Eco-Friendly Entertaining

Get off on the right foot - First thing's first: the invites. Make sure you use invites made from recycled paper. Contrary to ecologically-challenged perceptions, recycled paper can look and feel just like high grade paper, but minus the guilty conscience. If ordering them from a professional, ask whether they use recycled paper.

Faux Flowers - Gone are the days of deplorable fake flowers you could spot a mile away - usually collecting dust in some over-crowded knick-knack filled nook and cranny in your grandmother's house. These days, if you know where to look, fake flowers can pass for the real thing.

Aside from standard silk flowers (which are still using silk worms), there's the option of clay flowers. Deco Clay flowers are absolutely gorgeous and look just like the real thing - except that they cost a fraction of the price, are environmentally safe, and last forever.

The even better upside is they're reusable so you'll save money in the long run, plus you're not contributing to flower butchery nor the very unsustainable flower industry, which has to shower flowers with pesticides - a factor that's damaging to both you and the environment.

However, if faux is not your thing, then get flowers from the local farmers market. You can even get great arrangements and settings out of potted plants and flowers. A personal favorite is the clever use of moss as decorative center pieces. Moss is not only cheap, sustainable, and uber chic, but it can also be planted afterwards with next to no effort.

Lighting and Décor - One big aspect of party planning is how the party will look. You want your guests to be dazzled, "oohs and ahhs" should be pouring out, compliments gushing.

When done right, the atmosphere that lighting and decorations can create will provoke that response. But rather than choosing blazing electric lights to illuminate the event, try choose more environmentally friendly lighting. Candles are the perfect choice, as they are both lovely and economical - not to mention they don't require any energy to run.

As for the décor, you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars when home made paper goods will be far cheaper and far more interesting. Consider making paper mobiles, such as the popular origami crane mobiles. You can hang them lined up on a string, as a collective, or individually from just about anywhere. You can even use left over ones as decoration pieces on the dinner table - plus making them out of scrap paper makes good use out of something that was just going in the bin anyway.

Eco-Friendly Wine - Because it's not just about what you're using, but what you're consuming, try switching out your wine for one that is more Earth friendly. There are three categories of eco-friendly wines: sustainable, organic, and biodynamic.

"Sustainable" means that grapes were grown with few to no chemical, fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. This method nurtures the soil naturally, whereas "organic" wines are grown in organically certified vineyards and are made without added sulfites.

On the other hand, "biodynamic" winemaking goes way beyond organics. With biodynamic, the farm is viewed as a living system. The soil is treated with complex compost preparations (of course without chemicals or pesticides), including quartz, yarrow flowers, stinging nettle, and more.

Biodynamic winemakers claim to have noted stronger, clearer, more vibrant tastes in their wines, as taste test conducted by Fortune confirmed. Now all you have to do switch out bulky refrigerators for portable wine coolers, an energy efficient way to chill your wine.

Sustainable Serving - If you consider the glasses, dishes, knives, forks, bowls, and all the other little items used to create a smash hit setting, you quickly start to realize how much goes into entertaining.

In order to host not only your guests, but a more eco-friendly lifestyle, consider purchasing tableware made out of recycled materials. You don't even have to trade in your luxe taste. In a green-conscious corporate world, companies across the board are all offering unique yet refined dining options, including dishes made out of recycled glass.

Target, for example, has recycled glass goblets great for a Sunday brunch; whereas Macy's cobalt blue stemless wineglasses offer an element of sophistication. These stunning little gems, made with 30% recycled glass, are a striking visual for an evening dinner.

However, if you're opting for something even more sustainable, try compostable cornware tableware, biodegradable sugarcane plates, or even biodegradable bambooware. These serving alternatives are not only green but far cheaper than buying 50 sets of "real" dishes to accommodate larger gatherings. On the other hand, if you insist on using "real dishes", then I suggest using what you have rather than buying more. If done right, mixing and matching dishes (and even seating) can offer an eccentric look that's sure to catch your guests' eyes.

Set the Stage - The real drama at any party is at the dinner table. The visual centerpiece of the evening should reflect the mood you want to create. Whatever your choice, make sure that you set your table using eco-friendly items. In addition to naturally available plants and flowers, as well as sustainable dishes, you can get organic table cloths, runners, and napkins; you can even

make sure the lamp shades and curtains are eco-wary items. Setting the stage doesn't have to be limited to just the table - your whole environment can reflect your eco-chic taste.

Ice Goes Eco - There's no point in wasting time, gas, paper and plastic by going to the store to purchase ice for your party. Rather, a sleek compact portable ice maker will quickly plunk down cube upon cube to keep drinks nice and cool. Plus, nothing kills a party like someone announcing "We're out of ice."

Leave Them Wide-Eyed and Wondered - One of the most important elements of any party, large or small, is how your guests feel when they leave. Out of the many ways to send your guests off, the most beautiful and memorable has to be a sky lantern send off.

Lanterns (lights) are very popular in South Asian and Asian cultures, where lights represent both spirituality and hope. It's a spirited feeling to stand there gathered with friends, lighting and releasing lanterns that ascend as golden orbs set against a dark night's sky.

Made out of recycled paper and bamboo, sky lanterns are also eco-friendly. For added measure, have your guests write messages on each lantern before sending them off.

Hostess Gifts - And any chic eco-hostess knows to lead by example even when attending other parties. When attending another bash, swap out your normal hostess gift for one that is earth-friendly. The same goes for others who obey the rule of "do not go empty handed" - simply swap out the routine bouquet of flowers or dessert with something eco-chic that shows of your cleverness and commitment to the environment.

There are a ton of options for sustainable gifts. There's even a growing trend of green toys if it's a child's birthday you happen to be attending.

But more importantly, there's no reason to give green gifts just as a hostess gift; swap out Christmas and birthday presents for the same.

But above all, here's the simplest rule for eco-entertaining: "Use what you have, and borrow what you don't", and remember that at the end of the day, a great party is about who you're with and not what you have.

Small Living Makes Giant Strides

A Look at America’s Growing “Small Living” Movement

In a super-sized obsessed age, we’ve now fallen into the gap where we believe our home should also reflect a shift toward the grandiose. Yet this obsession with gigantism has completely dwarfed our sense of self. Whereas even meals used to be an art form, the rising trend on bigger (and ultimately considerably ridiculous creations) is aimed at promoting a consumer culture that ironically strips us of culture.

Some would even argue that in addition to relinquishing culture, we rescinded our identity as we grow increasingly lost amidst a rising expanse of materialism. With consumer culture, it’s no longer about what we have, but about how much we can stuff into ourselves, pile on ourselves, and collect around ourselves. An inflationary ideology that compromises quality for quantity, the idea that more is better and less is miserly can be traced back to Hollywood and celebrity, two groups that promote a culture of excess that majority of star gazers flock to emulate.

Yet an undercurrent movement referred to as “small living” is creating waves as a chic counter culture against wasteful consumption. An increasing number of global citizens are realizing that bigger is not better, that more is not necessarily feasible, and that a continued practice of parasitism is not in our mutual interest.

This all began with a green movement, ironically enough kindled by the very same group that initially made it popular to be wasteful. It was Hollywood and celebrity that made it trendy to be environmentally aware, and while they were not the first group to practice earth-friendly habits, they are the group that got it mainstream attention. Still, the green movement has taken off considerably since its infant days where recycling was the height of eco-culture. The newest trend is in sustainable living, a striving effort to live a lifestyle with a minimal or reduced carbon foot print.

Thinking green has spread a new leaf. While in the early stages of sustainable living, eco-friendly decisions centered on what could be different in the home, the trend now is to change your home itself. Quickly gaining momentum, the small living movement is leading a greater number of people to realize the personal and communal benefits of conscientious consumption.

From small houses to yachts-turned-homes, people across the country are completely rethinking their approach to living. And with the rise of do-it-yourself shows and home makeovers, we’re all realizing that we can have the comforts of a larger home, even the aesthetic appeal, without having to scrape out our wallets for that last little penny to fund it all. Whether it’s a boat, mobile, or studio living, the fact is a majority of Americans are downsizing their dwelling space. This in light of the recent recession mixed with a rising awareness to cultivate positive eco-friendly living solutions, has left the market saturated with a number of alternatives to conventional living.

The emphasis here is not just on saving the environment, but also on saving a green resource of another variety. Conscientious about carbon foot prints and wasteful spending, many global citizens are down scaling from a humble abode to perhaps an even more humble abode in an attempt to salvage hard-earned dollars. With that, the trend these days is perhaps not even just to get a smaller apartment, but to get the most compact home possible for your lifestyle. The idea of compact living has not only gotten many people to downgrade the number of services they use (i.e. cable, internet, dry cleaning, gourmet coffee), but it’s also raised a new crop of spatial economists that have traded in expansive lofts for more resource-friendly spaces.

Small living is simply much cheaper. It’s cheaper to furnish your place, utility costs are lower, and smaller spaces are generally much more affordable to rent or purchase. It was Leonardo da Vinci who first said, “small rooms discipline the mind and large ones distract it,” – and perhaps he was right. Surprisingly, there are a number of other benefits that go with smaller spaces, which anyone who’s walked the walk will quickly recognize.

Small living also undoes the idea that your home is your castle. While it remains true that your home is your sanctuary, those living in larger estates are less likely to explore their outside environment. As such, what was once meant to be a castle becomes a cage that keep dwellers locked in, even if that condition is self-imposed.

On the other hand, a smaller home encourages you to get out, be more social, and explore your outside environment. Smaller spaces allow for more creative design ideas, in which your home becomes an authentic reflection of you, as opposed to larger homes where the home somehow becomes a fixed museum that dwellers and visitors have difficulty engaging with.

Ultimately, the key is sustainability. If small living isn’t your cup of tea then the next step is to look into how to create a sustainable environment in your home, no matter what its size.


Enter Slideshow: A chic environmentally-friendly home in NY inspired by a blend of minimal modernism and Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy.