You’ve switched out your light bulbs to make your home more efficient, you’re using “green” cleaning products around your house, you’re buying locally grown organic produce to reduce your environmental impact. But what about your own body? You know what you put into your body is important but what you put on it can be just as important! There are many ingredients used in skin and haircare products that are just downright bad for you and for the environment. The best thing you can do is read the labels of the products you’re using and do a bit of research to see what is in them. The Cosmetics Database from the Environmental Working Group is a great resource to check ingredients or specific product types and their level of safety. Ok.. so once you check out your product and see that most conventional products are not safe for you, your family, or the Earth you will need something new. It can be hard to find great products.. you could go the DIY route and make some of your own, the Vegan Beauty Review has some excellent suggestions, or if you want the two birds with one stone route you can bring your old yucky products to be recycled and get a discount on new, environmentally and body-friendly products from Green with Envy Organic Hair Studio on April 22nd.

I love the concept (and the people) at Green with Envy Organic Hair Studio! Their non-toxic approach is refreshing and a model that more salons need to follow. On top of their day to day wonderful lack of harsh chemical products, LEED certified building, and fabulous staff they are having a cool event for Earth Day so I thought you should know. Whether you need a new look or just a trim, I can’t recommend them highly enough and it looks like Earth Day, April 22nd is the day to check them out! Also, they have a referral program so tell your friends and for each one that drops your name you get 20% off your next service, how cool is that?

Come Celebrate Earth Day in Style!

The entire month of April is dedicated to being eco-conscious, and on Earth Day, April 22nd, Green with Envy will help you do your part!

Bring in your old hair care products (especially those aerosol hairsprays) and we will recycle them and give you 25% off new, eco-friendly, organic products!

Also, join us for a “green” fashion show starting at 10:30pm to promote Green with Envy’s grand opening and our contribution to keeping the world beautiful.

• Read about my experience at Green with Envy Organic Hair Studio
• Visit the Green with Envy Hair website
  

Green with Envy Organic Hair Studio
Optima Camel View Village, Suite 107, (Highland Ave & Scottsdale Rd)
7147 E. Rancho Vista Drive, #107
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phone: 480.553.7235

When most people think of environmentally friendly they think of crunchy hippies.. well.. less so these days but there is still that stigma that green and glamorous cannot go hand in hand. Green With Envy, a new hair salon in Scottsdale, blows this myth out of the water. With everything from their LEED certified building with denim insullation, water and energy efficient gadgets, toxin-free products all the way down to recycling the hair clippings they produce to make mats that help in the remediation of oil spills! Ok, so we know they have the Green part down but how is their service?

They have an introductory deal this month offering haircuts for $35 so you don’t have to take my word, you can’t afford to not go take them up on this deal. My friend, Abby (photo at the end of this post), turned me on to this place and I couldn’t pass it up. After hearing about all of thier great environmental aspirations I just had to try them. She got her hair cut first, loved it, and the next day it was my turn. The building itself is gorgeous with panels of sandstone all over the place, lush vegetation and water features, not the type of place you would associate with stringent environmental adherance but these LEED engineers know what they’re doing and efficiency is #1. There is no skimping in visual appeal, the Green With Envy salon is funky and clean with modern decor and a cheerful, restorative vibe.

Maggie Fink, the owner of Green with envy, is extremely friendly and dedicated to a great salon that does no harm to the planet. She was right up front when I came in and offered me some tea (which was fantastic, by the way). The entire staff was relaxed, fast, and friendly, not to mention terrifically talented! I could have fallen right to sleep when they washed my hair and massaged my scalp with quality shampoo that was scented with pure essential oils rather than the barage of chemical fragrance found in most salons. My stylist was Eric, I brought in a picture of what I was looking for and he did exactly what I was hoping for with the cut. A few more organic yummy products, some blow drying and I was out the door, looking great and feeling even better knowing that the locally owned Green with Envy Organic Hair Studio shares some of my values about the environment and is shaping their business around that.

I was so pleased with the results and would highly recommend this salon to anyone looking for a more eco-friendly way to stay beautiful without hurting the planet and support local business.

From their website, http://greenwithenvyhair.com:

WHAT MAKES US GREEN?

Designed by a LEED certified architect

First salon in the valley to exclusively use EcoColors (a non toxic color line) and carry and use only organic products

We donate the hair clippings to a non profit organization that uses them to create mats that clean up oil spills

Our sign and front desk were made using Kirei board, an eco-friendly substitute for wood, manufactured from reclaimed sorghum straw.

Soy-based concrete sealer

Dual-flush toilets

Recycled denim insulation

No VOC paint

Recycling Tank-less water heater

No aerosols

Recycled and reused fixtures for furniture and décor

Hybrid computers that use 70% less electricity than the average desktop.

A big part of sustainability is building community and that includes  getting out there to support local business and local services.  The fashion industry is not often equated with much of anything nice other than looking good.  It is particularly not known for being sustainable, but here is your chance to look great, support locally owned businesses, and contribute to a life saving cause. Paradise Valley Community College is holding an upcoming event to provide you that opportunity. They have put together an event called Fashion of Compassion, showcasing fashions from local boutiques with the proceeds going to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

It can be tough to find local clothing stores and the allure of convenience of big names and mega malls can be too much to resist when you don’t know where else to go. This is your chance to get informed on who is out there locally.  Just browsing through their websites (links below) there’s a lot to look forward to.  A worthy cause, supporting local business, with loads of fun fashion, sounds good to me! Be sure to tell your friends, the more people who attend, the more donations to the hospital and the more publicity for these local boutiques!

[Visit LocalFirstAZ.com to view more local boutiques]

PVCC Fashion of Compassion Evening Sept. 17

Alpha Omicron Chi, Paradise Valley Community College’s chapter of the international honor society Phi Theta Kappa, presents The Fashion of Compassion event from 5 to 9 p.m., Wenesday, Sept. 17 in the Center for Performing Arts on the PVCC Campus at Union Hills Boulevard and 32nd Street. Proceeds benefit Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Following the opening reception, Alexis Vance of Fox 10 News will emcee the fashion show from 6 to 7 p.m. Students and staff will model clothing from shops participating in the on-site bazaar including Roka Boutique, Spoken Boutique, Estilo Boutique, Red Haute Boutique, Rowdy Boutique, Wink Boutique, Strawberry Mondays, Prima Divaz, Grandma’s Lullaby Loft plus Bella and Gracie’s.

Laurie Bachand, PVCC President of Alpha Omicron Chi, says that in addition to the fashion show and clothing bazaar, there will be a silent auction for packages such as Dinner at Earl’s and a Harkins movie; horseback riding in Sedona with Red Rock Western Jeep Tours; gift certificates from Tesori Jewelers, Electric Lady Land, Divaz Boutique, T’s Accessories and Brass Heart; and hair styling with products from Carolyn’s Hair Salon.

Also, please bring your gently used CDs and DVDs to donate to the hospital’s play rooms. Keep in mind they are for youths up to age 17.

Tickets for the fashion show are $10 each, available at the door and include light refreshments from 5 to 6 p.m. provided by Bruce Brown Catering. Tickets are also available on campus in the Kranitz Student Center and by calling the CPA box office at 602-787-7738.

Essence Bakery and Cafe resides on Hardy and University, just a few blocks from Arizona State University in Tempe.  It is in the same building that one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Sabuddy, used to be in.  While Sabuddy just moved to Scottsdale it is a further drive from my local stomping grounds so I don’t get to go there much these days and while it is entirely irrational some how I held this against Essence and did not go there for ages. I finally bit the bullet and couldn’t resist their charming outdoor seating any longer. I stopped in for tea to go and it was great. Then this past weekend we decided to give it a real chance.. the true test. Brunch.

The decor was really cute, they redid everything with Earth-friendly paint and replaced countertops with recycled glass and old cabinets with bamboo.  Their remodeling has really paid off as the atmosphere is welcoming and the colors are really lovely and warm.  We eyed the pastry case while we waited, filled with fluffy cream puffs and boxes of adorable miniature cakes and sweet treats.  This would be the ideal place to pick up something special to celebrate.  James seemed to enjoy their fresh coffee as much as I enjoyed their tasty iced tea while we waited for our food. The menu is fantastic for anyone (vegetarians to foodies to locavores or even carnivores). They use “cage-free” eggs (though I have issues with that terminology, at least they are trying) and buy local and organic produce as often as they can.

I ordered the Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable sandwich from the lunch menu without the cheesy pesto (though it sounded delicious). They even went so far as to cut the cheese sprinkled on top of the focaccia bread off for me! Now that is service.  The sandwich was amazing, bursting with flavor from sweet roasted red repper, zucchini, eggplant done just right and organic greens.  The side salad was fabulous with nutritious and delicious dark green leafies abound and a light refreshing vinaigrette. I could not have been happier!

James had “The Big Breakfast” without the sausage. It came with 2 fried eggs, a golden mashed potato cake,  sautéed mushrooms and toast from freshly baked multigrain bread with jam.  He fell head over heels for these mashed potato cakes, it looked amazing, fluffy golden mashed potatoes inside with a crisp top.  Everything looked great and he was smitten.  He declared it his favorite breakfast in town! That is a big deal as there are some pretty serious contenders up there so I was impressed.  I tried some of his jam… it was like the jam from the inside of the best jelly donut you’ve ever tasted, jam you could only dream of! You think I’m kidding.. well.. a little bit I am but seriously, it is unbelievable jam. Get it!

I think we were both seriously impressed with Essence Bakery and would be fools to miss going there as often as we can.  With an incredibly friendly and accomodating staff, beautiful pastries, delicious and wide ranging menus, and an eye for eco-friendly, Essence has really gotten it right.

Our own Tracy Perkins was on a segment of Good Morning Arizona this past Friday! She was doing a soap making demo and promoting her eco-friendly, vegan bath and body products company Strawberry Hedgehog.

Friday morning we packed up all her soap making gear and headed down to 3TV’s studio. Once we arrived we had to wait a few mintues for a commercial break so that they could sneak us in the studio to setup. It was weird setting up all her stuff while the anchors were chatting and reporting the news just a few feet away. I was afraid we’d drop something big and interrupt them while they were on the air. We also couldn’t figure out how to get the stove on and none of the anchor’s or producers knew either! Luckily we finally found someone that knew how it worked and we got the stove on and the soap started. Everyone there was extremely friendly and made our trip down there fun. Dan Davis was great and made Tracy feel very comfortable on the air. Believe it or not they just wing the segment, no scripts or really any planning on how it will go. Sounds stressful to me but they seem to like it.

Tracy did great on her first TV appearance! Follow this link to her get her version of the story on her blog over at blog.strawberryhedgehog.com. Check out the video and below to see her in action, and be sure to visit StrawberryHedgehog.com for all your eco-friendly, cruelty free bath and body needs.

A million thanks to Jessie from Jessiebell Designs for making the awesome hand dyed and screened, 100% organic cotton apron that Tracy wore on air. It turned out amazing!