Sustainable Eating

This is a post about sustainable eating and the importance of eating locally sourced foods. 

I have to confess I have fallen off the "Green wagon" as it were lately. Since being in school and having a very limited budget (read 'student loan') I have in the past few years had to compromise a little on the eco-choices due to lack of funds. 

Montreal is a very green city in many ways  but there still seems to be a slightly higher premium for sustainable choices. 

Luckily there is still a fairly strong agriculture industry in the rural areas, within 30-60 minutes driving distance of the city. I love that there are so many farmers markets that thrive in town. Summer and harvest season is their busiest time but there is a good selection of locally produced foods all year round despite the frozen deep of winter here. 

This is Really Cool

The Obama Win has Inspired Me

Yes, for a while there my faith in humanity was getting pretty weak. Being able to look forward to better days when President-Elect Obama moves to his new digs has allowed me to shelve my fleeting urge to move to an eco-island in Northern Europe. At least for a little while anyways.

Can I just post :$18 Million per Second.

YES, you read it right. ExxonMobil has posted an ENORMOUS profit in the last quarter. They make clear profits of roughly EIGHTEEN MILLION DOLLARS every second.

Normally, I would have no problem with a legit company making such a hefty profit but according to this article (thanks again Treehugger) ExxonMobil has yet to make good on any reparation costs associated with the colossal blunder we all know as the Exxon-Valdez oil tanker spill of March 24, 1989. All you have to do is Google some and there is a huge amount of info available on the subject.

The company, assuming it will actually buck up for the $500 M in reparation payments in the first place, now owes about another $500 Million in interest payments on the original judgment value for the past 12 years since the judgment was delivered back in 1996. In June this year the company was let off the hook for the original reparation sum of $2.5 Billion (yes that is a B!) by the Supreme Court. The company was deemed "worse than negligent but less than malicious" by the judge. Whatever that means.

Folks, $500 Million adds up to about 3 days worth of profits for ExxonMobil.
THREE DAYS of profits would pay off their debt to society that has been looming for how long now? It's been almost two decades since the oil spill. That is just disgusting. Corporate greed at it's finest.

I for one will NOT be going anywhere near any filling station that has that stain of a name on the sign out front. Not even to use the bathroom. (Photo from Wikipedia)

Aww, Poor Robin

I found a great Etsy shop via Gilbea's Fashion & Handmade who uses Project Wonderful ads.
Poor Robin revolves around a collection of buttons that are being remade into some unique and lovely items. Take a look for yourself and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the selection. The colours are so vibrant and fun they will make anyone smile in amusement.

Labour Day! You KNOW what That Means!

Back to school roundup of stuff! Here are some awesome things you might want to look into if you haven' t already. First, via Apartment Therapy's kid stuff blog, OhDeeDoh, we have some marvelous monsters to take you to lunch in style. Click the pic to go right to the Etsy shop that makes these lovelies.

Also, MissMalaprop has brought my attention to these green back to school kits that the Green Office has to offer.
It makes school supply shopping a one stop deal for anyone from kindy to college and it's the eco-alternative so it gets high marks. Miss Malaprop also has some other great posts about baggage for school, the good kind of course!

IndieFixx has a Back to School Guide that is worth a look for anyone who is looking to hit the books in the near future as well. Apples and mushrooms and owls, OH MY! These themes are going strong still this fall season in accessories so stock up and have a fun and safe adventure this week everyone.

My Second Treasury! Small Steps for Earth.

I know I was not going to be posting much but look what I got!


My second treasury! (Click on it to link to it.)

Again, just like the last one here, I happened to be in the right place at the right time in Etsy Treasuryland which is such a magical and mystifying place at times. I don't know what rhyme they use as a program for deciding who gets and who doesn't in the Treasury department over there but I have lucked out twice now so I won't question the method to the madness.

I'm not about to complain. I am very happy with this Treasury as I was with my last one and hopefully there will be others to follow. I picked a green theme again and featured items that have an element of sustainability to them. This was such fun to do this time as there were no frustrations as I had the first try.

So enjoy and have a great weekend everyone.

Happy Fourth!

Here is a thought for the new paradigm; let's try to help out the environment.
See the 350 Challenge badge on the right sidebar for more on reducing carbon footprints on a global scale.
Oh yes and have a super and safe Holiday weekend everyone!

Update in the Etsy shop!

Finally! I know it has been forever. As usual there has been lots happening in these parts. I really have been letting the Tum Tum Tree Etsy shop get left behind somewhat with all the sales action going on around here. I will be changing that up from now on and listing more of my goodies.

Some of these lovelies will be going up in the next day or two so stay tuned!

World Environment Day

I didn't have a whole lot to write about today as I have been pretty busy. World Environment Day was established on June 5th in 1972 to "Provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations".

While I really like to get people thinking about environmental issues, there is always someone who does it better. Like Alain Robert. I think scaling the Times building in NYC with a banner to get people's attention will probably trump anything I could say on the subject for today so that is all for now.

Thanks to Treehugger for the initial story. See the climbing activist at thesolutionissimple.org for more.

Sheryl Crow; Do as I Say, Not What I do!

Look at what I came across recently!
Cute little Go Green buttons on the supposedly eco-conscious Sheryl Crow's website.

Looks pretty good, right? I thought so too until I looked a little harder. Seems Sheryl is more about the talk than the walk.
I actually thought about buying a tank top from Sheryl's merch page but when I clicked on the pic for more info fully expecting to see a hemp content or at the very least some organic cotton, all I saw displayed was 100% cotton. Yep, regular cotton. I guess the status quo is okay for the one square advocating Sheryl to flog to her fans. Is it really all about the mighty dollar? There are so many options for more sustainable promo tees, I thought that Sheryl would have used the opportunity to let her fans also be fans of Mother Nature at the same time and have a green option for a tee.

I even wrote a little inquiry to her merch company to see what they had to say about it but a response doesn't look promising. Seems they only treat comments or concerns attached to an order number with any seriousness as they "might not be able to respond to inquiries without an order number".

As I looked further into Sheryl's promo offerings I was even more disappointed as I saw they are using (*gasp...!) poly-cotton blends!!!! for some of the shirts. The horror! I have a good mind to change the code on that cute little green button up there and point it to a green site that actually offers great green goods made from hemp. But then, that would be totally unethical of me wouldn't it?

What I did on Earth Day

The celebration aspect of Earth Day seems to have been taken to a new level of - dare I say it - consumerism this year. Treehugger did a post on the subject, likening Earth Day to the new Christmas for the Green and I have to say that I agree with the comparison. Every where I look lately eco-this or greener-that is in the headlines. While this would be great if it was just an issue in it's own right, it is usually attached to some kind of special offer, to buy something.

In my own little silent boycott I tried to stay away from all of that, even canceling the big Earth Day Sale Event I had planned for my own online shop. I just can't justify flogging something just because it is Earth Day. We should be going green every day, not just on Earth Day and by that I mean using less, which ultimately equates to buying less.

I only bought the necessary groceries on my list today. Since the store was giving away cute little evergreen trees, I graciously accepted one to plant at home with the kids in honour of the Earth. And no, I didn't need a bag for it either because I always bring my own.

Counting Down the Days - Earth Day Looms

Just over a week away now, there is much talk about Earth Day this year it seems.
It will be nice to see some of the initiatives that the blogosphere provides to keep the eco-momentum on the rise and in the headlines.

What are you doing for Earth Day?

The EP!C Announcement

There is some big news that has been brewing around these parts and here is my BIG ANNOUNCEMENT;

I am exhibiting my children's wear label at EP!C in Vancouver next weekend!
This is a big to-do as the numbers are huge for this event. They expect upwards of 20,000 people to come through the doors to see the show and the best part is, they are mostly all my target market! The demographic is right for my hemp children's clothes as the Ethical Progressive Informed Consumer is who I want to be seeing my designs.

I even have some extra exposure thanks to Fashion High as they have so kindly organized some fashion shows for FH members to participate in. All in all it is going to be an action packed weekend and what better timing than right before Earth Day to check out some sustainable goods for greenies.

I enjoyed the EP!C show last year as a panelist but this year is taking it to a new level for me. I love it when a plan comes together!

The Yoga Mat Bag

This was an Etsy Alchemy project that I finished up yesterday. I've been having some issues with my internet connection and what a process getting it figured out. After 40 minutes on the phone with tech support it is finally up and running again so I get to post my pictures!

Back to the yoga bag, this was a first for me. No pattern, just measurements and some key desires from the client and the rest was up to me. I think it turned out well and if I were a yogini I would want one of these for myself.



There are a few little extra details that really make this a special item; a cute little pocket for ID and some cash, a strap at the top for hanging it up and inside is my signature keychain loop for hooking up the keys to.

I have been wanting to try making a hemp yoga mat bag for a while and this was the perfect opportunity. I have to say that my fear and loathing of zippers was diminished only slightly. This was the first zipper I tackled in about two years because I just can't stand doing them. I found this easier because the zipper was so long where I have only used short ones before so I will definitely be making more of these.

WE are all soooo Screwed.

I was having a fairly decent day until I read this article over at Mother Jones.
Sometimes I wonder why I try to live a green life at all when disaster seems to be looming just over the horizon. Maybe I should just jump into the handbasket along with the rest of the masses and enjoy the ride.

Check out the Carnival of the Green

Just a heads up to all you green-types about the Carnival of the Green, a weekly eco-carnival put on by the uber-eco Treehugger. This week is hosted by none other than my virtual acquaintance Victoria Everman. She hosts the COTG on her own website this week(an excellent resource for all things green) while staying very busy I am sure co-authoring the Crafting a Green World blog(self explanatory title) among other things.


For some great green posts, head on over and check the action. You will notice how busy Victoria is with her writing, environmentalism, modeling and even crafting. Somehow she even manages to fit yoga into her busy schedule. I'm glad she does all that she does and you can rest assured that the week's postings will be very resourceful.

Screen shot

As seen in Small Magazine. This is my favourite shot showing the lavender halter dress. Very cute.

Pink is the New Green

Oh Yeah and so is Green! At the right is the ivy green version of my halter dress and it is lookin' fine and all ready for spring shows where I will be selling. Also just in time for the greenest day of all, Saint Patty's Day!


Here is the dress in the lovely pink that would be such a great little Easter dress for some special eco-fashionistas. They are available of course in my online shop for anyone interested, so go have a peek.

Bamboo: A Murky Shade of Green

Ever since I first saw bamboo fabric I have had questions, so many questions.

Yes, the fibre spun into textiles is ohhh so soft and luxurious, almost seductively so. But how does that happen? Are we dancing with environmental danger if we choose bamboo for clothing?

Bamboo is a tree after all and it just boggles my mind that manufacturers can get a tough stalk like that made into a super soft fabric like they do.

Well, I came across this informative article today over at Wearing the Future and it turns out my wariness of bamboo for textiles was right on. Click for a very good read, found initially via Eco Geek.