By Darrah De Jour

Yogamatic.com is gaining a lot of attention these days as the only customize-able, eco-yoga mat out there. The Santa Monica-based e-commerce company has been featured on Extra, The Ellen Show, E! and in the hallowed pages of leading magazines, like Shape and Marie Claire. Taking individuality to the next level, Yogamatic.com lets yoginis design their own custom, one-of-a-kind yoga mat.

Whether a hobbyist or professional photographer, take your craft to the mat. Upload a photo onto Yogamatic.com- and Voila – you are the matrix of your one-off eco-mat. Nobody else in the gym or at the resort will have your eco-mat. Plus, you can also choose from over 200 designs in their online Gallery. Images range from the Dalai Lama to Barack Obama’s inaugural speech, foraying into pop art and even more irreverent images (i.e. “Strip.”)

Made from natural rubber and recycled content, the mats are printed using water-soluble ink, so they are non-toxic. There is no lead, phthalates or chemicals. Ever. You can collect different mats and gift them this holiday season. Active in philanthropy, the two-year old company got a boost when Donna Karan and Calvin Klein created exclusive mats where 100% of profits benefit “Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.” And now Alice + Olivia designer du jour, Stacey Bendet has two mats with her classic neon flavor, sold in A + Os Malibu Lumber Yard store and at Aliceandolivia.com. Five percent of proceeds on all mats purchased from YM benefit the leading environmental charity Global Green.

With their new web-series POSERS: Yogastyles of the Movers and Shakers, Yogamatic.com is turning stereotypes about Yoga upside down. This edgy “yogamentary” captures a wide array of vibrant Los Angeles personalities. Actors, musicians, captains of industry, and celebrity instructors offer their take on Yoga and how it has impacted and transformed their daily life. Including Academy Award nominated actress Mariel Hemingway, Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Michelle Branch, celebrity instructor Mandy Ingber, Skinny Bitch bestselling author Rory Freedman, Yoga Works’ Vinnie Marino (recently hailed “L.A.’s Yoga King” by the New York Times), Eco Gift Festival Founder Tommy Rosen, instructor Kia Miller and many more…Check it out.

Andira Rain Tees was founded by Beth Doane in 2005. The word “Andira” describes a tall tree that grows in the Brazilian Amazon and has been been used medicinally for centuries by indigenous people. Due to logging and deforestation, the species is rapidly disappearing.

Andira Rain Tees are 100% organic cotton and designed by youth living in endangered rainforests across Central and South America. The illustrations are what they see around them and each Rain Tee features their name and thoughts about what’s happening.

For every Rain tee sold, the non-profit Kids Saving the Rain Forest will receive a tree they can plant to replace one that has been destroyed. Though a sapling is by no means an equal to a tree hundreds of years old, it is a small start.

World Rainforest Week is October 12th-18th. Take a moment this week to learn more about what’s happening in the rainforests around the world and what you can do to make a positive difference.

If you haven’t heard of Colin Beaven yet, let me tell you- the man is inspiring. He convinced his Prada-loving, quadruple-vente-latte-addicted wife to join him in an experiment to reduce their negative impact on the planet. To zero. ZERO. No waste, no petroleum use, no plastics, no purchases of new items, no electricity. Did I mention these two live in Manhattan…with a three-year-old daughter? Yes. Bold..and mildly insane.

Somehow, the three Beavans made it out of the year long experiment alive with many lessons learned, a blog, a book, and a movie featured at Sundance. Here’s Colin and family in the documentary that pushed them to the edge of their marriage…

Inspired yet? Are you ready to ride your bike to work, buy bulk food, reuse everything, and turn off your lights after dark? Starting October 18th, No Impact Week is your chance to give it a shot. Check out the guide presented by the Huffington Post…



You can download the guide and share it, electronically of course,with anybody who you think might be up to the challenge. It’s a big thing to take on, but so fun. Who wouldn’t get at least a few laughs from attempting to wash their clothes in the bathtub…with their feet?  You can sign up here and keep the conversation going on Twitter by using the hashtag #nipweek and following @noimpactgroup. Except, it does require electricity to tweet, soooo you might have to scratch that last part.

Athletic wear behemoth Nike, Inc. has relinquished its position on the board of directors at the US Chamber of Commerce, under massive pressure from shareholders due to the Chamber’s antediluvian position on climate change.

“Nike fundamentally disagrees with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s position on climate change and is concerned and deeply disappointed with the U.S. Chamber’s recently filed petition challenging the EPA’s administrative authority and action on this critically important issue. Nike believes that climate change is an urgent issue affecting the world today and that businesses and their representative associations need to take an active role to invest in sustainable business practices and innovative solutions to address the issue,” stated Erin Dobson, Nike’s Director of Corporate Communications.

Nike wasn’t the only major player to give the Chamber of Commerce the proverbial boot. Levi Strauss and Starbucks, along with massive utilities PG&E, PNM, and Exelon, are all lapsing their memberships with the Chamber. “Extreme rhetoric and obstructionist tactics seem to increasingly market the Chamber’s public stance on this issue,” wrote PG&E CEO Peter Darbee in a letter to the head of the U.S. Chamber.

Nike is a founding member of the Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), a coalition of businesses supporting congressional action to address climate and energy legislation. Over the past few years, Nike has taken several bold strides to clean up its sweatshop-soiled reputation, from forming BICEP to the release of the eco-conscious collection Nike Considered to this recent move to protest the US Chamber Of Commerce. And though stepping down from the board of directors was certainly a step in the right direction, Nike will actually continue to be a participating member of the Chamber in order to “advocate for climate change legislation” from within. Sadly Nike’s moves fall short of impressive. When it comes to massive transformation in a dying ecosystem of a world, there’s really only one directive Nike should consider in its environmental policies: JUST DO IT.

For years, the crème de la crème of American foodies have feasted on locally-raised dishes presented by “farm-to-table” restaurants around the country. These leaders in gastro-sustainability have cut out the middlemen and gone straight to the farmer for the best selection and pricing on organic local produce and meat. The Farm-To-Table movement has bolstered the number of American family farms while ensuring the highest quality product for culinary connoisseurs. In 2009, this trend is actually spreading from a culinary circles to catwalks.

At the upcoming Portland Fashion Week, eco fashion eminence Anna Cohen will be presenting an entirely new concept for both the worlds of fashion and sustainability: Ranch-To-Runway. Through her visionary partnership with the Imperial Stock Ranch in Shaniko, Oregon, Anna Cohen is bringing the highest quality sustainable wool to her fashion-forward clientele while enriching the lives of ecologically sound local ranchers.

Though fashionistas and farmers make a unique juxtaposition, both stand to benefit grandly if Anna’s concept catches fire. Perhaps we’re right around the corner from Cavalli cattle ranches and Comme des Garçons cotton farms. If not, we’re at least that much closer to being right around the corner from where our clothes come from, thanks to Anna Cohen.

The Imperial Collection by Anna Cohen will premiere Sunday, October 11th at 8pm at the Vigor Industrial Shipyard; arrive at 6 for the pre-party.

If you’re interested in experiencing your own version of Ranch-To-Runway, take a gorgeous 2-hour drive through the Oregon countryside for a stunning tour of the Imperial Stock Ranch before hitting Anna’s show on Sunday night.

Framed by a lush Amazonian tableau, Dame Vivienne Westwood’s Spring/Summer 2010 show kept in step with her support of Prince Charles’s Rainforests Project even as she squired visions of an Anglo Arcadia down the runway. Wide-brimmed straw hats were the order of the day, paired with deconstructed pinstriped shirt-dresses, bloomers festooned with harlequin diamonds, and dainty gingham frocks.

Photo credit: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Fusing fashion with activism, the “Godmother of Punk” has become one of the environment’s most vociferous advocates of late. “Governments just treat [climate change] like it’s one on a list of things to do, but it’s really a matter of life and death,” Westwood tells The Telegraph. “We already may be too late, but the terrible irony is that we probably are in time if we act.”

By Jasmin Malik Chua via Ecouterre.