Linking Celebs & Causes -- amazing resources!

I LOVE this ... a German couple started a website directory for stars and their causes. The site contains articles and videos, and is searchable by star or cause. Though it's missing one of the biggest activists I know, Brett Dennen, I'll still say that this is an amazing website!

The current featured video: Sarah McLaughlan ASPCA Silent Night commercial --



One of the site's partners is Athlebrities, which covers athletes and their causes. Both websites, Look To The Stars, and Athlebrities, are regularly updated with new stories, photos, and videos. Awesome!!!!!!

The blog recently covered Pheonix Sun's Amare Stoudemire's trip to Sierra Leone, West Africa on behalf of his foundation Each 1, Teach 1, and the Zee Community Development Foundation, to help build water wells.

Check out this video from Stoudemire's trip --



Also check out Look to the Stars' partner, The Giving Back Fund. They provide philanthropic endeavor assistance to the sports and entertainment communities.

Another philanthropic related organization is the Hollywood Note Foundation. HNF was founded by a very interesting woman, Shelly Preston. She applies her 13 years of experience in the entertainment industry, as well as her experience producing award galas for non-profits, to her organization HNF, which raises funds from the Hollywood community, for charitable causes. One interesting HNF service is an annual awards event, that recognizes celebrity philanthropists.

Then, there's the company, the Green Room, that helps non-profits connect with celebrities, prepare and distribute gift bags into the hands of celebrities, etc. They are involved with some very high profile events, including the Teen Choice Awards, and a private party with David Beckham and LA Galaxy.



Also check out this celebrity auction website, Charity Folks.com. It's basically a clearing house (Ebay of sorts) for celebrities who have offered something up for auction, with the proceeds going to charities. For example, one of the items up for bid at the moment is lunch for you, and your child, in Los Angeles, with High School Musical star, Corbin Bleu. The current bid is $1,700, and benefits Artists for a New South Africa. According to their website, "in addition to nonprofits, Charity Folks partners with corporations to auction exclusive product and otherwise unavailable items and experiences, enabling them to leverage connectivity to high-profile people and events, showcase community support, generate tremendous publicity and create positive "halo" around their brands."

I got the idea for this post from an E: Environmental Magazine article, "E's Top 10 eco Celebs." This story mentions Look to the Stars' website.

Celebs profiled include:

* Ed Beagley, Jr. - reality TV show "Living with Ed" on HGTV.

A sample episode --



* Leonardo DiCaprio - The 11th Hour.
* Jackie Chan - PSA for Wildaid, water purification system for Hong Kong, built "Green Great Wall" in China, Environmental Culture Ambassador for the Chinese State Environmental Protection Association.
* Harrison Ford - Donated 400 acres of his Jackson, WY homestead to the Jackson Hole Land Trust, in the form of an easement, vice-chair of Conservation International's Board of Directors.
* Ted Danson - founded the American Oceans Campaign.
* Dominic Monaghan - spokesperson for Project Last Stand, a project of The Elephant Head Group.
* Daryl Hannah - vegetarian, created Sustainable Biofuels Alliance with Willie Nelson, has an eco-based webTV show, DHlovelife.

A sample episode --



* Robert Redford - the Sundance Resort and Institute in UT, the Redford Family Nature and Wildlife Preserve on 860 acres, fought for 20 yrs to protect 1.7 million acres of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (UT) from development, "The Green" on the Sundance Channel.
* Carole King - Alliance for the Wild Rockies partner, lobbying for Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act.
* Maggie Gyllenhaal - judge for Climate Matters Video Contest.

Sustainable Interior Design -- Kelly LaPlante

"Green is a standard, not a style." - Kelly LaPlante


At age 22, Kelly LaPlante left the high-end residential interior design firm where she was working, and ventured out on her own to start an eco-friendly design company Organic Interior Design, Inc. In an interview published in E: The Environmental Magazine, Kelly says, "I knew I had the goods, the desire and the willpower to do it."

Based in Venice, CA, Kelly's client list includes Amy Smart, Ally Sheedy, Tiffani Thiessen, and Michael Rapaport.

Check out Kelly's bio; here's a highlight from her website:

This summer, LaPlante is poised to burst onto the scene as she releases her first book, ecologique, and hosts Brilliant Green, airing on the Ovation Network. In July she will also be launching a not-for-profit website which will present an expert review of various green furnishing companies, their strengths and their weaknesses-- thegreengrades.com is the first website of its kind.

In terms of her work, Kelly's first priority is reuse (furniture), which she says many people overlook. She's working on her own line for O Eco Textiles, due out in early 2009. She recently published a coffee-table book, "Ecologique: the Style of Sustainable Design."



Check out her work, here, in this video from the Sundance Channel --



A take-away message: to start small, but luxurious, Kelly suggests towels and robes. She particularly likes Nandina's. She also recommends store Bluehouse in MD.

Check out Kelly's blog, here.

Linda Loudermilk & "Eco Luxury" Design

"Most mornings when I wake up, it's like I'm jumping off a cliff, and building my wings on the way down." - Linda Loudermilk

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a fashionista ... but I LOVE "eco luxury" designer Linda Loudermilk! She is SUCH an inspiration.

For a good introduction, and to see pieces from her collection, check out this video --
The video features Chris Paine (Director of "Who Killed the Electric Car"), Linda Loudermilk, Penelope Cruz, Chevy Chase, Andrea Bowen ("Desperate Housewives"), Petra Nemcova (Sports Illustrated model), talking about living green.



I can't embed this video interview with Linda into my blog, but it's also fantastic. Check it out here!

More great videos on her website. I particularly recommend the video from the Sundance Channel.

Here's her bio, straight from her website:

Visionary couture and eco-designer Linda Loudermilk has been named by “W” Magazine as one of the top 20 innovators to watch. Coined as the “Vivienne Westwood of eco” by Elle Magazine, Loudermilk has spearheaded the creation of a new, luxury eco™ lifestyle, blowing old concepts of environmental living out of the water. Through her revolutionary designs and radical spirit, Loudermilk has redefined sustainability as something alluringly sexy, fun and edgy.

Linda’s personal mission is to influence change on the planet and change within ourselves, the consumer, as we and the planet are directly correlated to one another. Linda’s purpose is to ignite expressiveness, encourage clarity in the choices of daily life and through awareness bring about gratitude of this planet, our home, within which we reside and from which we are fed. Her design, practice and materials are brought together mindfully from her core.

Six years ago, Loudermilk had made it to the Paris runways and the top of high fashion. In that moment she should have been rejoicing in the accolades. Instead, she felt empty. In Loudermilk’s own words,

“I was creating beauty, but beauty without soul.” She realized then that she wanted to make a difference in the world, to shift the way people think about the earth. With groundbreaking passion, she began researching products that are sustainable, by meeting with and learning from scientists and seeking out companies that create fibers without pesticides or other toxic processes. She developed relationships with manufacturers that do not poison the water supply as they have a consciousness about their effect on the earth.

What Loudermilk discovered is a world of design that can be blended with eco-responsibility in an exciting way. She trademarked the term luxury eco™, becoming the first designer to create a luxury+eco lifestyle brand under one umbrella—all made from the sustainable fabrics that she researched and developed, targeted towards the most demanding luxury consumer. She began using organic textiles that are woven from natural sources like bamboo, SeaCell® (seaweed) and Ingeo™ (corn). She collected scraps of lace and other fine fabric remnants from European sources, and started weaving them into her fashions. She found a way to personalize the beauty of the earth through her designs, by honoring its natural gifts.

According to Loudermilk, nature is the original punk. Her inventive style packs an iconoclastic punch from noirish suits—to sculpturally sexy shift dresses—to jeans cut deadly on the hip. That flair for the dramatic comes innately to Loudermilk, who studied Shakespeare and costume design at Oxford University in England “one of the world’s leading academic institutions.” Loudermilk’s intuitive sense of tailoring, passed down from her couturier grandmother and experience as a sculptor is the very foundation from which she embellished upon in becoming what she is today. Linda’s fine designs are passionately hand finished and mostly made in the USA.

Beyond her revolutionary designs, Loudermilk is bringing together the global pioneers who are producing “green” and “gold” at the same time. By establishing the luxury eco™ Stamp of Approval, she seeks to identify those who are also breaking new ground in their respective fields. The emblem is a message to the consumer that the products or services are not only eco-friendly – but also superior in luxury quality, design and craftsmanship. It is the only Luxury Certification.

Loudermilk’s mission is to define every aspect of life as radically and decidedly eco-responsible. She is recognized as the first to identify and successfully market to the luxury eco™ consumer. Her extraordinary vision and commitment to research and product development have established her as an authority and positioned her company years ahead of the competition in understanding how to generate sustainable profits in this emerging market.

For Loudermilk, there is no question: change is inevitable. It is the only way to the future.

“The Linda Loudermilk brand is design with a higher purpose.”

Also check out this necklace:



In 2004 worldwide, 2.2 million deaths were attributed to unsafe water. Eco-fashion designer Linda Loudermilk is trying to raise awareness about water issues with her lovely water droplet necklace. Made from reclaimed silver, the old-fashioned faucet with a single glass drop of water encourages people to think about how vital water is to human life. With your purchase of the water droplet necklace, a generous donation will be made to the YEW Foundation to support organizations with clean water initiatives. $65 from Uncommon Goods.

She has also started the Loudermilk Institute for Sustainability.



If green fashion interests you, then check out the launch of the "Be Eco-Chic" Campaign during Fashion Week 2008. The Be EcoChic campaign raises consumer awareness of the environmental implications of our lifestyles and helps better inform people on smart choices for a healthier planet. Launched in partnership with the Sierra Club, the campaign is overseen by an advisory committee comprised of fashion and environmental leaders and is produced by Chandler Chicco Productions, LLP. The Be EcoChic campaign is sponsored by AVEENO, Continental, the LYCRA fiber brand, Mercedes-Benz USA and Neutrogena.


Photo by Starre Vartan.

Check out the Be Eco-Chic website, here.

And this great video from Fashion Week, produced by the Sierra Club --



Click here for slideshow: "Sustainable Fashion Takes Off With the Help of Supermodels, Designers, Celebrities and Greens."

Finally, here's Sierra Club Executive Director, Carl Pope's, take on the event, published on the Huffington Post, entitled "The Supermodel and Me."

Dance Moves that Generate Electricity

I frequently visit live music venues. I can't remember the last time that I saw a recycling bin available for public use ... and trust me, I look for them! So I was very psyched when I found an article in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of E: The Environmental Magazine about dance clubs that are going green!

Some stats from the article:
* The average dance club uses 150,000 watts of electricity.


* Temple Nightclub opened in San Francisco, in 2004:
- Diverts 89% of its landfill waste.
- Use corn-based biodegradable cups.
- Emloys a Director of Sustainability - Mike Zuckerman.
- Use rainwater collection system for toilet plumbing.
- Boasts a vertical garden that landscapes teh exterior of the club (located in a100 year-old building.)
- Considering giving $1 discount on drinks to a patron who re-use his/her cup.
- Energy generating dance floor!

* Other establishments of note:
- The Butterfly Social Club in Chicago, IL
- Beta Nightclub in Denver, CO (spokesperson is Cathering Nguyen)
- Greenhouse in NYC (spokesperson Adam Starkman; ownder John B.)

* The green clubs trend started with a company called Qurrent BV, based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (spokesperson is Vera Verkooijen).
- The first company to devise the energy-generating dance floor.
- Each dancer generates 5-10 watts of energy, depending on the size of the dancer, and how energetically the person is dancing.
- The company won Richard Branson's contest, the Green Challenge, and a prize of €500,000 (US$700,000), for their winning entry "The Sustainable Dance Club." "The Sustainable Dance Club" entry was selected from a pool of 400 projects that originated in 50 countries.

This is the company's story --



Interestingly, the annual Virgin Festival, which takes place in Baltimore, MD is a Richard Branson event. Branson aims to make it an environmentally friendly festival. In 2007, I was a member of the green team, organized by the Spitfire Agency. It was a great success! The festival diverted 90% of the waste by establishing recycling, trash, and compost bins for use by fans, bands, and crew. Check out the Virgin Mobile USA press release.


Richard Branson and actress Daryl Hannah, are among the first to check out the University of MD's "light bike" at the Virgin Festival, in Baltimore in early August of 2007. They had this bike custom made to demonstrate alternative forms of power. If you ride the bike, you have a choice to power the traditional incandescent light or the compact fluorescent. To power the traditional bulb, you have to peddle 4x as hard as you would have to peddle, to light the fluorescent bulb!

Branson also held a contest that awarded an environmentally-themed concert, Flick-Fest, to a Canadian city.

From CBC Radio 3's blog:

"Humanity's window to act on climate change is narrowing," said Branson in a press release. "And it's up to each of us to find new ways of getting more people involved in this global fight. So next spring, Estevan will hold a carbon-neutral party to raise awareness-spreading the word to more Canadians. It's going to be a blast."

To win the contest, people across Canada had to log on to www.flickoff.org, and test out the site's carbon calculator, which measures people's environmental impact, then offers up tips for improvements they can make. Estevan won the concert because it had the most people per capita sign on and measure their footprint. (No measurements were done after that to see whether or not people actually made changes.)

Also, if you missed it - in 2007 Al Gore and Branson teamed up to offer a $25 million (£12.5 million) Earth Challenge Prize to the person who comes up with the best way of removing significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

For those interested in this kind of thing, an enviro social networking and activism site, called Green Thing was a runner up, in Branson's 2007 the Green Challenge contest. One of Green Things co-founders Andy Hobsbawm spoke at TED 2008.

Here's Andy's talk. Andy shares a fresh ad campaign about going green -- and some of the fringe benefits.

Nike "Zoom" Marketing Campaign

I was surfing ad agency Mindshare's website, when I came across this innovative campaign created to launch Nike's shoe, "Zoom", in China.

Mindshare's website reports that the brief was to "introduce a new generation of competitive athletes to the performance benefits of Zoom technology."

"Core target was sports active, competitive youth, aged 16-20 with a secondary broader audience of 18-24 year old sports focused youth, who wanted light weight, fast and responsive shoes, to be used in the context of training and competition.

The campaign relied on strong word of mouth to create a sense of discovery as consumers spotted the light boxes in high traffic public spaces, within regional and local press and online."

"For three weeks Nike set up an urban race that consumers could participate in to win a new pair of the Zoom high performance shoes. The Bluetooth-enabled race started at an illuminated outdoor site up to 400m from the store featuring a line up of 21 new Zoom shoes and ended at the Nike stores. The fastest runner was given a pair of new Zooms and got their name placed in the illuminated site."

For more information, check out this video --

Zoom/OOH

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy SH, Mindshare
Client: Nike China
Date of First Appearance: 11/08/2007
Executive Creative Director: Frank Hahn
Creative Director: Frank Hahn
Copywriter: Dean Wei, Zebra Hua
Art Director: Joseph Ernst
Account: Lydia Zhu, Kim Chu
Designer: Stella Wang
Producer: Vic Zhang, Stone Xue
Traffic: Jackie Liang
Studio: Angel, Wendy

Speaking of Hip Hop Art ... Kehinde Wiley

While I am on the subject of hip hop art, I saw an AMAZING hip hop art exhibit, "Recognize!", at D.C.'s National Portrait Gallery last spring.

I love Kehinde Wiley's paintings. Kehinde, age 31, is known for his unique style in which old European portraiture meets modern hip-hop culture.

I went back to the museum several times, just to see the gigantic portraits up close, and made sure to drag friends, along:) The painting below was my favorite - LL Cool J.



Here's a good video about the artist's work --

Hip-hop and art history collide on Kehinde Wiley's canvases, where contemporary urban black men pose as angels, prophets, and saints set against richly colored swirls of ornate and rococo ornamentation:


If you ever have the opportunity to see his paintings in person, then make sure that you take advantage of that opportunity!

What's Next? MoveOn has some ideas.

From a November 24, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle article - Obama testing ways to use Internet to govern, by Joe Garofoli.

On Thursday night, MoveOn.org - whose members supported Obama - held more than 1,200 offline "Fired Up and Ready to Go" parties. The point of the gatherings, according to an invitation from MoveOn: "We'll launch a new campaign to help Barack win big changes - like health care and clean energy." The group will follow Thursday's meetings with a day of personal lobbying on Capitol Hill and in congressional district offices Jan. 21, the day after Obama is sworn in.

The 5 million-member liberal online hub has seen its membership transformed this year. MoveOn gained 2 million new members in the past six months - 55 percent of them are not white. (Membership was 85 percent white before.) At least half of the newcomers are under 35, said executive director Eli Pariser.

Unlike past political campaigns, where voters returned home after casting their ballots and waited for politicians to deliver results, many Obama supporters are looking for ways to continue to provide their input and offer help.

"It's clear to MoveOn members that they want to continue to focus on a few core issues," Pariser said.

Speaking of MoveOn, I LOVE this Gossip Girl Obama video (maybe because I'm a closet Gossip Girl fan:) Gossip Girl stars Blake Lively & Penn Badgley (romantically linked on both the show, and in real life) join a chorus of young voices asking their parents to save their future by voting for Barack Obama. Directed by Doug Liman (the man behind "The Bourne Identity" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"), the video aired during Gossip Girl on the CW, and on MTV and Comedy Central.

Advertising Age praised the parody of the White House's anti-drug campaign -- the video opens with the stars finding their parents' "drill baby, drill" hats, and closes with Blake offering a to come pick the viewer up, if the viewer is in trouble, "no questions asked."

So good!



And there's an accompanying website.

Here's another good one from MoveOn. "It Could Happen To You" Winner, Funniest Ad MoveOn.org's Obama in 30 Seconds Contest by Alexandra Barreto, Rider Strong and Shiloh Strong Los Angeles, CA --

The Hip Hop Community & Obama

I've been meaning to look these up for a while - a collection of youtube videos representing the hip hop community & Obama. I'm sure that there are many more, but this is a start!

My favorite video is "Jay-Z at Virginia Union College in Richmond, VA puts election day in historical perspective." Jay-Z says to the young people assembled "I wanted to come here, I wanted to look you in the eye, I want you to know ..." It reminds me of Obama's Nov 4 Grant Park speech, when our next president said, "I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me."

Change is afoot.

Enjoy the videos.


Obama on Hip Hop:



On March 3, 2008, some voters in Ohio received this call from Jay-Z encouraging them to vote for Obama:



Kanye West freestyling at Virgin Festival 2008:



KINGSMEN @ MUSIC FOR DEMOCRACY FUNDRAISER, Nov. 1st, Atlanta:



Jay-Z at Virginia Union College in Richmond, VA puts election day in historical perspective:



Jay-Z's Obama victory song:



Dizzee Rascal explains how Hip Hop helped Obama win the Presidency. Also, Dizzee wants to become Prime Minister:



Diddy, Jay Z, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Kevin Liles -- Team Obama Campaign Trail. Yes We Did!!:



LUDACRIS - OBAMA IS HERE (MUSIC VIDEO):



Common - "Changes" (A Tribute to Obama):



Common & Talib Kweli sponsored an event on Election Night, in Chicago:



Obama vs Clinton: Who's got Hip Hop's vote? Opinions from Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli, Mistah Fab, Paul Wall, Luke, Bun B, David Banner, Supernatural, Chingo Bling, Chamilliona... :



TALIB KWELI on the election:



Hip Hop Rocks The Vote:







Rapper Snoop Dogg says Senator Barack Obama Can Win!:



Rapper Ice Cube 4 Senator Barack Obama President 08!:

www.Change.ORG -- social networking services for non-profits

Woah! If social networking for good interests you, too, then check out the services provided by company www.Change.org.

Non-profit organizations can contract Change.org to develop a personalized social networking page for the organization, hosted on www.Change.org. The company also provides custom widgets, which can be embedded into the organization's independently managed social networking pages like Myspace and Facebook.

According to the company's website, Change.org is different from other social networking sites because it engages an older audience (older donors), thereby providing organizations with a way to "post specific fundraising campaigns, update donors on the progress of projects they've funded, create online advocacy campaigns, and capture important data about supporters and donors."

Also according to the website, Other benefits include:
Brand Your Social Network: Change.org will design your social network to match your website.

Fundraise: Post fundraising campaigns, accept online donations, and enable supporters to create personal fundraising pages and widgets to benefit your organization. (All 501(c)(3) donations are processed by our partner, Network for Good)

Start e-advocacy Campaigns: Start viral email advocacy campaigns to lobby elected officials and business leaders. Your organization gets the e-mail address of each new supporter that participates in your e-advocacy campaigns! (View Example)

Recruit New Supporters: Send "Supporter Requests" to recruit new members from across the Change.org community and allow your supporters to invite their friends and family to join your social network on Change.org.

Capture Supporter and Donor Data: Download supporter and donor contact information into Excel spreadsheets that can be imported into your organization's main database of contacts and/or e-newsletter mailing list.

Build Community: Connect your supporters with one another and enable them to share stories, write testimonials about your work, and post photos and videos.

Personalize Your Communication: Inform and inspire your supporters through blogging and sending private messages to your top fundraisers and activists.
In addition to all the tools listed above, Change.org will provide you with free consulting on how to best build and utilize your social network on Change.org. This includes Change.org Best Practices and consultation on how to integrate your Change.org social network with other Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube!



Change.org team member Heather Mansfield owns her own company, DIOSA | Communications. Diosa specializes in Web 2.0 Marketing, Web 2.0 Trainings, Webinars, and MySpace Design for nonprofit organizations, higher education, and small businesses. DIOSA publishes a monthly e-newsletter that includes MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and Change.org Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations. To sign up to receive the e-newsletter, go to this site. The company's website also provides links to some interesting articles on this subject matter. Check out the myspace page that Heather manages, too. She's holding a webinar on December 16th for non-profits new to Myspace.

I was recently reminded of Change.org because I heard that they are hooking up with Myspace to collect the public's ideas for the Obama Administration. According to this San Francisco Chronicle article, "shortly before I-Day on Jan. 20, the MySpacers and Change.orgers will announce the top 10 ideas, say which nonprofit organization will sponsor it, will and send it to the appropriate member of Obama's Administration via the 119 million-member megaphone that is MySpace." Why break from Change.gov? Change.org says that Change.gov doesn't allow the public to communicate with Obama "in ways they had become accustomed to during the campaign."

To share your ideas for the Obama Administration, go here, or here.

(Re)Branding Veganism - "Skinny Bitch"

Rory Freedman, former Ford Model agent and author of "Skinny Bitch", won VegNews magazine's 2008 Person of the Year award. It's hard not to notice that Rory's books are an extremely successful example of re-branding veganism ... which I totally appreciate!

From a NY Times article about her cookbook, "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch":

“We knew that there were a lot of girls out there who would never read a vegan book, never buy a diet book that told them they had to give up coffee and Diet Coke,” Ms. Freedman said. “So we decided to package it differently.”

From that casual bit of cynicism, a phenomenon grew. “I don’t think most of the people who buy it here know that it’s a vegan book,” said Lisa Garner, a manager of the boutique Kitson in Los Angeles, a chief Hollywood purveyor of things trendy and frivolous. Normally in the business of selling “it” boots, leopard-print hoodies, and so on to the likes of Nicole Richie and Jessica Simpson, Kitson has sold more than 2,000 copies of “Skinny Bitch.” “They just like the title,” she said.

Kimberly Latham, a fashion publicist in New York, said: “I would never have read ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma.’ I’m not even sure I know what an omnivore is. But I know what a skinny bitch is, and I know I want to be one.”

Also, check this out, from another article:



G Living’s host and author, Rory Freedman, had sales of her book ‘Skinny Bitch’ jump through the roof — thanks in part to the spotlight British Superstar Victoria Beckham brought to it. After the vegetarian former Posh Spice Girl was photographed by paparazzi with the diet book in LA last month, sales of the Skinny Bitch book on UK’s Amazon soared 37,000%! Overnight, Rory’s book went from virtually unknown in the UK at 77,939th on Amazon’s sales chart to 209th on the chart.

And check this out, too. VegNews has identified "veg athletes" as the trend of 2008. One of the athletes listed in VegNews' December 2008 issue is Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder.



According to independent websites, and this ESPN article, many professional athletes became vegetarian or vegan after reading books such as "Mad Cowboy", "The China Study",

... and in Prince Fielder's case, "Skinny Bitch."

Although not a vegan, Fielder doesn't care for cheese, which seems to be the largest sticking point for most people thinking about a transition to a vegan way of eating. What made this 270-pound professional athlete change his diet? Skinny Bitch of all things. (Actually, it was his wife Chanel, who gave him the book to read.) He's only been vegetarian since February, but he already noticing a difference:

"Since I started, I feel amazing. When I wake up, I'm up. I'm not lying around anymore."

Hmmm ... pop culture influences, no? Pretty amazing.

PS - while researching this post, I came across an interesting YouTube channel, Running Raw. Might interest you:

Can a non athlete at 37 become an elite athlete at 40 by switching to a 100% Raw Vegan diet? Grab a seat, kick back and watch Tim VanOrden try to change the world - by Running Raw.

Name: Tim VanOrden; Age: 40; Country: United States

A sample video from the channel: "Tim VanOrden's Running Raw Project: Post workout smoothie"

Children's Clothing Designers & Cause Marketing Campaigns

I picked up a copy of the magazine KIWI: Growing Families the Natural and Organic Way at San Francisco's recent Green Festival. The October 2008 issue contains a spread called "A Common Thread", which features children's clothing designers and companies that have cause marketing components. Very cool!

From the article:

* Booda Brand - for every t-shirt sold, the company helps Room to Read support education and literacy in developing countries.

* Converse - supports the (Product) RED global fund program against HIV/AIDS.

* Tease - supports Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.), a global organization providing support for children suffering from illness, poverty, or natural disasters.

* LT Apparel Group - the producer of Cotler Girls, the company donates clothing to children in need and also supports K.I.D.S.

* Country Kids by Jefferies - supports Loaves & Fishes, which provides meals for the hungry, and Christmas Cheer, which gives food and gifts to those who need them in the Chicago area.

* Fig - donates clothing to Camp Moomba, a special summer camp for kids affected by HIV/AIDS.

* Imps & Elfs - the company is part of Made-By, an organization that promotes sustainable fashion. Made-By companies are completely honest about what happens throughout every stage of their clothing production.

* Joe Black - for every piece from the collection sold, a portion of the proceeds are donated to PLAN, which offers support to deprived children around the world.

* Keen - in response to the tsunami disaster, the company pledged to foster change through volunteerism. Since 2004, Keen has distributed over $1.5 million to non-profits.

* Fable & Lore - created finger puppets, and gives 100% of the sale proceeds to UNESCO L.I.F.E., a literacy program.

* Love is Organic Denim - sells patches so kids can individualize their jeans, then gives all of the profits to charity. They have also donated clothing to Education and Hope, which provides education for children in Guatemala.

* Loyale - every year, this company donates a percentage of their annual sales to Green Corps, which offers training for the next generation of enviro leaders.

* Petit Bateau - donates clothing to Room to Grow, which provides low-income parents with essential baby items. The company plans to make select Petit Bateau boutiques drop of points, for Room to Grow.

* Quiksilver - for years, the company has actively engaged in charity, both locally and globally, by supporting enviro, educational, health, and youth-related projects.

* Sally Miller's - partners include George & Ann Lopez-Richie Alarcon CARE Foundation, and K.I.D.S.

* Fishman & Tobin (producer of Sean John and many other designer brands) - raises funds and donates goods to charities including K.I.D.S., and Dignity U Wear, which gives brand new clothing to kids who need it.

* Tractor Jeans - partnered with Feed the Children, (there we are with the well-branded Feed the Children, again!) an international relief organization that provides needy people with food, clothing, medicine, and other necessities.

* Zutano - gives a percentage of sales from this fall's Collectibles line to Global Action for Children, which fights for education, food, and health care for children in developing countries.

My favorite company find, here, is the Greenwich, CT based kids lifestyle boutique, Love, the makers of Love is Organic Denim.



Check out the article from Inhabitots, a portion of which is below:

The jeans are manufactured in India, but eco-conscious parents should note that LOVE only works with Certified Fair Trade Factories. So purchasers are guaranteed that with every seam and stitch that went into the product, craftsmanship was fairly compensated, labor conditions were favorable, and community and environment sustainability were regarded.

The manufacturing process that LOVE employs retains the organic nature of the fabric even after weaving and dyeing. Enzymes are used to launder the fabric, “as enzyme compounds are natural, eco-friendly as well as energy saving and totally biodegradable”. Finally, sandblasting is moderately applied and lasers are used to detail the garments. This diligence in production obtains an “extra soft, pliable hand” your kids will thank you for.

My favorite non-profit find here, is K.I.D.S. They even have a page on their website, dedicated to cause marketing!

The site explains what the non-profit can offer corporate partners, and describes some K.I.D.S. cause marketing campaigns.

What K.I.D.S. Offers Companies
* Unique, ownable partnerships as part of our effort to assist families and children in need.
* Opportunities throughout the year to support children affected by poverty by providing them with basic necessities.
* Programs to improve the quality of life in specific local communities where company plants, offices, stores or franchises are located.
* Opportunities for employee participation as volunteers in product distributions by our affiliated local agencies.
* Ways to attract and engage customers by offering to make donations to K.I.D.S. based on sales volume and/or encouraging customers to make donations at the time or point of purchase.

As an aside, while I was searching for information about this organization, I learned that in 2006, Obama spoke at a K.I.D.S. NYC fundraiser:)

Too Precious to Wear -- coral protection PR campaign

On January 23, 2008 communications-based non-profit, SeaWeb, launched its Too Precious to Wear program in NYC, alongside celebrities like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and representatives from the fashion and design communities.

The program aims to educate companies and consumers about coral, so that people will realize that coral is too precious to be converted into jewelry, home goods, or art.

From CDNN:

SeaWeb had noticed in the past couple of years that coral – real, faux and artistic interpretations – was all over the fashion runways and home-decorating magazines, explains Julia Robertson, program manager for Too Precious to Wear.

Around the same time, though, global warming, for which coral is considered a key indicator, had become a buzz topic, so marine-science groups saw an opportunity to raise public awareness, she says.

"We wanted to tap into the recognition of coral in fashion, design, jewelry and home décor. It's easier to talk to people when they know what you're talking about," Robertson says.

The program includes recruiting influential fashion leaders and designers to serve as spokespersons, as well as promoting products made with coral alternatives. Too Precious to Wear also advocates for the passage of a strong U.S. Coral Reef Conservation Act, and achieving protection for red coral under CITIES.

Too Precious to Wear is supported by The Tiffany & Co. Foundation and Pottery Barn, as well as fashion industry leaders Lela Rose, Chantecaille, Vena Cava, and Michael Aram.

From the Associated Press story:

Sylvie Chantecaille says her beauty company got involved about 18 months ago, largely because of her interest in the ocean.

"My whole family snorkels, dives. I grew up in the south of France diving and I have seen a change in the ocean over the years," she explains. "When you spend so much time under the water, you realize how amazing it is. I wanted to do something to protect it."

So Chantecaille developed Protect the Paradise compacts - one with eye shadow, another with powder - embossed with miniature ocean scenes to raise money for marine research and conservation. The project put Chantecaille in touch with other coral fans, including [scientist and college professor] Andrew Baker, who taught her to appreciate their beauty from afar.



"I love the look of coral. They're so beautiful," Chantecaille says. "I used to be completely in love with coral jewelry, so I totally understand the appeal."

Tiffany stopped selling coral jewelry in 2003 and instead uses precious stones to replicate the exotic color and shapes found in the sea. The company brought the bulk of manufacturing in house, allowing it to examine sourcing, explains Linda Buckley, Tiffany vice president of public relations. While coral was not a huge part of the assortment, it set off some bells.

"Tiffany is closely associated with the natural world — it's where we get our inspiration and materials," Buckley says.

This story was picked up by several media outlets, including MSNBC, Time.com, and ABC.com.

For more information about the program, see this press release.

Engaging Employees in Corporate Environmental Initiatives

I saw this project mentioned on the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) website, and thought it was interesting.

Someone is focusing on how to engage employees in corporate values. This is a nice step above engaging consumers in causes, through cause marketing campaigns! Yay!

The following was taken directly from the NEEF website:

The National Environmental Education Foundation's
Business Employee Sustainability Education Survey

Overview

With the recent explosion of all things “green,” many companies are recognizing the valuable, indeed essential, role their employees play in aligning day-to-day operations with corporate values regarding the environment and sustainability. And yet, we’ve heard from many companies that they are not entirely sure how to effectively educate and involve employees in corporate environmental activities.

In response to growing interest, The National Environmental Education Foundation (www.neefusa.org) has done research on this issue and conducted a survey to gauge how leading companies approach internal employee education and engagement.

The survey is part of a larger study on corporate environmental and sustainability education. The study will document best practices, highlight lessons learned, and examine measures of success. For our audience of business executives and managers, these elements will help define viable, practical strategies to engage employees on a range of in-house environmental and sustainability matters.


Survey Findings

The NEEF survey, conducted in May 2008, examines aspects of corporate environmental and sustainability education initiatives at companies at varying stages of program development: Advanced, Beginner, No program yet, No program in future. There were 1,354 survey respondents, with approximately 300 respondents per track. However, not all respondents answered every question.

Read the survey summary here.

For more information about the survey, please contact Krista Gullo at business(AT)neefusa(DOT)org.

Social Marketing Tools used for Biodiversity Hot Spot Conservation?

WOW! So I recently learned about this fantastic, rapidly-growing, international environmental organization, called Rare. Fast Company magazine has named them one of the "Top Social Capitalists" for the last three years in a row.

Rare works in local communities that are considered to be biodiversity hot spots, in order to build support for conservation. Rare is active in more than 40 countries. The organization is based right outside of Washington, D.C., in Arlington, V.A. but the organization has several international offices, as well.

Rare builds support for conservation through what they call "Pride Campaigns." These are social marketing campaigns that utilize the same spirit of entrepeneurship and creativity that has also been used to call attention to issues ranging from seatbelt use, smoking, pollution, and teen drug abuse, to reproductive health.

Rare builds support in local communities by training local conservationists to be Pride campaign managers. The campaign managers make an 18-month commitment to inspiring environmental protection at every level in their communities, receive training from Pride, and then head back to their communities to implement the campaigns.

Rare's goal is to "dramatically build momentum for conservation by creating the constituencies necessary for initiating policy changes, legislative reform, and new protected areas; by catalyzing in-country private and public sector funding; by shifting public behavior toward more sustainable practices; and by focusing public attention on critically threatened ecosystems and species."

In order to accomplish their goals, "Pride campaigns utilize a charismatic flagship species, like the Saint Lucia parrot or the Philippine cockatoo, which becomes a symbol of local pride and acts as a messenger to build support for habitat and wildlife protection. Marketing tools – such as billboards, posters, songs, music videos, sermons, comic books, and puppet shows – make conservation messages positive, compelling, relevant, and fun for the community. Campaigns appeal to people on an emotional level, generating an increased sense of pride and public stewardship that goes beyond mere awareness-raising. Pride campaigns involve and engage every segment of the community: teachers, business and religious leaders, elected officials, and the average citizen."

Rare Pride has been very successful; large conservation organizations, like The Nature Conservancy, are contracting Pride to assist with social marketing techniques for local conservation efforts. Rare plans to triple in staff size and impact by 2011.

For dynamic examples of their work, visit their website. But don't stick to just this page; there are a lot of other interesting examples, if you peruse through the website.

I particularly liked this story about loggerhead turtles in Baja California.



Public murals encouraged protection of the campaign's flagship species, the sea turtle. (Rare)




This sea turtle mascot in a Baja, California Sur Pride campaign, made a guest appearance at a local beauty contest. (Rare)

I like the Baja California loggerhead turtle campaign because it reminds me of another inspiring film that I saw at the 2008 Washington, D.C. Environmental Film Festival, called "Papa Tortuga".

"PAPA TORTUGA (USA, 2006, 20 min.)
Fernando Manzano was only 16 years old when he found his calling. For the past 31 years, he has dedicated himself to bringing the leatherback sea turtle back from the edge of extinction. In the small town of Tecolutla, Mexico, he has battled relentlessly against weather, natural predators and poachers with no outside support. Directed by Rob Wilson."

I can't find a trailer online, but here are two still photos. The first photo shows school children holding baby turtles. The children are about to release the baby turtles into the sea. The human subject in the second photo is Papa Torgua.

AIDS/HIV organization & an Unusual Retail Store

I was walking to a dance class one day in 2004, and passed a storefront with a sign that read "Pets are Wonderful Support." I googled it after class, and found that PAWS is a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping people with HIV/AIDS and other disabling illnesses together with their companion animals, by providing comprehensive care - a pet food bank, dog walking, cat care, supplemental vet services, transportation to vet appointments, and pet foster care. PAWS serves 400+ low-income human clients and their 500+ companion animals in San Francisco.

How cool is this organization??!!

Here's the PAWS promotional video --



I learned that these services are provided by a team of PAWS volunteers. I attended a volunteer training, and became a PAWS volunteer: I have walked a dog once a week, took care of a cat while the owner was hospitalized, regularly cleaned a bird's cage for a woman who lived in a nursing home, helped at a PAWS fundraiser, ran in a PAWS fundraiser 5K with my dog, and am delivering holiday stockings to PAWS clients next weekend. All of this, within walking distance of my apartment; so they are not just PAWS clients, but neighbors, too.

PAWS is an amazing organization, and a staple in the San Francisco community. In addition to providing individuals and their pets with care, PAWS educates the community on the benefits and risks of animal companionship.

PAWS receives a lot of community support, and is the benefactor of occassional cause marketing campaigns. In the November 2008 PAWS e-newsletter I learned of another cause marketing campaign benefitting PAWS:

Under One Roof's Union Square Holiday Shop
Under One Roof, raising funds for 29 Bay Area AIDS service organizations through its retail store at 518A Castro Street, has a special holiday shop in the Union Square district of downtown San Francisco. On the 2nd level of the Crocker Galleria at 50 Post Street, UOR's Holiday Store is open through January 9, 2009.

100% of the profits from UOR's operations are distributed to its beneficiaries including PAWS. Over its 18-year lifespan, Under One Roof has contributed more than $4 million in unrestricted operating funds to the AIDS community. For more information, visit their website at www.underoneroof.org.

I thought this was an interesting idea, and looked into it:

Under One Roof raises funds by selling items in their San Francisco store and via their website. They purchase 85% of their goods, wholesale. 15% of their goods are donated by retailers, and vendors. The proceeds from this 15% helps cover UOR's operating costs. UOR also holds fundraisers. They are able to make this work with favorable payment terms, freight terms, wholesaler pricing, and merchandise donations.

After covering their expenses, UOR gives 100% of their profits to their participating AIDS/HIV related non-profits. On average, each participating HIV/AIDs organization receives a 40–50% annual return on their investment.

"UOR was born in San Francisco in 1990, when a group of friends, wanting to help fight the AIDS epidemic ravaging their friends, family and community, had an idea: Create a small retail shop and donate all the profits to local HIV/AIDS service organizations. That first year, they simply sold gifts and wrapping paper during the winter holiday season from a little corner of the Names Project’s storefront on Market Street in the Castro district. Customers were thrilled they could support people affected byHIV/AIDS simply by giving gifts. And so began an enduring Under One Roof tradition — “giving the gift that gives twice.”

Several years later, Under One Roof blossomed into a year-round retail store on Castro Street. The new store was a truly collaborative effort: Agencies came together to sell merchandise, volunteers ran and staffed the store, corporate partners provided funding, vendors and retailers donated merchandise, and customers shopped their hearts out. All together, all “Under One Roof.”

In 2008, 18 years and more than $4 million in ASO donations later, Under One Roof moved across the street to 518A Castro Street — to a storefront triple the size of its previous location. In addition to retail in-store and online sales, Under One Roof now sponsors a variety of in-store and offsite fundraising events."

Check out this great video, which was filmed inside the UOR store:

The Wired White House

Wow - what an INTERESTING article about Obama's use of technology, and the future of his organization.

The Wired White House, by Alan Boyle, posted Nov. 21, 08

You can get some of the article's highlights here, in video format; this is an interview with Simon Rosenberg, the president and founder of the political advocacy group NDN --



Some points from the MSNBC article and Rosenbberg interview that particularly interested me:

* It will be common for government agencies to host videos and blogs. Rosenberg said "you're going to see competition at the weekly Cabinet meeting between the DHS secretary and the HHS secretary over who had more views on their YouTube video, and who had more comments on their blog."

* Presidential addresses and press briefings might not only appear on YouTube (like Obama's recent Saturday "radio" address), but might be webcast globally, translated into multiple languages. Rosenberg gave the example of "David Cameron, the leader of Britain's Conservative Party, who stars in a series of 'Webcameron' videos that touch upon his party's policies as well as his personal life. 'You can watch videos of him washing dishes in his sink,' Rosenberg said."

* Scott Goodstein, Obama for America external online director, managed attracting social networkers to to the cause via Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc, heavily utilizing widely used networking tools, and consumer trends: computers, cell phones, and other mobile devices. "For instance, one of the tools devised for the campaign was a downloadable application that could turn an iPhone into a hand-held political operative. 'We were able to organize people's address books based on who their friends were in battleground states,' Goodstein said. The campaign could also send out messages tailored to different geographic areas."

* Obama campaign staff are joining the transition, moving on to other causes, or taking breaks. Obama's top political organizers are reportedly meeting in Chicago to consider where to go from here.

For more information on this, check out this interview with "Marshall Ganz, who teaches public policy at the Kennedy School and is attached to the Hauser Center on Nonprofit Organizations. Ganz is a giant in the field of community organizing, with seminal experience going back to the civil rights movement and working with Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers. More important for the present moment, Ganz was the architect of Barack Obama's grassroots organizing juggernaut. He played a central role in the "Camp Obama" training sessions--three-day intensive workshops attended by something like 23,000 local organizers--and his teachings on the theory and practice of community organizing were widely influential on the campaign's local efforts."

source: Marshall Ganz on the Future of the Obama Movement, By Micah L. Sifry, 11/20/2008 - 12:03pm



* The question seems to be, not who is going to own the list of supporters, but what's going to happen because of it? Campaign manager David Plouffe circulated an online survey to active Obama volunteers, asking "Would you like to continue to volunteer in your community as part of an Obama organization?" Supporters could select from "promoting Obama's legislative initiatives, working for like-minded candidates or training volunteers in the organizing techniques we used to elect Barack." Thomas Gensemer, managing partner for Blue State Digital, the company that created the Web sites for the Obama campaign as well as Change.gov, said that a key part of maintaining that engagement will be to recognize volunteers' efforts. The data that vistors to Change.gov submit will likely be "packaged and proudly displayed in the days to come."

* A Newsweek story said that since it's illegal for Obama to communicate with just his supporters, the transition team is considering setting up a nonprofit organization that would buy the address/phone/e-mail lists of Obama campaign supporters. "The nonprofit would serve as a conduit, letting the administration maintain indirect contact with supporters," Newsweek reports. The article also reports that not all of Obama's team members will stay involved: "Joe Rospars, who ran Obama's Internet team, is returning to Blue State Digital, which he cofounded in 2004. Other top staff expressed privately that the bigger opportunities and money will be found in dotcom, not dotgov."

As a side note, there has been some recent news coverage regarding Obama surrender of his Blackberry. This newsweek story also explains why that's happening.

Another side note is that this Newsweek article mentions that during his campaign, Obama talked about appointing a technology czar, either a senior-level, or even cabinet-level, position, responsible for making the Obama White House transparent and efficient.

If this topic interests you, then also check out this powerpoint presentation, prepared by Micah Sifry, from www.personaldemocracy.com --

The Making of the President 2.0: How the Internet is Changing the Political Game

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: techpresident mccain)

Video Messages & E-Newsletters

I receive a lot of e-newsletters from advocacy groups. Quite frankly, most of them are pretty boring. Lots of text, few (or no) graphics, redundant information - a lot of groups take the same "email Congress" approach, and poor branding. Some groups send e-newsletters either too frequently, or so infrequently that I forget that I'm a subscriber.

So when I received an e-newsletter today from Gathering of the Vibes, a music festival that I attended this past July with HeadCount, in Bridgeport, CT, with an embedded video in it, I got very excited:)

The e-newsletter was a pretty typical update from Vibes - 2009 festival tix now on sale. But along with the text and some photos, there was a still photo of a video message from Ken Hays, and text beneath the video indicating that the video was clickable.

I would have been SUPER excited if the video had played right then and there, but it didn't; instead, when I clicked on the still image, I was taken directly to a very clean page on the Vibes website, with an embedded video message from Ken. It was awesome - a very nice, personal touch. My only complaint is that the website didn't give me the option of embedding Ken's video in facebook, or on this blog, and didn't make it easy for me to forward the video to a friend.

Hopefully more groups will start using these embedded videos, in their e-newsletters.