Your greenest foot forward: Sustainable and ethical shoes for men

We men generally aren’t the fussiest when it comes to footwear. Doesn’t complement our bag? We’re not bothered. But we do like our values, thank you very much, and we want shoes to match! We want consumption that’s gentle on the environment, which means footwear made of sustainable materials, free from toxic chemicals, and made in conditions that treat workers right.

Here’s a look at a few of the best up-and-coming shoe brands for men that offer something just as stylish (and on occasion, affordable!) as the usual line-up we loath to buy.

Trend of the future: buildings without parking

Architects, builders and urban planners see a future in car-less living.

The American dream is dead. Or at least that part of the American dream which imagined a shiny gas-guzzler in every driveway of every cul-de-sac of every distant, otherwise inaccessible suburb in America is. And while the dream of sustainable urban living in America is still far from fruition, there are new signs of a significant shift in popular sentiment away from urban car-ownership and use.

My new obsession: Why bagged, pre-cut salad just had to go.

By: Pierre Herman

Being a health-nut, I love my greens. Yet one of my biggest sources of guilt comes from buying those bags of conveniently pre-cut salad, so delicious that it’s been years since I’ve actually gone as far as taking apart a head of lettuce myself.

Cycling news: London to spend £1-billion in bid to become cycling paradise

Ambitious plans by the mayor who brought a city-wide network of bike-sharing stations to this traffic-chocked metropolis will see a continuous 15-mile, two-way cycling lane crossing the heart of London.

Eco-travel: The world’s most sustainable hotels and resorts – Part 1

An exclusive Green Times survey of 10 superlative hotels and resorts around the world that are setting the new green standard for hotels (and travel) everywhere.

More evidence that a vegetarian diet is healthiest

Researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK have concluded that following a vegetarian diet can have a substantial and beneficial impact on our health, following the results of a ten year long study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study tracked almost 45,000 people living in England and Scotland and found that vegetarians were around 30% less likely to suffer from heart disease than their meat-eating peers.

Our shocking food-waste habit: why it’s up to all of us to stop it

Supermarkets and restaurants in the United States distribute more than 2 times the food necessary to feed the entire population.  So what happens to the half that’s never eaten?

Could this machine bring an end to plastic bottles?

Sodastream, once a kitchy relic from the 70s, is making an international comeback and two eco-enlightened Sodastream executives believe it could mean the end of plastic bottles forvever.

Dressing for eco-success in 2013: Sustainable men’s fashion

A Green Times survey of men’s casual and formal eco-fashion from around the world.

Sustainable clothing has truly come of age. No longer relegated to obscure and hard-to-find (not to mention unfashionable) brands, it seems the whole industry is finally taking notice of the growing market for clothing aimed at environmentally and socially-aware consumers. And while dressing sustainably might have meant giving a back-seat to style in the past, today eco-friendlier brands are cool, up-market and fashion-forward as never before. And so commonplace across the fashion industry are they becoming, you might not even realize you’re wearing them.

Talking trash: Two Hollywood heavyweights who fight waste

Jeremy Irons stars in the new documentary: Trashed

Julia Lewis Dreyfus takes on plastic bags in Los Angeles while Trashed, a new documentary starring Jeremy Irons, opens this week in New York.

Flying green: When it comes to carbon, no two airlines are alike.

A new index allows consumers to find out which airlines are the most environmentally progressive and light on carbon.

Stop shopping! Minimalism is the new blue

“When we drop the detritus of consumerism, we make room for what’s really important,” says Pierre Herman

Surviving climate change: In green energy we (naively) trust

The overly-optimistic faith in green energy ignores one simple fact: that to combat, and more realistic still, to survive climate change, we will need to end the culture of privilege and indulgence that has swept the globe.

5 protein-rich, meat-busting foods for a healthier you

If there’s one thing environmentalists and your general practictioner will agree on, it’s that we should be eating less meat. High meat consumption has been linked to a variety of cancers, cardiovascular problems, and obesity, while its negative impact on the environment has raised alarm bells among scientists. An important source of greenhouse gases like carbon, methane and nitrous oxide, human-reared livestock now consumse an astounding 60% of all the food we grow, with 1 pound of beef taking up to 20 pounds of feed to produce. 

It’s time for some healthier, and greener, sources of protein in our diets. Here’s a look at 5 of them, each delicious and nutritious in their own way.

Food labelling: we need much more than Proposition 37

Photo: Eatdrinkbetter.com

Labelling for GMO content is only scraping the surface of what’s needed, says Pierre Herman. We need labels that educate and encourage a new way of shopping for food.

California’s Proposition 37, which would have enshrined into law mandatory labelling of genetically-modified food content for all packaged foods, aroused rallies and sharp debate across the US. Had it passed, it would have comprised the first major new labelling initiative in the United States in the more than four decades since the enactment of the Fair Packaging and Labelling Act of 1965.

Hiking sustainably: gear up for the trails with these eco-conscious products

Autumn is the perfect time to hit the trails and enjoy our natural and environmental heritage, giving us a chance to see first-hand what is at stake if we continue our love affair with overindulgence.

Hey guys – cut your risk of prostate cancer and give the environment a break too.

One of the most widespread male cancers is on the rise and several studies point the blame at some of our culinary vices: meat and dairy products. Eat less of it, experts say, and more antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables, and we can cut both the rate at which men die of the disease, and reduce the devastating impact of climate change – something the livestock industry is a major contributor to.

Urban upcycling: revitalizing cities in the Americas

Check out these fine examples of urban space reuse strategies that have helped turn once unsightly urban eyesores including an abandoned Wal-Mart store, a former military base, a derelict car-parts factory and a dilapidated waterfront promenade into vibrant citizen life-enhancement spaces!

A Thai resort that ticks all the green boxes

A “world away” from Bangkok’s urban cacophony

 

You can’t drive there, the pool is full of bugs, and taking a shower gives new meaning to the term “getting close to nature”:  This über-green, yet tech-friendly, urban sanctuary, a brisk jog and boat trip from the Bangkok Skytrain, might just be a sustainable-traveller’s heaven on Earth.

Romney Five: How many kids is too many?

Romney with grandchildren: Enough kids to melt a glacier

While large families might not be on the rise, the US population is. A higher fertility rate than in most other developed nations and booming immigration are to blame, and experts fear that the slated growth in America’s population to more than 400 million by 2050 may be catastrophically unsustainable.