A few weeks ago on December 11th, I had the pleasure to attend the opening of a sustainable textile sample library in Manhattan. C.L.A.S.S. (Creativity, Lifestyle And Sustainable Synergy) is located inside the Allsteel showroom, at 233 Park Avenue South, and 19th Street, on the second floor.

There had once been talk of setting up such a sample library at the Fashion Institute of Technology, but director Valerie Steele had committed her entire budget to the museum.  C.L.A.S.S. is co-founded by Giusy Bettoni and Sandy MacLennan. They have two other locations, in London and Milan.

The panel was hosted by Barbara Kramer of Designers & Agents and included New York consultant, Bahar Shahpar, model and eco-consultant Summer Rayne Oakes, BerBrand founder Dr. Emanuele Bertoli, Elinor Averyt, Founder of L.E.A.F. (Labeling Ecologically Approved Fabrics), Sergio Sessini, President of CADICAGROUP USA, Inc, and Paolo Garotta, a Project Manager of Relight.

Josie Maran flanked by Ideal Bite co-founders
Jen Boulden (rt) and Heather Stephenson (lft)

Gelya Robb, of OZO cars, reports back from New York City, where Thursday evening Ideal Bite celebrated its Best In Green (B.I.G.) awards presented by MSN Green at the new plosh nightspot greenhouse.

Gelya writes:

Filling out NYC’s first green nightclub, greenhouse, on Thursday night were recipients and supporters of Ideal Bite’s first B.I.G. (Best In Green) Awards. Although just a different breed of extreme green, it wasn’t the crowd that made it feel like Werner Herzog’s “Encounters at the End of the World”.

It was rather, the dramatic swimming-under-a-glacier feel of the club’s main room. Accented with hanging crystal light reflectors and actual leaf adorned walls, the space provided a natural back drop for the evening’s festivities.

Attendees sipped on Eco friendly cocktails served courtesy of VeeV, a beverage derived from the sustainably harvested acai fruit. In the spirit of light-green living, awards were given in the categories of Home, Health & Beauty, Style, Food, Fun, Everyday/Living and Next in Green.

All winners received a B.I.G. Award statue, “The Bitey”, handcrafted from recycled metal and MSN Green presented the 2008 Next in Green Award Winner, the beautiful and well spoken Josie Maran, with $10,000 for continued support of her cosmetic line’s green initiatives.

On November 22nd, in his weekly YouTube address to the nation, President-elect Obama detailed his plan to create 2.5 million new jobs. In the last few months, half a million Americans have lost their jobs to the finance crunch. Downtown suburbia is looking like a ghost town this holiday season, with retail stores closing left and right. Our new president has his job cut out for him.

I’ve been away from In The Loop for awhile. I was involved in my local elections, trying to establish a viable Green party alternative to the two party system. Although I share everyone’s enthusiasm at celebrating our country’s first black president, I’m doing so with a healthy dose of skepticism, because the systemic problems he’s inherited from previous administrations are so entrenched, it’s going to take a mighty wind to blow real change in our direction.

Ashley Van Dyke is a fashion model, high speed race car driver, and if you don’t beleive me, check out the YouTube clip below. So much for women having poor hand-eye coordination. Ashley is part of this new crop of female automotive thrill seekers making their way into the racing circuit. But she’s also a green girl! We met at the Tesla Motors showroom and took the roadster out for its paces. You can read all about it on the Electrifying Times website.

Ashley wanted to attend the Coco Eco magazine launch party at the Designers & Agents Green Market but she had a previous engagement at a charity function. It was great meeting all the people I’d been working with for the last few months in person. I’d hooked up with Anna Griffin on MySpace, Courtney Dailey on Model Mayhem, and discovered Emma Pezzack’s FutureNatural on a CT blog. We all shared the same mission, taking green to the next level. I introduced them to each other and they formed the core team of what is now the first all green editorial fashion studio in Hollywood.

Portland Fashion Week in its second year of “sustainable production”, wrap up this Sunday the 12th, Fashionably Natural, an exclusive runway event presented by  Gen Art and SOYJOY, also took place on Thursday the 9th at the Peterson Automotive Museum in LA.  Preceding LA Fashion Week, running October 12th through the 16th at Smashbox Studios, the event was hosted by the beautiful Maggie Gylenhaal, and featured four of LA’s top, emerging sustainable designers, Brigid Catiis, Popomomo, The Battalion (recently featured on the new 90210), and Velvet Leaf, four designers working exclusively in all – natural and environmentally responsible textiles.

Interview with Anna Griffin, publisher of Coco Eco magazine.
(Launching October 18th.)

You’re a popular commentator on the LA greenscene. You’ve filmed videos for Ecorazzi. We met on MySpace where you host some really terrific interviews with Hollywood celebrities and green business leaders. In a few days you’re launching your own new green fashion magazine online… Coco Eco…  It’s a labor of love, isn’t? How did the name come about? Coco Chanel? Who is involved?

Coco Eco Magazine is much more than a love.  It’s a privilege.  I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to do this, and be surrounded by very talented and visionary individuals who’ve made this a reality. 

The name came accidentally.  We were building under another name until we ran into trademarking issues, and to be honest, I don’t remember when I thought of Coco Eco.  It just came to me, and when I thought about it, it stuck.  Everyone loved it, and that was that.  And of course it doesn’t hurt paying accidental hommage to the world’s greatest fashion icon! 

As to my team, I have the best and brightest people in the eco-scene working with me.  They really are mavericks!  My Beauty Director is Emma Pezzack, CEO of Futurenatural.com, our Photo Director is Courtney Dailey who is one of the hottest new photographers in LA, and our Senior Stylist is Robin Garvick who is THE eco-celeb fashion stylist in town.  We also have Contributors like the legendary Barbara Kramer of Designers & Agents, Stefanie La Rue, breast cancer survivor and Founder of SLAM.