I have already mentioned one of my favorite local children's clothing stores: A Repeat Performance, at NE 48th and Fremont (Chinook Book coupon: 20% off). Well, now along with offering second-hand clothing, they have some new eco-conscious options: lovely organic cotton and bamboo t-shirts, onesies, and more for babies. They feel wonderful! A Repeat Performance also sells many clothing lines created by locals. Check them out! They have my approval. :)

Oh yeah, and I nearly forgot to mention: check out that cutie in the green coat! More...

Your calendar is chock full of cocktail parties, work parties and general holiday festivities. As you stare into the depths (or shallows, for some us) of your closet staring at your fall back black dress, you soon realize that the one you have long depended on, like an old friend, is just not going to cut it anymore. Perhaps the hemline is just a tad high at this stage in the game, despite your fabulous gams, or maybe it is showing the good times you have had in it just a little too much. It's time to retire your stand by and slip into a little black dress that's green to boot. Here are a few of my faves: More...

We're fortunate to have one of the founding boutiques of green fashion right here in Portland, so we will be sure to stop by the sale now through Sunday the 18th. Greenloop carries national and local brands from some of our favorites. More...

If you missed it last year, be sure to take it in this year as the creative energy behind this show is amazing! I was fortunate to be a judge at last year's show and the ensembles that strutted down that runway were truly inspired. Check out last year's panel of judges. More...

If you missed it last year, be sure to take it in this year as the creative energy behind this show is amazing! I was fortunate to be a judge at last year's show and the ensembles that strutted down that runway were truly inspired. Check out last year's panel of judges. More...

Turns out clothespins aren’t just for preschool arts and crafts projects. Did you know there is a “right-to-dry” movement happening? Because apparently air-drying your clothes has gone from a once-upon-a time symbol of being too poor to afford the luxury of a dryer to today’s emblem of at-home green activism. It’s just that it’s not so popular with many Neighborhood Homeowners Associations. Driving to an appointment last week, I caught wind of this debate on Charlie FM: The angry neighbors of a Bend woman are threatening legal action against her for using a clothesline in defiance of the Neighborhood Association’s rules.

The story actually made it to the Wall Street Journal. Can you imagine deciding to hang your laundry out one day because you think it’s the right thing to do for the environment and the next thing you know you’re getting hate mail and featured in national newspapers as an unwitting spokesperson for the “right-to-dry movement”? If you’re curious, check out Project Laundry List for more information about your right-to-dry. I’m sorry, do I sound like I’m mocking the movement? I’m not. I’m making fun of the fact that there has to be such a thing in the first place. Factoid of the day: clothes dryers account for 6 percent of total electricity consumed by U.S. households, according to the Wall Street Journal article.

On the local radio station this morning, I’m proud to say most callers supported the woman’s choice in hanging out her laundry. Still, I was surprised how many people considered clotheslines “ghetto” and “unsightly.” The question posed to listeners: what would you do if your neighbor put out a clothesline?

I would ask if I could borrow it. Really. My neighbor put up more than a mere clothesline, she’s got this entire system going on. It’s in her backyard, but we can all see it. It just didn’t occur to me to care. And I really did ask her if I could borrow it after deciding to go the cloth diaper route. Air-drying the diapers seemed like a logical next step for my intentions to move in a greener direction. Loretta was happy to let me use her line, “anytime.”

This started an unexpected round of comments from, uh, loved ones: “You’re not really going to line dry the diapers are you?” Um. Yeah. “Well, they’ll be so scratchy and hard on the baby’s bottom!” I don’t say what I’m really thinking, instead I change the subject to something less loaded. Like the weather.

I actually enjoyed hanging the diapers out. It made me feel good to be doing that one small thing. I even thought the diapers looked so cute hanging out there, I made Matt come out and take a look right when he got home from work.

“Aww. So how many times do you think you’ll gaze adoringly at this particular scene?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is the last time.” Who knew this simple green act could be considered rebellious? More...

Nearly two years ago, when we were about to have our daughter Selah, we found ourselves in desperate need of, well, everything! We received lots of nice gifts in our baby showers, many of them very cute outfits, and yet still found ourselves lacking. It was then that I discovered something very obvious, and yet something that not many parents seem to truly take advantage of: recycling children’s clothing!

My friend Tabasco (okay, I made that up; I am protecting her identity and it was the first thing to come to mind.), who lives in California, has a daughter about two years older than Selah, and I asked if we could borrow, then return her daughter’s clothing. I felt nervous about asking, but desperation is the mother of necessity, or something like that. I don’t know that we were even all that close at the time, but I asked anyway, and she very generously handed over bags and bags of clothing, separated according to size. More...