changes regarding our beauty products. We discovered that the makeup products we were using contained toxic ingredients that could be damaging our health and sought to find eco alternatives.” It didn’t stop there: The small group grew into a movement of young leaders aiming to educate others and lobby for change.

Teens Turning Green now reaches thousands of people globally who want to make changes personally in within their communities. Schrode concluded, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” and judging by her accomplishments it is apparent that she lives by her words. ** TEENS TURNING GREEN www.teensturninggreen.org CAMPAIGN FOR SAFE COSMETICS www.campaignforsafecosmetics.org

COCO ECO |

MEN WE LOVE!

COURTNEY CARTER REUM 92 | COCOAND ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

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MEN who CONNECT Billy Zane, Austin Nichols, Youtchi von Lintel, Bill Gallegos, Courtney and Carter Reum WRITTEN by: Polly Walter PHOTOGRAPHY by: As Noted

If everything on our planet is connected, then here are six men who we think help bring it all together.

Two popular actors show us how to celebrate the green lifestyle, leading by example in both everyday life and also through art. An environmental crime fighter proves we can maintain the health of our communities and the earth if we work together. A film producer’s work blurs the line between publicity and activism. And two brothers demonstrate that being environmentally conscious is as easy as having a cocktail. These six are “Men We Love” because of their dedication to saving the planet and inspiring us to do the same.

MEN WE LOVE | Continued

MEN WE LOVE | Continued

COURTNEY AND CARTER REUM Disenchanted with their jobs on Wall Street, brothers Courtney and Carter Reum set out to create, “A better way to drink.” This is the tagline for Veev, the world’s first spirit made from Açaí, one of the most powerful and nutritious fruits in the world. “When my brother Courtney and I first started developing the concept for VeeV,” says Carter, “We wanted it to have better for you ingredients and stand for something beyond simply being a health(ier) and great tasting spirit.

For that reason we made sure that all business activities around VeeV, from the distillation of the spirit in the only US wind powered distillery to the every-day practices in our office, are completely sustainable.”

In addition to being the only carbon neutral spirits company on the market,Veev donates $1 per bottle sold back to the Brazilian Rainforest to support the safe harvest of Açaí. Carter adds, “All aspects of the VeeV bottle itself are eco, for instance, our bottle is made from partially recycled glass, printed with soy ink and capped with a synthetic cork. Our office out of Los Angeles is completely green and our sales team’s bonuses depend on whether they reach their quarterly personal and business sustainability goals.”

When asked to name his favorite VeeV cocktail Carter claims their Açaí Mojito is “pretty amazing. We’ve added organic blueberries to the recipe that not only give the taste a little something extra, but it also adds a burst of color to the cocktail. It’s a perfect year around drink.” www.veevlife.com

BILLY ZANE

BILLY ZANE “Well, necessity.” explains Billy Zane when asked about what first inspired him to incorporate recycled materials into his artwork. An accomplished actor with a career spanning more than three decades, Zane is getting rave reviews as eco-artist. His first experiment with abstract painting happened on the set of Titantic, and since then his portfolio has grown to include pieces of art made on almost every one of his shooting locations.

“I don’t bring paint or canvas on the road where I prefer to work,” Zane says, “So I make do with what I find. I see beauty in the fractal patterns of erosion and decay and love using discarded objects such as tabletops, doors, and sheet metal as backings for some of my work. I recycle canvases too. My own and others I find in the trash.”

Zane is also an advocate for energy conservation and an active member of IREO (Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization), a group that promotes the use of affordable, clean sources of renewable energy worldwide. His artistic process exemplifies a similar direction. Zane explains, “I enjoy working outdoors well into sundown and not turning on lights. Not only for the energy savings to the grid, but it always provides an interesting discovery by light of day.”

Zane’s artwork is currently on display at the Vault Gallery in Cambria, California. The exhibition is titled “You Done With That?” and also features eco-artist Janet Roberts.

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AUSTIN NICHOLS Austin Nichols is best known for his role on the hit series One Tree Hill, but he’s also making waves in the eco community and providing young Hollywood with a positive example. Last year Nichols traveled to the gulf with Global Green and experienced first hand the destruction caused by the BP oil spill. It was an eye opening experience. “Like The Wizard of Oz,” he says, “I got a peek behind the curtain. I saw that the oil companies are running the show. When I asked to help clean up, they said I would be thrown in jail if I stepped on the beach.” But Nichols is optimistic about the future, “The way around this is to make the corporations clean and green and mean. And it’s already happening.”

Nichols was exposed to sustainability and caring for the environment at a young age. “I have always had good role models around me and info at my finger tips, but it wasn’t until the BP oil spill that I got really verbal about it,” he explains. “I believe that there is an energy to be tapped that is created by the connection between all living things. Every interaction with other beings has a ripple effect that continues on and on beyond our grasp. In nature, a cow eats grass, digests it, and then re-deposits it in the field, which in turn, fertilizes more grass to eat. It is a perfect cycle.”

He has some advice for people who want to live a more planet-friendly lifestyle but look at it as a hassle: “Well, here is the key. Be Selfish.

Take care of yourself. Eat better food, breathe cleaner air, drink cleaner water. Exercise. Try to make yourself smarter and stronger and better. Grow a garden in your backyard and become a food snob. Don’t eat crap. Ride a bike to work on #twowheeltuesday. Make your next car purchase a hybrid or electric. Put solar panels on your house. Become Super Human.”

AUSTIN NICHOLS PHOTO CREDIT: Davis Factor/DR Photo Mgmt

MEN WE LOVE | Continued

MEN WE LOVE | Continued

YOUTCHI VON LINTEL Youtchi von Lintel is the Director of Business Development for Participant Media, the film group behind the Oscar-winning documentaries The Cove and An Inconvenient Truth. The company’s inspiring business philosophy measures success not only with box office numbers, but also with social impact. The focus is on encouraging activism, especially at the college level, because, as Von Lintel explains, students “have the appetite to adopt quickly the tools to make a difference.

They understand inherently that we all have a part to play in our global world and that systemic change sometimes starts at the individual level.” A campaign for last year’s film, Oceans, involved visiting college campuses and presenting students with alternatives to bottled water to help reduce plastic consumption.

He also recognizes the importance of social media in raising worldwide awareness about the causes explored in his films. “Over 1.7 million people signed online petitions to stop the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan, which was temporally suspended,” Von Lintel says. “That’s actually more people than saw The Cove in theaters.The film helped create allies via social media who then reached out to their networks and amplified our reach exponentially.”

The next few months will see the release of three films from Participant: The Help (August 10th), Circumstance (August 26th) and Contagion (September 9th). Last Call at the Oasis hits theatres in 2012 and will provide a timely look at the most serious issue facing the planet: Water. www.TakePart.com

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BILL GALLEGOS Bill Gallegos has been Executive Director of Communities for a Better Environment for six years, leading the fight for environmental justice.

In his words, this means “the recognition of the right of everyone to clean air, water, and soil.” In recent years, CBE has achieved groundbreaking environmental policies that have led to cleaner air and water in low-income communities of color living near power plants, oil refineries and other large polluters. Current campaigns include a national Green Zone project being developed in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, and an effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in California, the state with the worst air quality in the nation. Gallegos adds, “Climate change is our biggest problem by far because for the first time ever the very survival of our planet is in question. Our biggest challenge comes from the powerful corporate forces who continue to promote a fossil fuel economy and a mindless consumerism no matter the consequences to nature and to people.”

But by building a unified effort to save the planet, Gallegos believes we can fight back. A community organizer for over 30 years, he recognizes the importance of locals taking a stand in their own backyards. Gallegos cites the example of Latino community members who stopped the City of Vernon from opening a power plant, preventing the annual release of 1.5 million lbs of toxic emissions and 2.5 million tons of greenhouse gases.

“There are literally hundreds of local and regional campaigns working to achieve environmental justice,” says Gallagos. “All of these campaigns embody a vision of a new world, one that is not based on endless consumption, but instead based on clean renewable energy, and one in which the democratic wishes of the people are primary. Things are much worse than most people realize. But most people are also unaware that we can do something about it, if we act, individually and together. Hope is always alive.” www.cbecal.org BILL GALLEGOS

COCO ECO |

ECO CHIC CITY GUIDE!

Photo EPIC HOTEL | July - August 2011 98 | Provided COCO by ECO MAGAZINE

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ECO CHIC

GUIDE to...

Miami & S. Florida WRITTEN by: Nicole Landers with Kristen Penfold

Our eco chic South Florida excursion all begins with a flight on our fave airline, VIRGIN AMERICA into Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport. This airport is a breeze to maneuver through.

Traveling around South Florida one needs wheels to get to and from all the eco friendly cool places. AVIS has started a green initiative, Beyond SmartWayŽ certified vehicles a new fleet of fuel-efficient cars also includes electronic toll collection, smart GPS systems and carbon offsets. Half of Avis vehicles get at least 28-mpg highway and a fourth of their vehicles are at least 30-mpg highway or better. If that isn’t enough to make you feel better while cruising to the beach Avis has also started smart company policies for water, energy, noise, use of natural resources, landfill contribution and other areas in which they impact the environment. So enjoy the wind in your hair and extra gas money in your pocket!

ECO CHIC CITY GUIDE | Continued

STAY! WERE TO STAY? FORT LAUDERDALE, DOWNTOWN MIAMI OR SOUTH BEACH?

B OCEAN FORT LAUDERDALE Fort Lauderdale will never be the same with the latest addition to cool resorts, B Ocean Fort Lauderdale. B Hotels & Resorts® has a brand signature called B Humane™, an eco friendly and socially responsible program that will be consistent across all B Hotels & Resorts® properties, it is all about giving back to endangered animals. This hotel features the sea turtle, in their artwork as well as there are stuffed turtles available on the beds for purchase, and portion of proceeds are donated to a save the sea turtles association. B Ocean has an unique room accommodations from the Master Suites, B Enhanced Junior Suites, Stunning and Stunning Curve Rooms – boasting panoramic floor to ceiling windows – and the Chic, Captivating and Captivating Curve Rooms. Other cool amenities include an infinity edge pool with poolside cabanas and complimentary wireless internet throughout all guestrooms as well as public areas.To top it off, B is one of the first hotels to feature the touch-screen Monscierge in the lobby, which is like a giant iPad where you can check flights, print airline tickets, book excursions from their B Adventurous program, e-mail directions to their smart phone and have access to grounds maps, photos and menus for the hotel’s restaurants, as well as local hot spots.** 999 N Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954.564.1000 www.bhotelsandresorts.com/b-ocean-fort-lauderdale

EPIC HOTEL The trendsetting and sustainable EPIC Hotel division of the Kimpton Hotel Group operates their 50 hotels (and growing) in an eco friendly manner under Kimpton’s EarthCare program. The EPIC Hotel recently earned its Silver level Green Seal certification utilizing more than 100 environmentally responsible operational practices. It has the style of a luxury cosmopolitan boutique hotel with the all the amenities of a resort, artfully designed by Cheryl Rowely to create a sophisticated oasis for guests. It is conveniently located at the edge of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay, so when booking definitely ask for a bay view room so you can have Photo Provided by B OCEAN FORT

Photo EPICMAGAZINE HOTEL Photo Provided by B OCEAN FORT 100 |Provided COCObyECO | July - August 2011

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one of the private balconies to enhance your stay. The added bonus is they have a spa, yoga and fitness center operated by Exhale, from NYC & LA. What can be better than that? Their amazing pool with wrap around deck, endless views and two great restaurants too.** 270 Biscayne Blvd Way, Miami, FL 33131 www.epichotel.com

CLIFTON HOTEL While many larger hotels groups seem to have mastered staying green, it is intimate two-story Clifton Hotel in the heart of iconic South Beach that brings eco friendly to the boutique level. This 35 room hotel is LEED certified and includes mattresses made from 100% renewable materials, furniture that was custom made locally from bamboo, zero VOC paint, LED lighting, pillows made from recycled bottle material, and plenty of other environmentally friendly choices.

Sound too good to be true? With a fantastic nightlife right around the corner, a location steps from the ocean and a continental breakfast with plenty of organic specialties, it might be. ** 1343 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, Florida 33139 305.455.1630 www.cliftonsouthbeach.com

Photo Provided by EPIC HOTEL

Photo Provided by CLIFTON HOTEL

Photo Provided by EPIC HOTEL

ECO CHIC CITY GUIDE | Continued

EAT! JUICE AND JAVA Breakfast, lunch or just a quick bite, Juice and Java organic juice, coffee and tea offerings are so vast, yet it is the natural and organic menu that keeps you coming back for more. From organic fare egg white sandwiches, pita melts with mixed greens, to the 34 different smoothies options there is so much too choose from and it is all crafted from 100% pure food, no artificial anything! With three locations it is easy to run in and grab a healthy and delicious bite to eat before you get your day on or during.** The Promenade Shops- 20335 Biscayne Blvd. #L 26, Aventura tel. 305.466.2233 South Beach- 1346 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach tel. 305.531.6675 www.juiceandjava.com

PIZZA FUSION Ready for lunch in South Beach before hitting the sand for a tan? Founded in 2007 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, now open in South Beach, Pizza Fusion is a new take on America’s favorite food. They serve up delicious, gourmet pizza in its purest form - untainted by artificial additives, like preservatives, growth hormones, pesticides, nitrates and trans fats (to name a few). While known for their pizza, 75% of the menu is organic with an eclectic variety of gourmet sandwiches, salads, desserts, beer and wine. Additionally, Pizza Fusion offer health conscious alternatives for those of us with selective diets and food allergies, such as delicious gluten-free pizza, brownies and beer as well as other tasty vegan selections. The design is hip and of course eco friendly. **

Photo Provided by LIDO RESTAURANT AND BAYSIDE GRILL

1013 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954358.5353 1115 5th Street, Miami Beach, FL 33139 305.672.7778 www.pizzafusion.com

Photo LIDO RESTAURANT AND BAYSIDE Photo Credit JUICE AND JAVA 102 |Provided COCObyECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011GRILL

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ESCOPAZZO Dinner is a true toss up with these two hot spots in Miami. Escopazzo opened in 1993 and went completely organic in 2008 is located in the heart of Miami Beach. Some of the best Italian food in South Florida with all organic and mostly locally sourced ingredients along with wild caught fish and grass-fed meats free of hormones as well as antibiotics. Escopazzo boasts an award-winning menu from Chef Giancarla Bodoni, that includes plenty of raw and vegan options from their amazing raw lasagna to their raw butternut squash tagliatelle. Enjoy a perfectly tailored wine pairing, tasting menu, or multiple course meal to complete your evening. Your taste buds will thank you.** 1311 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139 305.674.9450 www.escopazzo.com

LIDO RESTAURANT AND BAYSIDE GRILL The Standard Spa’s Lido Restaurant and Bayside Grill is the best of both worlds from their chic indoor dining space to the outdoor that over looks the bay, the ambiance is surreal especially at night. The fare is inspired by Mediterranean diet and lifestyle that is healthy, sun-kissed, wholesome and natural. The Executive Chef Mark Zeitouni meticulously executes the restaurant’s menu with an emphasis on high quality and organic meats and fish, olive oil, fresh herbs, unprocessed foods, grill cooking with organic and bio-dynamic wines. The menu has something for everyone, favorites are there Living Lasagna, the Local Snapper Filet, to the Vegan Fritto Misto. Open daily for breakfast, lunch & dinner.** 40 Island Avenue Miami Beach Florida 33139 305.673.1717 www.standardhotels.com/miami/restaurants/lido-restaurant-bayside-grill

Photo Provided by PIZZA FUSION

Photo Credit ESCOPAZZO

Photo Provided by ESCOPAZZO

ECO CHIC CITY GUIDE | Continued

INDULGE! CONSIGN OF THE TIMES In need of that designer dress for the special night on the town? Consign of the Times, a self-proclaimed “must stop for savvy fashionistas, recessionistas, and recyclistas,” Consign of the Times boasts pieces from many high-end luxury brands and is constantly revamping their collection. Upon entering Miami’s first luxury resale boutique, clients are often surprised to learn it is a resale boutique and no additional sizes are offered. Yes, those Manolos, Choos, Birchs that are hardly worn are still in season and now affordable!** 635 Jefferson Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139 305.535.0811 www.consignofthetimes.com

THE STANDARD SPA

Photo Credit CONSIGN OF THE TIMES

Anything but standard the holistic approach to spa and wellness of THE STANDARD SPA is one of the top spas in South Florida. In most traditional hotels treatments are stand alone, at The Standard Spa they encourage communal, shared rituals of traditional bathhouses with our “Do-It-Yourself ” menu of hydrotherapy.

Check out their effects of water, steam or mud in their Hamam, Aroma Steam Room, Cedar Sauna, Sound Pool, Roman Waterfall Hot Tub and Mud Lounge.

If you are seeking a private experience that is okay too, unwind in the spa or choose from an array of in-room treatments including therapeutic massage, acupuncture, Chinese herbal baths and restorative mind-body therapies. Here one can indulge in a steamy mix of health and hedonism and learn the ageless art of bathing indoors and out. They also have retreats and events led by local, national + international luminaries in health, fitness, yoga, meditation, science, art, psychology and more.** 40 Island Avenue Miami Beach Florida 33139 305.673.1717 www.standardhotels.com/miami/spa-wellbeing

At work on the next design of jewelry.

Photo Provided by LOVE HEALS Photo Credit THE STANDARD SPA

ZEN ZEN SALON Zen Zen Salon specializes in the blending of organic products and services with the hippest trends and fashion – we are committed to all things natural, healthful, and sustainable, that is what will keep the hair healthy, shiny and gorgeous. The organic services we offer begins with “water testing”, to see what is in the water you bathe in each day. Then we prescribe the right organic routine for you including shampooing, conditioning, retexturizing (wavy or straight), and hair color. We use the finest natural and organic beauty and spa products available on the market today. We are committed to the health, safety, and comfort of all of our clients. ** 17830 West Dixie Highway, North Miami Beach, FL 33160 305.936.9369 www.zenzensalon.com

Photo Provided by ZEN ZEN SALON 104

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COCO ECO |

TRAVEL EXTRA!

ECO-LUXURY ESCAPE TO COSTA RICA WRITTEN by: Greta Eagan PHOTOGRAPHY by: As Noted

Lately, Costa Rica has been a hot topic of conversation. Rated as the world’s happiest country, with booming eco-tourism, vibrant rain forests and surffriendly beaches, it is easy to see why. Hands Up Holidays, a luxury voluntourism (tourism plus volunteering) travel company, expertly set my itinerary for a taste of the Pura Vida. Most people would pore over their plans, but I frankly didn’t have time and liked the idea of being surprised along the way.

Surprise certainly came when I set out at 5:15am from San Jose to make my way to the Pacuare River Lodge. Accessing the remote lodge is a two hour adventure via whitewater rafting, with a stop along the way to play beneath a waterfall and enjoy a picnic lunch.

The eco-lodge is a beautiful escape into the middle of nowhere.

Lush vegetation surrounds the main lodge adding privacy to the guesthouses scattered throughout the property.

Scheduled meals and activities foster community among the guests, and it feels like you are back at summer camp making friends all over again. Days filled with zip-lining, hiking, horseback riding and swimming lead to story sharing at night over glasses of wine and superb Costa Rican fare. After six o’clock in the evening, the sky is black with night. Electricity in the main lodge creates a lively venue, while candles light the way back to the quiet guesthouses.

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Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation and Inn

Leaving Pacuare Lodge, I say goodbye to my newly made friends, and set out for higher ground. Nestled in the fog of Costa Rica’s cloud forest, El Silencio Lodge and Spa takes relaxation to an elevated level. With just 16 suites to offer, the lodge is truly intimate with staff that cater to every need with a familial touch.

Costa Ricans adore their country and at El Silencio there is no shortage of this prideful sentiment. Eco-concierges gracefully provide guests with information about the surrounding eco-systems, as well as the lodge’s commitment to conserve and accommodate the natural resources and community.

On a day trip to the local town I am taught how to make tortillas by a native named Olga. After successfully producing a corn tortilla, I am proclaimed ready for marriage (a Costa Rican tradition). With this new assurance and skill, I head to the volcanos.

Travelers I’ve met along the way knowingly suggest staying at the luxurious Nayara Hotel in Arenal. Located at the base of one of Costa Rica’s nine active volcanos and surrounded by steaming hot springs, Nayara is a destination not to be missed.

Combining both an old world luxury style with modern day amenities, Nayara creates the perfect atmosphere to relax and indulge.

With a full service spa, including a fitness room that looks out into the rain forest, plus an outdoor pool for afternoon lounging, R&R is definitely on the menu.

Speaking of menus, the tuna tartar is absolutely divine accompanied by a Costa Rican specialty, homemade plantain chips. Though fine ECO-LUXURY | Continued

Punta Islita Hotel

ECO-LUXURY | Continued

dining at Nayara by night, I spend my days volunteering at the Asis Project, an animal conservatory and rescue center. Through a voluntourism program coordinated with Hands Up Holidays, Project Asis gives tourists an opportunity to learn about animal conservation efforts, the story behind the project’s formation and most importantly roll up their sleeves and help. Sloths, monkeys, ant eaters and an array of exotic birds are resident inhabitants who’ve been rescued and are rehabilitating.

Asis Project

Next, I discover one of Costa Rica’s most precious gems, Punta Islita. The resort is tucked into the hillside along the coast, boasting expansive ocean views with rain forest as its backyard.

With 57 casitas, including honeymoon suites, deluxe rooms, and two and three bedroom villas, Punta Islita creates its own community and nurtures the local one of the nearby town. By supplying 80% of the town’s people with jobs and also integrating social initiatives throughout the town, such as learning and art workshop centers, Punta Islita promotes conscious growth for a budding community.

My tour of Costa Rica is nearing its end, but wouldn’t be complete without a tour of an organic coffee plantation. Agriculture is Costa Rica’s third largest market, after micro chip production (second) and tourism (first). A short ride from the airport in San Jose, Finca Rosa Blanca is the easiest to access so far. Finca Rosa Blanca’s 42 acres produce one of Costa Rica’s finest organic shade grown coffees. Guided tours of the plantation reveal the fascinating ecosystem created to optimally nurture and harvest organic coffee.

Later that night I’ve packed for my return trip to Manhattan. I sit on my private deck at the Finca Rosa Blanca Inn and look out at the colorful tin-roofed city of San Jose.The warmth of the people and sunshine fill me with both serenity and vitality, a combination of terms that can only be described as Pura Vida! **

El Lodge andMAGAZINE Spa 108Silencio | COCO ECO | July - August 2011

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HANDS UP HOLIDAYS www.handsupholidays.com

PACUARE RIVER LODGE Limon, Costa Rica +506 2556 9315

www.pacuarelodge.com

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COCO ECO |

WHAT’S GOING ON!

WHY THE

WILD WEATHER? WRITTEN by: Beth Doane PHOTOGRAPHY provided by: Beth

Doane and Peter J Fox

It’s been a wild year for weather and mama nature is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Between recent record-breaking tornados, devastating flash floods, catastrophic earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis destroying entire countries, it seems everyone is wondering, “What’s next?” and more importantly, “Can we stop it?”

It is frightening when more than 160 tornados appear in three days, setting an all-time record for most twisters in an outbreak while the heaviest rains ever recorded occur within just a few months over the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys.

It is even more alarming when volcanoes are erupting in Europe and earthquakes are tearing apart New Zealand, Japan, and Haiti where at least 52 aftershocks left up to 1.8 million people homeless and almost 80,000 estimated dead.

Is this the beginning of the end, or simply the playful wrath of a natural cycle such as El Nina? Many believe it is humans who are the cause. But just how much we have contributed to the cause and how dangerous the situation will become has left everyone including scientists, international governments and the media debating causes, conspiracies and solutions for the last decade.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), our climate is defined “not simply as average temperature 110

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and precipitation but also by the type, frequency and intensity of weather events.” This means even though it may still be a bitter winter in Hoboken, the planet is getting hotter and causing changes throughout every ecosystem worldwide.

The EPA also states that human-induced climate change does have “the potential to alter the prevalence and severity of extremes such as heat waves, cold waves, storms, floods and droughts,” and that, “predicting changes in these types of events under a changing climate is difficult.”

With insatiable global demand for natural resources and massive countries like India and China stepping up to the sad levels of consumerism the United States and much of Europe have adopted, it’s no wonder our planet is suffering.

What’s interesting is that according to some top scientists the results may not be the natural disasters we are seeing lately.

The USGS (United States Geological Survey) estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year making the whoppers we have experienced the past few years not that unusual.

They also explain that many of these less destructive quakes go undetected because they are so small they are not observed or recorded or occur in extremely remote areas.

The USGS admits that they are continually asked if earthquakes are on the rise and even though it may seem like we are experiencing earthquake overload assure us that earthquakes with a magnitude 7.0 or greater remain fairly constant.

With increases in technology and the ability to communicate glob-

ally over the past twenty years it’s become much easier to locate quakes when they do occur. For example, “In 1931, there were about 350 stations operating in the world; today, there are more than 8,000 stations and the data now comes in rapidly from these stations by electronic mail and satellite.”

As for the issues with recent flooding, according to meteorologist Jeff Masters, PHD, who has been studying meteorology for over 30 years, and co-founded the popular weather forecasting website Weather Underground, it is humans that are largely to blame for flooding levels. We have caused dramatic changes to floodplains by draining them and putting water behind levees which creates higher floods. He states that if we fix our methods of levee operation we can fix the flooding.

In terms of tornados, according to Harold Brooks, a research meteorologist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, recently quoted about the rate of tornados lately in the New York Times, “The large number of tornadoes so far may simply reflect normal variability.”

While this may be good news, it does not help the fact that our extreme use of fossil fuel, unsustainable agricultural practices, deforestation WHY THE WILD WEATHER? | Continued

WHY THE WILD WEATHER? | Continued

and pollution are fundamentally affecting every system on our planet.

While attending The Environment and Climate Change panel in Los Angeles this year, hosted

by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon and a handful of environmentally aware Hollywood icons such as Edward Norton and Larry King, it was clear that Ban and the United Stations are convinced humans are a major contributing factor to climate change and we can be taking steps to curb its damage.

How can we know what is normal or not when so much of what we are experiencing is being recorded in ways we were not able to dream of before? Climate change follows certain patterns we are able to understand scientifically, but what we do know above everything else is that we are the major cause for so much destruction that is 100% avoidable.

As Ban stated in Los Angeles, “I have traveled around the world and seen it for myself from Antarctica to the Brazilian rain forest to Lake Chad, once a huge sea that has now dried up and become a small pond. We have to do something.�

Lucky for us, doing something can start right now. ** BLES www.blesele.org

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COCO ECO |

WHAT’S GOING ON!

CHERNOBYL

CHILD GROWING UP IN THE AFTERMATH OF NUCLEAR DISASTER

WRITTEN by: Johanna Björk, Goodlifer.com PHOTOGRAPHY provided by: As Noted

On April 26, 1986, when I was about four and a half years old, reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine exploded. This was before the age of instant information, and the world did not find out what had happened until days later.

the blueberries!” That’s what the adults always said to us kids as we got ready to go play in the woods (which kids actually did—unsupervised—at that point in time). We never really thought about why this was and every now and then, as kids do, we would eat a few blueberries just to see what would happen. Radioactivity did not sound like a dangerous thing to us, quite the opposite — maybe we’d glow in the dark! I now know that, because of their thin skin, blueberries are particularly good at sucking up toxins (which includes not only radioactivity but also pesticides, a good reason to always buy organic).

The winds were blowing westward that day, bringing nuclear debris all the way to my native Sweden. The impact we saw was nothing compared to the devastation in the immediately surrounding areas, but still enough to effect a whole generation. My mother does not recall if we were out in the radioactive rain that day, but many people who were may have gotten very sick.

I’ve never had my radioactive levels tested or experienced any symptoms, but it scares me to think about how narrow-minded our view of this nuclear disaster seems to have been. The blueberries weren’t the only thing we should’ve avoided — wild mushrooms, fish from lakes, wild game, and, really, anything that grew or lived in lakes and forests had elevated levels of radiation making them unfit for consumption. In some areas, this is still true today.

Four hundred times more radioactive material was released in the Chernobyl explosion than by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the fallout was detected over all of Europe (except for the Iberian Peninsula). The seriousness of it all eluded me at the time — no surprise as I was not yet five years old — but I can’t recall that my parents or any other adults ever really talked about it either. Except for one thing: “Don’t eat 114

A study by scientists at Linköping and Örebro University and published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health in 2004 was the first to show a clear correlation between cancer rates and nuclear fallout. The study followed over a million Swedes who lived in the affected areas and showed that all types of cancers increased significantly, along with malignancies of already existing cancers. The particularly disturbing fact is that we still don’t really know all the repercussions, since these effects can take many years to develop.

The half-life of radioactive Cesium is thirty years, and the Chernobyl disaster happened only 25 years ago.

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A Ukrainian tourist visits the site of Chernobyl. For the first time in 25 years, official tours are being formed. PHOTO CREDIT:VOA Photo / D. Markosian (Wikimedia Commons)

When the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were flooded after the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit on March 11 of this year, the whole world was standing by, unable to do anything but watch, wait and hope that the Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company would be able to divert a complete catastrophe.

People as far away as California stocked up on iodine and fled from coastal areas in fear of elevated levels of radiation. Were they exaggerating or had we in Sweden years ago not realized just how serious the effects of Chernobyl would be?

I don’t know how growing up in the aftermath of nuclear disaster has effected me. Radiation outlives us by thousands of years, so there’s really no way of knowing for sure. We do know that instances of cancer in Sweden have increased dramatically since the disaster in the Ukraine. Are those malignancies a result of Chernobyl or could it be because we’ve changed the way we live and eat so dramatically? Will we ever know?

The burning question is: Should we follow Germany’s lead and ban nuclear power until we are able to make it safer? Will we ever be able to make it less risky for human life? What are the alternatives?

I feel like all I have are a lot of questions longing to be answered, questions I never asked myself before Fukushima reminded us all of the dangers of nuclear radiation. Maybe I should have asked more questions back in 1986, but then again, I was just a kid.

We often think that what happens in another part of the world is someone else’s problem — that things like environmental degra-

The author, in a photo taken in 1986, roughly around the time the Chernobyl disaster occurred.

dation and poor pollution oversight in Asia will somehow not affect us. That could not be further from the truth. The Earth is round, and we are all share this delicate ecosystem, for better or for worse. “What goes around comes around,” quite literally. When highly toxic levels of mercury are found in pristine lakes in vast nature preserves and birds on the most remote island in the world are starving to death because they have ingested discarded plastic, we have to recognize the wake-up call and start thinking more holistically. Remember, those elevated cancer levels in the study mentioned above occurred nearly a thousand miles from the Ukraine, on the other side of the Baltic Sea. When we don’t know, shouldn’t we always choose the safer route?

Laws only apply on a country-by-country basis, and perhaps that’s where we got it wrong.

Since the Earth belongs to everyone and no one, shouldn’t we treat the laws that govern it as such? Imagine if there was something like the UN designed to care for the planet? Maybe then these kinds of disasters could finally be a thing of the past.**

COCO ECO |

WHAT’S GOING ON!

ONE CHILD WHY WE NEED A ONE CHILD POLICY

WRITTEN by: Alexandra Paul PHOTOGRAPHY by: Peter J Fox

This year, the world population will hit 7 billion people. I am 47 years old, and in my lifetime the number of people on the planet has more than doubled.

These numbers represent mere than just “Oh Wow” stats.The number of people on the planet is the most serious environmental issue we face today. Until we can stabilize and then lower the human population, no aspect of the ecological crisis can be effectively ameliorated. Consider this: it took over 200,000 years for there to be 1 billion humans living on earth- this occurred around 1830. Due mostly to better medical care and sanitation, it took only 100 years to add the second billion. Thirty years later, in 1960, the world population hit 3 billion. Now, we add 1 billion people to the earth every 12 years. By 2050, the United Nations predicts there will be over 9 billion people on the planet.

The good news is population growth has slowed down from its high of 5 kids per couple worldwide average in 1965 to 2.59 children now. The problem is that 7 billion people having babies is a much larger a number than 3 billion having babies, so even though family size is smaller, the 116

population is still growing. After considering deaths, we add 210,000 more people every day to the planet. Over two hundred thousand more people who will need food, clean water, clean air, a home, an education and some degree of open space. We must stop reproducing at our current levels, because the planet cannot sustain so many humans.

It is ironic to me that we in America can talk about Anthony Weiner’s weiner at the office water cooler and on national TV, but discussing meaningful solutions to human overpopulation is considered taboo by most everyone, including more radical environmental organizations like Rainforest Action Network, whose executive director admitted to me last week she was “…scared to bring up the issue because I might offend people.”

Procreating is such a primal biological mandate vital to the survival of our species that any attempt to moderate it is met with fervent antipathy. However, the alternative of not dealing with human population growth is even more dangerous to our survival: With 2 billion more people on the planet in 40 years, how will we provide clean water for all, halt topsoil erosion so we can feed everyone, and maintain the rainforests which clean the air and are the source of so many of our medicines? How can carbon emissions decrease when the number of cars is expected to triple. Wars over resources like land and water will increase. Traffic in large cities is already bad enough - what kind of quality of life can children born today expect?

Some say science will save us - we will invent wonderful things which will easily desalinize ocean water, grow more food on less acreage, extract energy from air, and allow us build enough roads to avoid 24/7 gridlock. That may be so – if science can do all this within the next 40

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years. But I am certainly not willing to wait around and hope what amount to scientific miracles will occur to save us.

This we know: Human population is going to stop growing at some point. It has to. The question is, will it stop growing because of starvation, disease, war, lack of water? Or will it stop growing because mankind – supposedly the smartest inhabitant on this beautiful earth – decides, in a humane manner, to stop its own unceasing population growth?

Furthermore, the world population needs to not only stop increasing, but to diminish. According to a study recently published by Global Footprint Network, we are “….using resources and creating CO2 emissions at a rate 44 percent faster than what nature can regenerate and reabsorb”. At the current rate of consumption, in 25 years we will need 2 planets to fulfill our needs. David Pimental a Cornell University professor of ecology and agricultural sciences, believes the ideal world population is 2 billion people, more than 2/3 less than our current numbers.That seems drastic, but is equivalent to the number of people on the planet just 80 years ago.

What we need is a worldwide one child policy. I am not talking about China’s version, which was coercive. I am talking about a one child policy encouraging people, through education, incentive and conversation, to choose small families. Empowering women is one of the biggest factors in lowering fertility rates, as every additional year of a girl’s education reduces the number of children she will bear. Birth control, which is inexpensive, accessible and appropriate, can also eliminate 80 million unplanned pregnancies each year.

Most developed countries have a tacit multi child policy. The United States gives a tax deduction every year for each additional offspring. Capitalism thrives when there are more and more consumers, so headlines predict dire economic consequences if people don’t have a lot of babies, with never a mention of the really, really dire consequences if we do. “The only child is a lonely child,” and “big, happy family” are common themes here and throughout the world. (Have you ever heard someone say “small, happy family”?).

Even if every couple had just one child starting today, by 2050 the world population would still be near 6 billion. It would take about 100 years for the population to decrease to 2 billion.

It is vital we challenge our culture’s bias towards breeding by being unafraid to state the obvious: we must stabilize and lower the human population, and we each do that by choosing to have only one child.** POPULATION MEDIA CENTER www.populationmedia.org

COCO ECO |

THE CONSCIOUS REVELLER!

GLOBAL GREEN USA

CELEBRATES 15TH MILLENNIUM WRITTEN by: Vicki Godal PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED by: Global

Green

Global Green celebrated its 15th Annual Millennium Awards honoring Ed Begley Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Wendy Schmidt and the Los Angeles Business Council at Santa Monica’s Fairmont Miramar Hotel.

Global Green’s top environmental stewardship awards honor those whose actions exemplify Global Green’s mission to foster a global shift towards a sustainable world.

Funds raised at the eco-glam, eco-fun event go to rebuild New Orleans; create affordable housing and green schools in California and the nation and to advocate policy to combat climate change.

The only national environmental group headquartered in Southern California, Global Green advocates smart solutions to climate change that benefit humanity by: saving energy; reducing CO2 emissions; improving health; creating green jobs and securing a more sustainable future. ** GLOBAL GREEN www.globalgreen.org

Model Miranda Kerr and actor Orlando Bloom at the Global 118 | Green COCOUSA ECOawards MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

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Actors Christopher Guess and Jamie Lee Curtis give the award to Ed Begley Jr.

Global Green USA presenters Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick opened the awards

LA City Controller Wendy Greuel and LA Business Council’s Brad Cox

Actor Adrian Granier with Wendy Schmidt.

Honoree Mark Ruffalo speaks after receiving his award

Director,President James Cameron with Habitat for Humanity ErinG Rank Amis and Global Green USA CEA wife MattSuzy Peterson

COCO ECO |

THE CONSCIOUS REVELLER!

JP Selects LAUNCHES IN HIGH HOLLYWOOD ECO STYLE

WRITTEN by: Vicki Godal PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED by: JP

Selects

ROK Global recently launched JP Selects at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Hollywood. JP Selects, the brainchild of ROK co-founders John Paul DeJoria and Jonathan Kendrick, is a members-only, e-commerce platform for socially conscious and ecofriendly products.

Personally selected by DeJoria, his wife Eloise and a creative team, JP Selects products is guided by their credo, “The best for you, better for the world.”

The first brand partners include Nialaya Jewelry, Stewart + Brown clothing, L’uvalla skin care, Calleen Cordero footwear, Hype Clothing and The Green Garmento bags.

A percentage of proceeds from JP Selects will go to the Grow Appalachia hunger initiative and DeJoria’s Peace, Love and Happiness Foundation.** JP SELECTS www.jpselects.com

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John Paul DeJoria with Billy Zane and Dan Ackroyd www.cocoecomag.com | COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

Dan Ackroyd, Eloise and John Paul DeJoria

Loni Polkey and Paolo Fidanza

The JP Selects team of Paolo Fidanza, Jonathan Kendrick, John Paul and Eloise DeJoria, Noah Gilbert and Q. Ladraa

JP Selects selected brand Calleen Cordero and John Paul DeJoria

Coco Eco Publisher Anna Griffin and Daphne Zuniga at the JP Selects Launch Party

COCO ECO |

THE CONSCIOUS REVELLER!

Farm Sanctuary Celebrates a Quarter Century of Protecting Farm Animals WRITTEN by: Vicki Godal PHOTOGRAPHY by: Lesley

Marino for Farm Sanctuary

Farm Sanctuary celebrated their 25th anniversary bi-coastally, with a Gala Launch Party in Los Angeles followed by a second Gala In New York earlier this summer. At the LA Gala Launch Party, celebrities like “The Biggest Loser’s” Bob Harper furthered Farm Sanctuary’s cause with personal stories detailing their commitments to veganism.

The organization’s New York Gala was held at Cipriani, Wall Street.

There, Ally Sheedy and Corey Feldman honored Farm Sanctuary’s 25th Anniversary Gala with a gourmet vegan meal enjoyed by supporters including Jesse Eisenberg, Wendie Malick, Fred Willard, Gene Baur, James Costa and Carol Leifer.

The nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, Farm Sanctuary combats factory-farming abuses while inspiring change in the way society views and treats farm animals.** FARM SANCTUARY www.farmsanctuary.org

Alley and Corey Feldman| atJuly the Farm Sanctuary 122 Sheedy | COCO ECO MAGAZINE - August 2011 25th Anniversary Gala in New York

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Bonnie Jill Laflin

Jesse Eisenberg

Loretta Swit and James Costa Eisenberg

Rory Freedman

Luke Tipple Fred Willard, Gene Baur and Mary Willard

Jane Velez-Mitchell

Gene Baur and Wendie Malick

COCO ECO |

THE CONSCIOUS REVELLER!

VANISHING OF THE

BEES Generates Buzz thanks to Ellen Page

WRITTEN by: Vicki Godal PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED by: Vanishing

Bees

The Barnsdall Gallery Theatre held a packed audience for the Los Angeles Premiere of Hive Mentality Films’ “Vanishing of the Bees.” Exploring colony collapse disorder (CCD), the documentary showed how CCD affects beekeepers and what it could mean for fruits and vegetables.

Researching the potential causes of CCD including the use of systemic pesticides already outlawed in France, the film also portrayed the plight of queen bees within traditional commercial honeybee operations.

Actress Ellen Page introduced the film by explaining her personal interest in bees. “I guess to me it’s pretty obvious. If we eat pollinated food, we should be concerned about the collapse of its major pollinator ,the honeybees, right?” Page said. “I mean what’s more simple then that?”** VANISHING BEES www.vanishingbees.com

Vanishing Bees narrator actress Ellen 124 Page | COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

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Vanishing Bees producers Maryam Henein and George Langworthy with Ellen Page

Vanishing Bees producer Maryam Henein

Ellen Page

Director, James Cameron with wife Suzy Amis

COCO ECO |

SHOPPING!

COCO ECO

SHOPPING CONCIERGE

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Grey sequin dress ($90), ARYN K www.arynk.com Blue abalone necklace, ($2,100) & Mabe pearl sterling silver ring, ($239), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com Vintage heels, WASTELAND ON MELROSE www.wastelandclothing.com

PAGE 20

Blush tulle cocktail dress (price available upon request), ATELIER PAVONI K www.atelierpavoni.com Quartz sterling silver cuff ($899) and Titanium quartz sterling silver ring ($239), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com

PAGE 21

Green sequin top ($83), ATELIER PAVONI K www.atelierpavoni.com Silver metallic bubble skirt ($150), NAVEN www.shopnaven.com Titanium quartz sterling silver ring ($239), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com

PAGE 23

White cotton mini dress, (price available upon request), LORIE LESTER www.lorielester.com Pyrite and smokey quartz necklace, ($1,100) & Cafe au laite agate ring, ($179), CHARLES ALBERTwww.charlesalbertlookbook.com

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Blue chiffon dress ($140), BLAQUE LABEL www.blaquelabel.com Lunar quartz pendant ($1,289), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com Vintage rose gold & suede belt, WASTELAND ON MELROSE www.wastelandclothing.com

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White silk gown (price available upon request), EMA SAVAHL www.emasavahl.com Quartz sterling silver cuff ($899), CHARLES ALBERT www.charlesalbertlookbook.com

| COCO ECO MAGAZINE | July - August 2011

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