What better way to commemorate Earth Day than by celebrating the women who make the world go 'round: Moms.
The Moms Project, created by editor and photographer Lauri Levenfeld, features real, inspiring women who are juggling their roles as working mothers, while simultaneously remaining fashionable and even eco-friendly. Levenfeld's subjects come from a wealth of backgrounds; they are entrepreneurs, philanthropists, actors, artists, designers, and businesswomen with expertise in business, environment, community, family, home, beauty, health, art, music, fashion and kids.
This month, TMP is centering on growth—the inner and outer wellness of the body and mind, as well as family, community, and the earth—featuring six outstanding mothers, including Palo Alto-born Zem Joaquin, founder of Eco-Fabulous and editor of the Huffington Post Home & Lifestyle.
Known as the eco-luxury expert, Joaquin's eye for design was honed by years of working at Splendora and living in Europe's most fashionable capitals. Eco-Fabulous has become the ultimate resource of all things stylish and sustainable, ranging from kids clothes to beauty products. "I wanted to invite people into the glamorous world of eco-fashion and show how grown-up it has become," Joaquin said. "The goal was to focus on buying organic to reduce pesticides in soil and groundwater. We are thinking local to support our communities and reduce CO2 associated with transportation. We also feature recycled materials to eliminate the need for extraction of virgin resources. The results are beautiful."
In honor of Earth Day, Joaquin offers 10 simple ways to make your home and family more eco-savvy:
1. Leave your shoes at the door. Why track in all of the chemicals and feces from the streets?
2. Get a Brizo One Touch faucet or put a foot pedal under your sink to control flow. You will be amazed by how much water you will save!
3. Every time an incandescent light goes out, replace it with an LED.
4. Only use eco-friendly cleaning products. In the past they didn't work as well and were hard to find, but Seventh Generation and Method make superior cleaners for everything in your home. Wal-Mart even has a house brand that is quite effective.
5. Make sure any new furniture and paint you get is free of formaldehyde and other VOC's.
6. If you aren't vegetarian, meatless Mondays will cut down on you carbon footprint or go one step further and do what the founder of Treehugger Graham Hill does: "Weekday Veg" means that you save meat as a treat for the weekends. I'm a fan of Beyond Meat, a product that has the consistency and taste of chicken but not the negative environmental or health implications.
7. Get a water filter. Under sink or atop your counter, plastic bottles are completely unnecessary, if you filter your own tap water. I fill stainless steel bottles like S'well or glass bottles like BKR and LifeFactory and pack them for all family members. If you are going to be out somewhere without access to clean water, pack a Bobble, which has a built-in filter. Kids love them!
8. Pack no waste lunches. My daughter adores her Planet Box stainless steel lunch box, which is carved out into just-right compartments for organic treats. My son is a fan of UKonserve. He likes big portions with less variety in his stainless bento-box containers. Steel is recyclable, easy to clean and doesn't collect bacteria. Make sure you pack reusable cutlery too. I'm a fan of To-go Ware.
9. Opt for organic sheets and clothes. If that is too steep an order, just make sure that when you buy new ones, the fabric is not mixed. For instance, something that is cotton mixed with polyester can't biodegrade, nor can it be recycled like either of those fabrics on their own would be.
10. Use an eco-friendly skincare line. There are so many excellent lines now, there is no reason to use conventional when 60 percent of what you put on your skin gets absorbed into your bloodstream. Favorites are Tatcha, Tata Harper, Nude, Juice Beauty, Weleda and on the accessible side, Yes To (Blueberries is the best).
11. BONUS: Go solar! It can even be free with providers like Solar City.
Photos courtesy of Lauri Levenfeld/ Photographer & Mary Gonsalves Kinney/ Stylist at Style Army.
