By Topic :: Blog Postings by Blog :: Conscious Living TV

04.02.13 |Blog

The Purest Thread

Under the cacophony of honking taxi cabs and revving engines, four inch stilettos pound the sooty streets between 5th and 8th Avenues on the East Side. It’s an average day in the New York Fashion District. Buyers, designers and fashionistas dressed to the nines hurry to and fro without making eye contact. They’ve come far and wide to shop and peddle the latest runway trends, hoping to set the bar for what the rest of us will be wearing next season.

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02.15.13 |Blog

The New Rules of Style

For centuries, fashion has been dictated by an elite handful of magazine editors, red-carpet critics and self-appointed trendsetters. With brazen authority, they tell us what colors to wear this season, which designers are hot and who is a fashion don’t. Keeping us in line, they’ve taught us how to dress like a lady, how long or short our hemlines should be and why wearing white after Labor Day is a no-no. With the best of intentions, they’re quick to point out whether we’re too pale, too kinky, too plump or flat-chested; what role we need to play in the world and how to dress the part to find love, acceptance, and success.

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02.13.13 |Blog

I Heart Ikat

With a creative juxtaposition of texture, tone and pattern and universal appeal to diverse color palettes, Ikat has quickly become a symbol for global cool. Despite its prevalence in both runway and interior design motifs over the past decade, Ikat’s origins predate our modern times. The textile has been traced back as far as the Dark Ages, appearing across numerous cultures and continents since then, including pre-Columbian Peru and Guatemala, 10th century Yemen, Japan, Indonesia, India and Uzbekistan.

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01.30.13 |Blog

Wolf Song

With “Wolf 06,” and “Running Free,” master guitarist and composer John Sheldon offers a memorial tribute that he hopes will bring attention to senseless wolf killings. Last December, wildlife advocates were stunned when a hunter shot Wolf 06, the alpha female of Yellowstone’s Lamar Canyon Pack and the park’s most famous wolf.

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01.24.13 |Blog

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Help us to grow! Take our 2013 viewer survey to tell us what we're doing right, where we need to improve, and what stories you want to see in the coming year.

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01.19.13 |Blog

Shaving With Benefits

I discovered Shave With Benefits when shopping for my husband Michael, and in a pinch one day in the shower, decided to use it instead of my normal soap and water.

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12.31.12 |Blog

Conscious Consumption: The Evolutionary Solution to Our Water and Energy Challenges

John Neville and Jawn McKinley are taking their retirement seriously. Their ranch-style hacienda sits at the end of a nondescript cul-de-sac in Sedona, Arizona. Like Clark Kent, it’s unassuming exterior makes it look like the average middle-class suburban home. But just beyond the front gate, this carbon neutral abode is a super hero of sustainability.

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12.01.12 |Blog

Making Conscious Holiday Makeup Choices

In this season of joy many of us gather to celebrate traditions with loved ones, whether enjoying the hospitality of others or acting the gracious host. Dressing up for parties is part of the excitement and anticipation of the fun to come. It is normal to apply more than the typical amount of makeup at these special times. Women who typically go bare faced will venture into unknown territory in search of the much bandied about term the “flawless face”.

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11.03.12 |Blog

Fashionably Late

For years, I boycotted wearing a watch. This was no doubt an act of rebellion against my time-worshipping family, to whom arriving anywhere on time meant showing up thirty minutes early. In the case of air travel, it was three hours--five for international flights. Ugh.

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10.28.12 |Blog

Best of D.C., Beyond The Beaten Path

For an authentic adventure in the Nation’s Capitol, step away from Museum Row and lose yourself in the bohemian U Street District.

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10.21.12 |Blog

Finding Your Soul Voice

Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is. --Publilius Syrus

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10.11.12 |Blog

Biodegradable Design

The way people view pulp materials is about to change. There was a time indeed when many people would shy away from fiber materials, due to the stigma they once bore; they were inferior in appearance, and were often not as durable as their non-eco-friendly alternatives.

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09.21.12 |Blog

Fall Steam Ahead!

Without even trying, one piece of clothing prevails in my wardrobe season after season. No matter the trend—retro, boho, or neon—it consistently reappears like a magic cloak. On a good day, it has the power to pull together a look, effortlessly. On a bad day, it can mysteriously camouflage any unfortunate mishap that may be lurking underneath.

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08.26.12 |Blog

Mad About Plaid

Perhaps it’s part of my ongoing fashion crush on the Mad Hatter, played by the lovable Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Perhaps it’s this season’s emphasis on mixing and matching colors, prints and textures from all walks of life. Or perhaps, like the inevitable turning of leaves, I’m simply in the mood for a fresh change. Whatever the reason, right now, I’m mad about plaid.

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03.29.12 |Blog

Style Spotlight: The Green Goddess in Ebony

This month's Ebony magazine features Bianca's favorite green picks from eco-fashion designers to her favorite vegan ice cream. Check it out!

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06.15.11 |Blog

A Man A Bike And A Food Fight

Determined to raise $50,000 for the Nature Conservancy, Nathan Winters spent 5 months pedaling 4,300 miles across the country. I met Nathan on twitter of all places—where he’s been touted as one of “The Top 20 Real Food Advocates to Follow”—and was intrigued by what could possibly motivate a man to set out on such a journey.

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06.08.11 |Blog

The Year in Conscious Fashion - Part One

2011 is only half way over and already it has been a record year for conscious fashion. For starters, color is back in a major way. Not long ago, the book on style began and ended with the elegant and oh-so-predictable LBD (little black dress), required reading as a simple cure-all for every fashion occasion. By contrast, this year’s designers are mixing cool metallic fibers with an out of the ordinary spectrum of cobalt blues, tribal tangerines and royal magentas. This expanded color palette offers modern fashionistas more authentic means of self-expression, allowing them to reflect a more complex continuum of mood and emotion through their personal style choices.

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05.06.11 |Blog

The Greener Side of Tulum

Pick your Own Shade of Green When Hitting the Beaches, Yoga and Bikini Bootcamps in Tulum, Mexico There are many shades of green when it comes to eco-travel. And in a magical, remote, yoga-inspired beachfront town like Tulum, the green-minded globetrotter can easily find a way to dial it up or down, depending on how minimalist, rustic or eco-chic you want your vacation to be.

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04.15.11 |Blog

Fun Ways to Spend Earth Day

Spring marks the 41st anniversary of Earth Day, a holiday adopted globally on April 22, 1970 to foster greater levels of environmental awareness and protection. With Chicago’s commitment to being one of the greenest cities in the U.S., there’s no shortage of fun events this season to help you and yours celebrate Mother Earth and learn how to live more sustainably.

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04.08.11 |Blog

Top Eco-Shops in Chicago

Whether you’re a certified tree-hugger or just looking for fun ways to live more sustainably, Chicago’s shopping scene is chock-full of green gems. From eco-fair trade clothing, accessories and one of a kind vintage finds, to cutting-edge environmentally-friendly furniture, Chicago is sure to delight your shopping senses—so get out there and vote with your spending dollars. Happy shopping!

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02.16.11 |Blog

Soul Mating

Before getting married, my life was like a rerun of Sex & the City. On an endless quest for Mr. Right, I dated every loser in the book. The nice guy next door: he was a perfect gentleman but boring in bed; the jet-setting playboy who made my spine tingle: he was a verbally abusive philanderer; the freakishly handsome jock with 6-pack abs but the IQ and emotional maturity of a 12 year-old; the artistically talented but tortured artist with an incurable drug problem; and the brilliantly insecure attorney who wanted me to shelf my career to become his stay-at-home trophy wife. I could go on, but I'll spare you the drama.

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02.07.11 |Blog

B's Cool List: A Sexy and Sustainable Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is a perfect opportunity to show love for your honey—and the planet. Here are 10 eco-friendly gift ideas, as well as fun ways to make this Valentine’s Day both sexy and sustainable.

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01.25.11 |Blog

Couture for a Cause: Runway to Green

At last, the fashion industry has responded en masse to consumer demand for ethical apparel. Last week, the global Runway to Green (www.runwaytogreen.com) initiative was launched in New York City to raise awareness about sustainable practices in garment design and manufacturing, and to generate funds for several leading environmental organizations.

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01.24.11 |Blog

Conscious Shopping Resolutions for 2011

Unconscious consumption is one of the biggest culprits responsible for over-pollution, global warming, and the deterioration of our planet and our pocketbooks. But in our modern society where most people don’t grow their own food or sew their own clothes, it’s unrealistic to just stop shopping all together. To do my part to shop more consciously this year, I’m resolving to vote with my spending dollars wherever possible. Here are a few of the ways I’m planning to do it:

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12.24.10 |Blog

Umoja! Celebrating Kwanzaa

When I was little, I believed in Santa Claus. It was part of my family’s annual Christmas ritual. Each year, the day after Thanksgiving, dad climbed into the attic and pulled down dozens of trash bags filled with recycled Christmas decorations. There was wrapping paper and tinsel, strings of colored lights, a jolly white Santa head and stockings, and old faithful: a forest-green artificial tree that took forever to put together. But the pièce-de-résistance was a plug-in nativity scene featuring Mary, Joseph and three wise men huddled over a wooden cradle with an eight inch, blond-haired, white baby Jesus. He looked like a younger version of the blue-eyed “Jesus” we all prayed to on Christmas day—and every other Sunday--at our all-black A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) church.

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10.01.10 |Blog

Balancing the Scales

The true cost of cheap fashion and the case for Fair Trade. According to the Department of Labor, over half of the garment factories in the United States are sweatshops. The popularity of sweatshops began at the turn of the 20th century, as consumer demand rose for trendy but inexpensive off-the-rack clothing. Given the difficulty of mechanizing the clothing manufacture process, cheap human labor was needed to produce more garments by hand. Manufacturers reacted by outsourcing production globally to countries like Asia for low-wage, union-free “sweatshop” contractors, allowing them to cut costs and increase profits at the expense of human labor.

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09.01.10 |Blog

Keep Loving Each Other

For some children, heading back to school is about more than saying goodbye to summer, stocking up on school supplies and deciding what to wear the first day of school; it’s about returning to violence. Last year, 39 Chicago Public School students were murdered. Local teen violence made national news when 16-year old honor student Darrien Albert was beaten to death during a gang fight on his way home from school. The entire incident was filmed and posted on YouTube, which put Chicago on the map as a hotbed for youth violence.

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08.19.10 |Blog

Toxin-Free Cosmetics

The average adult in the U.S. uses about ten cosmetics per day, including soap, toothpaste and styling products. With aisles of choices in the drug store, it’s not always easy determining which products are safe. Alarmingly, fewer than 20% of products on the shelves have been assessed for safety by the FDA. In fact, the majority of traditional cosmetics, including baby shampoo and lipstick, contain chemicals linked to degenerative diseases like cancer and brain dysfunction.

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07.28.10 |Blog

Toxin-Free Sun Care

Recent studies show that 20 minutes of sun exposure per day is ideal for optimum health—it’s like taking a daily dose of vitamin D. However, during the past few decades, incidents of skin cancer have steadily been on the rise. Some experts blame this on damaging ultraviolet rays, which have intensified over the past several years due to global warming. In addition, popular pharmaceutical drugs like antibiotics, antidepressants, diuretics and retinoids are known to cause increased sun sensitivity. As such, it’s critical to apply UV protection before heading outdoors.

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07.27.10 |Blog

Eco-Friendly Travel Tips

Did you know that carbon dioxide emissions from travel are one of the largest contributors to global warming? Before you hit the road this summer to jump on a plane, train or automobile, or book your next hotel room, think about becoming more conscious of minimizing--or at least offsetting--your total footprint on the planet. Here are just a few ways to help get you moving in a greener direction:

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05.01.10 |Blog

Do Black and Green Go Together?

What’s a black girl from the Nation’s Capital (aka: the Chocolate City) care about compact fluorescent light bulbs, reforestation in the Brazilian rainforest, or endangered wolf packs in Colorado? Had you met me ten years ago, I would’ve told you “not a damn thing!” But today, I stand proudly as an advocate for renewable energy, toxin-free personal care products, and organic food for the masses.

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03.31.10 |Blog

The Power to Make a Difference

How can we break the cycle of poverty for millions of at-risk youth in America? Better Education? Sports? After School Programs? Parents that are involved in their child’s education and engagement in school?

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01.11.10 |Blog

Easy Green Resolutions for 2010

Now that “green” has gone mainstream, we all know the importance of living in a more environmentally friendly way. Nevertheless, if you have yet to take a first step, making a big lifestyle change may still seem a little daunting. To get you started, here are 10 easy resolutions you can make this year to go green and reduce your carbon footprint, save money, and improve your health in 2010.

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03.17.09 |Blog

The Fashionista's Guide to Rocking Eco-Fashion

Rocking eco-fashion doesn't mean you have to give up your soulful sense of style. From wearing sustainable materials like bamboo, peace silk and organic cotton to one-of-a-kind vintage pieces, read below for tips on the latest and greatest in eco-fashion.

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08.17.08 |Blog

23 Ways to Save Energy in Your Home

Check out Co-op America's list of tips you can implement in your home today, and save up to 66 percent of the energy you currently use — saving you money on your electricity bill, and helping you live more lightly on the Earth!

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10.27.07 |Blog

Conscious Consumerism: Power to the People

We live in a Supersize Me society where over-consumption and instant gratification are the norm. We have become accustomed to indulging ourselves by buying whatever makes us feel good from one moment to the next. For the most part, we are unconscious consumers. We consume unconsciously for a myriad of reasons: to fill our bellies, to fill the void in our lives, to pass the time, or just to keep up with the ‘Joneses’. We consume without giving thought to where our products are produced or where they go after we “throw them away.” As a result, obesity and disease rates are higher than ever, our landfills are overflowing, and the planet is slowly but surely warming up.

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12.31.12 |Blog

Conscious Consumption: The Evolutionary Solution to Our Water and Energy Challenges

John Neville and Jawn McKinley are taking their retirement seriously. Their ranch-style hacienda sits at the end of a nondescript cul-de-sac in Sedona, Arizona. Like Clark Kent, it’s unassuming exterior makes it look like the average middle-class suburban home. But just beyond the front gate, this carbon neutral abode is a super hero of sustainability.

SHARE THIS!|COMMENT

11.03.12 |Blog

Fashionably Late

For years, I boycotted wearing a watch. This was no doubt an act of rebellion against my time-worshipping family, to whom arriving anywhere on time meant showing up thirty minutes early. In the case of air travel, it was three hours--five for international flights. Ugh.

SHARE THIS!|COMMENT

04.08.11 |Blog

Top Eco-Shops in Chicago

Whether you’re a certified tree-hugger or just looking for fun ways to live more sustainably, Chicago’s shopping scene is chock-full of green gems. From eco-fair trade clothing, accessories and one of a kind vintage finds, to cutting-edge environmentally-friendly furniture, Chicago is sure to delight your shopping senses—so get out there and vote with your spending dollars. Happy shopping!

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01.24.11 |Blog

Conscious Shopping Resolutions for 2011

Unconscious consumption is one of the biggest culprits responsible for over-pollution, global warming, and the deterioration of our planet and our pocketbooks. But in our modern society where most people don’t grow their own food or sew their own clothes, it’s unrealistic to just stop shopping all together. To do my part to shop more consciously this year, I’m resolving to vote with my spending dollars wherever possible. Here are a few of the ways I’m planning to do it:

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11.01.10 |Event

The Catwalk Will Never Be The Same

Vert Couture 2010: Sexy & Sustainable With a rising crop of designers around the world creating high-end, environmentally-friendly garments, gone are the days of choosing between high fashion and sustainability. Helping to bridge the gap between both worlds, last week, green TV production company Conscious Planet Media wrapped Chicago Fashion Focus Week with its second-annual Vert Couture eco-fashion show and benefit. With a theme of “Sexy & Sustainable”, this year's show debuted some of the top up and coming eco-friendly, fair trade designers in Chicago and beyond. Profits from this charitable event benefited Chicago Gateway Green, an environmental non-profit dedicated to planting 15,000 trees by the year 2015.

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