June 26th, 2009
Green Queen
This week we caught up with the lovely Vanessa Farquharson, author of Sleeping Naked is Green: How an eco-cynic unplugged her fridge, sold her car and found love in 366 days, for her scoop on enviro-Toronto
You transformed your beauty ritual for the sake of green: who carries your fave products?
The Big Carrot has a bulk cosmetics section so you can refill your bottles of shampoo and conditioner. I love Ecco Bella's moisturizer for sensitive skin. For cosmetics, I head to Whole Foods or Origins.
As an arts reporter you have high fashion expectations: where do you go for stylish, earth-friendly attire?
As pretentious as American Apparel can be, they are one of the few places you can find organic, sweat-shop-free and still sexy underwear. Right now I’m also loving Simple's vegan-approved sneakers, especially these black espadrilles.
You recently bought a new home: what's your top, carbon-friendly, design and decor destination?
Green interior design is tricky. Most of my furniture comes from antique stores—I hit St. Lawrence Market on Sundays and the Toronto chapter of Freecycle has great used items.
What veggie restaurant makes your mouth water?
Rice Bar in Kensington. It's not vegetarian but offers plenty of options, and the meat is grass-fed and free-range. Plus they have some biodynamic wines, and a decent patio.
You can see why Vanessa’s our favourite eco-aficionado.
Order Sleeping Naked is Green at Chapters.ca ($14.40) and check out her blog at http://greenasathistle.com
