While it has yet to be seen what the longer legacy of the Olympics will be, one that’s sticking around for now is Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe (nikereuseashoe.com/Vancouver) drive. Drop off your old runners—and no, they needn’t be Nike—at one of six collection bins in the company’s stores around Vancouver and they’ll be recycled into three types of Nike Grind material, which are then used to create athletic and playground surfaces. The program has existed since the early ’90s and has recycled parts from more than 24 million pairs of shoes—sounds like a lot, but it takes about 2,500 pairs to make a basketball or tennis court, and up to 75,000 pairs to make a soccer pitch! I’ve packed up my beat-up sneakers (the thrift stores don’t want them anyway!) and dropped them off.
- Fan of The Hunger Games? Joe Fresh wants to send you to the Toronto premiere! Plus: enjoy this hilarious Lana Del Rey spoof video
They said/We said: Could Blue Ivy Carter be the next fashion mogul?
Spring trends guide 2012
Montreal Fashion Week: The top hits from day three including CIN Tailleur, Ça va de soi, and Abol
Afternoon beauty fix: The trick to avoiding winter hat hair–while still staying warm!
All posts under ‘Green’
Fashion
Vancouver: Turn your beat-up runners into a basketball court
Fashion
Get into bed with Dace
When I got word that Vancouver label Dace had moved into home design, I automatically envisioned my room being transformed into a modern romantic getaway. Using fabric from past season’s collections to create duvets and matching pillow cases ($250 for a set, dace.ca), designer Dace Moore takes her clean lines to bed. The collection is only available online and will be debuted at the end of every season. Also in the line-up are a wool tartan throw ($70) and multi-striped tea towels and cocktail napkins.
Beauty
Travel: Green getaway in the Berkshires
The Moroccan Room at the Topia Inn
On a recent long-weekend roadtrip to the Berkshires in Massachusetts (a quick hop south of the border from Montreal, a slightly longer leap from Toronto), I happened across Topia Inn, an entirely green and very modern B&B in the town of Adams. With eco-credentials including solar roof panels, radiant baseboard heating, high-efficiency toilets and non-toxic clay wall finishes, the cozy house feels (and smells) entirely pure and clean. Read more »
Shopping
Vancouver: Chantecaille helps cure our French envy
French women seem to have it all: elegance, effortless style, the ability to eat pan au chocolat, brie and crème fraiche and never gain a pound. Sigh.
Here to solve some of our envy is luxury cosmetics and skin care brand Chantecaille, which just debuted at Vancouver’s Holt Renfrew (737 Dunsmuir St., 604-681-3121, holtrenfrew.com). They may be New York based, but their soul–and founder, Sylvie Chantecaille–is French. Read more »
Beauty
Physicians Formula lets you clean up green
Photography by Setareh Sarmadi
Organic makeup isn’t new. It’s barely even niche anymore—you can get it at the drugstore. However, until recently, removing it has been a less than eco-friendly proposition. Yes, we’ve spotted biodegradable makeup wipes at health food stores, but Physicians Formula recently launched four new makeup removal products ($16 each) in their Organic Wear line that you can pick up at Shoppers. (Convenient is good.) Read more »
FASHION Reporters
Saskatoon: The better way
My latest find is a new store that has opened up on Broadway, my favourite shopping district. The Better Good Store Ltd. (640 Broadway Ave, 306-242-4663, thebettergood.com) is a one-stop eco-friendly shop for products that support sustainable living–carrying everything from clothing and home decor, to cleaners and body care products, to delectable treats and kids toys. All their stock is either organic, fair trade, natural, local, handmade or crafted from reused, recycled or renewable materials. Read more »
FASHION Reporters
Halifax: NSCAD fashion department is seeing green(er)
When NSCAD University’s fashion students return to their Seeds Building studio in the fall, the art college will have become a little bit greener: the latest muslin cotton available in the fashion department will be certified organic.
The decision reflects the department’s desire to put into practice its long-standing eco-conscious mindset, one that is shared by many members of its student body, its only full-time faculty member, Parsons alumnus Gary Markle, and Anne Pickard, the department’s technician and an instructor within the university’s School of Extended Studies.
But the department’s green approach, urges Pickard, is more than just in vogue.
“We’re not focusing on this because it’s a hot thing,” says Pickard. “This is not for any other reason than that it should just be part of every consciousness.” Read more »
FASHION Reporters
Edmonton: Bag lady style
Like most fashion-obsessed women, I love mixing high and low fashion to create edgy and unique looks: A Preen dress with a Gap anorak; a Joe Fresh Style shirt with a Diane von Furstenberg skirt. And if the look is willing, there is nothing I love more than adding accessories. From vintage jewellery to designer shoes and locally handcrafted bags, I love them all. A few weeks ago, I accompanied my husband and three young sons to the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market (10310-83 Ave., 780-439-1844, Saturdays) in search of homemade jam and baby red potatoes, but instead discovered The Bag & Bath Ladies a.k.a. Diane Murphy and Helen Brassington and their gorgeous one-of-a-kind bags ($12 to $75).
