Plastics are not your friend.

A couple of weeks ago in Long Beach came the culmination of several months worth of planning on a big event I'd produced, the Plastics Are Forever International Youth Summit. The name says it all in regard to the conference's environmental focus. Plastics, as it should no longer be a surprise to you, do not go away. The science of it all is far beyond my meager, layman brain. But the simple facts are pretty darned simple. People use and trash disposable plastics like they are going out of style. And the truth is that they've been way out of style ever since we learned about recycling some odd decades ago. What happens to your discarded Diet Coke bottles, straws, and shiny plexi things, you ask? Well, the ones you don't recycle end up in our oceans, in the fish, and on your dinner plate (not mine, of course as I'm a vegetarian, but I digress). But recycling is not alone the answer. Reduction in consumption is the real key to solving the plastic problem and it begins with YOU.

How can you help?

* Carry your own, reusable water bottle. I love my Nalgene that I picked up at Target.
* REFUSE to accept plastic bags when shopping. No, you do NOT want a bag for your gum at 7-Eleven. Keep a canvas tote in your car. Okay they're not all that cute. So buy yourself a fancy one. The FEED Bag will make you feel trendy while you shop in eco-style. Do whatever you need to.
* Support organizations like LA's own Plastic Pollution Coalition that are taking strides against the plastic problem. You can help PPC's efforts by donating, volunteering, or even buying some pretty incredible art by the likes of Raymond Pettibon (see image above), Pam Longobardi and the org's founder and artist Dianna Cohen.

Emily Factor designs eco-fashion that's actually fashionable.

Eco-fashion has gotten a bad wrap. When most of us think of green clothing lines, we think of neutral color palettes--hues that evoke muddy swamp water and hippies with hairy underarms--shapes that are less shape and more sack.

Emily Factor, the youngest of a long lineage of Factors (yes, that Max Factor-Factor), has changed all that as illustrated in her S/S 12 collection, shown this past Saturday in Hollywood.

The colors are bold. The necklines are low. The silhouettes are interesting. The pants and maxi dresses are to die for. This is eco-fashion I'd proudly traipse across town to the recycling center in. Um, on my fuel-free bike of course.

Invitation: LA Premiere of 180 South

A couple of months ago I had the unreal pleasure of seeing 180 South at its premiere at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Now, Angelenos, y'all can see this amazing film too. It's premiering in LA next Tuesday and you're officially invited. Well, this blog post is just about as official as it's gonna get.

$15 will get you into the screening, the Q&A with the illustrious filmmaking and jetsetting Malloys and adventurer and star of the doc, Jeff Johnson, and a musical performance by an artist from the film's rad soundtrack (which includes the likes of The Shins, Modest Mouse and Jack Johnson).

See you next Tuesday friends.