Traipsing around the city from your favorite yoga or Pilates class to who knows where? Tuck that gear in a stylish 100% animal-friendly handmade tote in sage or chocolate from NYC-based (vegetarian) designer, RoZCoo (pronounced, Rosie Ku); was $95 now $75

Transition to fall with a little edge in the Joan Jacket, a medium-weight, soft and breathable knit blend made from 66% bamboo/ 28% cotton/ 6% Spandex terryback jersey. Made in Canada by Device; find in black @ Ethical Ocean’s new website, $158.

(above) Using recycled metal and handmade in New York City by DJ-turned sculptor, Graciela Fuentes, (more…)

• Global warming…there I said it! Arctic Ice Hits Near-Record Low, Endangering Wildlife – npr
• The intrinsic value of space exploration…NASA Mars Research Helps Find Buried Water on Earth – sciencedaily
• The fox is guarding the hen house and he’s passing gas…(audio) EPA Postpones Power Plant Emissions Rules – npr
• 1,000′s of giant stone designs in desert…Visible Only From Above – Mystifying ‘Nazca Lines’ Discovered in Mideast – yahoo! news
• I hope these bikes don’t just disappear on the ‘mean streets’ of NYC…Bike-Sharing Pioneers Say NYC Program Will ‘Take Off Like Crazy‘ – ny daily news
• ‘Green jobs’ program takes a major hit…Solyndra: A Bad Bet for the White House – guardian.uk

Scientists have made an interesting discovery – a planet that orbits two suns! As you may recall from Star Wars, Luke Skywalker hails from a planet that enjoys double sunsets. This coincidence was talked about during NASA’s announcement of the newly discovered planet, Kepler 16. (more…)

Designer Axel Yberg and his furniture design firm, Akke Functional Art, create furniture that explores the juxtaposition of industrial, man made components and elements of finished and raw-edged wood. The pieces pictured here, like the evocatively named “Plumber’s Crack’ (photo above), feature a skeleton constructed of recycled plumbing fixtures and pipes that supports surfaces of live-edged, reclaimed wood.

This is hot. Portland, Oregon-based Nau a leader in sustainable fashion just added a new ingredient to their manufacturing mix: all-natural Cocona® – activated carbon sourced from the industrial waste of coconut husks – creating a sustainable fiberfill to insulate a new collection of fall/winter jackets for men and women.

According to Nau design director Peter Kallen, (at right), “Cocona takes waste and turns it into a high-performing fabric, making it a perfect match and material for Nau.”

How exactly do they do it? Nau sources coconut husks discarded by the food service industry, reduces them to charcoal, combines it with recycled polyester, then spins it into a new high-performing alternative insulation material. The resulting fill has an increased surface area of fiber, which offers the main benefit of increased warmth for the weight and additionally spreads out moisture over a greater surface area. This helps move moisture away from the body, making it warm, quick drying and comfortable. Cocona also manages odor retention better than traditional polyester fill. The new fiberfill is 30 percent Cocona and 70 percent recycled polyester. (more…)

Here’s a funky Etsy find for those in search of a journal with some kitchy style. This handmade journal is created from vintage bingo gameboards ‘rescued’ from a local antique store. Each bingo card is secured to an acid-free binder board for additional structural strength. The journal contains 72 pages of Strathmore cream colored 80lb drawing paper, hand cut, hand folded, hole hand punched and hand sewn.

$30 @ the greentrikepress Etsy shop

A green stimulus package of a different sort – our latest roundup of earth-minded news & special events.

• We couldn’t make it to NY Fashion Week (September 8 – 15, 2011) but our friends at Ecouterre have all the front row and behind the scenes eco fashion covered. From Project Runway winners Gretchen Jones and Leanne Marshall, to UK-based designer Duro Olowu, and CFDA/Lexus Eco Fashion Challenge winners: Marcia Patmos of M. Patmos, John Bartlett and Johnson Hartig of Libertine – stay tuned, you won’t want to miss it. via ecouterre.com
• John Patrick Organic stepped onto the runway Day One with a spring collection in neutrals, from classic white to cream, grey and brown. Much to look forward to! via The GreenShows blog.
• TONIGHT, starting at 8pm ET… The Climate Reality Project: 24 Presenters. 24 Time Zones. 13 Languages. 1 Message. A new multimedia presentation created by Al Gore and delivered once per hour for 24 hours, in every time zone around the globe. Tied in to Current TV tomorrow night, too. Here in West Palm Beach Thursday, September 15 @ 7pm – The City of West Palm Beach will be hosting an event downtown at the Lake Pavilion that will coincide with the broadcast. See you there. A town hall meeting will be held directly after the presentation at the Lake Pavilion at the West Palm Beach Waterfront Commons. via: West Palm Beach Office of Sustainability.
• The Palm Beach Branch of USGBC South Florida Chapter will be holding an educational program regarding green lodging at the Seagate Hotel & Spa in Delray Beach on September 22. Free to USGBC members and only $10 for Guests (includes delectable edibles plus 2 drinks). 5:30-8p – Register @ usgbcsf.org/.
• Created in 2008 by Brown and RISD students, A Better World by Design 2011 Conference is a 3-day conference fostering socially conscious innovators: September 30 – October 2, 2011 Providence, RI. Food sustainability is a focus at this year’s event with composting, local foods and an interactive menu featured. details @ abetterworldbydesign.com. interesting note: they will not be providing disposable cups and mugs for beverages, so bring your own or be prepared to purchase a reusable container to use at the conference and beyond.

There are some cool fashion and home decor products made from recycled sailcloth. Here are just a few personal faves:

• Designer Ella Vickers makes an entire line of bags and hats (photo at top) and home accessories, such as shower curtains and dog beds (photo above), from recycled sails. You can choose whether you want a ‘pre’ or ‘post’ consumer sail each time you buy. You can even send in a sail to be repurposed. Find @ ellavickers.com. (more…)

The lesson: you have to look beyond an organization’s name and see who’s funding it to see who’s really calling the shots (Tea Party anyone?).

Another group of Fortune 500 companies has joined a growing corporate movement against the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a controversial industry-sponsored ‘eco-label’ that greenwashes environmentally damaging paper products. The trend began in March when seven prominent brands, including: Allstate, Office Depot and United Stationers announced action to stop using the SFI’s ‘eco-label’ on branded paper products or company publications.

Sprint, Norm Thompson Outfitters, King Arthur Flour, AT&T, State Farm, U.S. Bank and Comcast are the latest major brands to take action or make commitments that reduce their support for the SFI. Some of these companies also further boosted their environmental credibility by making stronger commitments to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) program.

“SFI’s greenwashing of business-as-usual forest destruction is toxic for companies with strong environmental values and commitments,” said Aaron Sanger of ForestEthics. “These brands want tools and certifications that build their credibility in the marketplace, not tools like SFI that are being investigated for misleading consumers.”  (more…)