The Discerning Brute

Swim Trunks for Guys Who Care About The Ocean

Not only does Livity make their entire line from recycled materials and organics, but everything is produced in equitable trade. These trunks are made from recycled plastic and hemp. They are quick-drying, and feature some cool patters and prints.

Loomstate’s Baja Board Short in organic cotton are less bold, and feature a leaf-inspired print.

Patagonia also has a handsome khaki, or khaki check board short in organic cotton.

If you care about the oceans, there are some great resources out there for ethical surfers, like EcoBusinessLinks page on surf companies. Country Feeling Surfboards uses soy-based and sugar-based foams; deck inlays made from hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, and resin that is catalyzed by the sun. The best surf accessories, like hemp boardbags can be found at Wave Tribe. If you have an old board to recycle, send it to ReSurf! I also highly recommend joining the efforts of Sea Shepherd.

We know that The Cove has won an Oscar for Best Documentary of 2009, and if you haven’t seen End Of The Line, you must!

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joshuakatcher, March 12th 2010 | Tags: bathing suit, board shorts, eco, end of the line, green, livity, loomstate, organic cotton, patagonia, reccled plastic, resurf, sea shepherd, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, surfing, Wave Tribe
Posted in Skateboard, Uncategorized, design, fashion, green, organic, recycled, social responsibility, sports, travel, trend report, vegan, vegetarian

Velour’s Shirts & Ties

Velour’s online store, featuring a bunch of organic cotton in classic men’s styles, is up and running! The coordinating shirt-and-tie combinations are incredibly fetching, and mismatching them is even more fun. No one will even suspect that you’re a hippie in these sharp cuts:

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joshuakatcher, March 11th 2010 | Tags: menswear, organic cotton, velour
Posted in fashion, green, news, organic, trend report, vegan, vegetarian

Darbster, West Palm Beach, FL

Darbster

On a recent trip to Florida, I took my family to a new vegan joint called Darbster – named after the owners’ rescued pooch, Darby. I believe that it’s the first and only entirely vegan restaurant in West Palm Beach. We arrived on a rather chilly evening, and the place is an open-air bar-style restaurant with outdoor seating (dog-friendly!) overlooking a canal. Unfortunately for us, the place was wrapped in plastic tarps with heat lamps inside to keep some warmth in, so we didn’t get to experience any of the outdoor atmosphere. We were, however, greeted by a very friendly staff, and the service was quick!

There is a good-sized menu with several raw and gluten-free options, a nice wine list, and several desserts.

The food was good. The first thing I wanted to order was the Kale Chips, but they were out! So we started with the Palm Cakes, which were pan-fried, chopped hearts of palm in a savory pine nut sauce, and were reminiscent of crab cakes. I thought they were delicious, and I’ll have to try to recreate this recipe at home.

My entree was the Gardein filet prepared in a lemon, pine-nut sauce, and my sister got a marinara version with Daiya cheese and tomato sauce. My little side of mac & cheese was delicious. I so wish there had been more. The Gardein filets were a bit too thick, but seasoned well and very filling.

The Beefless Sliders were one of the highlights for my whole family. The special sauce was perfect, and there was just enough contents between the soft sesame bun. This is a must-have if you go. My mother and father (not vegetarians) thought these were the best thing, and that the faux “beef” was delicious and satisfying.

For dessert we enjoyed a coconut-sorbet sundae with chocolate fudge, raspberries, blueberries, and walnuts.

On future trips, I’ll be sure to make reservations for daytime enjoyment of the outdoor seating, or at least a warm night to be in the open air. The next time you’re in south Florida, definitely check this place out! I plan to be back.

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joshuakatcher, March 10th 2010 | Tags: daiys, darbster, florida, gardein, vegan, vegetarian, west palm beach
Posted in Uncategorized, food, green, restaurant, travel, vegan, vegetarian

Karl Lagerfeld Fakes The Fur, Uses Real Iceberg

Chanel Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear Today, Paris was transformed into an arctic fairy tale with real, melting icebergs shipped in from Scandinavia, plopped along the runway, creating a frigid puddle for the models to splash through. The menswear was over-the-top, and suggestive of Satyrs, the Inuit, and Ice Kings with everything from full-length faux-fur cloaks to faux-fur pants and full-on Yeti-suits.

The Humane Society of the United States‘ fur specialist inspected closeups of the images earlier today, and has told me, “I’ve examined the shots from the show, and the fur indeed appears to be fake”.

I am hesitant to read into this any more than pure aesthetics, but given the fact that all the fur was faux in this collection, I wonder is Mr. Lagerfeld has taken environmentalism into consideration? In a world where melting ice-bergs pose a threat to all Earthly inhabitants, the man typically known for saying such things as, “In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish,” seems to be making a point about something.

Karl also noted in January of 2009 that “I can hardly eat meat because it has to look like something what it was not when it was alive,” which makes me wonder if he’s becoming a friend to animals after all? We certainly hope so. In the mean time, take a look at these AW10 menswear shots from Paris Fashion Week, they are certainly a sight:

Chanel Fall 2010 Ready-to-Wear

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joshuakatcher, March 9th 2010 | Tags: aw10, Chanel, faux fur, karl lagerfels, paris, paris ashion week
Posted in celebrity, fashion, news, trend report, vegan, vegetarian

Spring Biker, Best Doc & Easter Candy

Cheap Monday has a nice faux-leather biker vest available at Alter $105
(Shop via text message through or Subports web store.)

Gilt offers a Rogue poly-cotton faux-leather, asymmetrical zip jacket in black or
(here’s your Invite to be a Gilt member)

We were THRILLED that The Cove won an Academy Award for Best Documentary last night! If you haven’t seen it, you must! Watch the trailer, buy the movie, then find out what you can do to help!

What’s the best part about Sweet & Sarah’s Easter marshmallows in the shapes of chicks, bunnies, and eggs? There no boiled cow or horse hooves, tendons or cartilage in them! Don’t get me wrong – I love how cute Peeps are as much as the next guy, but there’s something as sinister and creepy as a Zombie-Jesus about disguising nasty slaughterhouse-scraps as yummy candy for kids. Thanks to Sweet & Sarah your celebration of Easter doesn’t have to support factory farming.