4 Ways to Green Your Closet This Spring

Spring is here! And many of us may be tempted to head out to our favorite stores to stock up on those lightweight, brightly colored, open-toed, and overpriced "essentials." But before you empty your wallet on spring shopping, take a look at these tips to minimize cost and maximize green.

1. DIY: Braided Scarves

Many of us have tons of old T-shirts in our closets. Whether they are from college sports teams or some retreat you went to 10 years ago, they can still be of use. Make these shirts into awesome braided scarves for those cool spring days. All you need are some old T-shirts, a ruler, scissors, and iron-on adhesive (which can be found at your local convenience store for about $3). Check out the tutorial below by YouTube Guru AnneorShine. And for those of you who can't wait until summer to whip out the shorts, check out our DIY: 10 Summer Shorts You Can Make at Home.

Green Your Valentine's Day: 4 Natural Fragrances

Valentine’s Day is almost here, so we're sharing some sweet ideas for a planet friendly day of romance. Yesterday we discussed eco-friendly bedroom essentials, today we will focus on green perfumes.

Tip #3: Find a Sweet Green Aroma

Since some fragrances are packed with harmful chemicals and toxic ingredients, a number of people just opt to steer clear of perfume products all together. But wouldn’t it be nice to have some “smell goods” for your special night out, or maybe to give as part of a romantic gift? Well good news, we’ve found some wonderful all-natural perfumes that will help you smell amazing without contaminating the environment. And yes, we have a cologne option too.

Love Train — Rich Hippie Eau De Parfum

The California based company, Rich Hippie, used 100% natural and chemical-free ingredients to create this flirty, romantic fragrance. Instead of using cheap alcohol made from petroleum, their scents are made with wine alcohol that is created right in California. You can find this fragrance on Rich Hippie’s website for $48.

 

DIY Perfume

Ask Mr. Green: Where Should Old Clothes Go?

Hey Mr. Green,

I've read that the average American dumps about 70 pounds of textiles (clothing, old carpets, etc.) into landfills each year. How do I recycle the stained and hole-ridden jeans that thrift stores won't take?

--Jesse in California

Americans dispose of more than 12 million tons of textiles annually, less than 25 percent of which is recycled or reused, dooming most secondhand clothing and carpets to a soggy afterlife crammed deep in a landfill.

10 Ways to Kick the Cold

Ooh baby it's cold outside! But what to do to fight off that icy weather that's got you shivering and shaking? Whether you love to be outdoors or long to hibernate during the wintery months, we've got some suggestions to help you keep that chill out of your bones. 

Go on a hike: The best way to warm up is to get your blood pumping, and going for a hike is the best way to do that if you’re looking for a cheap and invigorating form of entertainment. Hike the JMT or the Appalachian Trail for a bigger challenge, or head to the closest trail near you for an impromptu adventure.

Go to a movie: After a couple days of lounging around the house, sometimes you just have to get out, no matter how cold it is outside. Movies are a great way to escape from the cold and get rid of that cabin fever. You could check out the latest blockbusters, but why not take the opportunity to educate yourself. We recommend Chasing Ice for a profound look at the effects of climate change.

Born-Again Presents: Upcycled Gifts That Do Good

These gifts are all made from something that obviously used to be something else. To boost the good-cheer factor, they're not just upcycled — they also help someone, somewhere, rise above poverty.

HAITI: Display memories in Macy's hand-hewn, tree-of-life-inspired "Heart of Haiti" picture frames. They're made from discarded oil drums, and each piece is signed by the metalworker, who gets half of the wholesale price. $32 to $60.

THAILAND: Show birds — and trees — some love with this handmade, reclaimed-wood birdhouse from Bambeco. It's made from planks that skilled Thai artisans salvaged from defunct boats and buildings (many downed by the region's 2004 tsunami), so no two are identical. $45.

UNITED STATES: This long-burning candle, sold by Hipcycle, contains scented soy wax encased in half of a used glass bottle (soda or beer, you choose). It's prepared, poured, and packaged by low-income new mothers in Chicago, many of whom are homeless. A program called Bright Endeavors recruits and trains the women, and the proceeds go toward keeping them afloat and helping them find better jobs. $15.

Recipe: Nontoxic Halloween Face Paint

What's scarier than a cat costume without painted whiskers or a vampire without fake blood? A study by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that many children's face paints contain toxins or heavy metals, even when labeled as "safe" or "nontoxic." So before you buy petroleum-derived, heavily packaged, possibly toxic Halloween makeup from the store, think DIY.

The recipe below is 100% edible and non-toxic. In fact, it's made out of food!

Recipe: Natural Halloween Makeup

Ingredients:

• flour
• water
• vegetable oil
• natural colors (see below for color ingredients)

Fashion 2013: Environmental Tech on the Runway

Paris Fashion Week wrapped up last week and the biggest names in fashion pulled out all the stops, but the Chanel runway in particular caught our eye. The designer behind the 2013 Chanel line presented at Paris Fashion Week, Karl Lagerfeld, is an icon in the fashion world. On top of that, he has been known to be the visionary behind some pretty elaborate runways — including a runway modeled to look like the inside of an airline and a runway featuring glaciers and snow. This season's runway is no exception.

To showcase their Spring Summer 2013 collection in Paris, Lagerfeld used an  environmental technology theme complete with wind turbines and a solar panel-lined runway. While giving a nod to environmental technology is all well and good, the runway served no actual environmental functions. The fashion itself seemed loosely inspired by the theme, with breezy, billowing tops and dresses with solar panel-esque patterns. With such an elaborate setup, our question is: why not go all out and make this a fully-functional, environmental theme? Or at least incorporate repurposed fabrics into the designs.

Take a look at the video of the full show below and let us know your thoughts. Is it fashion forward or just frivolous? 

Green Kickstarters We Love

Kickstarter has helped so many businesses and individuals reach out to potential investors. Whether they be musicians looking to put out a CD, documentarians trying to make a movie, or businesses introducing a new product, Kickstarter provides a platform for support. What's caught our eye are the green-friendly projects that could prosper with the help of this website. If it weren't for Kickstarter, I wouldn't have known about Sprout, a pencil containing seeds that can be planted when the pencil gets too small. Now Sprout has enough backers to create this innovative idea, and I may be one of the first recipients! Here are some other great green ideas you might want to get in on:

The Farmery: Food would be grown on-site at this urban farm and market proposed by Ben Greene of Raleigh, NC. Not only would they sell products grown right there in a facility made of old shipping containers; they would sell produce from local farmers. The Farmery's goal is to be able to offer locally grown products on a constant basis, and to let shoppers in on the sights, sounds, and even scents of the growing experience as they shop.

5 DIY Tutorials for Fall Accessories

Break out the scarves, hats, and gloves — September is here.

Frigid winds and dry, cracked skin are coming for us all in just a few weeks (unless you live in a warm state, in which case, carry on). Fall has a lot of qualities that redeem the cold weather: piles of leaves, apple cider, and pumpkin-flavored everything. Most important, fall clothing just has nostalgia and hot chocolate written all over it.

Even if you managed to hold on to your accessories from last winter, you might feel the need to update your collection. Rather than buying new, consider this a challenge to get your DIY on. Here's a roundup of five tutorials for creating your own winter gear.

1. Slouchy Beanie

Gowns Made from Upcycled Olympic Speedos

Our friends at EcoSalon found these gorgeous red carpet-worthy dresses made from upcycled Speedo fabric, from suits worn by Olympic swimmers.

Now that the Olympics are over, and the American swimmers nabbed more gold medals in swimming than ever before, what happens to all those old Speedos? UK-based designer Orsola de Castro has been making high-end fashion from recycled materials since 1997, through the fashion label From Somewhere. One of the brand’s newest collections is made from, you guessed it, upcycled Speedo fabric.