H&M Launches Fashion Against AIDS T's Made from 100% Organic Cotton
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona on 02.14.08
Images by H&M, Photographer: Daniel Jackson
H&M, the Swedish high street store, has yet again made it into the TreeHugger news, just on time to spread some love for Valentine's day (check out Green Valentine for other great gifts). After applying the EU eco-label and the launch of their organic cotton collection last spring, H&M has launched Fashion Against Aids to spread awareness about HIV this month. Well-known artists such as Rihanna, Chicks on Speed, Good Charlotte, Henrik Vibskov, Jade Jagger, Justice, Katharine Hamnett, My Chemical Romance, Rufus Wainwright, Scissor Sisters, The Cardigans, Tiga, Timbaland and Ziggy Marley have each designed a 100% organic cotton T-shirts, tank tops or hooded sweater. Judging by the sold out racks of clothing the first days of the launch (at least here in Barcelona), the campaign is a great success.
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There is no book more eloquent about the predicament we find ourselves in, and the solution required for extrication. This is not a book only for three-to-four year olds, it’s an anthem for all humanity. Published in 1971, it has not dated, not a single second. Its clarion call still resonates with the same force. We would love to quote the gorgeous, quirky prose of Dr Seuss but that would to be to rob you of the power of reading it for yourself. Better still, read it out loud to a child. Discover it together. 
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Wanna do something practical? Get your hands dirty, or your T-shirt sweaty, making a real contribution? Grab a copy of this directory. But be warned, you might just end up in the Galapagos undertaking biodiversity surveys, tracking dolphins in the Med or protecting cheetah habitat in Africa. Flora and Fauna projects across the globe. This digest tells you what's on offer and has a web-based updates section, so it never goes out of date. Planned un-obsolesence, now that is a concept every Treehugger can relate too.
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One weekend, in an idle moment, I casually picked up a book with an intriguing cover. It was Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Big mistake. I devoured it like some whodunnit thriller. My weekend was lost, but a new understanding was found on why civilisation flourished in certain hot spots on the planet and not others. Diamond is engaging author, who takes big picture stuff and explains it in terms that enthrall, without the reader needing to own a wall full of PhDs. In his latest writing, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, he seeks to establish what caused the demise of cultures, like those of the Mayan, Anasazi, Norse Viking and Easter Island. In short, he fingers ignorance as one of the main culprits. And although the book is full of less-than-positive pointers to the lack of practical intelligence of the human race, he also sees hope in our current turmoil. Arguing that we cannot hide behind ignorance this time — we are overflowing with information and knowledge — we merely need to act on it. In Australia to promote the book, he appeared on radio and TV programs and copped some flak from farmers, whom he suggested, in the chapter on this ancient, worn-down continent, were eking out an existence on land, that was unlikely to support them long term. They countered that his information was not current and their land management practices have improved in recent years. Which perversely vindicates Diamond’s hope that we can see the error of our ways, in time to make corrective changes. Reading this book will hopefully not only galvanise you into action but also to encourage those around you to act as well.
:: Buy 
Many readers of TreeHugger have asked for direct actions they can take to reduce their environmental impact. In the early 90s there was a plethora of books addressing such interest. The seminal 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth prime among them. Although now out of print, it can be obtained second-hand. A decade after that guide came out, the Union of Concerned Scientists released their own take. The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices, was in their words, “the first comprehensive look at the full range of modern consumer activities, identifying those that cause the most environmental damage and those that cause the least.” It ruffled many feathers because it advocated focusing on the bigger issues and not fussing over debates such as paper or plastic bags and cloth or disposable nappies/diapers. And while some of their data might not be fresh out of the lab, the outcomes do remain much the same. So what is some of this non-small stuff, that the UCS would rather we sweat over? Choose a place to live that reduces the need to drive and buying a low- or zero-emission vehicle, if you must have one. Walking and cycling more and eating less meat and dairy while selecting organic produce also rate highly. The reasoning behind why these and other such actions were deemed crucial is lucidly explained in the book.
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Edwin Datschefski has been tracking the growth of eco-design for over a dozen years now. In this lavishly photographed and designed book, he has elected to show that a better world is already here. Everything that you touch on a given day is replaced with a more sustainable option. These are not airy-fairy, future concepts but products you can buy today. In this is an idealised day-in-the-life of a modern Treehugger, selected goods from all over the world have been gathered together into one persons green life. Edwin wants us to see that a more sustainable lifestyle is not only possible but most of its elements are currently with us. And they are good looking too. No scratchy sack cloth need apply. A rich, treasure trove of green optimism. If only the books high production values had not bumped its purchase price out of the reach of the many who would have benefited from the content. If wallet challenged, maybe encourage your local library to obtain a copy.
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Treehugger founder, Graham Hill bought this Pulitzer Prize-winner en route to the Galapagos and it opened the immensely enjoyable world of layman science reading to him. "Weiner weaves the tale of Darwin’s discovery of evolution into the story of the Grant couple, who have spent the last 20 years studying the evolution of finches and other fauna and flora on the Galapagos Islands. Their major discovery: despite Darwin’s belief that evolution happens over decades, you can actually watch it happen over as little as months or years! The Grants’ close observation of finch beaks allowed them to see the significant changes that occurred year to year. The Galapagos is one of the most incredible places on Earth and this book is a great way to learn about it, and about evolution."
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This brick of a book played a large part in inspiring TreeHugger. Full of pictures and key info about sexy, green furniture, transportation, materials, clothing, and more, it’s the bible of green design. Each selection in the book has a handy legend that explains the eco-design strategy applied, the materials used, designer, etc. It’s a fascinating read for both the average green-interested consumer and the hard-core green designer. Instantly up your eco-status by sliding this into your coffee-table collection. An updated edition became available in 2005.
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At the screening I attended of this provocative documentary, The Corporation, one of the Directors, Mark Achbar, was in attendance for a Q&A session. One audience member harangued him over the limited number of ‘worthy’ corporate executives interviewed. Maybe that person needs this DVD, because it would seem to have an additional 5 hours of footage from the 40 or so interviewed persons. The Corporation explores how business came to have such open slather on legal and financial power, when originally corporations were created for the common good, such as building expensive infrastructure for a city. The movie jumps around some, as it cherry picks examples from the multitude of ill-tidings that corporations have wrought. But it retains a central theme: that the definition of a psychopath appears to be a perfect match for many a corporation. Except, of course, that they are not an individuals and therefore avoid the laws and strictures that the rest of us live by. A plethora of case studies are presented to ram home this psychopathic analogy. And although a little drawn out in parts, it contains very often compelling viewing, like the stunning gall of water business, Bechtel, who deemed it fair and reasonable to charge its Bolivian customers for harvesting their own rainwater. Those customers revolted — literally — revealing that David can indeed smote Goliath ... if the planets are in alignment and people work together. View this, get fired up and then go support your locale community co-operative.
:: Buy 
In another corner of my life I co-manage a reuse store, which may explain why I so enjoyed this movie, when I saw it on the big screen. Gleaning is the art of gathering what others have deemed unwanted. Agnès Varda has crafted this very personal and quirky documentary that has won awards all over the place. At times she gets a little side-tracked but for the most part focuses on a underbelly of society, that many don’t realise is even there. We met people who scavenge vegetables from the fields after harvesting, and learn that in Europe there are indeed long established laws allowing this. Another group are discovered doing the same thing, finding the bulk of their food in the leftovers from urban produce markets. In the gloom of the night we stop to talk to collectors sifting through household discards put out on the kerbside, for the local government to take to landfill. One such gleaner (or dumpster diver, if you prefer) shows us through his house, furnished almost entirely from the detritus of others lives. While the lifestyles led by those interviewed may not be what many of us aspire to, their take on how the developed world cast asides useful resources should cause astute viewers to see the world around us in the different light. The ‘waste’ our affluent society leaves in its wakes is truly staggering and this movie reminds us that it needn’t be so. Apparently the DVD includes a one hour film, that follows up on the eclectic characters we’ve seen and records how they've fared, two years on.
:: Buy 
To date we have only seen the trailer for this DVD. But when it wins three Telly Awards, including the top one for Outstanding Multimedia DVD, it scores 5 stars from 15 Amazon reviews and The Last Straw (the definitive journal on strawbale) says, “the aesthetic details are stunning .... with all the “bonus” footage on construction details, this video is a real bargain” then you get the sense it has something going for it. The multimedia presentation follows the construction of hybrid Strawbale and Adobe house, which cost just $88,000 to build. That’s all up, even inclusive of architects fees, licences and an even tools. 80 hours of footage have been edited down to a total of 5 hours, which shows the building procedure from wo-to-go, including a 16 minute slide show on construction detail. The DVD comes with a colour information booklet too, that has floor plans and elevations. Learn about photovoltaic energy (100% of the power for the house comes from the sun), rainwater harvesting, earth renders and much more. If you can’t get yourself onto a natural building workshop then this DVD seems the next best option.
:: Buy 
In this hip-looking tome, McDonough (architect) and Braungart (chemist) propose an industrial revolution, but this time, a green one. Taking cues from biomimicry, they propose that WASTE = FOOD, and suggest that things should be made from one of two types of materials: biological nutrients, which decompose naturally, and technical nutrients, which are designed for upcycling (little to no quality lost during recycling). A speedy read from two men who walk the talk, as many of their revolutionary projects unfold around the world (cradle to cradle chairs, windows, packaging etc..). And with plastic, upcyclable pages, you can read the damn thing in the bath!
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Evolution’s beautiful system of trial and error working over millions of years clearly has created the most advanced designs we know. Despite this, for the most part, we carbon units have insisted on doing things our way. Well, the spider is able to create stronger fiber than the best human efforts to date. And she does this at room temperature, without toxic chemicals and at normal pressure. The diminutive mussel is able to create a glue on the spot that allows him to stick underwater to slippery surfaces better than any genius material scientist’s “breakthrough technologies”. In this book, through these and many other examples, Janine points out that if we open our eyes to the nature around us, we can learn design approaches that will really push technology forward and at the same time help us to minimize our environmental impact. We found this book very inspiring and a must-read despite it being a little hard-going at points.
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