Green Books Campaign: Style, Naturally (thoughts)

Today, I’m participating in an event sponsored by Eco Libris: the Green Books campaign. They’ve requested that I include the following at the beginning of my post:

Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

Awhile ago I received an e-mail asking me if I’d like to read and review a book published in an eco-friendly way as part of an environmental campaign. I, like most of us, happen to adore the earth, so I was more than willing to join in. Then, we received a long list with many enticing books. It was difficult, but I decided on Style, Naturally by Summer Rayne Oaks. It’s not only a book about how to be stylish and environmentally friendly, it’s also printed on recycled paper.

As long-time blog readers will know, I happen to love clothes. :D (In fact, during the last read-a-thon I posted a picture of my closet as a mini-challenge about what we collect.) I also love reading about clothes and fashion, so I was very excited to receive this book. And I certainly wasn’t disappointed. First of all, this is a sumptuous publication. The end papers are of mallard ducks, and each chapter opens with a two-page spread of a photograph manipulated in cool ways. Throughout the book, there are photographs of pretty much all the products Oakes recommends, so I’d call it a coffee table book. If you’ve ever seen the Lucky Guide to Style, with its almost picture-book-for-grown-ups feel, Style Naturally is similar, just on a larger scale. And it smells wonderful. I know, odd to say, but true!

So what’s the book about? Essentially, it’s a catalogue of brands to check out for environmentally-friendly products of anything remotely style-related: clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses, make-up, beauty care, etc. with tips on making your habits more earth friendly. There are profiles of, and interviews with, designers of the various lines, which I thought added a nice touch. And throughout, Oakes explains how you can start making little changes to become more environmentally friendly, so that you don’t feel overwhelmed all at once.

I think anyone who enjoys style, who delights in the visual aspect of women’s clothes, will love this book. Oakes has done a great job of providing all of the information you could possibly need, including things it hadn’t occurred to me to ask about, in easily digestible bits. The use of photographs will help convince people that you can still be stylish while respecting the earth. And the chapters on beauty products cosmetics, which ask you to think about why you would put something on your skin, that’s going to absorb into your bloodstream, that you wouldn’t want to eat, are thought-provoking in a good way. That being said, my only issue with the book was in the chapter on skincare…Oakes implies that people whose skin break out might just want to take a break from all the products they’re using, and then their skin will magically become happy and clear. That seriously offended me. I’ve been dealing with problem skin since I was 12, and when in the past I’ve tried stopping using all products, my skin breaks out more than ever. And I didn’t appreciate being preached at by a former model. ;) But that was a minor flaw in an otherwise wonderful, fun, informative read! I highly recommend this if you have any interest in the topic, or just think you might be interested.

On a more personal note, thanks so much for all of the TV on DVD suggestions! I have several on hold at the library, and I hope that they’ll come in soon. I’m still quite sick (hence why this review is pretty short), but I hope to be able to catch up with everyone’s blogs soon. :)