Iannone

We've mentioned this Philly-based design group before, but they're getting great reviews in the NYT's coverage of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and are worthy of another mention. If it's not reclaimed or recycled, it's been ecologically harvested, and though the lines are heavy on the credenza and four-legged dining table varieties, they're memorable, and a fine launching pad for a 29 year-old designer heading out on his own:

"IANNONE DESIGN LTD. is a Philadelphia based design/build firm dedicated to the creation of eco-friendly modern furniture."

Fair Trade SF

We know. It's so damn trendy. An iMac or two has been stolen. (Or more?) You don't approve of your artists sitting so proximate to programmers. And you like standing in line for 20 minutes at Blue Bottle better. But when we were recently asked by a corporate office manager where she could order fair trade coffee for delivery to downtown movers and shakers we kept coming back to the best coffee we've had in SF: Ritual Roasters. (They now deliver.)

The short list of fair trade notables
Ritual Coffee: 1026 Valencia, 1634 Jerrold (Yes, the Bayview). All coffee is fair trade, some is organic.

Tartine Bakery: 600 Guerrero. All coffee is fair trade, all organic. (i.e., You can get your long line, and also get your fair trade.)
Coffee to the People: 1206 Masonic. All fair trade, all organic. (Happily lose an hour at their site... )
Rockin' Java 1821 Haight. All fair trade, all organic.
People's Cafe: 1419 Haight. Any house blend is fair trade and organic (though we must note that you won't write home about it.)

And two organic notables we can't forget (The full list would be exhaustive.)
Blue Bottle Coffee Company: 315 Linden. All organic, some fair trade (ahem.)
Cafe Organica: 562 Central. All organic, almost all fair trade.
The list goes on and on and on re: organic in SF. We'll add to it as we have a spare second.

Photo credit: Ritual Roasters by Tingting H.

Strange Bedfellows

When thinking about sustainability, Home Depot doesn't usually come immediately to mind, but perhaps changes are afoot. Global Green has teamed up with the Home Depot Foundation to rebuild the Katrina-devasted Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orlean's 9th Ward. Is Home Depot finally beginning to see what the future holds for it? We would like to think so, but perhaps we won't start holding our breath just yet... This next bit is challenging to muster too: props to Brad Pitt. He gave this project some celebrity shine which undoubtedly attracted additional supporters plus he put up $200K toward the Sustainable Design Competition for New Orleans.

A quick comment on the winning design: we wonder why more entires didn't emulate the classic southern architecture of New Orleans. Still we're happy for the city and certain it's a matter of time before sustainable design can be imbued in all sorts of different architectural styles rather than being reserved exclusively for the modernists.

"All Cooped Up in a Manhattan Co-op"

It's kind-of real estate related, definitely organic, and you can probably get away with it in SF. Another endearing, well-written New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/garden/17chickens.html

Because It's Friday...

The carbon footprint you've been leaving at happy hour could be tinier. 360 Vodka's home page contains a pretty-bizarre Orwellian-ishly-narrated mpeg ("MOTHER EARTH. TERRA FIRMA. HOME...") outlining the primary ways we're sealing our doom, and most of the site is still under construction, but here's what is stated: 360's paper label is 100% chlorine free; all elements of the packaging are recycleable; 85% of the bottle is made of recycled glass; and, apparently, every bushel of grain is actually utilized in making the vodka.

Thank you to the Luxist list for the tip.

Nettleton's The Luxury of Enough

The Taunton Press has published architecture professor Sarah Nettleton's guide to efficient living (not more efficient if it doesn't need to be, not simpler if it already is: efficient and simple living, period.) The photography alone in The Simple Home could hold your interest, but the concepts themselves are equally gripping, zen as they are. And while every concept is not born from a specifically "green" mentality, Nettleton is a sustainably-minded architect and key themes from the book, like establishing a culture of minimal and letting every object and its manufacture be well-considered are as core to green living as it gets. $40, or $26.40 on Amazon.

"1": The First Luxury Eco-friendly Global Hotel Brand

Barry Sternlicht (W Hotels, Sheraton, St. Regis, Westin = Starwood) is outdoing himself again. In 2008 he'll launch the first hotel of his new "1" Hotels and Residences chain, in Seattle at Second and Pine Streets. "1" will be categorized as "eco-luxury", not "eco-ultra-luxury," though it also aims to compete with St. Regis and Four Seasons. The typical hotel will offer ~250 rooms and locations will immediately follow in Mammoth Mountain, California, Scottsdale, Arizona, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Paris. A staggered following is slated for NYC and L.A. Most impressively, "1s" won't just be built green; they will operate green too. According to Hotel Law Blog, 15 "1" hotels will be under construction before October 2008. According to Sternlicht, all will be marketing to "the guilt-conscious yuppie."

It's undecided whether we will ever be able to refer to the brand as 1, not "1."

Finally, They Have Arrived to Help

They've stopped 341 million pounds (pounds) of junk mail so far, and need your help in stopping up to 99% of yours. This is perhaps the greatest business idea I've seen in a year. For a dime a day, Green Dimes gets out there onto the Do Not Call battlefields to fight against every piece of junk mail en route to you. And they plant a tree for you each month. For $36 a year, you can give this gift to yourself or to a friend, or add another household member to your address' workforce for only $3 more. Yes, you can still get Pottery Barn Kids if you need it -- just tell Green Dimes who to let through your mailslot.

p.s. I have just been reminded to wish you all a Happy Worker's Solidarity Day, from this desk I have chained myself to.