The 2nd national Green Festival (green festival) at the Javits Center in New York City took place last weekend, and did not disappoint. The event included hundreds of exhibitors of green products and advocacy organizations, as well as multiple educational workshops on everything from healthy food to eco-friendly vehicles. Several workshops focused on sustainable and fair trade fashion, one of my favorite subjects, bringing together some of this area’s top experts. (Stay tuned for a blogpost on one of the weekend’s highlights: an Eileen Fisher eco-fashion show!) Since last year I wrote about my favorite exhibitors, I thought I‘d continue the tradition.
1) My favorite product was ipad/Nook/Kindle covers made from recycled fleece jackets. Available from Refleece in numerous happy colors, these fun covers help keep old jackets from ending up in landfills.
2) Second favorite exhibitor was SpinGreen who are also making sure old clothing gets a second life. Spingreen expands recycling at schools by placing clothing collection bins at schools. Usable clothing is given to several charities, and stained or ripped clothing is repurposed for home insulation or car seat stuffing, again diverting waste away from landfills.
3) Call me morbid, but third, believe it or not, was the Green Burial Council, since many burial practices involve the use of toxic chemicals, and it’s not something we often think about. The council educates about environmentally sustainable funeral / cemetery / cremation options, and have set forth the World’s first standards and eco-certification program for burial grounds and burial products.
These are just a sampling of the numerous forward-thinking organizations featured at Green Festival. My main takeaway is how inspiring it is to witness the creative innovation, dedication to craft, and caring for the planet that all the participants exhibited. It gives me hope seeing so many people who care enough to make the planet’s sustainability part of their business. I hope these qualities become mainstream sooner than later.
Nice job. One day all this will become mainstream, I’m sure!
Have you seen the satire movie, Idiocracy? It shows how life could be 500 years from now..landfills galore and worse! So scary. Heaven forbid things should get that bad, but they could if we don’t change. Love and common sense finally began to reverse the problems, which I believe are our only hope.
If more people watched that movie I think they would have to be moved to act. : )
Keep up the good work.