Green With Music

It’s award season again — more specifically, the Grammys this Sunday night.  Millions of music fans will be crowded around their TVs…and computers…to watch the huge annual production that showcases hundreds of stars both performing on stage and in the audience.

Award shows are not only a great way to honor and applaud artists, they are a great platform for product placement.  If Beyoncé wears a Gucci gown to the Grammys, you can bet that talk show hosts and celebrity websites will be talking about that dress for weeks.

Beyond the obvious “who wore what” brand name recognition, there’s another aspect that has been getting more and more attention lately: gifting suites.  Celebrities are invited to visit lofty hotel suites where there are tables laden with luxury products to try on — and take — in the hopes that these products will be placed in their homes and upon their person and gain some kind of visibility.

It’s a good gig…especially when the person coordinating it has a vision.

Veteran Hollywood publicists Beverly Visty-Doman and John Forrester created Green With Music to further public awareness of “going green.”  They seek to create an event to educate and influence artists to make a stand, make a change, and give back to the environment.  In a society where how you spend your money directly affects what kind of environment we live in, teaching influential people the value of voting with their pocketbook is a worthy cause.

Green With Music is the only all-green celebrity gifting retreat and spa during the Grammys.  Curated to include furniture, food, health and beauty products, as well as a relaxing atmosphere, it was a great pleasure to wander around and talk to people about their wares.  Following are a list of my favorites, which, of course, include chocolate.

Spa Tibet offered Yoga and relaxing Ayurvedic rituals like the Chakra Stone and Shirodhara modified ritual, which gave participants a space to relax, meditate, and rejuvenate.  There were also more hands-on treatments like marma-point massage, Ayurvedic Face Rejuvenation, and pedi-karma foot therapy.  Of course, there were more typical beauty treatments like organic hair styling, manicures, and even an organic spray-tan booth!

A wide array of green beauty products were on display.  Celebrity manicurist Nettie Davis has developed her own line of sugar body scrub balms and candles that smell so delicious, I was almost convinced they were edible. After sampling both scrub and balm, I’m already addicted to Nettiescrub grapefruit-flavored anything.

The elegant Duchess Marden brand was in full effect, showcasing their complete rose-based skincare line (along with a very charming and handsome Frenchman).  Using pure plant-based elements sourced at the origin, each ingredient is ensured to be sustainable, ecologically minded, and committed to preservation.

Mobu Herbals provided samples of organic, ethically wild-crafted balms.  Created by Janell Hendricks-Cole, naturopath and master herbalist, Penetrating Dermal Infusions is a line of medicinal herbal mixtures that are absorbed when applied topically.  Stressed out? Try KavaCalm Balm, formulated to alleviate anxiety and tension.  This medicinal line ranges from balms that treat pain, to colds and congestion, and even one that helps boost energy!

Bamboo Hugs are creative producers of bamboo-based garments. The company was started by two women — “the rock ‘n’ roller and the activist,” who were fans of hypoallergenic bamboo towels but were bored with the predominently beige and cream-colored offerings. They produce soft, fluffy, bamboo towels embroidered with cute, hip characters.  My favorite product was the “Boo Pets,” which are kids’ towels with animal face hoods.  I want one for adults…with a unicorn hood.

Orange 22 Design Lab had examples of one of their ongoing projects scattered about the room: Botanist Blank Canvas. A line of modern furniture with appealing price points, which includes a cocktail table, nesting end table, and bench.  They are simple and sleek forms that act as blank canvas, and are transformed by renowned designers.  Each designer creates a model dedicated to their favorite charitable cause.  The piece I coveted most was the endtable, “The endtable to end all tables,” or “Epigram,” designed by Milton Glaser.

A sorely needed item, The Green Garmento, is a reusable dry-cleaning bag that is eco-friendly, attractive, and affordable.  Versatile in form, you can hang it on any hook in your house as a hamper, then use the shoulder strap to carry it to your cleaners, who can, in turn, zip it up, turn it around, and put a hanger in it — presto! Instant hanging garment bag.  The shell is made of completely recyclable material and can be machine-washed.  Their slogan? “Be fantastic…use less plastic!” Indeed.

Let’s not forget the food. Oh the food.  Café Gratitude provided healthy and delicious raw snacks — sprouted buckwheat flatbread topped with savory cashew creams and veggies. Comfort Bar is this amazing organic snackbar that covers all that is good for you in fair trade chocolate.  The lovely lady at the table promised I could eat one for breakfast and go for hours.  I made the mistake of eating one before dinner and…let’s just say she is probably right, because I have leftovers.  But hey — nothing wrong with dessert first, right?

Speaking of chocolate, Sweet Earth Chocolates is a small company run by an amazing couple dedicated to goodness.  Chocolatiers on a mission, they use only fair trade, organic chocolate that they source directly from Ghana — a place that has served as inspiration for humanitarian work.  Tom, owner of Sweet Earth and president of Project Hope and Fairness, trvaels to Africa every year and reinvests in the farmers that produce the cocoa that he buys from.  In just this past year, he has helped build a solar drier for a farm village, distribute 400 pairs of boots, 100 SuperGrain bags, donated dryness meters and a scale, and is negotiating a new system for increasing cocoa farmer profitability.  Beyond being model entrepreneurs and enlightened capitalists, they make really, really good chocolate.

I had the opportunity to talk to so many people who stand behind products that are innovative not only in material, procurement, and purpose, but that will contribute overall to the quality of our environment and our lifestyle.  I’m happy that some of our biggest role models — musicians and other entertainers — have the opportunity to be exposed to people who are committed to informed consumerism all round.  Let’s hope they’ll spread the word!

Photography by Lauren Elfman