According to the Organic Farm and Fiber Report 2007, organic cotton sales rose 53 per cent in a two-year period, driven by demand from the clothing and home product industries.
Saving the World One Handbag at a Time
Celebrities are at the forefront of the green living movement endorsing hybrid cars, making films that create environmental awareness, and, lately, embracing eco-fashion. New York’s recent Fashion Week featured “green” fabrics as well as vintage and recycled clothing, and it’s no surprised that Hollywood celebrities are now toting environmentally-friendly handbags. Eva Longoria, Heidi Klum, America Ferrara, Kate Walsh and Serena Williams have purchased “Rebagz”, colorful bags in a variety of shapes and sizes made from recycled juice pouches and nylon rice bags.
Rebagz is the brainchild of Marty Stevens-Heebner, a human-rights worker from Buffalo, N.Y. and graduate of Cornell University. Her idea for an eco-friendly fashion company was inspired by her meeting with a group of women creating woven products with recycled juice packs. She knew she could provide fair trade prices for the women and ensure that the workers who made her bags would be operating under good working conditions.
The bright Rebagz™ products currently come in two different lines. The woven line is made from recycled juice packs that are cut into strips and woven together to create vivid visual patterns. These feature tote, shoulder or shopping bags and mini-bags, that can be used for cosmetics, phones or worn on the wrist.
The nylon rice bag line includes bags that can fit a laptop, or smaller pouches that are lightweight and good for traveling. The eye-catching designs bear logos from rice bags used in the Philippines, which are made to capture attention within the competitive marketplace.
Stevens-Heebner sells Rebagz™ through Poshmark and Amazon. Prices range from $24 to $90.
Photo: Poshmark
Macy’s Back-to-School Promotion Raises Record $2.5M for Reading Program
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), the nation’s oldest and largest children’s and family literacy organization, announced that a six-week promotion held at all Macy’s stores has raised a record $2.5 million, which will be used to fund new books for underserved children in a multicultural literacy campaign.
Iron Man Completes 13-Year Human-Powered World Trip
British adventurer Jason Lewis on Saturday arrived in Greenwich, south-east London, ending a 13-year round-the-world trip using only the power of the human body. Thanks to Danelle for the tip. (Video and text)
Korean Leaders Declare Commitment to Peace
Almost a year after North Korea tested an atomic weapon, the nation’s leader pledged to permanently shut-down nuclear operations by year’s end and pursue peace with South Korea, as the two nations wrapped up their historic summit as the world’s last cold war opponents. (AFP w/ photos)
Schools Riding an Eco-Friendly Green Wave
Kansas City area schools are reducing energy, taking steps to lower school-bus emissions, and constructing green buildings that improve air-quality and provide more sunlight. (Kansas City Star)
High above the Concrete are Green Patches of Heaven
You might have to crane your neck to see the most exciting thing happening in places like Kansas City — in the city and suburbs, on top of schools and offices, rooftop gardens are sprouting.
Woman Turns in Bag Stuffed With $65,000
“A county garbage operations employee found a plastic bag on the road stuffed with $65,000 Thursday — and immediately turned it in to authorities.” (AP)
‘Extinct’ Frog Found in Forest
"A tiny frog thought to have been wiped out by global warming has been found alive and well in a remote Costa Rican forest by a British scientist." (Metro.UK w/ cute photo)
Million Toads Getting Help to Cross Highway
"Human hands have helped move about a million young western toads across a deadly highway after Canada transportation officials set up plastic fences to herd the little amphibians into buckets for safe transport last month." (Times Colonist w/ cute photo)
Rare White Koala Nursed Back to Health (Video)
A koala hospital in New South Wales, Australia, has nursed a rare, white koala back to health — and returned it to the wild — after it was found dangerously ill.
Kim Jong-Il Becomes Football Hero for Summit Bloggers
Kim Jong-Il, best known as the reclusive leader of communist North Korea, is getting an image makeover — as a football hero. Bloggers were given downloads of official sketches portraying the ordinarily stodgy and reserved Kim in football shorts and jersey to help publicize the historic inter-Korean summit.
The Everyman Who Exposed Tainted Toothpaste
"People around the world had been using toothpaste containing an ingredient of antifreeze, and until one man in Panama blew the whistle, no one seemed to know it." (NY Times) Thanks to Joseph Dise for the link!
Cox Commits Random Acts of Kindness for Surprised Residents (Video)
A big corporation in Lakewood, Ohio, instead of giving money to local charity as they usually do, decided to conduct a day-long spree of kindness surprising citizens wherever they found them with free pizzas, gift cards for gas and dinners at restaurants. The goal was to brighten peoples’ day but it also created the image of Cox as a caring company.
Legendary California University Puts Courses on YouTube
The University of California, Berkeley is embracing the Internet revolution by putting more than 300 hours of free videos of courses on YouTube.
North and South Korean Leaders Move Closer to Peace (Video)
Old Cold War foes, North and South Korea met face to face in only the second time the divided countries have held such a high level summit. (Thanks to S. Ghent for the heads up!)
Working Together to Avoid Another Darfur
"On the southern fringe of the Sahara Desert herders and farmers with a bitter history of fighting over dwindling resources are now working together to stop a common enemy: the desert’s increasingly rapid advance." (CS Monitor) Thanks to S Ghent for submitting the link!
Couple Celebrates 80th Anniversary
"An Alabama couple recently celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary, in one of the longest marriages of the Guinness Book of records." (AP) Thanks to S Ghent for submitting the link.
Newsletter Glitch to Confirm Subscriptions
Editor’s Note – Hey Everybody! We got emails from the Good News Network today asking us to reconfirm our subscriptions! I clicked on it and it is definitely from the Good News servers and is sent from my newsletter software — however, I don’t know why. Just to let you know with this quick note that I will check with my IT guys to determine what is the cause as soon as possible. From October 1-2, I am back in Las Vegas for a seminar with David Neagle, the millionaire success coach… More later!
Sailors Raise Cash and Beer Mugs for Charity
This weekend marks the annual intersection of sailing, beer drinking and charitable giving, a mix more harmonious because it is set on the shores of Lake Michigan, in the beer capital of America — Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A group of the city’s sailors in 1999 basically wanted one more sailing regatta before they had to pull their boats from the water and turn their attention to snow shovels. The eager yachtsmen staged Louie’s Last Regatta, a charity event which raised $900 for the Children’s Hospital of Milwaukee. Just 12 boats participated. In 2006 the regatta raised over $123,000 and filled the sails of 131 registered boats. Louie’s Last Regatta continues to grow, its beer-can-shaped race coarse becoming one of the largest single charity regattas in the nation.