Ecouterre » Eco-Friendly Accessories

NeuroKnitting Creates Personalized Scarves Based on Your Brainwaves

Morgana Matus — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:00:47 +0000

You already knew that you could wear your heart on your sleeve, but what about your brain on your neck? Artists Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet have teamed up with researcher Sebastian Mealla to create NeuroKnitting, a project that explores the how brain signals interact with technology and textiles. Using Bach’s “Goldberg’s Variations” to invoke emotional responses, brainwaves are collected via an wearable EEG headset and transferred to the “Knitic” machine which assembles scarves into bicolor patterns reflecting the wearer’s moods.

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Lily Cole Debuts Wild Rubber Jewelry That Benefits Amazon Rainforest

Jasmin Malik Chua — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:00:30 +0000

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Ukrainian Carpenter Carves Functioning Watches Entirely From Wood

Helen Morgan — Wed, 29 May 2013 12:00:26 +0000

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Thread & Loom’s Fairly Hand-Loomed Bags Fund Girls’ Education in India

Amanda Coen — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:58 +0000

Photos by Amanda Coen for Ecouterre

Socially-driven accessories company, Thread & Loom introduces itself to the world with a line of handbags that make for the perfect spring and summer carry-all item. The resort-meets-urban collection is defined by classic shapes that draw the eye with neon accents. Founder Gargi Agrawal personally oversees production in India to ensure that artisans are paid a fair wage and that materials are sourced responsibly. A strong supporter of women’s educational initiatives, Agrawal donates all profits to Kranti, an organization that rescues and empowers girls of the red-light district of Mumbai.

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Livia Firth, Chopard Unveil Ethical Jewelry Collaboration at Cannes

Lori Zimmer — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:30 +0000

This year’s red carpet for the Cannes Film Festival might as well turn green. In a collaboration with the Alliance for Responsible Mining, the sculptor of Cannes’ iconic and prestigious Golden Palm trophy, Chopard, will present a line of sustainable and ethical gold jewelry. Celebutantes all dolled up for the festival can have piece of mind sporting Chopard’s jewels, which sources gold from small, environmentally sound mines in Colombia and Ecuador.

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Hot Pop Factory Debuts World’s First 3D-Printed Wooden Jewelry

Bridgette Meinhold — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:00:49 +0000

Extruded plastic baubles not your thing? Rapid-prototype firm Hot Pop Factory just unveiled the world’s first three-dimensionally printed wooden necklaces. Named after the northern forest, the limited-edition “Boreal” collection, uses recycled cherrywood filaments instead of the typical powdered nylon. Mixed with a binding polymer, the material even emanates the “slightest scent of charred wood” during the 42-minute printing process, according to founders Matt Compeau and Bi-Ying Miao, who use a Makerbot Replicator for their fabrications. The resulting curvature and heat-induced striations, much like fingerprints or the rings of a tree, are unique to each individual piece.

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Buy One of Activyst’s L.A.-Made Gym Bags, Help a Girl Play Sports

Kirin Rinehart — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00:40 +0000

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Halle Berry, Michael Kors Design Unisex Watches to Fight World Hunger

Lori Zimmer — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:00:11 +0000

Actress and fashion icon Halle Berry has teamed up with star designer Michael Kors in a battle against world hunger. The duo have designed a pair of watches for Kors’ campaign “Watch Hunger Stop.” Proceeds from each big-faced watch will provide 100 meals for children through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

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Angelina Jolie’s Jewelry Line Will Fund Girls’ Schools in Afghanistan

Lori Zimmer — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:00:25 +0000

Photo by cinemafestival/Shutterstock

Uber-activist Angelina Jolie plans to open another girls school in Afghanistan, funded by a new jewelry line that will be available this week. Called “Style of Jolie,” Angelina herself had a hand in designing the wares, along with jewelry designer Robert Procop. Sales from the anticipated line will help educate the 200-300 Afghani girls that are enrolled in the school that opened last November, with plans to open more schools in the near future.

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Angelina Jolie’s Conflict-Free Diamond Ring Not So Conflict-Free After All?

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Google “Glass” Headset to be Made in the United States

Jasmin Malik Chua — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:00:39 +0000

Google will be manufacturing its “Glass” eyewear in Silicon Valley, a move that the Financial Times hails as a “high-profile example of the return of electronics manufacturing to the U.S.” The technology giant will be working with Hon Hai Precision Industry, the Taiwanese firm better known as Foxconn, to assemble the futuristic eyewear at a facility in Santa Clara in California. Tim Bradshaw reports that only a few thousand of the devices will roll off the factory line in the coming weeks, compared with the millions of Apple products Foxconn typically cranks out in China.

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Google is Recruiting “Glass Explorers” to Test-Drive Its Headset

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Lumago Designs Turns Landfill Trash Into Wearable Treasures

Kate Peoples — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:53:20 +0000

Photos by Steve De Neef

Would you be surprised to find jewelry designers living off a city dump? Well, meet the women of Lumago Designs, a jewelry company that turns trash to treasure, puts the profit in the right pockets, and is run by a group of women who live off the Dumaguete City dumpsite in the Philippines.Not only do the women of Lumago Designs create bold pieces that any stylish eco-girl would love; they do it with the best of intentions. They buy their upcycled materials from the locals who scavenge the dumpsite, sell their jewelry for reasonable prices, and return the collective profits to the community.

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Artist Upcycles Vintage Teeth, Prosthetic Eyes Into Macabre Accessories

Morgana Matus — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:00:15 +0000

Photos by Gosia Janik y Fernando Ocaña

Like something out a Terry Gilliam film, FEEAS jewelry by Remedios Vincent creates jewelry from antique medical instruments, porcelain figures, and prosthetics. Drawn to objects that have to do with the human body and its improvement, he chooses each piece for its beauty, longevity, and ability to make a statement about he current state of planned obsolescence in fashion. With his motto, “made to dislike”, Vincent’s work stirs feelings of morbid fascination through eyelash encrusted glasses, false eye rings, and broaches spangled with teeth. More than just a way to repurpose aging, outdated medical technology and discarded toys, FEEAS jewelry uses historical context and craft to comment on the lack of quality and skill we find in current industry-driven style.

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Luis Teixeira Recycles Perfume Bottle Caps Into Interchangeable Rings

Helen Morgan — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:00:25 +0000

Photos by Fabrice Ziegler

With their often extravagant forms, perfume bottles are collectors’ pieces in their own right. So why throw them away when their aromatic cargo runs dry? Luis Teixeira didn’t. The Portuguese designer gave hundreds of perfume-bottle tops a new lease on life by recycling them into an eclectic array of rings. Comprising 360 different designs, each one representing a “degree of a circle meaning the complete turn of the recycling,” Teixeira’s “Lust” collection includes only a single ring base. Thanks to a system of magnets, the wearer is able to swap tops at will, creating what Teixeira describes as a “change-and-go facility.”

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Gucci Debuts World’s First “Zero-Deforestation” Leather Handbags

Jasmin Malik Chua — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:00:47 +0000

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Fetch Eyewear Donates 100 Percent of Profits to Animal-Rescue Causes

Morgana Matus — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:00:44 +0000

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Stella McCartney’s Latest Bag is Made From the Wool of Her Own Sheep

Jasmin Malik Chua — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:00:11 +0000

No need to wonder about the provenance of the materials found in this tufted-wool tote. Stella McCartney obtained her fibers from a source close to home: the organically—a no doubt ethically—raised sheep that graze at her Cotswolds farm in England. In fact, the bag is named after two of them: Itsy and Bitsy. Now if that doesn’t give you the warm fuzzies, nothing will.

+ Itsy Bitsy Falabella Tote $1,990

+ Stella McCartney

Mila Kunis Fronts Gemfields’ Line of Ethically Sourced Emerald Jewelry

Lori Zimmer — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:00:44 +0000

Looks like Mila Kunis isn’t ready to exit the Emerald City just yet. The Oz the Great and Powerful star has landed a new deal as global brand ambassador for Gemfields, a London-based colored-gemstone producer that specializes in ethically mined emeralds. The partnership is a stroke of marketing kismet. The Ukrainian-born American actress is due to appear alongside James Franco and Michelle Williams as the young witch Theodora, rumored to be a pre-Dorothy—and pre-green skin—version of the Wicked Witch of the West.

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Google Reportedly Working With Warby Parker to Make “Glass” Stylish

Jasmin Malik Chua — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:00:24 +0000

Google is reportedly working with Warby Parker, a popular eyeglass company that sells its trendy wares online, to design “more-fashionable frames” for its “Glass” headset, according to anonymous sources who spoke with the New York Times on Thursday. Founded a mite two years ago, Warby Parker made its mark not only by selling its spectacles—prescription lenses and shipping included—for a then-unheard of $95, but also for its TOMS-like “one for one” business model. (To wit, for every pair of frames purchased, Warby Parker donates another to someone in need.) Google is obviously gunning to make Glass a status accessory. The device made its New York Fashion Week debut in September when models wore colored versions at Diane von Furstenberg’s runway show.

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Google is Recruiting “Glass Explorers” to Test-Drive Its Headset

+ Google Glass

+ Warby Parker

Brian Garret’s Modular 3D-Printed Rings Make Changing Looks a Snap

Jasmin Malik Chua — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 22:35:18 +0000

Wish you could change your look as easily as you change your mind? Brian Garret’s three-dimensionally printed rings are the accessory you need. Each themed edition—choose from “Evil,” “Posh,” or “Shrunk”—consists of a single band that snaps to one of three included “icons” using gold-plated, rare-earth magnets. “Jewelry is often so dull and static,” Garret told MocoLoco in September. “I wanted to change that.” Mission accomplished.

+ Icon Snap Rings $49.99 at Cubify

+ Brian Garret

[Via Freedom of Creation]

Get Kimberly Ovitz’s 3D-Printed Jewelry Straight Off the Runway

Jasmin Malik Chua — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 00:00:47 +0000

Fallen in love with the jewelry Kimberly Ovitz feted at New York Fashion Week on Thursday? You don’t have to be a fashion insider to snag them straight off the runway. The Manhattan-based designer used three-dimensional printing to create the accessories, which she made available for purchase immediately after the show. A collaboration with rapid-prototyping marketplace Shapeways, the pieces include a necklace, a bracelet, and two styles of earring in either nylon or stainless steel. All of the pieces are designed to cleave to the wearer’s body like armornor a second skin. “The future of fashion is now,” says Ovitz of the print-on-demand baubles, which cost between $35 and $495. How’s that for fast fashion?

“Made in the Dark” Scented Jewelry Helps Blind Artisans Earn a Living

Lori Zimmer — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:00:07 +0000

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Billy Wolf’s Eco-Friendly Dog Jackets, Bandanas Are Handmade in NYC

Amanda Coen — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:00:38 +0000

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Carrie Parry, Kahina Giving Beauty Design Fair-Trade “Pouf” Necklace

Jasmin Malik Chua — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:00:42 +0000

Carrie Parry and Kahina Giving Beauty are doubling your pleasure with a collaboration that benefits education for girls in need. The Brooklyn-based designer and the organic skincare firm have joined forces to create the “Pouf” necklace, a limited-edition accessory fairly handcrafted by female artisans in Morocco. Made with embroidered-wool and glass beads, each one-of-a-kind necklace features blues-busting hues such as orange, magenta, red, and yellow. A portion of the proceeds will go to Education for All, a Moroccan nonprofit that helps girls in rural communities continue their studies past primary school. Another plus? For every necklace you purchase, a tree is planted through Trees for the Future.

+ Pouf Necklace $98

+ Carrie Parry

Sruli Recht Makes A Creepy Ring With A Strip of His Own Flesh

Bridgette Meinhold — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:00:34 +0000

Sruli Recht’s Autumn/Winter 2013 menswear collection has plenty to delight and astonish: polygonal militia jackets derived from walnut wood, sweaters composed of unwound lambswool skeins, and even Trojan Horse-like veneer boots with hinged openings. No item is more surprising, however, than the Icelandic designer’s “Forget Me Knot” ring, a one-of-a-kind bauble made with a swath of flesh from Recht’s own abdomen. (Click below the fold for a video of the operation if you have the stomach for it.)

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“Two Guys” Craft Bow Ties From Reclaimed Wood, Fabric

Morgana Matus — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:00:37 +0000

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Ecouterre » Eco-Friendly Accessories

NeuroKnitting Creates Personalized Scarves Based on Your Brainwaves

Lily Cole Debuts Wild Rubber Jewelry That Benefits Amazon Rainforest

Ukrainian Carpenter Carves Functioning Watches Entirely From Wood

Thread & Loom’s Fairly Hand-Loomed Bags Fund Girls’ Education in India

Livia Firth, Chopard Unveil Ethical Jewelry Collaboration at Cannes

Hot Pop Factory Debuts World’s First 3D-Printed Wooden Jewelry

Buy One of Activyst’s L.A.-Made Gym Bags, Help a Girl Play Sports

Halle Berry, Michael Kors Design Unisex Watches to Fight World Hunger

Angelina Jolie’s Jewelry Line Will Fund Girls’ Schools in Afghanistan

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Angelina Jolie’s Conflict-Free Diamond Ring Not So Conflict-Free After All?

Google “Glass” Headset to be Made in the United States

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Google is Recruiting “Glass Explorers” to Test-Drive Its Headset

Lumago Designs Turns Landfill Trash Into Wearable Treasures

Artist Upcycles Vintage Teeth, Prosthetic Eyes Into Macabre Accessories

Luis Teixeira Recycles Perfume Bottle Caps Into Interchangeable Rings

Gucci Debuts World’s First “Zero-Deforestation” Leather Handbags

Fetch Eyewear Donates 100 Percent of Profits to Animal-Rescue Causes

Stella McCartney’s Latest Bag is Made From the Wool of Her Own Sheep

+ Itsy Bitsy Falabella Tote $1,990 + Stella McCartney

Mila Kunis Fronts Gemfields’ Line of Ethically Sourced Emerald Jewelry

Google Reportedly Working With Warby Parker to Make “Glass” Stylish

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Google is Recruiting “Glass Explorers” to Test-Drive Its Headset

+ Google Glass + Warby Parker

Brian Garret’s Modular 3D-Printed Rings Make Changing Looks a Snap

+ Icon Snap Rings $49.99 at Cubify + Brian Garret

Get Kimberly Ovitz’s 3D-Printed Jewelry Straight Off the Runway

+ Kimberly Ovitz at Shapeways + Kimberly Ovitz © Ecouterre, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us

“Made in the Dark” Scented Jewelry Helps Blind Artisans Earn a Living

Billy Wolf’s Eco-Friendly Dog Jackets, Bandanas Are Handmade in NYC

Carrie Parry, Kahina Giving Beauty Design Fair-Trade “Pouf” Necklace

+ Pouf Necklace $98 + Carrie Parry

Sruli Recht Makes A Creepy Ring With A Strip of His Own Flesh

“Two Guys” Craft Bow Ties From Reclaimed Wood, Fabric

+ Itsy Bitsy Falabella Tote $1,990

+ Stella McCartney

+ Google Glass

+ Warby Parker

+ Icon Snap Rings $49.99 at Cubify

+ Brian Garret

+ Kimberly Ovitz at Shapeways

+ Kimberly Ovitz

© Ecouterre, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us

+ Pouf Necklace $98

+ Carrie Parry