PINNACLE: Reinvent The Icon V.1

Happy Fashion Week! I am thrilled to officially announce the launch of PINNACLE. PINNACLE is a collaborative initiative for designers, artists, and other creatives who want to craft an accessory that symbolizes the growing anti-fur sentiment.

Our first digital-tabloid is available online and can be downloaded and shared (a full-screen option will pop-up by hovering your cursor in the center):

The PINNACLE website, ReinventTheicon.com provides all the details about how to get involved and showcases contributions from designers, models, photographers, and artists. The gallery section is currently highlighting our maiden editorial story featuring wardrobe by Stella McCartney and John Bartlett and our spokesmodels, Karolina Babczynska and Adam Wallace (Ford Models), Photography by Gregory Vaughan, Styling by Joshua Katcher, Makeup by Brian Duprey, and Hair by Alejandra Nerizagal.

Please pass this magazine along.

As the weather grows colder, our fire grows fiercer.
Joshua Katcher


Matt by Matt & Nat

The brand new, lower price point series by Matt & Nat has hits the nail on the head for what a guy needs in a bag. Check them out at Alter for yourself below.

Hot Belts, Bartlett’s Rescue & The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger

Elvis and Kresse SliderElvis and Kresse Double Card HolderElvis and Kresse Big YellowElvis and Kresse West End

• The Elvis & Kreese collection of recycled fire-hose tube accessories is now on sale at Bourgeois Boheme!

• John Bartlett, renowned designer and animal activist, will be hosting an animal adoption event at his 7th Ave Store. The North Shore Animal League is bringing their http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8s1p97IaOIE/TFCds8uYwTI/AAAAAAAAAkI/LgPYv4fO02w/s1600/jb-tiny+tim.jpegmobile unit full of adoptable mutt-igrees as well as a couple of puppy mill rescues. I snapped the image above of Bartlett’s rescue pup Tiny Tim the last time I swung by his studio. Look at that face!

Saturday July 31st
Noon – 5pm
143 7th Avenue South
New York, NY 10014

Get your tickets now, and get up to the gorgeous Woodstock, NY! The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (GOASTT) is the new project by Sean Lennon and his musical partner and girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl. Their first album “Acoustic Sessions” is due Oct. 26 and being released by Chimera Music. Listen to samples here. Opening for GOASTT will be an acoustic set from Undersea Poem, followed by Woodstock locals Jonathan Donahue (Mercury Rev) and Amy Helm (Levon Helm’s band and Ollabelle) performing as a duo called Love Is For The Birds. The concert will be held on an open lawn at the Sanctuary in Willow, NY, directions here.

Red Hot Accessories

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Recycled fire-hoses make pretty handsome belts and bags. Elvis & Kreese’s collaboration with an international group of outstanding artists – Lothar Götz, Olivier Millagou, Paul Morrison and Simon Periton – has resulted in a striking and sustainably leather-free line of accessories, made completely from materials diverted from landfills. Over 45 tons of it thus far! Even their packaging is made completely of diverted waste, and 50% of their profits go to the Fire Fighters Charity.

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Thanks for the tip from reader, Gareth!

ULTIMATE Father’s Day Guide for the Ethically Handsome Dad

Every Father’s Day, we get dear-old-dad the same old stuff, but being a dad is cooler and braver than ever! Most fathers want what’s best for the family- and now he can also help protect animals and the planet too. The best part is, when getting these ethically handsome gifts for pop, you don’t have to sacrifice style, taste, or pleasure. Nor do you have to compromise on what dad likes! These cool gifts are a spin on traditional Father’s Day presents, from geeked-out gadgets and tools to socks and ties to sports gear and suits. I’ve even got recommendations for dads who have it all, from electric sports cars and motorcycles to Armani Bamboo Sports coats! Your father will be proud to be a personal hero to you and a superhero to the planet. Let’s not underestimate what it means to be protector this Father’s Day!

GIFTS:

• No one in the office will know! Organic Cotton Dress Shirts from Culturata, Velour, and Nordstrom. Organic cotton blows conventional cotton out of the water – growing conventional cotton requires the use of enormous amounts of pesticides, which has a huge environmental impact and presents health risks for those working around it. 25% of the world’s insecticide use and more than 10 percent of the world’s pesticide goes to cotton crops. In 2003, that amounted to about 55 million pounds of pesticides being sprayed on 12.8 million acres of cotton, according to the Organic Trade Association.

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http://www.aussiebum.com/content/items/1265_banana_brief_brf_white/ZM_banana_brf_white.jpg• Organic cotton, bamboo, and banana fiber underwear & socks from Aussiebum & Nordstrom. Supporting sustainable and ethical fashion is more than just an outer layer. Keeping pesticides away from sensitive areas is something any man will get behind.

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Nordstrom Bamboo Blend Socks (3-Pack) Nordstrom Organic Cotton Boxer  Shorts

• Sports gear: Carpenter Trade, professional baseball glove  $280 In addition to superior performance, most people don’t realize that the #1 cause of greenhouse gas emissions is from raising livestock for food and leather. Avoiding leather is one of the most powerful things to do for the environment. So have a custom made, professional-grade glove made with your dad’s name on it.

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• Mens organic, cruelty-free grooming products and scents. The last thing you should give pop is a guilty conscience with products that have been tested on animals. Most razors and many mainstream grooming products are still tested on animals and are not made from recycled plastics, but these items are totally cruelty-free and sustainable. (Preserve, Jack Black, Herban Cowboy, the Body Shop)

Triple Razor Replacement Blades

White Musk® for Men Eau de Toilette Organic Grooming by Herban Cowboy Cologne Dusk 1.7 oz

• Get your dad back into health with cookbooks, health guides, and diet books for dudes! The fireman’s Engine 2 Diet, the Triathlete’s THRIVE book series, Skinny Bastard, Meat is for Pussies, Vegan Bodybuilding and Tal Ronnen’s amazing cookbook, the Conscious Chef.

Buy The Engine 2 Diet book todayBook Cover Meat Is For Pussies book image

Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness By Robert Cheeke THRIVE FITNESS

• Stock the Pantry with delicious, gourmet food! Who says eating healthy means eating sprouts? What dad doesn’t love dark chocolate, smores, gourmet sausage, jerky, dips, and healthy, meaty meal-starters?

Vegan Double Chocolate Twinkies Twin Pack By Dulce Vegan Organic European-Style Chocolate Assortment By Sjaak's Smore Pies by Sweet & Sara

Vegan Grain Meat Sausages By Field Roast

Homestyle Beefless Tips By GardeinVegan Ground Beef By Match

Primal Strips Meatless JerkyVega Sport Performance Protein Tub

• Cruelty-free Accessories from NOHARM, Novacas, Bourgeois Boheme, Matt & Nat, Truth, and The Vegan Collection. Also check out the solar-charged briefcase from Voltaic, or a recycled canvas and vegetable-based faux-leather handbag. All sustainably leather-free.

NOHARM Black Slip-on Vegan Ankle BootsBoBo Vida Black

Voigt Pebble Laptop Carrier BlackFaithless - Pebble Handbag BlackTellier - Snake Wallet Navy

BELT BELT

Solar Laptop Charger

• Buy your dad a gift or experience on Charity Buzz and support your favorite charities. Hang with celebs, get backstage, go on trips, amazing experiences, sports tickets, memorabilia, delicious meals, and more!

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• Satin Ties & Ties diverted from Landfills. With Jaanj’s high-end, luxury, non-silk ties, you’ll never miss the worms that get boiled alive. For cotton ties, the Hill-Side makes ties and pocket-squares from selvedge fabrics, diverting them from landfills and making really cool, classic square-end ties, pocket squares, and handkerchiefs.

• For the Handy-Dad: Gadgets and tools or a Gift Certificate to GREEN DEPOT, an environmental living & building store. From recycled cotton insulation and a home composter to soy based paints and finishes, any dad into home improvement will love these gifts.

• Lawn Order with Greenworks tools. From mowers, blowers, and log-splitters, to hedge-trimmers and cultivators, these greener lawn tools don’t use fossil fuels and make self-sufficiency easy and green!

18in : 5-blades : Reel Mower7 Amp : 160mph : Blower10in : 20V : Li-ION Chain Saw5 Ton 15A Log Splitter

• Vintage Sunglasses / Frames. The greenest gifts of all require no new resource extraction or manufacturing. Vintage is always an amazing option. Classic sunglasses are big right now, from aviators, wayfarers, and John-Lennon frames to the 50′s Halo frames.

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• Enthralling DVDs of Oscar winner’s and award nominees “The Cove”, “Food Inc”, and “End of the Line”.

The CoveFood, Inc. http://www.docurama.com/wp-content/uploads/art-downloads/NNVG169491-05.jpg

For the Dad with it All:

Tesla Electric Sportscar. 0-60 in 3.9 secs, 288 hp, 236 miles per charge. Starts at $101,500

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• Electric Motorcycle from Zero $9,995, or Brammo at $7,995
Zero S Electric Motorcycle - Click Image to Closehttp://www.electricbikee.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/right_side_700px.jpg

GUNAS

Distinct, industrial, strong, and detailed; On April 1st, 2010, GUNAS made its debut. We’ll be covering a lot more from this emerging vegan accessories line, but I wanted to share a glimpse of some of their men’s bags.

GUNAS Bags and Products

We now know that from start to finish, the amount of energy required to create a leather hide is 20 times greater than what’s used to produce a synthetic material. Even Bill Bartholomew, a representative for The Leather Group admitted at the World Shoes Accessories ecoEthics Conference in February that “eco-friendly” vegetable tanning is just as polluting as chrome tanning. That’s where companies like GUANS step in, making luxury vegan bags using PU/PVC-free materials such as ultra-suede, organic cotton, canvas, nylon, velvet, linen, cork, and a synthetic eco-lining and water-based glues. All bags are manufactured in Manhattan under fair conditions. Part of every purchase is donated to Earth Matters Foundation, India.

Stay tuned for more about this line very soon.

(Thanks to Olsen Haus for the leather research)

Eco Easy, LinkSkin & Tassels

In addition to doing an entirely line of vegan bags for women, London’s Hyde SK by Sacha Knight features some fashionable unisex tassel-action. If you like the look of a belt-loop accessory (but don’t want the disgusting, severed tail of a raccoon or fox hanging from your waist) or just an eccentric necklace, the vegan leather tassel could be your main squeeze.

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Trendwatching.com’s “10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010” includes, at number 6, Eco-easy.

6. ECO-EASYECO-BOUNTY

Eco-easy picks up where their extensive report from last March on Eco-Bounty left off. Eco-easy is stealth mode for green. In other words, industry needs to get green in a way that the consumer may not even notice, and legislation needs to be passed making choosing the “right” thing – well, not exactly an option to avoid. For example, Mexico City recently followed San Francisco in restricting businesses from giving out any plastic bags that are not biodegradable. I’d call it eco-common-sense.

These reports are a must-read for anyone who runs a business with sustainability, ecology, and animal advocacy in mind.

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http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rEtijg9Zriw/SvNOsJplooI/AAAAAAAAB8Q/E6rfKKnpS1o/s320/Calico+Wild+Horses_June+2009.jpgWild, Wild Horses. Today, thousands of Nevada’s wild horses are being rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management unless there is a public outcry. Join IDA and contact the government to put a halt to this! Read the article, then Write a letter and call the White House:
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414

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LinkSkin, one of the only eco eye-wear brands, has a call-to-action on their website about global warming and polar bear extinction. Their products are recycled, recyclable, RoHS compliant and approved by an independent eco-label. Their frames are made without screws, soldering, or hinges.

Linkskin1Linkskin4Linkskin2Linkskin3

Fall Back in Style

Matt & Nat never disappoints. The new canvas collection is incredibly handsome, and made from recycled soda bottles, and recycled faux-suede lining. Better yet,  you can win one of these bags! Email Matt & Nat at blog@mattandnat.com before August 30th at midnight and tell them what MATT & NAT means to you in 250 words, the best men’s and women’s letters will win one of our new Fall 09 handbags.

fall09MattNat

Steve Alan presents some nice, basic, organic shirts. We love the black and white, single needle check shirt!

Detail in Black/ Ivory GinghamSingle Needle Organic

Reverse Seam OrganicReverse Seam Organic

These tapered organic cotton pants, slouch pants, and shirts from the Australian company, Bassike are not for the faint of heart. But those gents that have a love for cutting-edge trends, check these out!

http://4m.scene7.com/is/image/4m/bask0021blk_01?Bassike%20Slim%20Tapered%20PantOversized V-Neck With Tail Graphitehttp://4m.scene7.com/is/image/4m/bask0023blk_01?Bassike%20Slouch%20Panthttp://4m.scene7.com/is/image/4m/bask0019grp_03?Bassike%20Tab%20Front%20T-shirthttp://4m.scene7.com/is/image/4m/bask0001blk_03?Bassike%20Cellweave%20Throw

Arn Mercantile offers up an organic Peruvian cotton “chore jacket” and some comfy pullovers.

http://4m.scene7.com/is/image/4m/mer0010tan_01?Arn%20Mercantile%20Chore%20JacketArn Mercantile Pullover ShirtArn Mercantile Pullover Shirt

The Japanese company, Kato uses organic cotton from Zimbabwe to make these jackets and shirts.

http://4m.scene7.com/is/image/4m/kato0013khk_03?Kato%20Jacket

http://4m.scene7.com/is/image/4m/kat0008brn_03?Kato%20Plaid%20Washed%20Shirtinghttp://4m.scene7.com/is/image/4m/kat0007blu_03?Kato%20Plaid%20Washed%20ShirtOrganic Cotton Chambray Shirt

Win the Bag! Brown Bag It! Bag Party! Other stuff too…

1. There are only 2 days left to enter to win the handsome $350 Matt & Nat Bag! It’s so easy to win, all you need is your webcam.

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2. While you were brown-bagging it, have you ever wondered whether your wine or beer has egg whites, lard, or fish guts in it? Find out if your favorite booze is vegan at Barnivore!

Barnivore: Vegan-Friendly Booze Guide

3. Party Bags! Vegan Accessories line Malcolm Fontier is launching a new collection. Come out to the party in NYC!

h-nycDETAILS HERE

Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Solefood NYC – Tribeca
38 Lispenard St. (between Broadway & Church)

New York, NY 10013 Get Directions

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Gallery, Noon – 6 PM
Stop by and take a leisurely look at the new line and the artists’ work. Hourly giveaways.
Party! 7 – 11 PM
We turn it up a few notches with music by Atlanta’s DJ Chris Nicholson, drinks and giveaways. Of course, you can continue to shop for great gear.

4. STAY VOCAL is an awesome re-use website with the mission of encouraging people to reuse whenever and wherever possible. Thanks to reader Jesse Gavin for pointing this out for us! They have some great menswear!124

6. Legendary designer, Jhane Barnes’ RHEDUX line utilizes pristine, high-quality fibers, yarns, and fabrics that would have otherwise have ended up in dumpsters.

BladeFlourescentConglomerateCurve Yoroke

7. The Recycled Retriever makes eco-friendly pet products in Provincetown and Cape Cod! They ship and even do gift baskets! Lots of recycled, hemp, and organic toys and beds and stuff!

Eco Nap Earth Friendly Pet Bed Eco Bone with Squeaker "Bringing Home Puppy" - Green Gift Set Recycled Rubber Dog Collar

Blinded by the White

Snow isn’t the only white thing out there! These bright-whites will make make any guy stand out in a crowd. The Carnaby from Vegetarian Shoes UK could point you in the right direction. Matt&Nat’s new Pool collection offers up this ‘Warhol’ shoulder bag with 100% recycled faux-suede lining. The vintage Wayfarer knock-offs can be picked up at Fabulous Fanny’s,  and the gorgeous 100% recycled glass Fern Plate collection from Riverside Design Group is perfect for a warm, winter meal. Autonomie Project’s fair-trade, organic cotton scarf will keep the chill out. Finally, what is better than Soy-Whip to top off a cup of hot cocoa?

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autonomie project - eco, fair trade, ethical fashion - hand knit organic scarf

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