The National Enquirer (indeed!) has quoted a “a source” as saying Richie “fussed over every imaginable detail, right down to the type of cotton in the sheets and the linens to the type of paint used on the walls. She scoured stores and researched on the Internet for weeks to find wood products that are made from reclaimed sustainable wood from the Brazilian rain forest.”

Considering how fussy parents can be this is a great thing to be fussy about. I’m looking forwarding to checking out what other green steps they’ll take and what else they’ll get up to once they’ve got two babies on board!

Photo: PR Photos

Globally, an estimated 125 million children under the age of five live in households without access to a safe drinking-water source. Even more people a total of more than 2.5 billion around the world are living without proper sanitation. That’s huge!

Madden spent this past World Water Day visiting one camp where nearly half of the children who die before the age of five are killed by diarrhoeal disease.

“I’m no better than they are,” he said after spending the day in Sam Ouandja camp. “I was just born in a country where I can have clean water, and that’s just the standard. We have [safe water] right in our house. They have to walk 15 minutes with a wheelbarrow to get water.”

Check out Madden’s video below.

The ceremony highlights the City of Beverly Hills’ “Light the Night” annual holiday event where the UNICEF Snowflake and the 20 Baccarat chandeliers that grace Rodeo Drive are illuminated to kick off the holiday season.

Carl Stern, President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, said: “We are honored to have Joel and Nicole participate in the Beverly Hills lighting ceremony. With their tremendous commitment to UNICEF’s child survival mission, Joel and Nicole are the perfect people for UNICEF to share this meaningful tradition with.”

The evening consists of family activities, performances by Kreesha Turner and The 88 and a fireworks display atop the Beverly Wilshire — a Four Seasons Hotel — which is home to the west coast UNICEF Snowflake.

Festivities begin at 3:00pm with the official lighting at 6:00pm and all are welcome!. To find out more, visit UNICEF’s website!

Photo credit: PR Photo

OK, so I just threw up a little bit in my mouth! Rumor has it that on October 24th, a whole mess of celebrities will check their morals at the door to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Breeders’ Cup

In case you don’t know, the Breeders’ Cup is an annual series of Grade I thoroughbred horse races that take place in a different city each year. To celebrate it’s return to Los Angeles, stars like Kurt Russell, Dennis Hopper, Jerry O’Connell, Allison Janney, Maroon 5 and DJ Joel Madden are coming together to celebrate in the spirit of animal abuse.

It’s estimated that around 800 racehorses die each year from fatal injuries suffered on US racetracks and approximately 3,566 sustain injuries so bad that they cannot finish their races. What happens if a horse fails to win? Most of the time a “losing” horse is sent to a slaughter, where operators sell the horse’s flesh overseas for human consumption, or provide horsemeat to glue factories.

So a big thumbs down to all those Hollywood stars who are choosing to publicly support this wacky tradition of wasteful cruelty. Way to go, you guys! If you’re that desperate to watch a race, tune into the presidential debates. At least there the loser won’t be sent to slaughter!

I want to share something with all of you that I’m REALLY not proud of. Last month, my T-Mobile bill reported that I had used 1877 text messages of my unlimited monthly text message plan. The month before: 1538. Before that: 1603. This means, because admitting you have a problem is the first step, that I average roughly 62.5 text messages a day! What I’m trying to say here is: I TEXT A LOT! Luckily for Nicole Richie and Joel Madden, so does just about everyone else.

The Richie Madden Children’s Foundation has just launched a new text messaging campaign to help build a playground for Beyond Shelter – a non-profit organization that provides permanent housing and support services for homeless families with children.

According to their website: “We’re pleased to announce the launch of TEXT CHILD to 90999, a new campaign to raise funds to help kids through a new kind of fundraising – with a simple text message. Each text message donates $5, billed to your phone bill. This is the first time that a text campaign has been done by mass media like this, so we’re excited to see how much we can raise!”

So hop on that phone and help build these kids a playground! Simply text the word “CHILD” to 90999…or if you’re me, text the word “CHILD” 1877 times!

via: looktothestars.org

If your dream in life is to sip a chai latte in an oversized pink mug signed by Shannon Elizabeth, you’re in luck. Along with Elizabeth, Debra Messing, Susan Lucci, Joel Madden, Christina Milian, Jesse Metcalfe, Melody Thomas Scott, Julianne Hough and other celebs have signed their own Nonni’s Biscotti mug for charity to be auctioned off this October.

Ninety mugs will be auctioned in all. All proceeds are benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and if you buy a box of Nonni’s Biscotti during the campaign, 75 cents of each purchase will also go to the charity.

As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, bidding will start on the mugs October 1 and will run the entire month.

“We take for granted the basic necessities. For some families, it’s a serious struggle,” Richie tells People. “This is one way to ease the financial burden, and help new babies have a good start in life. We are only working with companies and products that Joel and I would use. We’re checking every product out for safety, and all products are BPA-free.”

Here’s how it will work: Families will sign up through local social service agencies. A list of baby products they need, such as cribs, strollers or blankets, will be posted on the Web site. Donors can view the wish-lists and choose what to contribute (much like a wedding or baby gift registry.)

The registry will initially only be availble in Los Angeles — but Nicole has expressed interest in making it a national service as well. The hope is that most of the products features will be the same ones her and Joel use with their 7-month-old daughter, Harlow.

Interested in potentially being a sponsor of the new registry? Find out more over on the official foundation website.

Today, we have similar news from, once more, the National Inquirer. Apparently, new mom Nicole Richie is so paranoid about germs that she washes everything twice to protect six -month old Harlow.

A source said: “Nicole double washes her daughter Harlow’s clothes and double sanitises her bottles, baby spoons – anything Harlow eats out of. “Even the cleaning supplies in the house have to be organic and non-toxic.” Fiance Joel Madden is reportedly concerned Nicole has become obsessed with keeping their home spotlessly clean.

Thoughts? Can you relate or is this taking things a little too far? If she must sanitize, at least she’s going about it using organic, non-toxic products. But is all of this too much of a good thing?

via china daily

via JustJared

Score another win for cloth diapers!

Nicole Richie and fiancee Joel Madden were seen leaving Whole Foods yesterday packing what appear to be Seventh Generation Chlorine-Free Cloth Diapers. The actress recently gave birth to a baby girl named Harlow. Last year, the couple started a charitable organization called the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation to benefit mothers in need.

via x17online