• It’s going to be a rainy autumn. A reader recently wrote in saying how much he loved the aesthetic of duck boots, but wanted to avoid the leather and wool (me too, dude). I pointed him in the direction of Hunter’s “Bormio Combat Boots“, which can be had on the Saks website for $150 big ones. No dead cows, all water proof.
Kenneth Cole also offers a classic men’s boot, but with the protection of a rubber:
• I love these clever ad spots created for The Climate Reality Project‘s “24 Hours of Reality” campaign. They are pretty self explanatory (although I wish they’d do something themed around the single greatest cause of GHG Emissions, the livestock industry). Al Gore, who is the Chairman of the Climate Reality project, said “Industrial agriculture is a part of the problem,” during an interview with FearLess Revolution founder Alex Bogusky. “The shift toward a more meat-intensive diet,” the clearing of forest areas in many parts of the world in order to raise more cattle and the reliance on synthetic nitrogen for fertilizer are also problems, he added.
• German strongman Patrik Baboumian will be featured in an upcoming documentary Tour de Force (Kraftakt). The interesting thing? He doesn’t eat animals, he’s a vegetarian, and a Hulk at that.
• According to yesterday’s news in The Telegraph, “Warming oceans cause largest movement of marine species in two million years“. But don’t worry, there are people claiming that this climate change is just “alarmist nonsense“, and so can you! Phew, for a second I almost believed 97% of the science community. Precaution based on research is overrated. Acting like nothing is happening is so much easier than actually making change. Making simple lifestyle changes like going vegan to curb the single-greatest cause of greenhouse gas emissions (livestock production) and demanding that business change isn’t worth the risk of total ecological collapse. So who cares if the entire ocean ecosystem collapses anyway… we live on the land, right? Keep calm and carry on. Here’s a great link to scientific responses to common global-warming deniers’ arguments. Have fun, and by all means, do not connect the dots, way too much money is at stake.
• There are only 2 days left to place your pre-orders online for the BraveGentleMan collab with Novacas! These shoes and boots for dudes are classic, masculine styles and are built to last with some of the most cutting edge, durable, breathable faux leathers developed in Italy. Well worth the splurge, and who doesn’t want a present arriving in Mid-October, justin time for stomping around in fallen-leaves and chilly breezes? Also, pre-orders save $20 and help fund this start-up so you can have more styles in futures seasons, and more products to choose from.
• Billy Simmonds, 2009 Mr. Universe (which is a steroid-free competition) was vegetarian at the time, and has now gone vegan. “Vegetarian bodybuilding takes not only discipline but also courage. And because of my alternative philosophies in bodybuilding, I am the exception, not the rule.”
• Cameron Conaway, on the popular MMA website, Sherdog, recently wrote an article, MMA Diet: Vegetarian. In the article, Conaway says:
“We’ve heard stories about how Olympian Carl Lewis and baseball slugger Hank Aaron were vegetarians. But now elite MMA dudes like Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz and Mac Danzig are making vegetarian news. Over the past few years, MMA, thanks to the exposure from the UFC, has been at the cutting edge of training methods and nutritional practices. When there is a televised feature of a UFC fighter using battling ropes or sandbags or a certain protein shake, gym owners and weekend warriors the world over begin ordering these products. Likewise, to go vegetarian is hot right now in MMA. The question here need not be the black and white, “Should I become a vegetarian?” The question should be the shades of gray, “How vegetarian should I go?”
I designed this as the first ad in a series about the impact of animal-based textiles on the environment. It’s a bit of a reality check for the eco-fashion crowd. See below for the sources on these facts.
Many people understandably ask, “Ok, I get not wanting to sell fur or leather, but what’s wrong with wool? Isn’t it just a haircut?
Answer: I wish! Momma nature led many animals to evolve in the perfect design when it comes to staying warm and dry in the elements, so it’s no surprise that humans who lack that body-hair want to wear it themselves. Many consider wool sustainable because it’s a ‘natural’ product. But, shockingly, wool production is one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, land erosion, and animal cruelty:
According to the United Nations, “The world’s sheep population is just over one billion – one for roughly every six people. Nearly half are in Asia and the Near and Middle East. Sheep are the species with the highest number of recorded breeds – contributing 25 percent to the global total for mammals.” (source)
One study has shown that in New Zealand, which has approximately 48 million sheep, methane emissions from enteric fermentation, coming mostly from sheep, constitute almost 50% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Most scientists acknowledge that this has a significant effect on climate change. Combine that with erosion, water pollution, resource needs like water, graze land, processing needs, etc., and wool starts to appear a lot less sustainable than we’d like to think. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/climate/greenhouse-gas-inventory-2010-snapshot/index.html
From an ecological and ethical perspective, I hope this provides some clarity as to Brave GentleMan’s and others’ desire to avoid using any wool for any reason.
Topo Ranch makes some cool, organic, cowboy-cut shirts, jackets and tees for you dudical dudes out there who like yokes. You know… yokes? Those diamondy shapes on the shoulders, duh.
What’s missing from this picture of “The Carbon Bathtub”? National geographic seems to have left out one really important cause of global warming in their latest issue. According to them, 4/5 of greenhouse gas is caused by burning fossil fuels and the rest in from deforestation and other changes in land use. Not a thing mentioned about livestock. Infuriating! Yet this World Watch Institute article says that half of ghgs are caused by the farming industry. Write Nat Geo a nice letter explaining your concern about this oversight: ngsforum@ngm.com
This “Sailor” sweatshirt from KOMODO, collaborated on by German designer Kilian Kerner is 100% organic cotton and is simple, rugged, and handsome. Why complicate things?
If you get a round to it,you might want to pick up a pair of classic, round glasses or sunglasses. I’d steer clear of the exact John Lennon/Harry Potter wire-frame, and go with more of a “The Thomas Crown Affair” Steve McQueen iconic shape in a thicker frame. Like Cary Grant here, you’ll like it. What have you got to lose when everyone has aviators and wayfarers?
It seems that Europe is always strides ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to health, environment, and social justice. Meat-free menus are to be promoted in UK hospitals as part of a strategy to cut global warming emissions across the National Health Service. This will have several benefits in addition to cutting the #1 cause of global warming, considering the number of diseases associated with meat consumption. ♦LISTEN♦ to Juliette Jowit on her proposal to cut NHS carbon emissions.
Paul Smith’s Paris runway collection for Fall ’09 took flight 2 days ago. My favorite parts of the collection are the double-breasted, high contrast plaid waistcoats, mis-matched tartans, the meticulous layering, and obviously – the bow tie. The weathered chelsea boots and hearty twill jackets with pops of color are great for urban boys with bucolic nostalgia – or country boys with city dreams. Collections like these remain a fantasy for many of us who have ethical and ecological aspirations that designers like Paul Smith haven’t quite been enlightened to yet. It seems many designers have some fashionable chip on their shoulders, and the thought of doing ‘good’ can’t play into their rebel ambitions. By oh contraire mon frere, the only real iconoclasts are those challenging the great myth. Since Paul has been know to use rabbit fur in his collections, I am thrilled to not see any of that grotesque stuff for Fall ’09. My ideal? All organics, recycled fabrics, and cruelty-free - don’t change a thing about the aesthetic. Oh, to dream!
Jason Wu is about to become my enemy. After designing Mrs. Obama’s evening gown, he recieved 4 million hits to his website, and what do you think he’s doing with this newfound stardom? Unfortunately, I was absolutely horrified and disgusted when I read his quote on Ecorazzi: “I’m doing a significant fur collection, and the message will be all about luxury.” Ugh! Jason! Please don’t use your powers for evil! Not only is the stone age over, but it would be so typical and thoughless! (Not to mention that promoting luxury in this economic climate might come across as poorly planned). We need visionaries here, not the same old crap. We need to redefine glamour and luxury in ways that don’t torture helpless animals.
Obama dropped a major bomb. He acknowledges that the #1 cause of global warming is animal agriculture. In an interview with Time Magazine’s contributer Joe Klein, Obama says:
I was just reading an article in the New York Times by Michael Pollen about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the mean time, it’s creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because they’re contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in healthcare costs. That’s just one sector of the economy.
Add that to the fact that he’s rescuing a shelter dog, and I’d be willing to bet Obama will be the most eco and animal-friendly president yet. Maybe he’ll pardon all turkeys this Thanksgiving?
1. Mrs. Palin is not the only one going on a shopping spree.
According to the Caucus (NYT Blog), in addition to Sarah Palin’s $150,000 shopping spree, “Consider also the $4,902.45 charge at Atelier New York, a high-end men’s store, presumably for Ms. Palin’s husband, Todd, the famous First Dude.”
2. Rickshaw ZERO
This ‘Zero Waste Messenger Bag‘ is manufactured to produce absolutely no waste. It’s nylon design also makes it 100% recyclable. For a mere $50, if you need a good bag, this one’s got your name on it. Mark Dwight, Rickshaw founder and CEO, explains “We took a three-pronged approach to this design – eliminate manufacturing waste, minimize the supply chain footprint, and make the bag from a single material.” Dwight is a student of William McDonough’s Cradle-To-Cradle sustainable manufacturing philosophy, and wanted to create a mono-polymer product – in this case a “pure-play in nylon”. “This entire bag can go right into the shredder for recycling into carpet or some other nylon regrind product,” explained Dwight.
3. Timberland’s “Earthkeepers” Shoeline Still Stuck in the Leather-Trap.
Is it possible to have ‘eco-leather’? Not so much. It is possible for leather to be made with less toxic chemicals, but that does absolutely nothing to counter what the top United Nations climatologists have deemed the #1 cause of global warming: animal agriculture AKA meat & dairy production. Combine that with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity from raising cattle. With leather being “the most economically important byproduct” of the meatpacking industry, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, you can’t have leather without the rest of the whole mess. Timberland’s use of recycled materials, and organic canvass is a big boot-step in the right direction, but they’ve got to lose the leather! Check out their uber greenwashed site here: Earthkeepers. For more on leather check out THIS.
4. Vegan DHA
Finally! A completely vegetarian softgel, fish-free source of DHA! DHA is an important brain nutrient and, with diet and exercise, has been found to support a healthy heart. Low levels of DHA result in reduction of brain serotonin levels and have been associated with ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression, among other diseases, and there is mounting evidence that DHA supplementation may be effective in combating such diseases. Get it at your local health food store!
5. Suki Toner!
There’s no shame in a man getting that supple glow. Suki’s concentrated balancing toner is made with white willow salicins, vitamin C, and polypeptides, and it’s my new favorite product. It’s great for after shaving, or for sensitive, dry, or acne-prone skin. 100% vegan, not tested on animals, and organic.
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6. Juicy Couture Pledges to go Fur-Free!
Click HERE to thank them.The company has pledged to PETA that they will no longer sell fur, starting in 2009. Also, get involved in Fur-Free-Friday this year!
7. Halloween Candy!
Cosmos’ Vegan Shoppe has a nice selection of vegan Halloween Candy including chocolates, gummies, almond and peanut butter cups, and candy drops. There’ still time to order for the 31st, but hurry up!
8. Greener Printer
I just had my new business cards printed at a wind-powered facility that uses vegetable-based inks and recycled paper. Why settle for anything less? Next time you have a print project, check out GREENER PRINTER.
9. EBAY Bans Ivory Sales
eBay has just announced that it will be instituting a global ban on the sale of elephant ivory products.
eBay’s decision was announced just hours before the release of IFAW’s latest investigative report showing Internet trade in wildlife poses a significant and immediate threat to the survival of elephants and many other endangered species. Thank eBay for Banning All Trade in Ivory
Do you still get tons of unwanted junk mail in your mailbox every day? I know I do. I recently spoke with Junk Mail expert and environmental activist Linda Wells of Forest Ethics to find out how to deal with this annoying, destructive, and wasteful marketing tactic, and why it still happens.
Discerning Brute: Getting junk mail is so annoying. How can I stop it? Linda Wells: Right now there’s no silver bullet to stopping junk mail. There are a few groups out there, like Catalog Choice and Green Dimes, who exist to help people get off junk mail lists. The problem is that corporate junk mailers get to choose whether to listen to the requests of consumers to be removed from their lists. That’s why ForestEthics is working to establish a national, enforceable Do Not Mail registry – a one-stop shop to get rid of junk mail.
DB:How did you get started at Forest Ethics? LW: I started volunteering with ForestEthics in college (2001) – working on a campaign to get Staples to stop sourcing from Endangered Forests and to sell more recycled paper. We won that campaign a year after I started working on it – and I quickly came to appreciate the huge impact we can make through markets strategies. So, I’ve been with the organization awhile, and I’ve been on staff about 3 years.
Linda Wells, Forest Ethics
DB: How long have you been vegan and why did you choose this lifestyle? LW: I’ve been vegan for seven years. Originally I did it for environmental reasons – I grew up in Iowa, where the lakes and rivers are so polluted from factory farm runoff that you can’t even swim in them. But when you’re working to expose the evils of factory farms, it doesn’t take long to become an animal rights advocate as well. So now I’m a vegan for the environment and for animal liberation.
DB:Why should I care about stopping Junk Mail when I can just throw it away? LW: Junk mail is annoying, excessively wasteful, and has a huge impact on the environment. ForestEthics just released a report on the climate impacts of junk mail (you can read it at www.donotmail.org<http://www.donotmail.org> ), and we found that junk mail alone produces greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 9 million cars, or more than the combined emissions of 7 US states. So, in those states, every single emission – from cars, from refrigerators, from industrial manufacturing – doesn’t add up to the greenhouse gas emission produced nationally from junk mail. On top of that, junk mail is coming from places like the Boreal Forest – where endangered caribou habitat is being devastated to produce junk. So obviously junk mail is not just a pet peeve – it’s an issue we all need to address as part of our battle to protect the climate and our last remaining endangered forests.
DB: Are there regulations for companies making catalogs and junk mail? LW: Right now there are no regulations as to how much junk mail companies can send out – in fact, the more they send, the lower their postal rates. The system as it stands encourages limitless sending of junk mail.
Forest Ethics' Sears Campaign
DB: Who is the biggest offender right now and what has their response been to ForestEthics campaigning? LW: Sears is the worst. Sears founded junk mail with their Sears Roebuck catalog, and currently they are sending out over 425 million catalogs a year. These catalogs contain almost no recycled content and are being sourced from endangered caribou habitat in the Boreal Forest. ForestEthics has been publicly campaign against Sears for a year – demanding that the company clean up its sourcing, use more recycled content, and send less catalogs. So far Sears has admitted the problem, but has yet to adopt a responsible paper policy.
DB: If destroying the forests isn’t making us happy, why are we doing it? LW: Corporations are doing it – and it’s making them a profit. That’s why markets strategies like the Sears campaign are designed to make forest destruction unprofitable. In response to these campaigns, almost every major catalog company has taken steps in the last two years to clean up their catalogs. (For more info, go to www.catalogcutdown.org)
DB: How will I ever order my Victoria’s Secret Lingerie if I don’t get a new catalog from them every 4 days? LW: I’m pretty sure they have a website.
Linda Wells of Forest Ethics
DB: What is the psychology behind junk mailing? LW: It’s a marketing formula – companies expect a 1-3% return rate. For example, for 100 every credit card offers Capital One sends out, they expect one person to sign up for a credit card. Therefore, the more junk mail they send, the more customers they will gain. It’s a very simplistic and probably outdated strategy, but it’s the rule these companies have been playing by for a long time.
DB: Anything else we should should know? LW: Yeah. You can sign the Do Not Mail petition at www.donotmail.org – and send it to everyone you know. 89% of people in the U.S. support creating this registry, but we’re going up against a huge junk mail industry, so we need to get the word out.
There’s many reasons that Earth Day brings out the worst in us. Here’s a list of things to keep in mind for next week when everyone thinks that things are just swell because they decided to recycle for one day.
1. The Problem is Not Improving
FACT:We are in the midst of an ‘extinction event’ known as the Holocene extinction event. A sizeable fraction of these extinctions are occurring in the rainforests. That means cattle grazing, and what we are growing to feed the cattle is a huge culprit. That means logging is huge culprit. That means we are in really big trouble. Scientists estimate that during the last century, up to two million species have become extinct – thats 140,000 species per year (based on Species-area theory). Overall, the Holocene extinction event is most significantly characterized by the presence of man-made driving factors and its very short geological timescale (tens to thousands of years) compared to most other extinction events.
FACT:The rate of resource consumption, land usage, deforestation, pollution, desertification, overfishing, energy consumption is not even slowing down – in fact it’s accelerating. The annual quantity of resources extracted from global ecosystems rose from 40 to 53 billion tons between 1980 and 2002 – an increase of one third within only 22 years. And scenarios of future developments show that consumption will continue to rise (up to an estimated 80 billion tons in the year 2020), if no political actions are taken to slow down this trend. (http://www.seri.at)
2. The Three Fat Elephants in the Living Room
FACT:Human overpopulation is one of the leading causes of environmental degradation. This is something people don’t want to talk about or address. Instead we say, “carry a canvas bag to the grocery store”, when we should be saying “Don’t reproduce – adopt.” My opinon on child-bearing is the same as my opinion on purchasing pets: why make more when there are so many that already need good homes?
FACT: We are approaching a point of a total food crisis. In addition to overpopulation, changes impacting Earth’s ability to function as a suitable habitat for human beings, such as global warming, desertification, overfishing, peak oil, soil degradation, deforestation, aquifer depletion and other environmental problems caused by industrialization, will significantly reduce food production or factors necessary for well-being. Meanwhile the wealthiest 20 percent of the world’s population consumes 80 percent of the goods and services produced from Earth’s resources.
FACT:Eating meat and dairy causes global warming. Just last year the United Nations did a report called ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’ that revealed global livestock production is more responsible for global warming than the transportation sector. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity, yet we rarely see or hear anything about going veg to slow global warming.
3. Blatant Greenwashing
If you are sick of seeing companies that are notorious polluters and resource-gluttons trying to paint a green picture of themselves, join the club. See CorpWatch’s Greewashing Awards.
green*wash: (gr~en-wosh) -washers, -washing, -washed 1.) The phenomenon of socially and environmentally destructive corporations attempting to preserve and expand their markets by posing as friends of the environment and leaders in the struggle to eradicate poverty. 2) Environmental whitewash. 3) Any attempt to brainwash consumers or policy makers into believing polluting mega-corporations are the key to environmentally sound sustainable development
Greenwashing Index is a great resource! It’s home of the world’s first online interactive forum that allows consumers to evaluate real advertisements making environmental claims.
It seems that Europe is always strides ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to health, environment, and social justice. Meat-free menus are to be promoted in UK hospitals as part of a strategy to cut 
Jason Wu is about to become my enemy. After designing Mrs. Obama’s evening gown, he recieved 4 million hits to his website, and what do you think he’s doing with this newfound stardom? Unfortunately, I was absolutely horrified and disgusted
Add that to the fact that he’s rescuing a shelter dog, and I’d be willing to bet Obama will be the most eco and animal-friendly president yet. Maybe he’ll pardon all turkeys this Thanksgiving?
