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.

http://www.carpentertrade.com/images/Clarino3Views.jpg

• 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.

sun_36.jpgvint_men_39.jpgsun_22.jpgvint_men_24.jpgsun_05.jpg

• 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

http://www.ecoautoninja.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/tesla_roadster.jpg

• 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

Ethical Exploits Vol. 2

The ups, downs, ins, outs, disappointments, and triumphs of a day-to-day ethical living.
By Featured Contributor, Matt Lara

There are a hundred-and-one reasons for guys to take care of their skin and hair, but so many of the products on the market are toxic, full of animal ingredients, or still perform horrible and needless tests on animals that it makes us want to give up grooming and be crust-punks!

Realizing that dreadlocks and gamy odors were not for me, I decided to do some overhaul in the grooming department. Bathroom shelf, meet your new cruelty-free, earth-conscious friends:

Triple RazorThe first to go was that turbo-thingy razor that came free in my mailbox after high school graduation. Instead of shoveling out big bucks for more tiny replacement cartridges that are made by a company burning the eyes and skin of rabbits, I happily spent my money on a new Preserve Triple Razor. The shave is just as good, and there are some other great things to consider about Preserve Products besides smooth cheeks. I also switched to lavender and shea Moisture Shave from Kiss My Face. Now everyone wants to kiss my face. Now if they’d only make something so everyone would kiss my ass…

Also, if you’re a manly-man like me and use manly-man things like toner, consider my other big switch in the grooming department: organic cotton balls. If you are not using a spray-toner, these are great! Are they cost-effective? With cotton being one of the most highly-sprayed crops, and the price the environment pays for our single-use puffs, yes they are worth the extra dollar or two. Plus, the quality is actually better, and you’ll like that for your hunky mug.

Organic Essentials Cotton Balls Triple Size

Revitalizing Eye Cream from Avalon Organics is one of my new staples. Say what you want, I’m conscious of my smile lines! I can still feel this stuff moisturizing and firming even at the end of my most tired days. I’m also a sucker for the Soothing Lip Balm for some smooth smackers without the girlie, glossy look.

I can think of so many uses for tea trea oil, and with Trader Joe’s putting it in shampoo, I am so there. Tea Tree Tingle is quite an experience with every wash. For styling, I find David Babaii for Wildaid to be wonderful. Their motto is “It’s beautiful to be good,” and I couldn’t agree more. 10% of their profits are donated to Wildaid to help with wildlife conservation. I use their Bohemian Beach Spray and the Fibers Molding Paste.

Fibers Molding Pastehttp://www.db4wildaid.com/images/products/lg_bohemian_beach_spray.jpg

There are several product lines like Organic Grooming by Herban Cowboy, and JASON which Joshua covered in THIS POST that make men’s grooming products, so check them out too!

Finally, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has an excellent podcast episode dedicated to the compassionate bathroom. And hey, I didn’t buy all this stuff at once. Purchasing just one of these products is helping make for a more compassionate world.

Happy grooming!

-Matt Lara

MattLara

Matt is an actor, singer, closet poet, dancer, avid reader, guitar picker, waiter, home cook, nosey coffee shop guy, animal lover…he basically has to know how to do everything. He lives in New York and Los Angeles.