Sustainable Style...at long last

On January 28, 2011, I happened to be walking down 6th Ave in Seattle and shocked and amazed to see the the words "Sustainable Style" plastered across the storefront of the H&M store. Its actually a term I coined over a decade ago. Later, in 2003, I co-founded a nonprofit with Rebecca Luke called the Sustainable Style Foundation (SSF) to educate, support, and inspire people from all walks of life to make more sustainable lifestyle choices. I remember many people saying that the 'sustainable style' was an oxymoron and certainly wouldn't capture the hearts and minds of mainstream consumers. Since that time we've seen everything from green issues of Vogue and green initiatives in the NFL to green Olympics and green Oprah giveaways. So now, to see the words 'sustainable style' being used in H&M ads, for museum projects, and in newspaper headlines makes me a pretty happy camper. I'm not all that involved with SSF anymore, but I still follow their efforts and am a big fan. In the end, I'm just happy to say that all the effort in starting, growing, and maintaining SSF was worth it...it worked!

It turns out that H&M has a pretty robust sustainable style and corporate responsibility program...in fact it is their 2nd year into a multi-year effort to make all of their products sustainable. Sadly, I don't fit very well in most of their clothing, but they do have some pretty cool stuff so stop by a store or surf their website to take a look. let's make sure to reward them for their good behavior!

Questions to Korten and Long on KUOW's Weekday

I recently posed questions to economist and author, David Korten, and Michelle Long, Executive Director of BALLE and co-founder of Bellingham's Sustainable Connections, on KUOW's Weedkay with Steve Scher. I've been a guest on KUOW in the past on the topic of sustainable design (find it here) so its always fun to call in with questions when the opportunity arises. For this show, I asked Korten and Long how they thought local living economies could make it mainstream, as well as what they thought the future might be if the trend in localized economies continues. Scher always puts on a great show and Korten and Long were both eloquent and super informed on the topic so it was a fantastic discussion. You can find the podcast here. You'll find my short questions near the end of the show.

First eBook Review

Originally posted on Future-ish - I'm pleased to announce that I finally broke down and purchased my first eBook. Not that I was opposed to it or anything, I just hadn't found any new titles I wanted to read yet. I tried for Alvin Toffler's 1970 Future Shock, but alas, no electronic version was available. Lucky for me, I happened upon Nick Bilton's book I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works. I'm only a few pages...er, I mean percentages...in and I'm already enjoying both the book and the electronic format. I went with the Kindle app on my iPhone and am pretty happy with all the little bells and whistles. As long as I can highlight and add notes, I'm a happy camper. I did purchase my first robot earlier this year, an iRobot Scuba, so I'm not too far behind the times.

I will say that it is a bit trippy (slang appropriate for both decades in which these books were written) reading I Live in the Future after Future Shock, but I'll save a discussion of all the connections until I finish both. Stop back in for a full report soon.

Update: 12/4/10...

I just finished the book and was actually pretty pleased with both the ebook experience and the actual content. I would say that Bilton isn't living all that far off into the future, but his understanding of past, present, and future media did provide a good framework with which to ponder where things are going. Everyone seems to be blogging about what lies ahead for journalism and social media so I none of Bilton's key points were all that revolutionary as I've heard them from may other authors and bloggers. I did really appreciate his many anecdotes for how to think about what is to come, however. The fact that surgeons with a background in video games may perform better is a great thing to tell your folks who complained about your hours behind the console. Bilton's point near the end of his book in which he points out that new media doesn't allow any of us to make mistakes or forget things is poignant too. All in all, a great read for sure. Like the movie theater vs. 'wait for the dvd debate' with books you have the paper vs ebook deliberation. I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works isn't one of the titles that requires the romance of a hard copy book read by the fire. Rather, it is the perfect format and content for a quick ebook read...especially considering the online extras that come with the book, QR codes and all (like the one below that references this particular blog post).

Press | The Intersection

The Intersection. November 2010. God Bless America (and its scientific capacity). Science journalist and author Chris Mooney calls out Sean in his Discover Magazine blog, The Intersection, for bringing Brad Paisley's pro science song and video Welcome to the Future to his attention via Future-ish.com.

Little Bright Light

Could green get any cuter? The Solar Pocket Light from MoMA offers both form and function. With bamboo, PLA, and LED components it makes the best little green gift around...for you or someone else.