Local
Microfinance Loans and Microcredit – Kiva
I am still a big proponent of investing in and own several mutual funds and stocks in green technologies and companies, but I often wonder “will that actually affect the biggest change?”
Most investments now days have been marred by scandals. The stock market was hit with internet bubble stocks, declining bank stocks, failing financial institutions, bankruptcies, real estate, you name it, it has suffered somehow. Almost makes you want to go back to your local savings account. Rather than leaving your money to wallow under inflation in a piggy bank or mattress, try investing in people.
Microfinance has been around for some time, however, companies like Kiva are making it even easier to select people and causes close to your heart (or investing strategy) while providing more security from default than with individual investing. Each loan is carefully selected by field partners and volunteers, but it remains a very personal feel. You get to essentially meet (via a personal profile) the individual you are loaning your money to and understand their pursuit and the needs of the community. › Continue reading
All About: Seattle, Washington
Washington State has a reputation (along with the rest of the Pacific Northwest) as being a green, eco-friendly region. Given the natural beauty, active outdoorsy residents and connection with nature, its really no wonder.
Here at The Chic Ecologist, we have done several articles and features of Seattle based sustainable businesses, green events and manufacturers, so we decided to compile a little list of our favorites so far:
Sustainable Seattle Restaurants
Local 360 – Almost all raw ingredients (even liquors, wine and beer!) are sourced within a 360 mile radius of this Seattle restaurant. They also attempt to use organic and sustainable items whenever possible including humane raised meats and local wild-caught seafoods.
Mashiko Sushi – Seattle’s first sustainable sushi restaurant, Mashiko has developed an exciting local, seasonal and delicious menu from sustainably sourced and sustainably caught ingredients. Not your traditional sushi (you won’t find the typical yellowtail hamachi and toro here), instead you will find amazing Hawaiian abalone, sockeye salmon and geoduck.
Seattle Eco-friendly Businesses
Appliance Away & Mattress Away – Mattress and appliance recycling. This local company will actually come to your home, pick up your old mattress and appliances and haul them away, stripping them down for recycling. Call for individual rates and quotes, but it is a great way to keep these big, bulky items out of landfills while re-purposing valuable resources.
› Continue reading
Local Seattle Vodka & Gin – Sound Spirits
It’s pretty amazing what you can find just leisurely walking around Seattle. Case in point, the other day I decided to take a walk down 15th near the Interbay area and ran into Sound Spirits, a Seattle craft distillery producing primarily Vodka and Gin (with an Aquavit coming soon!) under the label Ebb+Flow.
Billed as Seattle’s first distillery since prohibition, Sound Spirits uses local ingredients to distill each batch by hand at their Interbay facility.Their entire operation is contained within this single building, including the distillery itself, tasting room and store. › Continue reading
Composting with Local Cafe Coffee Grounds
If you have a composting pile or bin for your home garden, then you should head down to your local cafe and pick up these compost boosters. Coffee shops throw away tons of used coffee grounds each year, grounds which are better suited for your garden. Many cafes offer these grounds to their customers if you just ask. Some Starbucks cafes even have them bagged and waiting for you in their Grounds for your Garden bin.
Coffee grounds are excellent for home garden composting, providing your plants with a rich source of nitrogen. You can even add them to rose beds, azalea beds, or any acid loving plants, just spread a thin layer over the surface of the bed. Typical acid loving plants thrive in areas where summer rains are common. Unfortunately, due to salt levels, you should not add coffee ground into your container plants.
› Continue reading
Local 360 Restaurant in Seattle
Local 360 is a relatively new restaurant in Seattle’s Belltown area serving locally sourced breakfast, lunch and dinner. The premise behind their name and their philosophy is every raw ingredient is sources within 360 miles of Seattle, and they really do mean it. Browse even their drink menu, and you won’t find a spirit, liquor or wine produced any further away than Idaho (most are from Washington and Oregon).
Our products are always sourced from the most humane farms we can find. Ideally, 90% of our raw ingredients come from within 360 miles of Seattle. Lemons, limes, coffee and a few other items just don’t grow in Cascadia anytime of the year.
We source these items Certified Organic from the closest place possible. Nothing we are doing is innovative or new- on the contrary, we are returning to a simpler way of functioning as a business. We have stopped asking “what is new,” and have begun asking, “what is best.”
Eco-Chic Shopping Event in San Francisco – Oct 23rd 2008
If you are lucky enough to live in San Francisco, and don’t have plans on the evening of October 23, 2008- you do now. The Eco-Chic Shopping event is organized by Appel and Frank and is being held at the Recency Center in the city. Present are over 65 green designers with products ranging from children’s clothes and accessories to organic cosmetics and beauty products. A complete list of environmentally conscious designers, products and sponsors can be viewed on the event website.
Tickets are only $15 for a pair online, or $10 at the door and include complimentary beauty services, a glass of wine, and a reusable goodie bag. Not only are you supporting local eco-conscious and sustainable designers, a proceed of door costs are donated to Friends of the Urban Forest. Check out Appel and Frank for more details. Shop til you drop, with eco-chic style!
