• Fjall Raven is reopening with a party featuring the Wild Wolf Film I wrote about earlier this year. Enjoy some Babycakes and check out their bamboo, organic cotton and other gear, and pat them on the back for their fight to save the arctic fox (but do tell them to quit it with the feather down!)
• Mark your NYC calendars – Matt & Nat is teaming up with KAIGHT on Thursday Oct 7th to celebrate fall! Enjoy vegan treats, cocktails and a free gift with any purchase of $150 or more.
The French store Kulte collaborates with Waiting For The Sun to make some rad teawood sunglasses. I think they are spot-on with their packing designs as well. All of WFTS sunglasses cases are one-of-a-kind artist collaborations, and are aimed at reducing waste. For just six weeks, this French frill can be purchased in NYC at Kaight‘s Pulp Lab pop-up shop. If you are in NYC and want to party at the pop-up shop, jot this down:
WHEN: Thursday, May 6, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
WHERE: Kaight: 83 Orchard St. NYC, tel. 212.680.5630, e. info@kaightnyc.com
WHAT: The launch of Kaight + Pulp Lab
WHY: You don’t want to miss this exclusive opportunity to shop the Pulp brand, in NYC for a limited time only and enjoy a cocktail with artist Seb Gorey and Pulp founder Kate Pawlicki.
All Men’s Organic Denim at KAIGHT is marked down to only 50$! Lots of other men’s stuff is significantly marked down as well, so go check it out! And don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten why organic cotton blows conventional cotton out of the water – like the little know fact that In India, cotton accounts for 5% of the land under crops and 54% of annual pesticide use and that 1 million agricultural workers are hospitalized due to pesticide poisoning each year. Click here to get your learn on.
Gourmet Vegan Meal Delivery Service! Gobble Green is now offering to the US, Canada and the UK, three diet plans for people who just don’t have the time to prepare, but still want to enjoy and benefit from amazing organic vegan food.
If you are in or near Paris in the next few days, definitely go check out the April77 AW10 Men and Women collections at the RENDEZ-VOUS tradeshow. January 22nd to January 25th – 12 rue Charlot 75003 Paris.
On Monday Feb 15, a new animated series will premiere on PlanetGreen.com. GREEN SHAMAN, the spirit of an arctic polar bear who helps DJ ChloroPhil live greener, is summoned by magic incense and appears at inconvenient times. Is this going to be too earnest or hilarious? Will Captain Planet finally have a rival? Find out for yourself in the six-part animated 90-second short-form series.
Nothing to do in NYC on Saturday night 1/23/10? Come celebrate with me at an awesome gala to support Mercy for Animals. 
From 7 p.m. until midnight, the Gala will feature delicious vegan hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, wine and spirits, live entertainment and a memorable awards ceremony.
Guests of honor include Queer As Folk’s Hal Sparks, comedian Dan Piraro, legendary artist Peter Max, CNN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell, HBO film producer Tom Simon, Super Size Me co-star and author Alex Jamieson, famed musician Nellie McKay, “Discerning Brute” Joshua Katcher, bestselling author Victoria Moran, GirlieGirl Army’s Chloe Jo Davis, and many more.
This elegant affair will raise funds to continue Mercy For Animals’ vital work to protect animals from needless suffering and abuse.
A lot of you guys ask about wool-free suits. Jil Sander surprised us with a few cruelty-free options recently, featured on GILT Groupe. The wool-free suit below features textured woven cotton on a single breasted two button jacket with notch lapel, a center vent at back and non-functional button cuffs. Fully lined in cupro with three pockets.
Jil Sander‘s Nylon Marble Blazer and Cupro/Nylon Iridescent Blazer are also cruelty free and quite stunning.
GILT is an invite only site (click here to join). They do often feature organic brands like Loomstate and Edun, but also occasionally feature designers who continue to use fur, so take a moment to kindly ask them to stop featuring these items from designers like Michael Kors and tell them we want more cruelty-free stuff.
Our pals at Friends of Animals and CARE have a suit of their own. They are suing to stop National Park Service deer control plans. Deer “control” is always a tumultuous topic, and this case really highlights the opposing forces. I always find it amusing that it is the wildlife that is the problem, as opposed to our ever-expanding, ever-”developing” of wild areas:
“The deer are not responsible for the park’s manicured lawns, for deliberate removals of natural vegetation over the years and the planting of non-native foliage, for a lack of respect for the animals comprising the park’s natural food web, for paved areas and buildings, for more than a million visitors per year, vehicle exhaust, or for the constant presence of (often speeding) cars. These factors must be addressed directly to address the pressure on the deer, Friends of Animals and CARE have urged.” – FOA
What do you think about deer “control” and other ideas we have about “pests”?
KAIGHT is having a sale! 25% off Loomstate’s organic cotton fall collection now through Nov. 22. In-store and online. Online customers enter “loomstate” at checkout.
I went back-to-school shopping with actor Paul Iacono of the reinvention of Fame! Teen.com TV asked me to take Paul on an eco-friendly shopping spree, where we went thrifting at Buffalo Exchange, checked out some organic cotton at Kaight, explored some cruelty-free accessories at MooShoes, and finished off the day with some vegan ice cream banana splits at Lula’s Sweet Apothecary!
"Guilty" illustration by Ian Kim
• Michael Vick will now fight with Eagles instead of dogs. After doing jail-time and anti-dogfighting campaigns with the HSUS and PETA, Vick has returned to the NFL and joins the Philadelphia Eagles. Will the Eagles be able to dodge the press about this, and furthermore, was it a wise decision when they already have an amazing QB Donovan McNabb, and considering Vick won’t be allowed to play for another seven months? What do you think?
• Speaking of Fighting Eagles, get this organic Loomstate tee at 25% off! For Kaight’s third anniversary, enjoy 25% off all purchases through Aug. 31. Online customers use coupon code “three” to redeem at www.kaightshop.com.
• Raise your hand if you think Crayola supports “terrorism”. Today, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) and civil rights attorneys will make oral arguments before the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California that the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) is unconstitutional. The AETA is being used for the first time since its passage by Congress in 2006 to do exactly what civil rights advocates feared it would do – criminalize activities protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – activities like writing slogans in chalk on the sidewalk.
How can you help? Join CCR in protecting our basic constitutional rights by writing a letter to the editor of your local paper about the AETA.
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• SolarRolls are not eco-friendly sushi. Meet the first flexible solar panel. Waterproof and durable, this gadget gives you portable electricity anywhere there’s sun. You can charge your car battery, run a video camera, or use it to power cell phones. The possibilities are endless. Starting at $295
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• An elephant known as Jewel, who IDA has been working to rescue for over two years, was attempted to be confiscated from her abuser by the USDA. Her abusive handler, Will Davenport – who has a history of abusing animals and violating the endangered species act in the illegal purchase of elephants Tina and Jewel from the Cole Brothers Circus. Read the whole article.
Fact! There are 700,000 homeless people in the U.S., and 18 million vacant houses and apartments…
Source
1. Turk + Taylor, Spring 09 is looking good! T+T is one of our favorite designers, who we’ve been following for a few seasons now. The collection is almost 100% organic cotton. Check them out! Also check out their new organic tees.
2. These shoes are golden! Cool, Vegan, fair-trade, and eco-friendly, does it get any better than that ? Jinga was started 3 years ago by two gals who give back at least 5% of sales to a social project in a Rio de Janeiro favela (shantytown) which provides activities and education to children to keep them away from gangs! (Thanks to reader Michael B. for this info!)
3. Undercover Animal Lover. This guy is an ethical vegan who risks his safety killing animals all day and shooting undercover footage so we can get a glimpse into the heavily-shrouded meat and dairy industries. Can you imagine? Read this rare interview with TIME magazine, and check his HBO documentary Death on a Factory Farm airing March 16.
4. This Sunday, March 15th, eat good vegan food and help farm animals!
Farm Sanctuary’s Dinner Night Broadway East
171 East Broadway, New York, NY 10002
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Reservations for your party are available between 7:30 and 10 p.m.
Reserve your table online at www.opentable.com or by calling Laurie at 212-228-3100.
Be sure to mention Farm Sanctuary when making your reservation.
5. One of our favorite organic companies, Loomstate, is having a party at one of our favorite eco-boutiques, Kaight, on Friday March 20th. Get a free Loomstate organic tee with any purchase of Loomstate S/S ’09!
6. Person to know: Historian and Activist GEORGE DRAFFAN
” ‘Development’ is a euphemism, much like the word ‘efficiency.’ Efficiency within the current system is really about how fast you can turn forests and mountains into wastepaper and soda pop cans. Is that good? If the purpose of life is to consume and destroy, then international trade and industrial civilization are definitely proven ways to speed that up .”
7. Chloé Jo and the GGA weigh in on the myth that leather can be ‘eco-friendly‘ , on the best Vegan Cheeses, and on the controversy surrounding veganizing your companion animal. Watch out for those crazy cat people! They get their claws out!
8. You might need a french terrycloth motorcycle jacket. I’m just saying….
9. From the folks who brought you EcoRazzi, Veg Daily is Born!
10. Veteran vegan rockers Propagandhi talk to VegNews about their forthcoming album, Supporting Caste.
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry, a la Blackwell's Organic
Blackwell’s Organic Gelato and Sorbetto is pretty damn good. My favorites are definitely the strawberry and the chocolate (and combining them! Wow). For those of us who like full, rich flavor (none of that watered-down, way-too-sugary crap), Blackwell’s is perfect. The strawberry tastes like amazingly fresh, satisfying strawberries! The chocolate is dark, smooth, dense, and sophisticated. Check out their full range at blackwellsorganic.com.
Check out the new menswear at our friend KAIGHT SHOP for some organic denim by the ethically handsome “Good Society” and some of the hard-to-find eco-friendly Tom’s (the ones without the toxic dead cow insoles, duh…).
Does going vegan give you psychic powers? For those of you who consider yourselves 
spiritual or into “energy”, and you still eat meat and dairy, you’ll definitely want to read this interesting article. The article was so interesrting, that according to Ecorazzi, Brandon Routh’s (Superman) character in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World will be a rocker with “vegan psychic powers”. I know some ladies(and gents) who wonder if he’s single…?
Two caps, one pup. Photo © Matt Lara
I enjoyed two caps the other day, a soy cappuccino from Gimme! Coffee – probably the best espresso ever, and a naturally dyed cotton knit cap made by the elusive Filipino designer, Eairth from Kaight. Enzo my lil’ rescued pup (thanks to sugarmutts.org) is sporting his “Have a Heart” anti-fur pin. Believe me, it’s much more effective on him. Especially when we’re walking and I offer him up to the fur-clad : “would you like to anally electrocute him and add a few extra inches to your coat?”
Easy Cookie Pies! © Discerning Brute 2008
These cookies are perfect for the holidays. Add anything you want to the center! Chocolate, marzipan, jam, pumpkin pie mix, peanut butter, or even leave the sugar out and go for a savory mini pastry with mashed potato, tampenade, or a chunk of marinated seitan in the center!
What you’ll need (makes 2 dozen):
• 2/3 cup non-hydrogenated,vegan margerine or shortening (Earthbalance or Spectrum is great!)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 tblsp sunflower seed butter
• 1/3 cup organic brown sugar
• 2/3 cup unrefined, organic sugar
• 1 tblsp vanilla extract (you can also use almond or coconut)
• 1/4 cup egg replacer (Energie is great!)
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 cups all purpose organic, unbleached flour
Directions:
1. In a mixer, or with a fork, combine chilled margarine/shortening, coconut oil, sugar, vanilla, egg replacer, and sunflower seed butter.
2. Once it is creamy, add the baking powder and vinegar. It should start fizzing a bit.
3. Slowly mix in the flower until it is like play-dough, dry enough so it doesn’t stick to your fingers too much, but moist enough to roll out. Usually it’s 2.5 cups. For chewier cookies, add more flour. For crispier, add less.
4. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick on a floured pastry sheet or wax paper.
5. Using a circular cookie cutter, and a smaller circle (you can even use a bottle cap for the hole) make a solid base, and doughnut shaped top.
6. Place your base on an ungreased cookie sheet, add your filling, then place the top on!
7. bake on 350 for about 15-20 minutes or until golden.
