Happy Holiday Sale

For those of you who missed our fantastic showroom opening during Art Basel here is your chance to make it up to us. The Ecoist showroom will be open this Saturday, December 19, 2009 from 12 noon to 9 pm. It’s the perfect opportunity for all you holiday procrastinators to pick-up your last minute gifts. To sweeten the deal, we are even hosting a Holiday Sale! Up to 50% off selected styles. Spread holiday cheer, plant a tree and save some coin. Now that’s what I call a happy holiday.

The Ecoist Showroom is located at 2519 NW 2nd Avenue Miami, FL 33127 in Wynwood.


You can check out photos from the opening night party here

A Change Gonna Come (Oh Yes it is)

Ah cup holders... the pride and joy of American drivers. For years consumer studies concluded that the number of cup holders in a vehicle strongly informed buying decisions. It is almost as if we say “My car can hold more carbonated caffeinated high-fructose corn syrup laden liquid than yours. Take that!” It looks like the tide is turning; a recent consumer study completed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers found that fuel economy bumped cup holders from the top spot. Some may chalk this up to purely financial motives; with the high cost of fossil fuel these days almost everyone is looking to save some coin.

Well I prefer to be more optimistic. There is a seismic shift in thinking here. Americans are seeing how smarter choices can both save money and the planet, no painful sacrifice required (unless you consider fewer cup holders painful).

Where does trash go when we throw it away?

An article in the The Daily Telegraph revealed that researchers at MIT wondered the same thing. Partnered with the SENSEable City Library; they implanted mobile tracking devices in pieces of garbage. The devices reported their location for eight weeks. The project’s goal was to find out really happens to all of the things we throw away every minute of every day. Their findings showed that valuables, like laptops, were often “adopted” by new owners before they ever reached landfill. What about the not so valuable? It seems that Americans threw away nine million tons of reusable clothes, shoes and bedding in 2005 according to the EPA. That’s about 180 million pounds!!! Think about that.

We are doing are part to reduce the amount of waste reaching landfill. Are you? As we all begin to transition our wardrobes from summer to winter consider donating items you no longer love to local non-profits. Not only will you lessen the load in American landfills, but you will be helping someone else in need.

Let us know some of the ways you are reducing waste in your community?

Click. Purchase. Make a Difference!

Only 1 in 10 women with breast cancer has a genetic history of the disease. What about the other 9? Mounting scientific research links the disease to toxic chemicals and radiation exposure in our daily environment. The Breast Cancer Fund is working toward bringing attention to the preventable environmental causes of breast cancer; sponsoring research, raising funds and hosting events to highlight the importance of environment on breast cancer.

Ecoist wants to help the Breast Cancer Fund achieve their mission. For the month of October 1% of sales on Ecoist.com will de donated to Breast Cancer Fund. And because Breast Cancer Awareness does not stop in October we will continue to donate 5% of Ecoist.com sales of the Luna Blue collection until January 2011. With your help and support, Ecoist hopes to donate more than $2000.00 to this worthy cause.

For more information on the mission of the Breast Cancer Fund, log on to BreastCancerFund.org

Dreaming of a Junk Mail Free Future

Have you ever stopped to think about junk mail? If not, maybe you should. More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce the 100 billion (yes, that is BILLION) pieces of junk mail Americans receive every year. Forest Ethics is a non-profit group working toward changing that. Launched in 2008, Forest Ethics' Do Not Mail initiative seeks to create a registry like the Do Not Call registry to stop unwanted, wasteful mailings in the United States.

Forest Ethics took its mission to San Francisco’s W Hotel for the 100 Million Trees Party, an event aimed at raising funds to continue the push toward a junk mail free future. The event held on September 10, 2009 raised more than $150,000.00 to protect the forests of North America. A silent auction, featuring Ecoist handbags, raised $5,000.00 toward the final tally.

Currently, more than 100,000 people have signed the Do Not Mail petition. To learn more or sign the petition log onto http://www.donotmail.org/

Are You Model Material? We Think So!

Reading through my daily RSS feeds (the great part is this is actually part of my job!) I ran across something I thought you might find interesting. Project Green Search is holding a model search contest. The project founded by eco-boutique Greenloop is out to combine the glamour of fashion with sustainable living (Two things Ecoist really supports!). The winner will receive a contract with Option Model Management, a professional photo shoot complete with make-up and wardrobe and serve as the face of Project Green Search for one year. There are additional prizes and all finalists get to walk the runway at Portland Fashion Week.

Registration began on Monday, August 3, 2009 and will close Friday, September 16, 2009. After that, online voters will select the 10 finalists that will go to Portland Fashion Week. You must be at least 17 years old (finalists under the age of 18 must get parental consent) and able to participate in Portland Fashion Week October 7-11, 2009.

We think Ecoist girls are some of the prettiest in the world. We have the Facebook photos to prove it! Go to the Project Green Search Website and submit your photos, videos and short essays. Just promise that when you are all rich and famous on the cover of Vouge you’ll remember us! And just maybe do a pro-bono shoot or two.

Ecoist in Hong Kong

Check out Ecoist's Pop-up store in central Hong Kong. In partnership with ECOLS, Ecoist was introduced last month.