Tika Sumpter Talks About Saving the Planet—and Kissing Nate and Chuck

Last week, we had the chance to talk with new Gossip Girl cast member, Tika Sumpter. She was at a Body Shop event promoting the 3-Minute Shower Challenge. Turns out reducing your shower time from  3 minutes to 10 would save 50 gallons of water per shower! If that's unrealistic for you—and hey, no judgments. Long, hot showers are definitely one of our biggest vices—even just shortening your shower time will help. Or try showering every other day when possible.

Another way to make your shower better for the earth is to use a eco-friendly shower gel. The new Body Shop Shower Gels for Earth Lovers are 100 percent biodegrabable and are sulphate, paraben and colorant free. They also come in a 100 percent recycled plastic bottle. The shower gels are available in six delicious scents, including pear and lemongrass and fig and rosemary.

Watch the video above to see Tika Sumpter talk about her involvement in the campaign. Be sure to watch to the end where she reveals who she like kissing better as Raina Thorpe on Gossip Girl, Chuck Bass or Nate Archibald!

Donate a Pair of Shoes and Get $20 Off a New Pair

If you've spring cleaned your closet, you've likely spotted at least one pair of shoes that you bought on sale an have only worn once or twice, whether they were the wrong size for you or just didn't end up going with the rest of your wardrobe like you thought they would. Well, now there's something better you can do with them besides toss them: Send them into Renew Your Soles and you'll get $20 off a new pair of shoes at Shoes.com.

Naya Shoes (shown above) and Shoes.com are partnering with Soles4Souls, a non-profit that distributes gently worn shoes to people in 127 countries on this project. Naya Shoes are known for their commitment to the environment, using the most eco-friendly dyes, natural or recycled materials, boxes that are made of 80 percent recycled pulp among other strategies. Plus, they're pretty darn cute!

Find out more about the Renew Your Soles program.

Lead-Free Handbags

Until last night, we didn't even know there was a possibility our handbags could contain lead. We must have been on vacation when the report came out in January that a number of PVC bags, including those from Target, H&M, Macys and Kohl's, were found to contain lead. (We're wondering if our PVC shoes from these stores are at risk for lead, too?)

Now, thanks to the Robert Verdi eco-tweetup last night, we know there are safer options, including the K.C. Malhan line of bags. Designer Jessica Singh creates vegan bags made with lead-free beads (Does that mean our beaded tops could have lead too? We can't even think about that possibility.)

We love the leopard print clutch and the cosmo coin purse, both available at K.C. Malhan.

See our other favorite products that are good for the earth.

This review was based on a free sample.

Christies Earth Day Auction

In honor of the 40th Earth Day on April 22, Christie's is hosting "A Bid to Save the Earth." Proceeds from the artwork and experiences benefit Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Central Park Conservancy. Celebs expected to walk the green carpet are Leonardo Dicaprio, Harrison Ford, Tobey Maguire, Salma Hayek, Alec Baldwin, Cameron Diaz and more.

Included in the auction are his and her bespoke suits, made of sustainable fabric, custom fitted by Stella McCartney herself; a $10,000 credit to Vera Wang, plus lunch with the designer, and a fitting with Giorgio Armani for a gown plus two tickets to next year’s Vanity Fair Oscar party so you have somewhere to wear the frock.

It's not all fashion items on the block: Artists Damien Hirst (that's his "All You Need is Jealousy" silkscreen above) and Keith Tyson and photographer David LaChapelle have donated original artworks for the auction.

Watch the auction live on April 22 at 7:30 EST on a Bid to Save the Earth.

Too rich for your blood? Check out our Earth Day 2010 picks.

Catch Macy Gray in Concert Tonight for Origins Rocks Earth Month

Origins is one of our favorite cosmetics brands--not only for their amaze products, but because they really care about the environment. Origin counters and stores are one of the few places where you can recycle any compact, lipstick or other cosmetic container. Further proof: Origins calls is Earth Month, not just Earth Day.

Tune in tonight at 10 pm EST to catch Macy Gray in Origins Rocks Earth Month, as Macy and friends celebrate Mama Nature.

Earth Day 2010

If volcano ash across Europe, earthquakes in China, Chile, and Haiti and the craziest storm we've ever seen in the Northeast (where the felling of countless of hundred year old trees was shocking. albeit minor in comparison) isn't a wake-up call to pay attention to Mother Nature, than we don't know what is. Even if you don't buy into global warming, it's important to take care of our planet and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle whenever possible.

Here's a roundup of our favorite Earth Day 2010 products:

Eco-Friendly Bags and Wallets for Earth Day 2010
Made of recycled plastic bottles (below), candy wrappers and old seat belts, these bags are good for the environment and your style cred.

H+M Garden Collection for Earth Day 2010
Budget-friendly trendsetter H+M launched the Garden Collection, filled with clothes made of recycled fabrics.

Ipanema Flip Flops for Earth Day 2010
Proceeds from Giselle's line of Ipanema Flip Flops go towards helping turtle hatchlings find their way to the sea--and safety.

Have a Cocktail, Plant a Tree for Earth Day 2010
When you order a Treetini at participating Morgan's Hotels? A tree will be planted.

Eco-Friendly Shoes for Earth Day 2010
Shoes made of recycled leather (below), car carpets and vegan shoes that help others all make the list.

Kiehl's Limited Edition Labels for Earth Day 2010
The Kiehl’s Açaí Damage-Protecting Toning Mist has many advantages, including that 100% of the net proceeds goes to the Rainforest Alliance.

Let us know your fave!

Eco-Friendly Bags and Wallets

We were first attracted to the looks of the Matt and Nat bags--then liked them even more once we learned the vegan bags feature linings made of recycled bottles. The lining of each bag is stamped to let you know exactly how many bottles were used, for example, 16 recycled bottles were used for the above bag.

If candy wrappers are more your thing, consider the Nahu Ollin line of bags that are made of recycled wrappers by small communities in Mexico.

Or check ot this Harvey Treecycle Wallet, made of recycled seatbelts.

Buy Martha Stewart's Tote Bag for Charity

The domestic doyenne is one of eight celebs who designed a tote bag as part of the Purex Saves Green Program. Each celeb-designed tote bag is currently being auctioned off with proceeds going towards Earth Day Network, founder of the original Earth Day back in 1970. The auction ends April 29. While we adore Martha's tote (above) with its appliquéd animals, if we were to bid on one, it would definitely be Law and Order SVU star Tamara Tumie's:

Chevy Chase's is just wrong...

Pollution Around the World and What We Can Do About It

Every once in awhile we take a break form our regularly scheduled programming to get on our soapbox. We were so moved this morning when watching Thomas Kostigen, author of You Are Here talk about how pollution is affecting the world on the Today Show. Not only is pollution is harming the air that we breathe and our waterways (as if that's not important enough), it's also affecting our world monuments like Jerusalem's Western Wall and Dome of the Rock. We remember seeing this type of decay with our own eyes when we saw the deterioration of Luxor Temple in Egypt (above) and were not surprised to hear Kostigen say that monuments like these in Israel and Egypt are decaying at a faster rate than ever before.


The book goes on to cover a village in Alaska that may soon be under water, the Eastern Garbage Patch, which we alerted you to earlier this year, the Amazon and other areas at risk.

Have we depressed you? Take heart, there are small everyday actions you can take to help save our beautiful world. You've heard it before, but one of the simplest and most effective things you can do is to stop using plastic bags in favor of a reusable tote.

One of our favorites is the Sephora Project Tote. The bag is made of recycled plastic bottles that have been turned into fiber and $6 from the purchase of each $12 bag goes towards Girls for a Change, a national organization that empowers girls to promote social change.

Happy Earth Day!

We've said it before, but this is so important it bears repeating: You can't travel as much as we do without falling in love with the world. And when you see all the incredible beauty out there, you want to preserve it for generations to come. When we read about places like the Eastern Garbage Patch it breaks our heart.



The most effective way to cut down on trash, pollution and global warming gases is to cut down on your own personal consumption. Don't worry, we're not going to go all vegan on your ass and we're not about to tell you to cut out travel, but do take a look around your home and reconsider your lifestyle. Are there any ways you can cut back? Here are a few ideas to get you started. If everyone adopted one or two of these, we would be well on our way to a healthier globe:


1. Always carry a spare bag with you so you don't need a plastic bag.


2. Donate old clothes. Those glam dresses that you've had your photo taken in 1,000 times could make a great prom dress for a teen. Old suits, blouses, dresses and work shoes can go to Dress for Success. Nike collects old tennis shoes for its Reuse a Shoe program. It turns them into soft surfaces for playgrounds, basketball courts and tracks.



3. Ordering in? Tell the restaurant you don't need plastic cutlery when you're eating at home.


4. Use cloth napkins instead of paper as All About The Pretty suggests.

5. Recycle your beauty products whenever you can. MAC and Aveda accept their products for recycling.

6. Read TotalBeauty.com's list of the Top Toxin-Free Beauty Brands.

7. Consider buying carbon offsets to balance the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the air on your next plane flight. Basically, this is a $5-$25 donation to an environmental group which will use the money to plant a tree or install solar energy panels elsewhere in the world.

8. Drive a hybrid car. Don't have one? Enter the TotalBeauty.com sweepstakes to win one. All you have to do is review one product on TotalBeauty.com from now until June 5 and you're automatically entered. Oh, and did we mention that it's filled with awesome products from Origins, Sephora, Raw Natural Minerals and more? Even better--not one, not two, not even three--a grand total of SEVEN winners will be selected at random each day and win awesome things like gift certificates for those same products!

Riding the Green Band Wagon

Only one week til Earth Day and the press releases on Green Products keep rolling in!

Confused by what natural versus organic means? And does it even mean anything? JSG's Annie wrote a comprehensive piece on Eco-Beauty for EverydayHealth.com, where she toils for 2 days a week. (It may surprise you to learn, but we actually do have day jobs—hey, we have to finance those girls’ trips somehow!) Read it here. One of the things we're most surprised to learn from Pantene scientist Lesley Bride is that hairspray hasn't harmed the ozone layer since 1978!

If the piece inspires you to recycle more of your used products—here’s an extra reason to get started: Next Tuesday, April 22, Earth Day, Kiehl’s is giving away these adorable totes to the first 50 people who bring in an empty bottle for recycling to their free standing stores. We love the little plane on it!

A Place We Don't Want to Go: The Eastern Garbage Patch

You can't travel as much as we do without being in love with the planet and we mean in a big way. In fact one JSG member has a tattoo of the globe! We were stunned to read in the March issue of W magainze about the Eastern Garbage Patch, a giant mass of floating trash, in the Pacific. This "island" is reputedly twice the size of Texas! Debonair banking air, David de Rothschild will be journeying to it on a raft built out of water bottles later this year on his Plastiki project. David founded AdventureEcology, which is the sexiest green movement we have heard of to date. His site offers fun daily tips, that not only were new to us, but are things we actually plan to do. Take yesterday's tip: Pour the dregs from your bottle of wine (either colour) into an ice cube tray and freeze. Next time you feel like risotto, and some extra flavour with your ready-made stock cubes.

So think about this mound of trash next time you use a plastic bag, buy bottled water or run the water while you brush your teeth.

While we're on our soap box and speaking of ink, we hope you'll indulge us a little longer:

A Tasmanian Devil isn't just every frat boy's favorite cartoon character for a tattoo, it's also an animal that lives on Tasmania, an Australian island. We were dismayed while at a cocktail party recently to learn that the Tasmanian Devil is in danger of becoming extinct. The poor little guys are developing a deadly cancer which typically kills them in under 5 months. In areas of high density population areas, the disease has already wiped out 90 percent of the devils in only 10 years. No one knows what's causing the disease and the environment may not be to blame.

Researchers are hard at work trying to find a cause and a cure. For more information, go to Save the Tasmanian Devil.