Fresh Friday Finds

1. If you thought they couldn’t possibly be any more disgusting, the parting Bush Administration has denied dwindling, drowning and starving Polar Bears protection under the Endangered Species Act. Human generated global-warming, mostly caused by meat & dairy production, is the #1 culprit. Read the full article here.http://www.motherjones.com/blue_marble_blog/792px-Polar_Bear_2004-11-15.jpg

“This rule makes a mockery of the Endangered Species Act, our nation’s most important wildlife protection law,” said Defenders of Wildlife executive vice president, Jamie Rappaport Clark. “The polar bear doesn’t have time for political maneuvers. Its habitat is melting away, its food is becoming scarce and the science is clear that the cause is global warming – yet the rule this administration released today affirms that little will be done to save the species from sure extinction.

2. If you wear glasses or sunglasses, and you don’t know about Fabulous Fanny’s, you are missing out! Get the most amazing selection of thrift & vintage frames and shades. Buying thrift is the greenest way to shop! It’s one of the East Village’s best kept secrets, and one of my personal favs.

3. Farm Sanctuary strikes again!

Daniela Sea, Joshua Katcher, Alison Becker

Daniela Sea, Joshua Katcher, Alison Becker photo© Ecorazzi

With an awesome party, of course! With Miss Guy on the turn table, more amazing vegan food than your eyes and tummy can handle, and the most inspiring crowd of activists and celebs from Danilea Sea and Alison Becker to Jennifer Coolidge, Corey Feldman & Inder Bedhi of Matt&Nat – this Winter Wonderland fundraiser was not to be missed – but if you did miss it, make sure to make it to next one! Farmsanctuary.org

4. Our friend Karl at PARTYBOTS has designed some awesome, 100% post-consumer recycled, originally designed notebooks! These are sweet and under $6 each! Cheap gifts for everyone this holiday!

Bunny Bot Journal - Sketch Book - Handmade - Left and Right Handed Reversible, 100 Percent Post Consumer Recycled PaperBox Bot Robot Journal - Sketch Book - Handmade - Left and Right Handed Reversible, 100 Percent Post Consumer Recycled PaperTrack Robot Journal - Sketch Book - Handmade - Left and Right Handed Reversible, 100 Percent Post Consumer Recycled Paper

5. This holiday, you may be feeling philanthropic. However, be very aware of organizations Giftlike Heifer International – whose promises of alleviating malnutrition and poverty through providing animals, actually has disasterous results. Like the little fact that over 90% of the Africans who are given dairy cows are lactose intolerant. Our friends at WFAS school us on this, and tell us how we can really help:

“While this might sound good on paper, the water and land needs of livestock in areas that are often short on both quickly outweigh the benefits — instead it increases human dependence on an unsustainable food-system that depletes the environment and does not fulfill all of a community’s real nutritional or long-term survival needs” Read the full article.

6. Organic Cotton from Alternative Apparel is so much better than conventional cotton from the notoriously homophobic Urban Outfitters.

7. December 20th is National “Adopt, Don’t Shop” day.

The Saturday before Christmas is the biggest puppy-buying day of the year. This year, In Defense of Animals is teaming up with activists in dozens of cities around the country to educate the public about the horrors of pet factories (puppy mills) and encourage people to adopt a homeless animal from a shelter or rescue group instead of buying one from a pet store. Enzo and I say you should adopt!

8. In case you missed it on Ecorazzi, Chloé Jo Berman, and yours truly were interviewed about ethical fashion. Read the interview!

9. Elephants should not be in zoos. For example, the Los Angeles zoo has killed 13 elephants. Help close down this horrible slave-trade, and save Billy from the same fate that his previous 13 fellow elephants experienced. These intelligent, emotionally complex and gorgeous beings belong in their native habitat, not in captivity.

You can view video of Billy and the Los Angeles Zoo here.

You can donate to IDA’s campaign to Free Billy here.

10. The sleek Pool Collection from Matt&Nat has arrived! Get it while it’s hot,  then take a dip in the pool. 100% vegan, recycled lining, and cool as hell.

Faux Ever: Inder Bedi of Matt & Nat

Eight years ago, a designer with a penchant for architecture, subculture, and bold ethics launched MATT & NAT – a line of vegan accessories that is unabashedly tearing down any notion that you can’t be fashion-forward and an environmentalist. Anyone who is only one or the other might just be lazy.

Inder Bedhi (Matt & Nat)

Inder Bedhi (Matt & Nat)

Inder Bedi, the brain in which MATT & NAT both reside – and the 34 year old discerning brute whose headquarters are in Montreal, makes no apologies for his commitment to animal advocacy and environmentalism. His accessories are always totally vegan, and are increasingly made from recycled and sustainable materials.

Moz

Moz

The fact that the new fall 2008 lines are gorgeously-serious, structured, edgy, and modish is enough to make anyone do a triple-take as you walk by – but compound that with the fact that these accessories consist of treated cardboard, recycled soda bottles, and vintage faux-leather and it’s a recipe for handsome ethics.

Like Marshall McLuhan, MATT & NAT isn’t just the bag; it’s the message. Discreetly or proudly, to carry the bag is to carry the message. The Fall 08 collection takes its cues from menswear with a deep color palette, emphasis on heavy hardware, and a narrowed focus on larger all-use carryalls. Such a focused collection makes a bold statement. No other line says it quite as strongly as CARTON. With the success of spring 08’s experimentation in eco-fabrics, MATT & NAT is now exploring the world of paper. CARTON is fabricated from treated cardboard and retails for $150 – $295. Featuring vintage synthetic leather trims, bags are available in either black or natural, with the choice of mix-copper or antique silver hardware. The line is unique, powerful, and for those wanting to make a statement. There’s no question about it, CARTON is progressive, both in design & fabrication.

Andro Carton

Ando Carton

Perfect for those cold winter days, FEUTRE is a line of heather gray felt bags entirely void of animal by-products retailing for $225 – $295. A first for MATT & NAT, the felt is 100% recycled water bottles. Bags are available in a choice of two trims: coffee or cement gray Japanese paper with lead-free copper hardware and a dark tonal lining. Masculine, distinct, and bound to be a classic, FEUTRE is minimalism at its best. Another first this season, BELTS. Made from synthetic leather, the line is comprised of traditional unisex hip belts that retail for $100 – $135. What sets these belts apart are the buckles in varying metals. Industrial in look, with oversized screw accents, BELTS iterate the design elements of the collection, and reinforce MATT & NAT as an avant-garde.

Junk Feutre

Junk Feutre


I had a few moments to interview Inder, here is our conversation:

DB: What is your inspiration for the upcoming collections?
IB: Architecture, cinema and music

DB: How did Matt & Nat come to be?
IB: A desire to put out a vegan line that represents balance between the two voices in my head (matt & nat), the voices that we hear all day that inevitably lead to the decisions we make every second…matt & nat strives to balance us as people as well as the worlds of fashion and positivity.

DB: Who are some of your celebrity fans?
IB: Nathalie Portman, Woody Allen, Heather Mills, Eva Mendes, Charlize Theron.

Ando Feutre

Ando Feutre

DB: How has fashion affected the green movement, and vice versa?
IB: Fashion has placed pressure on green to be more sexy (Kelly Green?), the green movement has asked fashion to be more responsible….weird question for me…been doing this since 1997…

DB: Does Matt & Nat have an official position on using skins, feathers, and fur? If so, why?
IB: matt & nat doesn’t….but I do…which inevitably effects matt & nat, it’s a fashion forward line of accessories that will always be vegan…

Rohe

Rohe

DB: What is your biggest concern with the fashion industry right now?
IB: The extremes of ethical fashion and unethical fashion and the lack of lines in between.

DB: Are there any accessories you want to make that you haven’t been able to include in a collection yet?
IB: Belts, soon!

Matt and Nat Mens Bags

Kahn Carton

DB: Why should every fashionisto & fashionista care where their accessories come from, what they’re made of, and who makes them?
IB: Because we vote with our dollars, whether we like it or not.

DB: What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you as a designer? And the best?
IB: Took many years before matt & nat got noticed – best and worst thing.
DB: Fill in the blanks: Every single person should make a dramatic change in their life at least once a year. Cool is doing it before it’s done, Chic is not in my vocabulary.

Bulleri

Bueller