More Less More Music download 3 #mlmmusic

While this clip is over a year old, these Melbourne "unearthed" kids are still fresh, even after hitting the road with the Temper Trap and playing Splendor and are still quite the value for money. We've seen what became of the $15 Presets and Cutcopy gigs at Ding Dong back in the day, so we're thinking Oh Mercy may just be on the same path. Get at em' while you have the chance. Tickets at last week's Toff of Town gig went for the same low price but who knows how long that will last...!

Click here if you want it!

Findng treasure at The Treasury

Emma Grace - local fashion crusader with an appreciation for sustainability, brings us The Treasury.

¨The Treasury is about sustainable fashion – guiding people away from ‘throw-away culture’ and leading them back towards the way we used to live; where if something broke, you fixed it, and if you got bored of it, you made it into something new.¨

Welcoming us into her studio, she shares her craft and love of design with the unimaginative and proves that fashion and sustainability can live in harmony. For I, it was a case of killing 2 birds. My little box of beloved items that I no longer have any use for, a shame to trash and not really give away worthy, was to be given a new life. In what form? I was not quite sure but I was excited by the unknown.

While pieces I did construct, I had nothing on the other peeps who came loaded with goodies and ideas. De-constructed aluminum can bits, resin icecubes, typepad keys... I shall know for next time. And next time there will be as I am inspired. I´m now thinking a pair of cufflinks for the mister?

Intrigued? Well then, keep an eye out on Emma´s blog or if you want something like NOW, pop over to her website.

Emma also tells me she´ll be exhibiting some of her fine wares during Melbourne Spring Fashion Week at the Green is the New Black exhibition and cocktail night. Now that´s definitely worth a stickybeak!

A good clean - 2009 Green Awards winner

When you put something out there, people are bound to respond. How one respond does however differ. Positive feedback is generally the norm but then you also get people making contributions from a shared interest.

Our communication tends to circulate amongst our already developed circles but when we branch out what we get is access to another world.

Last month I was forwarded not just once but twice the link to Environmental Toothbrush. Maybe this was a hint I needed to brush my teeth more often?? But since I have yet to meet @ody_who, I figured this couldn't be the case. Unless, @m_zero_ had mentioned something to her, he being the other culprit. Probably not, well better not! You see @m_zer_o is a dude that thinks big, actually make it HUGE. He did what I'm kind of doing with this blog. Live the "green" life but he took it to another level by setting himself the challenge of living a year carbon neutral (check it here). Pretty CRAZY. Good crazy tho not the other crazy... So not surprising he would come across stuff like the environmental toothbrush.

Why the Environmental Toothbrush is so great:

In Australia, over 30 million toothbrushes are used and disposed of by Australians each year, amounting to approximately 1000 tonnes of landfill each year. The plastic they’re made of won’t break down in our lifetime. Nor within the lifetime of our children. Imagine that on a global scale.

The Environmental Toothbrush is a simple solution. Made from bamboo, a natural cellulose fibre, they are 100% biodegradable, environmentally sustainable, and do not pollute the environment. The amazing growth and self-renewing ability of bamboo means that deforestation is not necessary either. Even our packaging is bio-degradable.

Plus it's developed by an actual dentist!

Winner of www.news.com.au 2009 Green Award

More Less More Music download 2 #mlmmusic

Here goes the weekly free music download segment. For those of you going what da? Well it all stems from this post.

Keeping it short and sweet, this week's free download is Cut Copy's new-ish song "Where I'm Going". It's on my iPhone, is it on yours?!

"The tribal pound of "Where I'm Going," has been described by the band as "the kind of track Brian Wilson would've written if he took ecstasy and hung out in 60's London instead of California.""

Seeing Green...

Yesterday´s election I saw two things. There are those of us who want to change the world and there are those of us who just don´t care. I tend to fall into the want to change the world group. Unfortunately to change the world I´ve come to realize we can´t rely on anyone but ourselves to do so. Letś face it, politicians are all talk, blah blah blah but where´ś the action?? I am sick of all this talk and all this wasted resources.

But I´m just a girl living in this big big world. Can I really make a change when it comes to climate change? Maybe not a significant change but isn´t any change better than no change at all?

So it makes me so warm and fuzzy when my darling friend Karts gave me this gift. ¨A green bag for a greener world¨. Whether the bag is ethically made or made from organic materials is not the point. Although ideally it would be awesome if it was but the point is that those around me have started to take note and think more seriously about a future ¨green¨ world.

Although I want to change the world, I am also aware that it is not my place to force it upon others to do so. In order for there to be real sustainable uptake, people need to willingly embrace it themselves. All I´m here to do is to give them a little push in what I believe is the right direction!

More music for Less crap for More peeps

As mentioned a number of times, I am a sucker for challenges. I find completing or more like attempting challenges quite insightful. Not only do you tend to discover hidden truths about yourself but you also tend to come across things you wouldn't have otherwise found had it not been for the challenge.

This challenge is one I am instigating. In order to reduce my consumption and move towards a minimalist lifestyle I have chosen to avoid JB HIFI, whereby I will no longer make anymore CD purchases. *Shock Horror*. It truly is, as friends will tell you, I do have quite a CD collection. Call it my thing. Shamelessly, my first CD was Milli Vanilli but I'd like to think that this shame has lead me to develop a deeper appreciation for music.

Although record labels are slowly reducing their use of plastic CD cases by replacing them with FSC certified paper cases, the CD itself and the accompanying creed that goes along with it is still an accumulation of waste. So the challenge is to reduce this waste. But that doesn't mean the playlist should stop growing. No siree. Thanks to iTunes and Triple J free downloads, I am hit up with enough beats to keep me bopping along.

Now do note, I am all for sharing music amongst friends but I am not down with internet sharing sites, except for those that are legit ie music labels like modular who provide free music downloads. This is simply because it's not fair, thus why our world is so messed up.

To kick start this challenge, in place of a trip to JB, I downloaded Angus and Julia Stone's latest album Down the Way and low and behold in the process came across a free download of Custom King's latest release Sunday which I reckon will be like their Number 1 for 2010.

With this little download bonus, it got me thinking. Time to add a new feature to Green Chic. Since I'll be downloading my music from now on, I reckon I'll also be coming across free music downloads. To encourage you to come along on my journey, I will each week create a blog entry with the clip and link to my favourite free download song for you to decide if you like it and want it, or not! It's works along the lines of the More for Less for More strategy, where emphasis is placed on delivering more value for less cost for more people (Harvard Business Review).

More music for Less crap for More peeps

This week I give you:

"Sunday" - Custom Kings
(click here for free iTunes download)

*I have nothing against JB HIFI as they do have the best service and will continue to be my place of choice for other buys.

"If I think, vote the Greens"

Itś a week til the election and naturally I will be voting greens.

The Republic of Everyone ¨fake¨ pitch on gruen nation summed it up the best with the tag line, ¨If you think, vote the greens¨. True to these words I am. I do think, I actually have been found guilty of thinking way too much.

I must admit though, I am not a full fledge greens voter. While they have my vote, I am not 100% sold on all their policies. But then again will there ever be a party that meets all our needs and wants? Highly unlikely as let´s be realistic, everyone´s priorities are different and though priorities do change as we grow, at this point in time, the greens are the party that aligns closest to my values.

I vote greens simply for the following reasons:

• Making polluters pay. Compensating and retraining displaced workers is a much better use of our tax dollars than paying carbon credits to dirty industries.
• Making education free and abolishing university fees. Everyone should be given the opportunity to achieve their full potential no matter what situation they are in.
• Making fairer workplaces = No workchoices
  
• Making transport sustainable. Removing GST on public transport, abolishing fringe benefit taxes, and increasing tariffs on imported four wheel vehicles.
• Making my vote count and strengthening the voice of minor parties. If we didn’t have preferential voting then those who support a candidate who may appear unlikely to win would have to consider voting for one of the other candidates or otherwise have their vote effectively “wasted”. With the greens in the senate, we are likely to see more constructive negotiation and better outcomes for climate action as they can influence political outcomes by negotiating for good policy, or by obstructing from passing.
  

I don´t have a problem with preference votes going to labor as I prefer to have a confident leader than one who admits they are not qualified to make comments when probed. Errr hellooo but aren´t you like meant to be leading our country?

i heart Melbourne

This is my town and I luv it. Thank you to those around me for opening my eyes to a city that continuously amazes... #visiblecity

Thank you Hit & Miss for putting a smile on my face.

Masterclass

Much of Saturday just passed was spent at uni. Although I whine and moan about waking up early on my free day, I was still glad to have to made it to class. You see it has taken me literally years to truly appreciate the fundamental purpose of university. Unlike my undergrad¨experimentation¨ years, which I do regard as some of my best years, at postgrad level I am surrounded by like-minded and passionate folks all with similar goals. I am so amazed with this group of intellects that I often find myself too awe to even speak. Though I must say there are some who can ramble a bit too much but seeing their passion it´s forgivable.

Although every class is insightful, what made this particular Saturday class special enough to deserve a posting on Green Chic? Well, it´s all got to do with Frank and his family. You see, for class Frank spoke about the localism of our food and the different ways we define local. Is it within 100 miles or is it as his daughter suggest, food that is from the garden? In the case of Frank´s family, consensus would have it being the food that they grow. And wanting to share with us their take on local food, they packaged the seeds harvested from their garden and distributed them among the class. There were loads. Everything about this act of sharing was heartfelt. And now 25 others will have the opportunity to experience their localism. I do hope my seeds do spurt into the mini capsicum it says it will. Would be amazing to show and tell the fruits of my labour but I guess only time will tell.

Sunday giggle

So I spent the whole weekend in bed to recoup which kinda makes me question the whole concept of work hard, play hard. Cause I really did work hard, so hard it knock the bejesus out of me and thus play hard did not eventuate. Hmmm.... But what I did do is finally organize my taxes, ebay a few goodies, and surf some websites which I've been emailing myself to check out when I *cough* had time...!

... and tis what I found...