The Year Ahead With Zem Joaquin
by Meaghan O'Neill, Newport, R.I. on 01. 9.08
This post is part of an ongoing series. To access all the profiles in this series, visit The Year Ahead.
Who: Zem Joaquin, green style expert, green design and strategy consultant, and founder of the blog Ecofabulous. Board member and San Francisco Chair of Global Green USA, board member of Healthy Child Healthy World, founding member of the Cradle to Cradle Conference, and protégée of William McDonough.
Eco-resolution: My personal resolutions are to:
• Purchase sustainable clothing only (organics, alternatives such as bamboo, or vintage–shoes are tough one!).
• Use only sustainable dry cleaners. (My dry cleaners just started biodegradable bags, yippee!!)
• Subscribe only to online news sources, such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
• Use GreenDimes to reduce junk mail and catalogs.
At Ecofabulous we’ll:
• Use reusable drink receptacles only, and we’ll remember them every time when going to off-site meetings!
• Purchase carbon offsets for all air travel.
• Carpool--we just opened a city office in San Francisco so employees do not have to commute and we are reducing car travel!
• Use all green office supplies from the Green Office and carefully use the Office Depot green catalog.
• We already have our CO2 savers in place, and we’ll be sure to use them: All power strips will be turned off and all chargers unplugged, reducing any phantom or vampire energy waste.
Outlook for '08: Green will continue to pervade our culture, and people are going deeper in 2008. More and more companies will seek Cradle to Cradle Certification, and greenwashers will be washed out! From their buildings and facilities to their supplies to the products they provide, people are ready to take a holistic systemic approach. With organic fabrics and alternative materials becoming more available, green is hitting the design and fashion world in a big way, and fabrics of the future are here. (I love my Linda Loudermilk Sasawashi dress!) High-end fashion designers are on board, and we will continue to see greater quality and accessibility.
More companies will start to inform consumers about the footprints of their products, much like what Timberland is doing with their product nutrition label.
Media such as magazines and other publications will have not only special green issues, but will have regular green sections and columns, with green writers and editors.
Whole Foods is leading the grocery store chain industry with their strict green criteria and practices with its focus on green local products. More mainstream stores like Safeway will follow suit.
Green cosmetics will become more readily available and accessible. Like the food we eat, we absorb what we put on our skin. The organic food industry has grown tremendously and continues to do so; I expect to see the same happen with the lotions and potions we put on our skin.
Got your own eco-style resolutions? Learn How to Green Your Wardrobe and How to Green Your Women's Personal Care. Or, dive into Fashion + Beauty at Planet Green.
