EcoStiletto.com was created by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, a writer, producer and marketing consultant who focuses on sustainable fashion, beauty, lifestyle and parenting. She co-founded GreenGirlGuide.com in May 2007 (until National Geographic sent a cease-and-desist on behalf of The Green Guide) launched EcoStiletto.com, an online magazine devoted to eco-friendly fashion, beauty, lifestyle and parenting, in June 2008, retaining archived GreenGirlGuide content.
As a small-screen environista, Rachel has guested on eco-lifestyle “Extra,” “Hollywood Green,” “Good Day L.A.” and “The Fashion Team” segments. She has spoken on behalf of Healthy Child, Healthy World and Whole Body by Whole Foods market and was a Los Angeles correspondent for Treehugger.com. Rachel spent 10 years as a magazine reporter and editor and holds a MA in journalism from USC and has edited or contributed to numerous publications including SELF, Women's Wear Daily, Spa and Children, among others. A mother of three, Rachel and her family reduce, reuse and recycle in Los Angeles.
Definition of 'Green', according to Ecostiletto.com
“Green” isn’t a label or a certification; it’s a state of mind that, to us, means the product is created through environmentally and socially conscious means. When it comes to “organic” and “natural,” however, it’s all about the label, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “100 Percent Organic” means that every single ingredient in the product is organically grown: No pesticides, antibiotics, chemical fertilizers, bio-engineered, synthetic growth hormones or irradiated ingredients. “Certified Organic” products contain at least 95 percent organically grown ingredients. And “Eco Cert” also contain at least 95 percent, as certified by an independent European agency, not the USDA. While we’re at it, “vegan” products are not animal tested and contain no animal ingredients such as honey or milk, but they aren’t “organic” unless they say so. And “natural” is totally unregulated: It can mean that a product contains plant-derived ingredients and is cruelty- and preservative-free, but because “natural” is simply a descriptive, it could also mean the manufacturer just threw it on the label to make a sale. At EcoStiletto, we prefer organic products. But if something is truly fabulous and doesn’t fit the USDA bill we might still feature it, but we won’t ever pretend it’s organic when it’s not. That’s just plain mean, and certainly not green. What’s the ideal green product? Something that’s created in keeping with the “cradle to cradle” philosophy. This is the concept that when you throw something away there really is no “away.” Huh? Bear with us; here’s how it works: Because the Earth is a contained system, nothing that we create can really, truly be disposed of; it just becomes waste if it can’t be reused. “Cradle-to-cradle” challenges manufacturers to make products in a way that they can perpetually be reused or repurposed, therefore creating new “cradles” each time we find a new use. This is an extremely poor paraphrasing of the 2002 book by William McDonough and Michael Braungart; if you really want to know what it’s all about, read Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, which you can buy used (hence, a new cradle) at Amazon. Look for the cradle-to-cradle seal on products that are produced according to the highest of green standards that make as little impact on the Earth as possible, says EcoFabulous’ Zem Joaquin.
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