Me with clutch purse made from recycled pop-can pull-tabs

According to Wikipedia, Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

I recently learned about upcycling after a Sunday morning brunch with a friend at Aux Vivres, a favourite Montreal vegan restaurant, when we discovered a hip, little, eco shop while walking down St Laurent blvd.  Il était deux fois (Once upon two times) is the newest boutique to have opened up by an American transplant that saw a market for recycled items at a premium price.

Purses made from discarded candy wrappers and pop-can pull tabs

Decisions, decisions; so many purses to choose from. These chic and unique purses are definite art pieces. What I really like the most about them, besides being made from what would otherwise be discarded, is that they are all fair-trade. Each purse is signed by the maker themselves from a shop in Brazil.  I won’t lie, these purses cost a pretty penny, i believe the clutches start around $50 or so, but at least you know the money is going to a good cause.

Back in April 2009, I bought an Ecoist purse at the airport in DC, that was made with misprinted magazine papers from Mexico. I’ve also seen them made form New York subway tickets and Wrigley gum wrappers. And if you think this sounds junky, don’t be fooled, these purses are showing up in the latest fashion magazines like Vogue and on runways across Europe!  Green fashion is so hot right now!

Cork boards made from reused wine corks and hockey stick mirrors

Do you like to drink wine? I sure do! This wine cork board is the perfect way to reuse corks and who doesn’t need an extra place to pin important pieces of paper or concert tickets to a wall? And talk about these mirrors made from broken hockey sticks! With such a vintage look, they would be the perfect decoration for any boys’ bedroom wall.

Escama Studio pop-can pull-tab bracelets and necklaces

These jewellery pieces were the best. Necklaces and bracelets made from pop-can pull-tabs. These ones were made from the Brazilian company Escama Studio. Whoever would have thought that something so cheap could produce something so glamourous.

I bought a bracelet for myself. It cost me around $25 but I feel good knowing that my money is going to a fair-trade company helping to get Brazilians off the street.

The next time you go to throw something away in the trash, just ask yourself if there’s a better way. Could you reuse it in some way shape or form to create a masterpiece? Could it become the next art project for your kids perhaps?

If visiting Montréal, check out  this 3-block strech of St Laurent boulevard between Mont-Royal and Villeneuve which is now being dubbed the Green Mile full of eco-boutiques, veggy restaurants and high-end consignment stores.

Il était deux fois is located at 4539 St-Laurent Boulevard in Montreal (1 block north of Mont-Royal).

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George's opening speech at the World premiere of Terriens in Montréal

The world premiere of Earthlings in French, “Terriens”, was a smashing success last Friday night with more than 750 people squeezing into the theatre at UQAM. The ambiance was definitely full of love and excitement. Besides Georges Laraque, special guests included 2 other Montreal Canadiens; Maxim Lapierre and Michael Cammalleri. Read the rest of this entry »

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NHL superstar, Georges Laraque, turns vegan

(Film info below)

Barely 7 months ago, this NHL hockey superstar, Georges Laraque, shocked fans across North America with his decision to become vegan after watching the award-winning film Earthlings. As if he didn’t get enough flack for being a “black hockey player”, he took media criticism to another level with his decision to defend the animals and the environment. Despite it all, he continues to make a huge difference in the world and for that – he truly rocks!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting this true hockey hero this past month for his birthday at Chu Chai, Montreal’s best Read the rest of this entry »

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Dropping off my desktop computer at PC Recycle in Montreal

To me, throwing your old computer out on the street is absolutely unacceptable. But let’s be honest, what’s the alternative? It’s not like there’s a company that comes to our mind when we want to get rid of our computer? Read the rest of this entry »

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A low-fat diet where potato chips don’t count is about as absurd as world leaders talking about climate change but not addressing deforestation. Yet, that’s exactly what happened at the last summit on climate change.

Did you know that 20% of all CO2 released into the air “from humans” comes from the clearing of forests? That’s right, cutting them down results in more carbon being released into the air then cars, trucks, trains and planes combined. That’s huge!

This December, global leaders, including Obama, will be meeting in Copenhagen to discuss climate change. They must address deforestation if they want to make a difference. In order to make this happen, CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society) just launched a great campaign called MakeForestsCount which includes a petition to Canada and United States asking them to:

• Protect intact forests and wetlands;
• Account fully for the carbon lost by cutting forests and destroying wetlands — accounting must be based on actual changes in emissions from the past.
• Help developing countries to reduce deforestation and forest degradation while protecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

So if YOU want to make a difference against climate change, go to MakeForestsCount.org and sign the petition today!

Watch the video:

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Car sharing gives you the benefits of a car in an eco-friendly fashion

Lets face it, in an urban world, there are just some times where we need to have a car. From  picking up friends or family at the airport and transporting furniture or big purchases to simply wanting to get out of town for the week-end, the use of a car is imminent.

In my day to day life, I fortunately do not need a car.  I use the metro (subway) to get to work and can walk to all necessary stores and services. This is one of the reasons I believe living in a urban centre is actually quite eco. However, there are times where I legitimately need a car. So here’s what I did, I became one of 20,000 Canadians that signed up for car-sharing. I did it with Communauto.

About car sharing:

Car sharing is one of the coolest trends in the “eco” movement and is practiced around the world, especially in Europe. It started in Switzerland in 1987 and made its way to North America via Quebec in 1993. It entails sharing a car with others through an organisation, only when you need it. It is the perfect compliment to someone like me who uses public transport but needs a car from time to time. It has apparently become so popular in the urban eco movement that new condo developments are being built with parking spaces available for cars from car-sharing companies only.

My experience with car sharing: Read the rest of this entry »

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Reduce plastic bag and litter waste by reusing resealable pet food bags

If you’re like me, you hate cleaning the cat’s litter box. On top of that, you probably use your grocery store bags, but now that you’re using reusable grocery store bags, you have fewer of these left and they’re reserved mainly for your garbage can. Am I right?

Here’s a tip i discovered. Nowadays, a lot of dry pet food comes in these resealable zip lock type bags. So, rather than throwing them out, I reuse them for litter waste.  One 9lb bag reduces the need for 10 grocery store bags.  This bag will last 1-2 weeks and I can clean out the litter box more frequently. This makes my cats happier too.

Smart? I think so. Just another way of implementing the 4 R’s of waste management.

Rethink -> Reduce -> Reuse -> Recycle

Putting the litter in the resealable cat food bag

Not only can you clean the litter out more frequently by using this same bag, there’s also less odor since i can easily store this bag on my balcony.

Clean litter box thanks to reused pet food bag

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All natural lip glosses in colours you desire like Ruby red and Pearl

Do you feel guilty buying make-up because you feel the act is not “green”? Or worse, you’re worried about the chemical ingredients?

Well, I just found the greatest discovery this past week-end while visiting a new health food store; a line of completely eco lip balms and glosses by Kiss my Face. They’re 100% natural and 91% organic. It’s part of their shimmers & shines collection. Read the rest of this entry »

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Urban Green Girl's Master Cleanse Results

Three weeks have passed since I finished my master cleanse and I am ready to give you the results.

My skin didn’t clear up like I was hoping, so this just proves that it is, indeed, hormonal and stress related. Asides from having a huge feeling  of self accomplishment and pride, I did lose 7lbs overall, and this wasn’t even a goal. It has been 3 weeks since I finished, and this weight hasn’t come back. I have, however, been careful to not over eat since this was a good starting over point for me.

Pros:

• Sense of accomplishment
• Stable weight loss, 7lbs overall
• Toxin removal
• Better appreciation for food
• Eat better (eat more grains)

Cons:

• Did not clear my acne
• Took 2-3 weeks to get my digestive system back to normal
• Went on a food binge afterwards
• No difference in energy levels or fatigue (but other facts explain this, like going to bed at 1am) Read the rest of this entry »

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Urban Green Girl's first Orange juice

I made it, today is Day glass of 10! Phew I am tired and ready to start eating again. I did my second liver cleanse last night as my naturopath said it would be a good idea and I wanted to do a second one. This morning I passed a few, very tiny liver stones, but almost none I am happy to report. This means that the first liver cleanse I did in July got rid of almost everything and is also a testament to my healthy lifestyle.

Freshly squeezed orange juice

Today at 2pm, I had a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice but it was a little hard to swallow at first. One hour later I was feeling stronger and able to drink more.

I made a delicious veggie soup for lunch with carrots, celery, herbs de provence, basil, red lentils and pearl barley. I regret having added the pearl barley though as I don’t think my digestive system was ready for it. I should have kept it more simple, veggie broth and vegetables.

Homemade veggie soup

For supper I had steamed vegetables, brown rice and a little spinach salad. Throughout the day though, I kept drinking the orange juice.

My digestive system doesn’t seem to be handling the food yet though.  I think I’m going to keep to soup broth, fruit and orange juice for the next few days. I am craving chewy things though like dried mango and licorice. Overall, I laid low today and watched movies in bed, as I was quite exhausted.

I can say though that my skin does look better following the master cleanse. I’ve read that breaking the fast is almost as important as the fast itself so I’ve decided to do a follow up report in one week when my digestive system should be back to tell you if I reached my objectives and if  it was worth drinking the lemonade diet for 10 days!

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