Eco-friendly and Ethical Valentine's Day Style Inspiration

Whatever your style or situation, there are plenty of ways to get into the Valentine's Day spirit while still supporting eco-friendly and ethical companies. Above and below are a few picks from some of my favorite brands that you can click to shop. Included are:

• Undies made in the USA by Only Hearts
• Earrings made with recycled gold and conflict-free diamonds by Monique Péan
• Organic, all-natural perfumes by Stella McCartney and LaVanilla
• Fairly made shirt by Ace &Jig
• Faux fur stole made in the USA from Anthropologie
• Dress made in the USA (only $48!) from Nordstrom
• Lip gloss from Bite Beauty-- all of their products are food grade! Ain't no lead up in these lipsticks, ladies.
• Clutch made in Brooklyn by No 13
• Three-free nail polish by Butter London

Maybe I should have just called this post "things I would give myself for Valentine's Day." #SELFLOVE is important!

And one more with my faves from Fleur du Mal, Josie Maran, Maison du Soir, and of course, Voluspa. And that mask...it's made in Germany using leather and Swaovski crystals by a company called Zenith. I feel like it could be used multiple times per year...masked balls, Halloween, 50 shades of Grey viewings...? ;)

Shop the post:

Perfect Holiday Gifts from AHAlife {Sustainable Sale Alert}

AHAlife is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to discover new brands and new designers that are creating thoughtful, long-lasting, handmade, and/or eco-friendly products. And with the holidays roaming around the corner, I feel like they will also become my go-to when it comes to giving (and getting!).

Bonus: for three more days, they are having a major holiday pre-sale of 20% off your total purchase using the following codes:

20BACK on $100 / 50BACK on $250  / 100BACK on $500 / 200BACK on $1,000

To get you started, here are a few of my favorite items to give and a few I daydream that I may get, all at a variety of price points, from $18 handmade slingshots for kiddos (or grown-up kiddos) to state of the art, American-made, electricity-free espresso-makers for the gourmand in your life at $199:

For more fair holiday gifting inspiration, follow me on Pinterest! 

Eco-friendly Fall Essentials from AHALife

I don't know about you, but I am ready for fall! And to celebrate it's arrival, I've picked out a few of my favorites from AHAlife, one of my favorite online resources for discovering thoughtful, on-trend brands. And just through today, you can take 24% off of your first purchase on their site with code AHANEW.

I'm a big fan of AHAlife not just because they seek out thoughtful brands creating high-quality goods, but because they disclose the details of each item so well on their site. With one click, I can see whether something is handmade or organic, where it is made, and sometimes even how it is made. They tell the story behind their products quite thoroughly and I wish more online retailers would do the same.

In the (shoppable) image above, you can find:

• Shwood sunglasses, handmade in Oregon from sustainably harvested wood.
• Botkier tote (also available in a more conservative all-tan or all-black), made in the USA.
• Cuff by Kelly Wearstler, made in the USA of gold-plated brass. I wish it were recycled gold plated brass.
• Organic Pink Fijian Tea, made in Fiji. 
• Wool Wrap: Crafted from hand-combed Mongolian yak wool, designer Khunu worked directly with herder communities to responsibly source its yak wool which is then crafted in the oldest textile workshop in Mongolia. Boom.
• Wrap clutch (also in this size) by Busk and Bask. Hand-crafted from vegetable-tanned leather, Chicago screws and a solid teak wood floor.

For more even fall essentials, check out my Pinterest Board!

AHALIFE is Totally Clutch

I discovered ahalife when I was putting together my Christmas gift guides, and I found it to be an excellent resource for any genre of gift giving I was focusing on. From the beautifully designed cookies to sustainable watches to fancy, locally-made condoms (yuuuup!), it's become a go-to retail site for many of my ethical shopping and blogging needs, so of course I had to share it with you  ASAP!

Ahalife positions itself as part of "global community of conscious consumers" within "a generation that is shifting away from disposable goods and moving towards objects of quality, craftsmanship and meaning." Lovin' it.

The only problem I have with the site is that there isn't quite enough information in the descriptions about the products and how they are made, at least not enough for us "conscious" folks. Here, I've shown you a collection of clutches for which I could verify that they were handmade, made in the USA, had a social impact, etc., but there were many more I would have included if I were able to divine those important details.

It makes sense that the details aren't always there, though, becuase AHALife doesn't have an eco-focus, but instead aims to "empower designers, artisans and innovators to thrive online" in a world dominated by larger corporations. Much like Of a Kind, part of their appeal is their razor sharp curation. In the case of ahalife, that audience is made up of well-traveled, fashion-forward lovers of luxe, whereas the Of a Kind customer might be more laid back, and perhaps skew younger.

The similarities to Of a Kind don't stop there, though, since ahalife is also about promoting smaller, independent businesses, and capitalizing on the emotional connection customers can make with a product when they know something about who has made it, or how, or better yet, why. Their celeb-studded list of "curators" doesn't hurt either, and includes heavy hitters like Iris Apfel and Tim Gunn.

Scroll through the clutches below to see a few of my fair favorites. These little bags are priced from $35 all the way up to $945, which is a (sort of) a reasonable pricepoint considering the skill, artistry, and labor that went into a few of these babies.

But ahalife isn't just clutches-- it just happens that their clutch collection happens is ahhh-mazing.  Below are a few more of my favorite non-clutch items (at more affordable price points):