ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

April 30th 2008

Will Carrie Underwood Go Vegan?

Filed under: animals, food & drink, green and famous, healthy living, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 9:54 am

Vegans everywhere might just have themselves a reason to say YEE-HAW!!

Singer Carrie Underwood– whom Ecorazzi has continuously praised for her vegetarianism and charitable nature – recently made comments about her desire to give up dairy. Is Carrie trying to make the vegan plunge?

Underwood confessed her “inability” to give up the misfit food group, stating, “Cheese is ruining my life! I’m trying to talk myself into being lactose-intolerant. I mean, it’s basically moldy milk, and it doesn’t smell that great. But it’s so good! Oh, jeez, I’m thinking about it now.”

Now I know she’d have to give up a little more than just cheese to be a true vegan, but every little step counts, right?  Perhaps Carrie will soon be getting her vegan card and joinging the likes of Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Alicia Silverstone. Only time will tell. Stay tuned!

Ps. If you’re fighting the cheese blues, read Marilu Henner’s Total Health Makeover. I haven’t eaten dairy since. No joke!

via: starpulse.com

April 18th 2008

Spend A Celebrity-Packed Evening At The Farm Sanctuary Gala 2008

Filed under: animals, events, events: nyc, food & drink, green and famous, honors, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 3:59 pm

What’s more fun than spending a fancy schmancy evening in downtown New York City eating classy vegan fare with some of today’s hottest celebrities? Um, nothing! 

On May 17th from 6pm-midnight Farm Sanctuary will hold it’s annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC — and trust me, you don’t want to miss it! Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 and aims to expose and stop cruel practices that take place in the “food animal” industry. They now have two shelters — one in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and the other in Orland, Calif. — where they provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals. 

This year the Farm Sanctuary Gala will be hosted by Heather Mills, emceed by Melissa Rivers and will feature a delicious three course vegan dinner, an awards ceremony, a silent auction and a musical performance by Shawn Colvin. And the guest list is just as exclusive with celebrities like Kristen Bell, Rachel Leigh Cook, Jennifer Coolidge, Emily Deschanel, Christine Ebersole, Swoosie Kurtz, Kevin Nealon, Loretta Swit, Persia White and Debra Wilson Skelton scheduled to attend, as well as many others.  

Tickets may sound a bit pricey at 400 dollars a pop, but save those pennies because this evening is totally worth it. Last time I went I heard an incredible speech by Loretta Swit, said hello to James Cromwell and pointed Alicia Silverstone to the restroom. 

To find out more visit FarmSanctuary.org and get those tickets before they run out! I’ll be covering the event this year so make sure you find me and say hello! 

April 17th 2008

Celebrate Earth Day With Some Of Your Favorite Stars

Filed under: campaigns, contests, donations, green and famous, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 3:00 pm

Wanna celebrate Earth Day eco-style but live in a city that lacks festivities? No worries Ecorazzi readers! Just turn on that computer and start a’ bidding.

To commemorate Earth Day 2008, stars like Daryl Hannah, Glenn Close and Alicia Silverstone will be auctioning off celebrity experiences, eco-getaways and much more for the “Earth Day 2008″ online auction to support Waterkeeper Alliance.

Just skip on over to CharityBuzz.com and bid on prizes like: a day of filming on Daryl Hannah’s environmental blog, a day on the set of Damages with Glenn Close and a fly-fishing trip to Ted Turner’s ranch in Argentina. All the proceeds go to Waterkeepers, which is an organization that works on 170 waterways to protecting our water sources and make sure they stay so fresh and so clean, clean.

The bidding started April 15th and closes April 29th, so don’t waste another second! Visit CharityBuzz.com and make this Earth Day super special. Good luck!

March 13th 2008

Green Celebrities Help Support The Do Not Mail Campaign

Filed under: campaigns, green and famous, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 12:11 pm

If you’re like me, you much prefer email to snail mail. What can I say? Joke-a-days and chain letters are just way more fun (and a lot less harmful to the environment) than the piles of wasted paper that clog my mailbox anxiously awaiting that inevitable toss into the bin!

GreenDaily.com told me that in the U.S. we collectively receive 100 billion pieces of junk mail which requires cutting down 100 million trees and produces global warming emissions equal to those of 3.7 million cars. And out of all that mail, 44 percent gets sent to landfills without even being opened. Want to cut the crap? Well now you can!

Enter Forest Ethics — a conservation group dedicated to winning the war on junk mail with their Do Not Mail campaign. The Do Not Mail campaign is an initiative to convince congress that a national registry should be created giving citizens the right to JUST SAY NO to craptastic mail from those companies we love to hate! Because Forest Ethics knows what’s up, they’ve enlisted the help of some badass green celebrities like Adrian Grenier, Darryl Hannah, Alicia Silverstone, Jackson Browne, Aaron Douglas, Ed Begley, Jr. and Paul Hawken to help support their campaign and make this a national priority.

Adrian Grenier (or as I call him, Adrian GREENier) said, “Junk mail is more than an annoying waste of time, it’s a waste of our environment. Joining ForestEthics’ Do Not Mail campaign is a great, easy way to stop the waste.”

So what hell are you waiting for? Go to the Do Not Mail website right this very second and sign the petition to help rock a mission! Mama Earth is pissed ya’ll and wants this place clean!

[UPDATE] Apparently, Leonardo DiCaprio has just signed on for the campaign as well. Details here.

January 24th 2008

Celebrity Designer Strives To Change The World With Carbon T-Shirts

Filed under: fashion, green and famous, products, shopping, thegreenpicture — parrish @ 11:06 am

I’m not gonna lie to you….I shop at Old Navy. Go ahead-throw recycled bottles, curse under your breath, perform voodoo curses on me…just get it all out of your system. I’m not proud on my reliance on the dastardly corporate teat for my fashion nourishment, but sometimes it’s hard to find eco-friendly threads in a hurry. Well no more excuses for me!

Christopher Davies, the owner and Head Fashion Stylist of London based POA-Style has just cut the ribbon on his new green business, CarbonTeeShirt.com. Davies has had over 10 years of experience working with celebrities like Gabriel Byrne, Alicia Silverstone (my celebrity crush), Billy Bob Thorton, and Parker Posey (who I see on a monthly basis in the East Village and find totally dreamy). Davies plans on using his celebrity crew to help promote his new t-shirt line and make the world a more environmentally fashionable place.

The goal of the carbon tee is to create global awareness about the dangers of having a heavy carbon footprint (I’m talking to you David Beckam) and to focus more on reducing your impact on the environment. These shirts most definitely practice what they preach by rocking 100 percent organic cotton, using organic water based dyes, and being harvested by hand-thus reducing the amount of fossil fuels used in the manufacturing process. Oh yeah, and for every t-shirt sold, Davies and his crew will make a donation to Plant-A-Tree-Today.

So Old Navy, watch out! My days of generic sweat shop clothes are coming to an end! Visit CarbonTeeShirt.com and help me change the world one sleeve at a time!

December 12th 2007

Celebrity Bel-Air Pet Shop Closed For Selling Unlicensed Dogs

Filed under: animals, not green — parrish @ 11:10 am

Pets of Bel Air, a popular celebrity puppy emporium, has been exposed for operating without a license for over 3 years. The Humane Society of the United States lead the investigation and officially closed down the store yesterday afternoon for selling puppies from unlicensed mills, for at least $1,000.

The problem with these mills is that without a license there are no rules to govern how they treat their pets. Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States stated, “Often, they’re run by farmers who raise soybeans and corn, and this becomes another, more lucrative cash crop for them. It often becomes a dominant source of income because no money is spent on the care of these dogs.”

Pets of Bel Air is famous for their celebrity pooch selling skills, and just recently provided Britney Spears a yorkie and Paris Hilton a Chihuahua. Other celebrities like Alicia Silverstone, Sarah Mclachlan and Mary Tyler Moore all get warm fuzzies for helping spread good examples by buying rescued dogs from local shelters. Plus, we all know I kinda have a crush on Alicia Silverstone.

If you’re looking to adopt a new pet this holiday season, I recommend going to PetFinder.com and browsing through some adorable, rescued puppies that could all use some serious holiday snuggle time.

December 3rd 2007

Ecorazzi Salutes Alicia Silverstone

Filed under: green and famous — parrish @ 10:26 am

So this is the premier of a new feature on Ecorazzi where each month we’ll spotlight one green celebrity that goes above and beyond their call of duty to help promote a green way of life. This month we salute Alicia Silverstone. 

The year was 2006, I was young lad of 23 working at Angelica Kitchen and trying to survive in NYC.  The annual Farm Sanctuary Gala was about to take place, but lack of funds prevented me from attending. Luckily, I was able to volunteer and that is the first time Alicia Silverstone ever spoke with me.  I believe the exact words were, “Excuse me, which way is table number 15.”  Of course I was familiar with Alicia’s work (both on screen and off) and had secretly been sporting a solid crush on her since Clueless, but it was watching her speak at the Farm Sanctuary Gala that solidified my decision that she might be the greenest celeb ever!!

Alicia resides in Los Angeles in a house that rocks solar panels, an organic vegetable garden and a crew of rescued dogs. As a long time vegan (represent yo), she not only refrains from buying animal products, but takes it a step further by purchasing only organic cotton or alternative fabrics, such as hemp and canvas. And her beauty secret: products from companies like Jurlique and Burt’s Bee’s that are both vegan and good for the earth. Of course she uses energy-efficient light bulbs and also promotes the use of bamboo as a good alternative to wood flooring.  When it comes to cruising, you’ll find Alicia chillin in her Toyota Prius with her rescued dog Samson (who is also a vegan). But most importantly, the greatest thing about Alicia is that she uses every possible opportunity to promote her eco-happy lifestyle in a way that’s informative, non-judgmental and totally charming.

Yes, yes, I know that Alicia Silverstone is happily married to musician Christopher Jarecki, but all I’m saying is that if one day that doesn’t work out, I’ll be waiting. I mean she even had a Bat Mitzvah…my grandma would be so proud!

November 30th 2007

Victoria Beckham To Lose Her Clothes For Charity

Filed under: campaigns — michael @ 4:56 pm

Let the discussions on using nude women to promote charity efforts begin! We’ve seen more celebrity ladies lately drop their clothing to support various causes (Maggie Q, Sophie Monk, Alicia Silverstone, Pippa Black) and the response has ranged from supportive to the unnecessary use of sex to sell a message. Please welcome Victoria Beckham to the club!

According to the Hollywood Rag, Posh has been signed to become the face of designer Marc Jacobs’ Spring/Summer 2008 collection and he has persuaded her to be photographed naked with the image to be used on a range of his skin cancer charity T-shirts. Of course! From the article,

“A source told Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: ‘Victoria loves Marc’s work but she wasn’t entirely comfortable with getting naked. Marc went all-out to persuade her. And when she heard about what a great cause it was she knew she just couldn’t turn it down. The picture she and Marc have chosen is amazing - sexy but tasteful.’”

The Spice Girl will join other celebrities such as Julianne Moore, Dita Von Teese and Naomi Campbell, who all stripped for Jacobs’ T-shirts in 2006. That year, over $60,000 was raised for charity — and Jacobs is hoping even more will benefit this time around.

So, what do you think? We all know that sex sells, but should orgs be more equal in their use of women and men for such promotions?

November 29th 2007

Featured Charity: Humane Society of the United States

Ecorazzi Exclusive with the Hollywood Office

Filed under: ecorazzi exclusive, featured charity — paige @ 10:23 am

Ecorazzi is always proud to report on the many Hollywood starlets that serve as leading voices when it comes to standing up for animal rights. And in many cases, celebrities often work with the Humane Society of the United States. HSUS is one of the leading non-profits in educating and raising awareness around animal cruelty and Ecorazzi’s first Featured Charity. We took some time to talk to Beverly Kaskey, Senior Director of The Hollywood Office of HSUS to learn more about the organization and how celebrities are playing an important role in educating people around animal issues.

E: Tell us about The Hollywood Office of the Human Society of the United States.
HSUS: We originally started as the ArkTrust and merged with HSUS in 2002. We are devoted to raising public awareness of animal issues by encouraging and honoring the major news and entertainment media. We believe that media is an extremely influential forum to inform, provoke and compel individuals to think differently about a whole range of social issues and educate about animal cruelty.

E: Tell us about the Genesis Awards.
HSUS: Animal advocate and actress Gretchen Wyler started the Genesis Awards in 1986. She came up with the idea because she strongly believed in rewarding members of the media who spotlight animal issues, thus increasing public awareness and compassion toward animals. The first event took place as a luncheon at the Bel Age Hotel drawing only 140 attendees and quickly grew into a large gala at the Beverly Hills Hilton with over 800 people. Wyler wanted to really honor the animal activism that really started the trend of animal activism in the 60s from starlets of that time period including Doris Day and Brigitte Bardot. In fact, there are now two awards - the Doris Day Music Award and the Brigitte Bardot International Award that are both highlighted during the gala.

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