For The Love of Elephants

Posted on January 10, 2016 by lsdiaz03

The growth of mankind is damaging nature – our numbers are growing and so is our ignorance. Instead of being grateful to Mother Nature for the gift of life itself, an incredibly large number of people is consciously deciding to neglect the very real and very dangerous facts, and to simply continue with their destructive lifestyles.

This is one of those things where you can’t go back when you realize you’re making a mistake. If we keep this up, there won’t be a planet or the resources to help us bounce back. The first step towards our redemption should be learning to cohabitate peacefully with the wildlife that has as much right to roam the planet as we do, and doing our best to help preserve Earth’s diverse fauna.

Elephants are Going Extinct

For fifteen million years elephants have walked the Earth, but their numbers have been decreasing dramatically during the past couple of centuries. This fact isn’t just alarming, it is absolutely terrifying. Every fifteen minutes an elephant dies because of continuous ivory poaching. If we don’t act together on this problem now, there won’t be any elephants left by 2025.

Being a keystone species, elephants maintain a certain order in their ecosystem. The survival of many different animals and plants depends on this species, so with the loss of elephants we will also lose an entire ecosystem.

If this happens, the developing countries which are proud to be homes of these extraordinary animals will suffer the consequences as well.

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Did you know that elephants have the very same cognitive behavior as humans? The can feel love and joy, and grieve for their losses and feel true fear.

Thanks to David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, over 190 infant orphans were saved and successfully reintegrated into wild herds. This trust was founded in 1977 by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick, a widely famous naturalist. This was her effort to conserve the wildlife, honor her late husband and preserve a long family tradition of protecting the environment.

It took Daphne three decades to perfect the milk formula necessary for orphaned elephants to survive and grow healthy and strong, so that they could be released back into the wild. A lifetime worth of experience has enabled Dr. Sheldrick, her family and every member of their organization to take effective actions that result in successful elephant and rhino rescue and rehabilitation.

Support This Cause & Save Our Planet

The elephant extinction would cause a chain reaction and it would have a direct effect on other animal species and mankind as well. The fact is you don’t have to move to Africa in order to help – you can make your contribution from your home, office or while you’re having a cup of coffee.

J. Crew and their “Garments for Good” campaign in collaboration with David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust enabled all of us to conveniently help this cause by getting one of their t-shirts. This nonprofit organization forwards all their funds to charity.

Participate in the Orphan’s Project

There’s another way you can make your contribution to elephant and rhino rescue and rehabilitation project – by adopting an orphaned infant and becoming their foster parent. Once you become a part of this project, you will receive a fostering certificate and a photo of your orphan via e-mail, with all their info, e.g. where they were found and the description of their habitat.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust will keep you updated about the monthly highlights of your elephant, so you’ll be able to see their photos, track their development and be included in their rehabilitation. They will also keep you posted about the latest news on fresh arrivals and basically everything that’s going on.

Building a Better Future for Mankind & Wildlife

Putting our best effort into helping with this cause is just a beginning, but also a great starting point. This is the final hour, and we’re all still able to do something to help revitalize our planet. It’s the only one we have, and every single individual on it is equally responsible for helping build a better future by contributing to good causes like this one for generations to come.

Photos by: Arlene St. Hilaire

Outfit: Zara Jeans, Sisley Coat, Zara Booties, David Sheldrick Sweatshirt at J.Crew, Rebecca Minkhoff Bag

Gifts that Give Back: For Him

Posted on December 16, 2015 by lsdiaz03

Generous & Practical: 5 Awesome Gifts He’ll Love

Finding the perfect gift for someone special is always challenging. I have several practical ideas I’m sure every man in your life would appreciate, but there’s something more to my list of gifts than just being awesome. The holidays are the perfect time to help those less fortunate, and I can show you how to combine generosity and practicality.

State Backpack

A backpack that can never go out of style is something that every man needs. This one from the State collection is extremely practical – the large number of compartments allow you to carry quite a few items in one well-organized package. It can fit a 15” laptop, and it has a convenient number of side pockets.

For every backpack sold, State delivers another to a child in need. By making this purchase you’ll not only get a quality backpack for a special man in your life, but you’re also making a child out there really happy.

David Sheldrick Wildlife Sweatshirt

One of my fave items! This sweatshirt is made out of cotton, which makes it incredibly comfy. It can also be machine-washed, so it doesn’t require any special care – I’m sure that any man would appreciate that fact.

You should also know that it has an illustration of Eddie by Hugo Guinness on it. Eddie was an orphan elephant who was saved by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, hand raised and released back into the wild. She was one of over 190 elephants that were saved by this trust. The complete net of every purchase goes directly to this cause.

Conscious Step Socks

I don’t know about you, but almost every man I know has trouble finding one whole matching pair of socks. You should introduce them to Conscious Step. My husband is obsessed and looks forward to getting them every year.

The logic behind these socks is easy. I mean why get “normal” everyday socks when you can get a fun pair that was made to help fund the world’s most important causes, like providing clean drinking water, ending famine, saving trees, fighting HIV and improving education worldwide. Conscious Step socks are quite extraordinary, don’t you think?

Feed Projects-Adventorous Kit

Men, unlike most women, somehow forget to take their essentials with them, and perhaps the reason behind it is that they don’t own their own kit. In order to help that special man in your life have a much more relaxed and convenient trip, my suggestion is to get them a practical FEED kit. The thing that makes this kit so special is the fact that making one purchase provides 15 school meals to children worldwide.

Veja-Most Ethical Sneakers

We all know that men like their sneakers and really can’t get enough of them. The company Veja is setting an example for other brands. Just to name a few of their accomplishments-Veja uses rubber from the amazon and organic cotton, they employ over 300 families and provide them with a competitive salary, and finally to cut cost for their costumers, Veja does not advertise. A few weeks ago I wrote a detailed post on this brand (yes, I’m obsessed) -please read about it here. It’s an amazing gift for everyone that likes sneakers (every man in the world, really).

Giving Tuesday 2015

Posted on December 1, 2015 by lsdiaz03

Hi Friends!

Today is “Giving Tuesday” and I know it can be overwhelming for everyone to research and try to find ways to help so I came up with a list of ideas just for you! 🙂

5 ways you can contribute to #givingtuesday!

Donate to a cause you care about-this is the simplest way to give back on this Tuesday. Haven’t thought about which one?! Check out a few of my favorite organizations (WIN, International Rescue Committee, CARE, Charity: Water, She’s the First, Pencils of Promise)
Shop at Lord&Taylor because they are matching all purchases ( up to 25,000) and donating it to Habitat for Humanity.
Have you heard of the Good Shop? Every time you shop through the Good Shop-a donation will be made to a charity of your choice (they are affiliated with over 100,000 organizations). You can shop and save with their coupons to stores ranging from Amazon to Best Buy!
If you can’t afford to give then take the day to learn about what brands are doing to have a social impact. A personal favorite of mine is Eileen Fisher-they are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! Go take a look at all there great initiatives. 🙂
Go volunteer at a local shelter or soup kitchen. Taking the day to give back and help those less fortunate is always a great idea.

Stella McCartney: Fashion Leader and Activist

Posted on October 11, 2015 by lsdiaz03

Creating a role model for young women to be inspired with is a great responsibility. That kind of exposure needs to be taken seriously – as a trendsetter, it’s necessary to set the right standards and fight for noble causes. Of course, you need to look stylish while doing it.

This level of multitasking is hard to achieve, but women worldwide should look up to Stella McCartney, an experienced designer that doesn’t have problems with inspiration when it comes to creating brilliant new collections, while she fights for the environment. So, how does she manage to achieve all of this simultaneously?

Expressive, Feminine & Natural

A lot of artists seek for some sort of divine inspiration to move them and help with their artwork. If you’d ask Stella, she’d tell you that the most important things that should serve as the greatest source of motivation can be found in the smallest everyday moments.

Things that make us happy day after day are often those which we take so lightly. A modern women, according to Stella, needs to be natural, first and foremost. When you get in touch with your true nature, you’ll have no problem drawing confidence from that inexhaustible source. Getting to know your real self isn’t an easy journey, but once you find out everything there is to know, your soft femininity and subtle sex appeal will come to the surface.

This kind of newfound reliability will help you grow into a strong powerful women, with strictly defined priorities, spontaneous hunger for hedonism and a positive mentality.

It’s about Being Fashionably Mindful

When you get to know your true self, then and only then will you be able to experience everything around you in the right way. This is the only world we have – it’s filled with amazing wonders, tiny and huge, and we shouldn’t let our hectic lives prevent us from seeing that.

However, now is the time to protect it. Being a lifelong vegetarian, Stella McCartney and her fashion house strongly advocate against environmental pollution and take a stand for animal protection. During her years in the fashion industry, she worked with many different organizations like Peta, Animals Asia, Million Trees Miami and Meat Free Monday, but also with Women’s Cancer Research Fund, War Child and the Kering Foundation.

Like her fragrance, Stella’s design pieces are so much more than just clothes and accessories. Considering the fact she was brought up on the English countryside, her memories are rather simple, but strong and powerful at the same time. Each new collection of handbags she releases reaches a new level of practicality and elegance. The amount of attention she dedicates to details is quite impressive – everything from materials to stitching is combined together to represent a sort of balance between femininity and a strong fashion statement.

Once you go “au naturale”, there’s no going back. With Stella, her fashion house, her designs and her attitude, you’ll be able to achieve a high level of style and a firm system of healthy priorities – it doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Get Wasted at Sweetgreen

Posted on September 25, 2015 by lsdiaz03

Sweetgreen started a campaign this summer called “Get Wasted”, which raises awareness about how much healthy food we waste every day. The goal is to stop people from wasting nutritious and healthy parts of vegetables and actually use them in meals.

Founded in 2007, they have been fighting for healthy and organic diet, and with their dishes they have been contributing this cause for years. Not only are their organic ingredients are carefully chosen from local farmers but their core values include thinking sustainably, which encourages other people to become more aware of our environment and its needs.

Are you aware how much food you throw out?

Every year, a great amount of food ends up in the dumpster, and we don’t think for a second about how much food we are wasting, and how much money we are throwing out. As Dan Baber says: “our culture wastes, because we can afford to waste.” But, is it really a good choice? What are we achieving by that?

Dan Barber’s wastED salad that will change the way you think

Chef Dan Barber put all food waste in one bowl and surprised a lot of people. The wastED salad has become popular all around the world, and more and more people are supporting the cause via social media. This salad will be available on all Sweetgreen’s locations-go try it out!

This salad contains: carrot ribbons, broccoli leaf, romaine heart, roasted kale stems, roasted broccoli stalks and cabbage cores, roasted bread butts, arugula, shaved parmesan, spicy sunflower seeds and pesto vinaigrette. Inspired by Blue Hill Chef Dan Barber’s wastED campaign, Sweetgreen recognized the need to take some further steps and encourage people to become aware of their environment and food they’re wasting on a daily basis.

Make an impact and make a change

People need to finally realize that their opinion and decisions do change the world and influence our community. Think of what you include in your diet every day, and see if it is really as healthy as everything that our agriculture offers.

“The choices we make every day about what we eat, where it comes from, and how it was raised have powerful consequences on the health of individuals, communities and the planet.” – Sweetgreen

Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company – A Business Built on Good Value

Posted on September 9, 2015 by lsdiaz03

Jessica Alba launched The Honest Company some years back, and faced quite a few worried looks when she pitched her idea and asked for funding. In essence, the idea was a simple and morally correct one – creating, household, beauty and hygiene products using natural ingredients that don’t put anyone’s health at risk, and being incredibly open about what goes into the products.

A high level of transparency, going so far as to make even the containers transparent, combined with what seemed to be a genuine concern for the wellbeing and happiness of the consumers, and just a pinch of movie star charisma, have proven to be an incredibly potent recipe for success.

The Honest Company is now valued at around $1.7 billion, which just goes to show that putting the customer first and focusing on quality can actually work out quite well for entrepreneurs. So, what is this company all about, and why is there such a huge hype surrounding it?

The People in Charge Really Believe in What They Are Doing

The first thing you notice about this company is that it’s not just something a movie star invested in because it looked like a business venture that would make him or her even richer. Jessica Alba has been outspoken about her concerns that too many modern products are loaded with toxic chemicals. Ever since she launched the company she has worked hard on promoting a healthier lifestyle and urging people to pay more attention to what they put on and into their bodies and the bodies of their family. She is a mother of two, and her co founder Christopher Gavigan a father of three, so you know they are not just trying to use clever marketing ploys when they talk about raising healthy and strong children, and protecting your family.

The Company’s Inspiring Mission Statement and Philanthropic Work

The easiest way to know for sure whether a company is just jumping on the latest bandwagon and pulling your heartstrings with one hand while the other reaches for the wallet, or if they truly want to make a difference and give back to the community is to pay attention to their charity work. Those that talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk will make some donations here and there, but the true philanthropists with good moral values will constantly strive to make a difference. The Honest Company invests a portion of the proceeds from every purchase into helping the community in several different ways:

Putting healthy food choices in schools
Educating people on proper nutrition
Funding research and training that ensures the health of developing infants up to the age of three
Putting safer cleaning products in schools
Funding the education of ambitious young minds

This company’s mission is to ensure the proper development of babies and young children, help improve the health and wellbeing of growing bodies and ensuring that the new generations get the support they need to grow into productive members of society. These are goals that everyone can get behind.

Elegant Design and High Quality Standards

Even if we ignore Miss Alba’s movie star fame, the transparent approach and their philosophy and philanthropic approach, the products can speak for themselves. The containers are simple and elegant, featuring transparent packaging with a detailed ingredients list and calming colors. Putting natural ingredients and carefully avoiding potentially dangerous chemicals isn’t just a neat marketing gimmick – as hundreds of positive reviews, and customers raving about the products on social media can attest to, their stuff really works.

Not only do the products work as advertised, but they are offered in creative little bundles and the customers can sign up to receive monthly packages. This hassle free online shopping model, combined with clearly visible results are the things that made The Honest Company so successful.

They don’t offer products, they offer a lifestyle

When all’s said and done, we come to the very essence of the matter – these people offer a lifestyle and a better future, not mere products. This kind of talk alienates some people who’ve become jaded from years of being exposed to companies that try to paint a pretty picture while making some incredibly shade moves under everyone’s noses, but there are still plenty of good people in the world. Companies like these are run by such people, and if more passionate entrepreneurs followed in their footsteps this would be a much better world to live in.

Post Witten By: Vladimir Zivanovic

5 Reasons You Need a BKR Bottle!

Posted on January 6, 2015 by lsdiaz03

Hi Friends!

Today I would like to introduce to you the cutest water bottle you will ever see…well, at least for now! 🙂 I am not exaggerating, it really is freaking adorable. This is why I think you should get one right now:

1. Environmentally Friendly

Yes, plastic is the devil so why not get a pretty bottle that can help the environment! These glass bottles are BPA free and phthalate free.

2. Beautifully Designed

I recently read an interview on Dwell.com where the CEO of BKR (pronounced: beaker) spoke about the design of the water bottles and she couldn’t have said it any better. When asked about the design of the bottle, she said:

To quote Dostoevsky, “Beauty will save the world.” People will be willing to change their cultural values and habits for beautiful design. We created something artistic and functional so that design-minded people have an option that’s aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly.

I completely agree with her. I mean, let’s be honest for a sec…no one wants to walk around with an ugly water bottle just because it’s saving the environment! Hello! I know it sounds harsh but it’s the truth. Why not do both? Beautiful and environmentally conscious! 🙂

3. You can combat the global water crisis

Buying one glass bottle will definitely not end the global water crisis but some of the proceeds will help combat it and help in the fight against cancer. They have supported organizations like the Obakki Foundation, the Canary Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project.

4. Affordable

BKR bottles are only $30! That is pretty affordable considering that some of the proceeds will be going to the global water crisis and cancer.

5. Fashionable

The founders take cues from runway trends and release glass bottles every season with new colors and designs that are high-end and glam. These bottles are especially popular among A-list celebrities. Everyone from Zoe Saldana to Jessica Alba is loving these beautiful water bottles. It’s truly a beauty essential! 🙂

Please, Do tell

Tag Archives: environment