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Green living, playful parenting and the pursuit of happiness

Horny Toad: Fitness AND Eco Fashion Friday. BOOM.

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They loved him up and turned him into a… horny toad.

-Delmar, ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’

 

OK, so the video has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with this post, but it’s what I think of every time.

Back in October I was in Boulder Colorado checking out the Green House, and we were given Horny Toad gear to wear for our Saturday morning yoga class.

I am super picky about my clothes anymore, and I love my Horny Toad gear, in spite of the fact that what I have is a full size too small. More on that later.

It’s not cheap, just so we’re clear on that upfront. It’s meant to be quality wear that lasts, and I don’t mind paying for that.

Horny Toad is eco-friendly

Horny Toad is a Santa Barbara-based company that produces fitness and casual wear. The majority of their line is made with sustainable fibers like organic cotton, and ‘clean cellulosics such as Tencel® and Modal® and also recycled poly.’ They claim their products age well, and I believe it: they are definitely well-made. They also say that they look good longer, so you can go longer between washes, and I can go along with that. They don’t wrinkle up quickly and something about the texture of the color (if that makes any sense) makes them look freshly put-on for longer.

Horny Toad is responsible

  • creation of the Planet Access Company: along with Search, a Chicago not-for-profit, PAC provides training and employment for those with developmental disabilities.
  • In addition, they fund outdoor trips for PAC workers and Horny Toad employees.
  • Horny Toad (and sister company Nau) locations are powered with energy from green-e certified wind farms. Employee commutes and sales force travels are offset for a lighter footprint.
  • Support of local issues and events: it’s a long list.
  • Voted by Outdoor magazine as a 2010 Best Place to Work, based on work environment, environmentally friendly business process and company-supported employee work-outdoor life balance.

Horny Toad fits true to size

Too bad for me, the only size options they had on hand were large and small. I am broad shouldered and tallish and don’t particularly like when my clothes get too grabby; I generally wear a medium for comfort. The small fits, but since yoga clothes are by nature form-fitting, the pants especially are more tight than I like. Fine for at-home and with a long layer overtop; not so fine for taking photos of myself and posting to the internet. Sorry, Charlie.

Horny Toad is good yoga and fitness wear for tall people

This is probably my favorite feature. The pants have two additional self-healing seams— meaning that they come to you long and you can cut to where you need them and they won’t fray. Usually workout pants are just a hair too short on me and I look stupid in my floods.

Horny Toad is wicked comfortable

Horny Toad jacketI have a thing about seams. I don’t like to be aware of them. These seams don’t bug me in the least and I LOVE THEM. The fabric is also impossibly soft. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s a tad tight (giving me a slight grasshopper look) I’d probably live in my Horny Toad gear.

I DO practically live in my (not sure what to call it; it doesn’t have a hood) let’s say jacket. It’s slightly different than the one that the site has for sale right now (pictured below); it’s a full zip with a collar that I wear folded over or popped depending on my mood or the chill in the air. It’s soft and really warm without adding any bulk, and it doesn’t look like workout gear. The clean lines and quality fabric just make it look nice, not to mention slimming, and I wear it all the time.

Horny Toad offers an awesome guarantee

“Wear any Horny Toad piece, and if you don’t get a compliment within 3 wearings, send it back. Or, if you simply find something wrong with it, we’ll take it back for refund or replacement.” How about THAT?

Horny Toad has this dress.

Ever since I tried the Uniform Project I’ve been especially on the lookout for items that have multiple wear possibilities. I think I need this dress for summer.

 

Metamorphose Dress from Horny Toad ~ Convertible Wear

 

 

Horny Toad seems like real people.

Go check out their website. They just seem like incredibly fun and genuine people with a social and eco conscience and exactly the kind of company I love to support.

Once I get a little cash in my hot little hands I’ll be buying fitness gear that actually fits me from Horny Toad ’cause I’m loyal like that.

What brands do you like to work out in?

 

Horny Toad Eco Activewear

 

 


 

Check out other Fashion Friday posts here and link up if you wrote your own 🙂

 

 

Fatal Attraction: Cosmetics and Chemicals

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What’s in that lotion you’re slathering all over your newborn’s delicate skin?

How about in that mascara which comes in contact with your eyes?

It’s important to think about what’s in your beauty products— because this is is stuff you put on your skin (your largest organ) over and over again to be absorbed into your body. What might be the long-term effects of that exposure? It could be ugly.

To see how your fave products stack up, search for them on EWG’s Skin Deep Database or on the Good Guide. (Download the Good Guide app and you can just scan a product’s barcode with your phone to get its score!)

 

cosmetics toxic

 Created by: Cosmetology School

Patagonia: Eco Fashion is Ethical Fashion

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patagonia

Because the greenest product is the one that already exists.

-from the Patagonia website

Patagonia is a clothing company that’s taking sustainability seriously.

I’ve been meaning to write about them ever since they ran an ad on Black Friday that read “Don’t buy this jacket,” with this copy:

The environmental cost of everything we make is astonishing. Consider the R2 Jacket shown, one of our best sellers. To make it required 135 liters of water, enough to meet the daily needs (three glasses a day) of 45 people. Its journey from its origin as 60% recycled polyester to our Reno warehouse generated nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, 24 times the weight of the finished product. This jacket left behind, on its way to Reno, two-thirds its weight in waste… There is much to be done and plenty for us all to do. Don’t buy what you don’t need. Think twice before you buy anything.

We’re then invited to take the Common Threads Initiative pledge, which asks you to reduce, reuse, and repair. Only when you’ve exhausted the usefulness of your item, should you then recycle. And then Patagonia introduces a the fifth R, to reimagine a world where we take only what nature can replace.

It all seems counter-intuitive and somewhat gimmicky, and at the time I thought the selling point was that their clothing was hardy and well-made from quality fabrics and therefore long-lasting; so by BUY LESS they really meant buy Patagonia and you won’t need to buy as often. Which, don’t get me wrong, is a very valid argument.

But Patagonia totally seems to be putting their money where their mouth is.

  • You can have your clothing repaired and your footwear resoled through the company; they will pay for repairs that they’re responsible for and charge a fair price for repairs due to normal wear and tear.
  • You can recycle your Patagonia clothing by sending it to them or dropping off at a store, “ideally, while you’re running other errands, to reduce environmental impact.” What’s salvageable is repurposed. Totally worn out garments are recycled into new fiber or fabric.
  • The cycle is closed with items for purchase made from recycled textiles.
  • “Nothing wearable should be hoarded; useful things should be in circulation.” Patagonia has established an online store on eBay green where you can resell your used clothing or buy from other sellers. Since their clothing is built to last, these recycled items are likely to be in good condition.
  • The company donates factory seconds to activists in the field and to those who have lost their belongings in disasters.
  • The site allows you to ask questions about the product right there on the item description page, which helps you to make the right decisions as to fit and suitability. How is that eco fashion? Let me ask you… how many times have you bought something only to have it languish in your closet because the fit was off? Not to mention the resources saved by not having to do a return.
  • And finally, Patagonia is one of California’s first Benefit Corporations, meaning that the company is committed to achieving “general public benefit.” While other companies are legally bound to maximize profits,

Companies that incorporate as Benefit Corps must consider an array of stakeholders beyond shareholders, including workers, suppliers, the environment and the local community. They must measure their progress toward that goal against a third-party standard.

It’s a solid, all-around corporate ethic, one that a person can be proud to support with their dollar. Hopefully it’s sustainable for them as a company— inspiring others to follow suit.

Confession:
I’ve never purchased anything Patagonia. Will I love it?