Left to be Found is an exploration into little magic interactions of finding and gifting garments within an urban environment. The project aims to encourage altruism through the process of giving; and to strengthen the connections between ourselves, the objects surrounding us and others. The objective of this project is to address the throw-away culture problem in a non-preaching, playful way.

As a sustainable fashion designer or conscientious consumer, you do what you can to make the best possible choices for the world. But sometimes your efforts feel small, or über-specific – and at times like these it helps to look around and see the global initiatives taking place. They’re hugely inspiring! It’s also a relief to see you’re not alone. Here are our top global happenings in the world of eco fashion from ecotextilenews.com for the last few weeks. As to which effort wins the cool award, we’ll let you decide.

Welcome Rachel Dagdagan, our newest contributer and expert on London’s sustainable fashion scene! Rachel introduces us to the Centre for Sustainable Fashion – London’s HQ for what we’re all about!
Today we feature London designer Pia Stanchina who proves that a deep commitment to beauty and an even deeper commitment to sustainable design don’t have to be mutually exclusive – reaffirming what we’ve always believed here at GbD! Pia uses digital printing to save on water and energy and doesn’t sew tags in to her garments – a simple yet clever way to simplify!

It looks like both the current models of hybrid and electric are stopgap solutions. While both options are “greener” than driving a gas-powered car, they still don’t make any permanent resolutions. Instead, they just shift the problems elsewhere. It’s a typical, and temporary: Out of sight, out of mind.

In this era of global warming, energy crises, high gas prices, and deadly oil wars, most of us are just waiting for the gas powered car to go extinct. The hybrid car and its offspring, the electric car, are considered to be its successors, the solutions to our detrimental ways. But are these vehicles really the answers to our prayers?

In the realm of Motor Vehicles, there’s been an ongoing struggle between cars like the Prius and cars like the Hummer. Clearly on opposite sides of the spectrum, these two vehicles are often viewed as vehicular good and evil. However, every Good Guy has a secret, and as it turns out, the Prius is no exception.

On the outskirts of Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania, microenterprise is making a difference in the lives of rural villagers. Since 1987, Village Enterprise Fund (VEF), a non-profit based in San Carlos, California, has helped fund more than 16,000 small businesses.

Only 40 days into the Obama Administration and I’m already terrified. You see, the $3.6 trillion budget and $787 billion stimulus package not only signal broad and welcome shifts in economic priorities, they stir up some deep personal issues for me.

Efficiency. Not a word that usually makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside. Yet David and Sara Gottfried have applied the genius of “and” by making their award-winning home welcoming, comfy, and highly efficient.

In citing the top three factors that drive real estate valuation, the universal drum beat ‘Location, Location, Location’ has been around forever. For sure, location is a big part of the green home, but to create the greenest of homes we need to step it up a level.

David and Sara Gottfried’s Oakland, California home is the ne plus ultra of green by design. Based on its LEED Platinum certification and GreenPoint Rating, the recent restoration of their 1915 Craftsman house has generated the highest green scores of any home in the United States. Their property is off-the-charts green.

OK, fess up: you’ve secretly resolved to exercise more this year. Or eat more healthily. Or learn a second language, take up juggling, watch less TV, stop taking your iPhone into the bathroom with you.

Cyclists can show wit and attitude as evidenced by the bumper sticker above. I first heard it from Abbie Durkee, professional mountain bike racer and founder of My Alibi, a women’s cycling clothier.

Happy New Year! Break out the champagne and party hats! Welcome to the fresh, new face of Green by Design!

The bald eagles have returned to Tomales Bay, right down the road from my house. Their presence generates optimism among bird lovers in our small northern California town, and the surge of activity in the green movement is cause for celebration. Read: I can’t wait for January 20.

When my partner and I designed and built the Nolalu Eco Centre, the largest solar-and-wind-powered straw bale facility in Ontario, we did it to accomplish something positive on behalf of the planet

Used wine bottle corks. Never give them much thought. After the corkscrew does its job, I simply throw corks away or find some arcane use, like guarding the tips of scissors or stabilizing a wobbly table leg.

It wasn’t my intention, but this is turning into Bamboo Week at Green by Design.
First came the PlybooPure story; then fun facts about bamboo. I keep running into more fascinating uses for this genius of a grass. This time it’s bamboo paper and letterpress printing—with a deeply ecological twist.

Looking back over the Green by Design blogs from past weeks, I spy a recurring theme: it’s not that easy being green. Our wise old friend Kermit the Frog knew what he was talking about.

Charlie Lazor is a polymath. That’s not name calling, but high praise for a man who brings insights from many disciplines to the modern prefab home.