He’s been referred to as the “Green Martha Stewart” and there are undoubtedly some similarities.  A celebrity eco-stylist, best-selling author, and official Green Living Partner for JCPenny, Danny Seo doesn’t think style has to take a backseat when it comes to being a conscious consumer. 

After two years in development, Danny Seo in partnership with boom!, the company responsible for numerous successful beauty brands launches (like Bath & Body Works, Philosophy, Hard Candy, Fendi and Nautica amongst others), will launch wholearth Bath & Body.  The line will consist of a Certified Organic Cinnamon & Oat Face Scrub, Certified Organic Body Wash and body lotion, Natural Body Souffle, Natural Bamboo Body Scrub and Wash,  Natural Body and Linen Mist and a 100% Certified Organic Fragrance; all made using only pure organic extracts and essential nutrients and oils. Prices will range from $25-50 and will be available at specialty stores worldwide.

“All of us want to live greener, healthier lives today, but it can be so confusing to determine what’s truly eco-friendly when it comes to bath and beauty products,” says Danny. “When I buy products for myself, I want the very best products that not only use the highest quality natural and organic ingredients, but package them beautifully in post-consumer recycled packaging. It should be green from the inside, out.”

It’s exciting to see new organic beauty brands pop up, but we should all be slow to jump on a bandwagon until we can get our hands on the ingredients.  I definitely like he’s using the word “certified” in conjunction with “organic”.  Here’s hoping!

Hain Celestial Group, Inc., one of the largest organic and natural manufacturers in the U.S. (brands such as Celestial Seasonings®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin’®, Health Valley®, WestSoy®, Earth’s Best®, Arrowhead Mills® and more) has announced a licence agreement with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.  This new partnership promises to launch a brand new Martha Stewart-branded line of natural home cleaning solutions which is said to be mostly derived of plants and minerals.  Their top competitors include fast-growing brands like Seventh Generation and the Clorox Green Works.

According to the domestic maven herself ”The products will be sensibly and attractively packaged with useful homekeeping tips and instructions to ensure that consumers can clean their home safely and effectively, without harming family members or pets.” 

According to Nutrition Business Journal, research shows that U.S. sales of natural & organic household cleaners jumped 35% to $737 million in 2008, adding $191 million in new sales over 2007.

Expect to see these products on shelves in September of this year. 

Two days ago J. Lohr Vineyards unveiled their 3-acre, state-of-the-art, 756 kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) single-axis tracking system designed to offset 75% of the winery’s energy usage at its Paso Robles, CA operations.  They’ll now be operating the largest solar PV tracking array by a winery in North America.  The energy generated from J. Lohr’s new system will reduce CO2 emissions by 29,887 tons over 25 years. In practical terms, this is equivalent to planting 512 acres of trees (which sequester carbon from our air), or eliminating the air pollution that comes from driving 97 million road miles. 

The new, ground-mounted installation is made of 4,320 PV modules that track the sun from east to west daily to optimize production of solar-generated electricity. The system was designed and installed by Conergy, which is involved in 1 in 10 of the world’s solar photovoltaic projects.

This is a great step in their sustainable winegrowing and winemaking program, which also includes using organic soil amendments, limited use of chemicals, erosion control, water conservation, extensive pomace composting and materials recycling.

Allison Jordan, Executive Director for the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) says “J. Lohr has an impressive track record of environmental responsibility, and by both adopting sustainable practices and being willing to share its experience with others, is helping to expand the California wine industry’s widespread sustainability movement.”

“With numerous sunny days, Paso Robles isn’t just ideal for producing rich and flavorful Bordeaux and Rhône-style wines,” says Steve Lohr, J. Lohr’s Senior VP of Planning and Development, “it is also perfect for producing clean, renewable energy.  Owning our own solar tracking array is another important step in our commitment to environmentally-conscious practices.  In our own way, we are working to protect the very climate that nurtures our grapes, while contributing to efforts that reduce the need for drilling off our spectacular coast.”

 Now if only they’d make organic wine…

Now that one of sugarholics favorite holiday is behind us, you may be wondering how exactly to go about losing some of the extra baggage accrued over the last few months.  Blame it on the weather, holidays, economy or stress - but ready or not, here comes bathing suit season.

With so many trends, theories and infomercials, its hard to know where to start, where to spend your money and what is really going to give you results.  Afterall, you want something that isn’t going to:

1). Cost a ton.

2). Be boring.

3). Require a lot of time.

I have been on many a detox diet, but the one that resonated very loudly for me (and apparently Halle Berry) is called The Fat Flush Plan.  I had been following it on and off for a few years but decided to take the book’s exercise recommendation seriously and buy a ReboundAir Half Fold Rebounder when I finally got serious about losing weight about a year ago.  So what is a “rebounder” you may ask.  It’s a mini trampoline.  Yes, you jump up and down, up and down and bounce off fat.  Yes, yes you do.  Sounds too easy right?  It is.  Its up to you to make it as difficult or as easy as you want to but almost everyone can benefit from just 15 minutes per day and you’ll likely see fast results with 30-45 minutes per day.  (And it can be broken up into 15 minute manageable sessions too). 

Some benefits:

a). Uses no electricity (unlike a treadmill).

b). Easily folds and slides into a closet or under the bed.

c). Easy on joints.

d). Stimulates your lymphatic system.

e).  Lifetime warranty.

I know from personal experience that jumping on my own rebounder for 30 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week yielded a noticeable difference in the way my clothes fit and my muscles looked and felt (in fact I lost a few sizes).  I feel stronger, have more energy and I really did feel as though the fat was melting off my body.  Of course I was also eating well, but that won’t necessarily leave you toned.  After a few months I also incorporated hand weights and practiced boxing like moves while jumping to tone my upper body. 

Need more proof?  Check out what N.A.S.A. has to say about it here. 

Obviously the greenest choice would be to get outside and exercise, but let’s face it - not all of us have that luxury (or desire) when there’s two feet of snow on the group or in the miserably hot humid months of summer.  Save gas going to the gym and save electricity by not having to plug this in!  Its a bit of a chunk of change up front but knowing all the benefits, coming with a lifetime warranty and being much cheaper than a treadmill….I was sold and I’d say its one of the best purchases I’ve made.   

Marie Claire:

Although Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi is the new face of Pantene, in Beauty Snoop she shares a couple of her favorite natural beauty treatments:

Desert Essence Jojoba Oil: “To fight flakes, I microwave a cup of this and massage it into my scalp.  My grandmother used to do it on the stove.”

Honey: “I’m big on natural treatments, I slather this on.  Honey is great for pulling impurities from pores.”

Lucky Magazine:

In the Hair Report, Stylist Jessica de Ruiter can’t live without:  

John Masters shampoo & condition: “Even though the shampoo’s free of sodium lauryl sulfate (the chemical that makes stuff lather and can also strip hair), it still manages to be soapy/foamy and really get my hair clean.  The conditioner is one of the best detanglers ever, yet it doesn’t weight my hair down.  Plus the scent is divine, and the sleek, minimalist bottles look good in my bathroom.  I could go on and on…”

 In the article “Secret Ingredient: Goji Berry”…

Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea Facial Mask: “This multitasking treatment detoxes, deep cleans, and exfoliates, leaving your skin distinctly brighter and clearer.”

InStyle Magazine

Star of the TV show Big Love and the new movie, He’s Just Not That Into You, Ginnifer Goodwin shares that her signature scent is Weleda’s Wild Rose body oil.  “It’s sexy, musky and subtle”. 

Love Your Lashes article sited Physician’s Formula Organic Wear’s new mascara the best green pick.  “Best for sensitive eyes.  Instead of synthetic ingredients, this formula relies on organic beeswax and natural pigment to deliver length and thickness without irritation.”  (I went straight to Walgreens to see if it was in stock yet.  It wasn’t but you can be sure I’ll be checking back and putting it to the test). 

Domino (so sad to see it go)

In A Cheater’s Guide To A Tidy Home, I spotted two great beauty buys in the home of interior designer Ryan Korban:

Burt’s Bees Lip Balm: spotted in ashtray with keys and coins

Dr. Hauschka Facial Toner: Back of toilet in mirrored tray

I just discovered these little morsels of chocolatey goodness from Lake Champlain in Vermont.   The company was born back in the early eighties, when a restaurant owner was taken aside by one of his employees and told that the chocolates he’d been gifting to the staff tasted “terrible”.  Jim challenged him, “then do better”.  What resulted was the best, mouth-watering, hand-rolled truffles he had ever tasted; so he decided to serve them to select patrons on Sundays.  The response was overwhelming and soon Jim was opening his own upscale chocolate biz to keep up with demand.  Initially, the business was meant for wholesale distribution only, but word got out and people snuck in to try to get their hands on the chocolate.  Now, years laters they offer much more than truffles, they are in a 24,000 building and at the peak of the season they have 100 employees.  

 Their truffles are USDA certified organic and their organic milk chocolate was named “Best Milk Chocolate” by Martha Stewart’s Body+Soul magazine in their taste test of organic chocolates.  

This box of 15 pieces (shown above) is just $20!