{eco eats} sustainable france: 6 new paris vegan cafes

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british prime minister, writer + orator winston churchill once proclaimed that "healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have." staying healthy means paying attention to what we put onto our bodies + into our bodies so that we may thrive physically and emotionally. conscious eating is here at your fingertips with a sequel to my first paris vegan café guide of 12 vegan + vegetarian eateries in the city of light. hungry? meet the new plant-strong kids on the block. look no further for decadent, delicious + healthy eating options in paris:

comptoir veggie

1. comptoir veggie {fully vegan + gluten-free}: here we have a brand new café + juice bar nestled into the bastille area. after a successful crowdfunding capaign, this little gem is now celebrating one month open. for savory eats, try their hummus or avocado toast {toast toppings vary depending on the local, seasonal produce available; perhaps you've had avocado toast before, but not like this; with a dash of pimiento pepper + the crunch of alfalfa sprouts + zesty seeds, this dish truly has kick + is a pleasure for the palette} or enjoy their rice + veggie buddha bowl served with warm chilli. to satisfy your sweet tooth, try their perfectly moist carrot cake, creamy peanut butter cheesecake or spirited passion fruit, mango + cocoa cheesecake {the best cheesecake i've had in paris so far}. they're sure to send you. sunny, open space with smooth tunes; perfect for lounging, lunching or working. open tuesday through saturday from 10am - 6pm / 75 avenue ledru rollin, paris 75012

cloud cakes

2. cloud cakes {fully vegan}: this sunny, relaxed coffee, tea + pastry shop is celebrating their one-year anniversary. this is the place for breakfast: soft, spongy pancakes with chocolate sauce, maple syrup or fresh strawberries are on the menu. offerings also include robust salads, satisfying sandwiches + soups with layers of flavors along with myriad sweet treats, baked goods + yes, warm vegan croissants that will melt in your mouth {chocolate croissants + almond croissants are also on the menu}. try the fresh carrot cake or decadent chocolate raspberry gateau {my personal fave is the vanilla blueberry cake}. indoor + outdoor seating available. open tuesday - saturday, call for hours 01 42 33 95 45 / 6 rue mandar, paris 75002

primeur cantine

3. primeur cantine {fully vegan}: the best meatless lasagna in paris. fresh, indulgent and the finest i've had since my plant-powered days commenced five years ago. choose from hardy staples like chilly or burgers and a handful of desserts including apple + rhubarb crumble, cheesecake + chocolate mousse {i highly recommend the crumble}. energy-boosting juices are served up including an animating apple, carrot, orange + ginger concoction that will put a little pep in your step. ample space with indoor + outdoor seating on a calm, quiet side street. open tuesday through sunday 12pm - 4pm / 4 rue lemon, paris 75020

le faitout

4. le faitout {fully vegan}: this one's celebrating one year. a hip tapas bar + vegan café on avenue simon bolivar near parc buttes chaumont. plant-based tapas + desserts, tasty soups + salads, crispy falafels + fries, oh and a delectable cheese "vromage" plate that every boy + girl {vegan or not} should try. homemade, healthy + organic goodness is served up warm here from early morning to late night. spacious venue with indoor + outdoor seating. live jazz music is also served up on thursday nights. get it all while its hot. open tuesday - sunday 8am - 2am / check site for hours or call ahead 01 42 08 07 09 / 23 avenue simon bolivar, paris 75019

h.o.p.e. {closed}

5. hope / home of the plant eaters {fully vegan}: this charming venue in the marais has been open for six months, and the menu includes scrumptious burgers served with fries, a rich risotto served with grilled veggies or their bowl of hope made with millet, sauteed chickpeas, sweet potatoes, avocado slices and every delicious + highly nutritious ingredient you can pack into a vessel. desserts include chia pudding + carrot cake. ample seating upstairs + small, cozy downstaris option. open wednesday - sunday, 12pm - 3pm + 7pm - 10pm / 19 rue de picardie, paris 75003

love me cru

6. love me cru {fully vegan}: this pint-sized juice bar wears a bold coat of yellow paint on the outside and on the inside expect creative + virtuous mixtures of all the colors of nature in fresh wraps + salads and some fantastic juices + smoothies {infinite combinations are available here for all you fruit + veggie lovers: if your mind can think it, you can drink it}. my first taste of zingy goodness was an orange, carrot + pineapple mixture with turmeric + ginger. and a hint of lemon: the proprietor, david, is a devotee of the little yellow miracle fruit that helps balance your body's chemicals, fights colds + flus and halts the division of cancer cells in animals {hello limonene + falvonol glycocides}. pure magic in a glass. also on the menu: homemade chocolate cups + chia pudding handcrafted by david, who will chat you up about the healing properties of each ingredient in his original recipes - all with a sparkle in his eye and broccoli on the brain. a sliver of a space with seating for four indoors + seating for four outdoors. open monday - saturday, 11:30am - 3:30pm / 44 rue de tourtille, paris 75020

vg patisserie

bonus: vg patisserie is an all-vegan bakery that opened in april and is growing strong. find classics like fresh croissants, fruit tarts + eclairs, oh and an unexpected twist: vanilla flan {sans gluten}. so much to choose from, this just might require a repeat visit. ample seating indoors in a bright, convivial atmosphere + ample seating available outdoors. open tuesday - sunday 9am-7pm, call ahead to confirm hours 33 9 67 80 13 42 / 123 boulevard voltaire, paris 75011

 

jo + nana cakes

double bonus: now open, jo + nana cakes, a new vegan patisserie opening in the 17eme arrondissement. sweet cakes + cookies, moist cupcakes + tarts made from scratch and made with love. follow here for updates! and then be prepared to be propelled to another planet where plant-based ingredients come together in heavenly creations / 6 rue rennequin, paris 75017.

14 more vegan + veggie eateries right this way! until next time, stay green dear hearts!

{eco boutique} uncommon goods: the new way to gift

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to date, i have stood up in exactly twelve weddings. think four weddings + a funeral, only, multiply by three and subtract one funeral. and yes, i'm both hugh grant + charlotte  coleman here.

this means exactly what you think: 12 bridesmaid dresses, 12 fabulous ceremonies, and shopping for twelve tokens of my love {aka gifts} for the happy couples, and eventually, it means gifts for the wee ones as well.

over the last four years, while writing for finny + dill, i've been searching for gifts that mirror my values, gifts that are made with environmentally-friendly materials + are made by individuals or companies with opaque supply chains. and of course we all want gifts that shine.

where do we find the kind of toys that tickle a baby's brain, promote language skills + keep her universe free from harmful chemicals, like lead-based paint + bpa plastics that have plagued the toy industry? today we're taking a peek into the world of uncommon goods, an online eco boutique based out of brooklyn, offering imaginative, handmade gifts + old fashioned toys for the little dumplings in your life, including meal time essentials, books + apparel to keep you + your sweet potatoes engaged, safe + healthy.

here comes the bride: 

i admit i've been a bit adrift in the world of gift giving when it comes to weddings + the little ones. i've been turning over stones looking for special gifts for the holy union as well as ethical children's gifts that are made with natural materials + are just plain cute. ask, and ye shall receive. uncommon goods, i discovered, has stylish, sustainable wedding gifts + the perfect eco presents for the babies + toddlers, too.

at one point in four weddings, charles, hugh's character, walks into a luxury boutique + inquires about the gift registry. he's directed to a bevvy of impractical + costly options including a life-sized pygmy sculpture. none of my friends have made any such appeals for frivolity, which leaves room for a universe of functional, yet fashionable gifts.

with wedding season upon us +  baby buns baking away, here's a place where you can find memorable, personalized gifts for the starry-eyed couple {yes to the sea of love artwork + sleek, wooden wine glasses} by object makers around the globe.

be kind, rewind:

let's rewind to 1999: founder dave bolotsky had a bright idea; he wanted to pull up gift giving by the roots by creating an online marketplace to connect makers from every corner of the country with individuals looking for beautiful design + unique gifts. remember what year this was, friends. this was a mighty lofty goal.

dave inaugurated this tiny enterprise from his apartment; the company grew, weathering the storm of economic uncertainty, taking a few steps back + some giant leaps forward. today it is a successful business employing 100+ workers in new york + artisans across the world, offering fair wages + a positive working environment {and the opportunity for makers to do what they love + for buyers like me to snag their wares}.

let's talk toys: 

vetting the market for items made with love by sewers, knitters, painters, woodworkers, metal smiths and myriad other artists + crafters, ug has gathered

a collection of perfect gifts for the lil peanuts in your life

including plush toys made with organic textiles + wooden toys colored with natural dyes.

there's been quite an evolution in the world of baby toys, from simple wooden building blocks to electronic items that light up like times square + erupt in robotic jangling. while we want toys to provide hours of entertainment + to positively impact development, we also want toys that are made with organic + natural materials.

i was happy to find handcrafted toys that i imagine even geppetto would admire {behold the world's cutest booties + the coolest selection of building blocks: there are 118 elements on the periodic table; i know this because of ug's novel baby blocks for little nuggets + not because of my phenomenal memory for all things chemistry}.

more good news:

with every purchase you make at uncommon goods, customers have the option to donate $1 to a nonprofit at checkout via their better to give program {to date, ug has donated over $1,000,000}. giving gifts + giving back is easy as pie at this online market.

wedding season + stork delivery? you know what to do.

until next time, stay green dear hearts!

{this is collaborative post sponsored by the good folks at uncommon goods //

images c/o uncommon goods // artwork by ev} 

{eco boutique} the rescued collection: an eco, online thrift shop

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the propensity to rescue dates back as far as my mind can reach. and not just defenseless animals. dusty, old books? i want them; i'll read them all. antique furniture left in the alley next to my flat? guess who's coming home with me tonight? clothes that no one else wants? i'll dust them off + wear them or reconstruct them. i see value in almost everything.

there's a little online eco boutique called bead + reel that you may already know about {i wrote about it previously here on finny + dill, singing high praises for this woman-founded + woman-run retail shop: that's right, it's entirely run by one fierce woman}, but did you know that owner sica schmitz has created an online resale shop that sells only vegan + ethically made wares? sica also won the sustainable business council's small business award this year. here's what the animal activist, shrewd eco entrepreneur + one of my fave everyday heroes had to say about acknowledging women's accomplishments + why size doesn't matter:

before we hear words of wisdom from sica, a woman with a powerful will, i wanted to take a moment to introduce you to her fantastic new online second-hand shop that she has incorporated on bead + reel, her fab retail website. this is no ordinary collection of pre-loved clothes. the rescued collection is made up of eco, ethical + vegan wares only. which means you can purchase gently used + like new apparel, footwear + accessories from some of the best sustainable fashion labels for a fraction of the original price. 

“the average american throws out 70 pounds of textiles each year, according to the council for textile recycling.”

and it's so very easy. just drop the free shipping label into your cart, press send; within 24 hours you'll receive the ups label which you can print from home, then ta da! send your package via post, then receive a payment via paypal or keep the credit to purchase a shiny new bauble or that new set of strappy heels you've been eyeing. trust me, this is a great way to save money on eco items you'd like to invest in or to save your garments from the belly of the whale: and my that i mean the landfill. 

and now sica speaketh the truth. sica talks size, and why it doesn't matter: it was very intimidating to enter this competition as a one-person, $100,000 business competing in the same category as $1 million companies with teams of employees. there is a vast difference in resources and capabilities, and i am well aware of that. but for a small sole proprietorship to win means that any individual has the power to build their own business and to start creating their own unique impacts. don't wait until you're "big enough" to change the world; you, yourself, are capable of it right now.

as a woman whose company honors the earth by stocking only products that are made with respect to our natural resources, to people + to animals, i loved what she had to say about the importance of trees:

one of my friends asked how much money came with this award, and i had to laugh. this award offers only recognition, and a tree. a beautiful "giving tree" - a ming aralia, and it was probably the most meaningful award i could have received. my father used to give away thousands of trees every year to my hometown community - little douglas fir seedlings, free to anyone who would love them. his friends and clients and strangers would plant their jace trees - named in his honor - on their properties, and some people had decades worth of jace trees growing at their homes. he died 5 years ago, so he never got to see bead + reel or the tree that i won this week. however, his jace trees live on, a beautiful and constant reminder that our impact on the world doesn't end when we leave this earth. so give trees, and plant trees, and live the kind of life that continues to grow, even after you are gone.

and finally, sica reminds us why female leadership matters: 

bead + reel is an entirely woman-founded, women-owned, woman-run business, and it is only in acknowledging more women's accomplishments that we can start to shift towards a reality where there are as many large companies run by men as by women.

thank you to sica for her work as a pioneering entrepreneur  + a rockin' role model. 

{don't forget the tip} when i first learned that people across the world dispose of used clothing, i was completely discombobulated. the average american throws out 70 pounds of textiles each year, according to the council for textile recycling. that just won't do. there are many options for recycling your gently-worn apparel + footwear. don't send those gently used items to the landfills, instead give them new life by donating them or selling them. now get ready to shop small. want to know what other options exist for redirecting the destiny of those perfectly wearable clothes in your closet? check out this post at litterless. 

{eco apparel: wearing organic cotton top by groceries apparel + fair trade jeans by monkee genes; find your own fair trade treasures at bead + reel}

until next time, stay green dear hearts!

{eco boutique} centre commercial: a shop + a movement

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a new way to shop means reducing consumption, and when it's time to invest, choosing quality items that will become like true blue friends; well kept + the longer you have them the more you like them.

check out centre commercial in paris, 10eme. owners sebastian kopp + francois morillion, the gentlemen who bring us the venerated veja shoes, "mix fashion with a sustainable and socially based approach" to create a venue full of local + fair trade treasures. get ready for a new kind of movement:

all slow fashion brands have been carefully vetted here, so you'll find top eco labels like roseanna {refined negligence at its best}, humanoid {for new wave + punk inspiration} + naked and famous {simple denim jeans made in quebec}, all offering sophisticated tailoring in hardworking fabrics. i picked up an oversized, gender neutral top from basserange + some vegan lotion from the centre's selection of lifestyle products.

you can expect a nonconforming selection of men's + women's apparel + accessories, jewelry + footwear, blended with some traditional pieces: casual tees + unisex t-shirts, jean jackets + members-only jackets, sweatshirts, pants, joggers, baseball caps + messenger bags. all items are made under fair labor standards using organic + recycled textiles.

kopp + morillion share unequivocally, "it's not a store, it's a movement." i happen to think it's both a solid store + a form of social activism as well, where fashion + politics blend seamlessly. check out the pool of perfect slow fashion goods here.

until next time, stay green dear hearts! ♥

{eco fashion guides} from head to toe: sublime socks, star shampoos + more

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i love lists: i've said it before, and i'll say it again. so, i've rounded up my favorite lists of eco faves for friends, family members + readers alike who have been asking for recommendations on everything from underoos + socks to deodorants + shampoos. 14 green guides, all cruelty-free, vegan + perfect for healthy living:

"can you tell me about any eco brands that make good socks?" a friend recently inquired while holding up a sad sock with holes in the toes. the thing is, i can go into esoteric raptures about all things eco + ethical, but i tried to keep it short, "i have a list on my blog!" i told her. prompted by my gal pal's request for recommendations for everything from socks + shoes to underoos, i decided to gather up all the lists of goodies that i've compiled here on finny + dill. let's get started:

cruelty-free, vegan bath + beauty products

1/ lip balm: keep 'em moist; hydrated lips for everyone

2/ deodorant: don't sweat it, green hearts; think fresh, citrusy thoughts 

3/ shampoo: here i effuse about organic shampoos; shine on, mon amis

4/ dry shampoo: the mother of all inventions; an ardent fan i am

5/ facial oil: restore your skin's natural glow; clear + pH balanced skin for you + you +

you!

6/ body moisturizer: wellness rituals should always involve body butter

7/ perfume: fetching fragrances for him + her; when pheromones just won't do

ethical + organic clothing

8/ sweaters: mmm, warm + cozy options for cool-weather months

9/ 12 artisan brands: satisfy your appetite for rare, handmade goods + your yen for unique finds

10/ 12 ethical brands: move over fast fashion, these classic treasures are here to stay

fair trade + animal-friendly footwear

11/ socks: put your best foot forward with fair trade + organic options; i like 'em dotty

12/ boots: change is afoot with these innovative, animal-friendly creations; wear the pineapple you want to be in the world

eco outdoor gear

13/ camping gear: these makers, they've got what you need for good, clean fun

14/ insect repellent: the thrill of the chase; when you're not being chased by those little critters, it is a thrill indeed

undies

bonus: i promised underoos, so i'm including this rad list from noveaux magazine on some sweet + sensual lingerie + underwear brands.

check out these beauties here + more sexy, sustainable lingerie here

swimwear

double bonus: eco cult brings us this fantastic list of sustainable swimsuits + bikinis for fun in the sun. wherever you are, i hope there's plenty of sun. it's that time: vitamin d for you + me

until next time, stay green dear hearts! ♥