Eco-Chick Escapes · The modern girl's guide to green travel

Travel Essential: Hankies! (Don’t Leave Home without Them)

Image via Mike Baird on Flickr.

Some think hankies are old-fashioned. I find that they are one of the most useful things I carry – and not only are they a sweet style statement, they are there to address the inevitable messes of a life on the go. Here’s just a short list of what I use my hankies for:

-For patting perspiration from my upper lip and forehead
-As a ‘fabric bracelet’
-Around the neck for color (and to absorb sweat or keep warm)
-To blow my nose
-To wrap cookies, granola or fruit in lieu of a plastic bag
-To wipe my hands on after eating
-As a face cover while catching some rays on my body
-To cover a sneeze
-As aromatherapy – just douse fabric with two to three drops of your favorite essential oil, then place over your face and close your eyes (I do this with lavender in the middle of the workday – magic!)

ThirtySomethingFashion blogger Carly shows us how to wear a Happy Hanky – nice!

Hankies are much better at dealing with messes (and are less wasteful) than carrying around a bunch of napkins from the coffee shop, or disposable tissues which never seem up to the job. Hankies can be washed with a bit of handsoap or shampoo and left to dry – it usually only takes an hour or so because they are made from very lightweight fabrics (often cottons, but sometimes blends).

Handmade Modern Hankies:There are a few craftspeople making modern updates on the traditional hankie, so if vintage isn’t your style, or you want something more graphic, a new hankie is the way to go (look for organic materials where possible).

Happy Hanky has a supergraphic sensibility and a huge collection of fabrics to choose from. I love their unabashed appreciation of all things hankie! They make hankies for men, for wedding favors, and the hilarious “I’m Not a Tissue” hankie. Hah!

Recently, I have been thinking monogrammed hankie – I’ve never monogrammed anything and it seems like a sweet idea. Artful Beginnings is a Vermont-based company that handmakes modern hankies that can be personalized or monogrammed (they make pretty wedding favor hankies too).
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Think Coffee: NYC’s Conscious Choice, Now with Five Locations

Recently, I conducted an intern search, and since Eco Chick is one of the many companies that works virtually, that means I had to find a place to meet with all the fantastic applicants. As I spend quite a bit of time in the Union Square area of NYC, I have long been stopping by the Think Coffee near the park, but this past autumn, on a run back from the gorgeous-in-every-season Hudson River Park, I noticed a new Think was setting up shop at 8th avenue between 13th and 14th streets.

The interior of the 14th&8th Think Coffee store – with plenty of room in the back room for relaxing and enjoying your java.

This store is much more chill than the always-busy Broadway location, and soon after they opened, I became a regular. Not just because I have a bit of a coffee addiction, but because the space is open and new (but with a bit of an old-school coffeehouse vibe), and Think is serious about its ethical bona fides, which include the following:

-Sourcing direct from farmers. No middleman means no greenwashing, as coffee farms are visited by (the lucky!) Think employees during travels to Brazil, Columbia and Costa Rica. Why all this trouble?

Coffee is grown across the globe, and, in our opinion, no single coffee purchasing or certification system can be expected to work equally well everywhere. Whether it is a small family farm in Nicaragua or a Brazilian plantation or a cooperative in southern Ethiopia, each has its own economic, social and political climate. That’s why we go to origin, to see first hand where our coffee comes from, to bring you as much transparency as we can. No other coffee retailer we know of checks up on the claims of its roasters, importers or certifying authorities the way we do.

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Escapes Giveaway! Win a Pretty Turquoise Recycled Suitcase from Heys

Heys has long been known for producing quality suitcases and travel gear. And now their new eco-friendly line, EcoCase (they are made from 100% recycled plastic) proves they are conscious too. (And I think the hard-case style is pretty cool.)

So naturally, we are giving one away to Eco Chick and Eco Chick Escapes readers!

(Heys does make a soft fabric suitcase, also made from recycled polyester fabric, as well.)

The giveaway would be for ONE Turquoise EcoCase carry-on piece, pictured above.

To win: You have the chance to win the prize. How? Simply like the Heys Facebook page and Eco Chick Escapes Facebook page and let us know you have done so in the comments below. Easy!

Deets: Eco Chick does not sell or lend email addresses we collect. One reader will win the prize. Entrants must be 18 or older and located in the US or Canada. Submissions will be collected until February 15th at midnight eastern standard time. Good luck!

Flickr Image via TheeErin

Destination Treehouse! Four Gorgeous and Green Aerial Accommodations

My treehouse growing up was more of a fort; a simple piece of plywood wedged into the meeting place of three branching tree trunks. The 70-year-old oak tree from which I spied leaned a bit precariously over an embankment above our driveway. It was the perfect place to observe undetected. The tree kept me good company with its rough bark and leaves (bright to dark green to brown and crinkly, depending on the seasons) with pointed edges. It was solid under my legs when I inched up the trunk to get a better view.

The sound of the wind in the leaves is one I remember clearly and can conjure up almost any time I need a calming. So the idea of staying in a treehouse hotel of some sort seems automatically more relaxing to me than a regular room in a box of a hotel.

If panoramic views of the Balinesian rainforest caps off your idea of an organically-infused getaway, then the Ubud Hanging Gardens will provide hours of natural inspiration and relaxation (a river runs nearby). The panoramic deluxe pool villas come with a heated infinity pool (as pictured above), but you can also chill on the native Bali-style verandah or enjoy the forest from your room, since they have floor-to-ceiling windows to take advantage of the privacy of the area.

I love that the Hana Lani treehouses in Maui come with a warning that they might be too rustic for some (glamping is so popular these days….). I love a gorgeous high end hotel, but simple, dropped-into-nature experiences are more my style. This double-level treehouse rental has a larger master bedroom at the top (with ocean views!) and a living room and kitchen below. No electricity is available, but running water and a regular toilet are. Love!

A former country house in Lenox, Massachusetts, the Wheatleigh gets all kinds of great reviews. But it has one extra-special room; the aptly-named Aviary, is “A former aviary transformed into a two-story suite with a private covered terrace. The downstairs living room features windows on all sides and a BeoVision 9-50 Entertainment System. A sculptural glass enclosed circular stair leads to a second floor sleeping room floating in the trees. A unique bathroom with limestone and glass wet room combines a soaking tub and shower area.”

The Wheatleigh abuts 22 acres of Fredrick Law Olmstead-designed parklands, so you can venture out, or stay close by. Western Massachusetts is beautiful year-round as a locale for outdoor sports like cross-country skiing, iceskating and snowshoeing, and is nearby the Tanglewood Arts Center, for music lovers. Staying in the Aviary would be like icing on the mountaincake.

Tranquil Resort in Kerala, India, offers not one, but two treehouse lodgings, both located about 35 feet above the forest floor. If you are travelling solo or with your sweetie, the Tree House is perfect, (watch the slideshow with the tree trunk running through the bathroom!). But if you are part of a larger group or family, check out the TreeVilla (pictured here): “The 1080 sq.feet TreeVilla is spacious, child friendly and completely insect-proofed. Designed to accommodate up to four people, it has 8 feet verandahs on two sides and two bathrooms – one, with a panoramic view of the estate.”

The World’s Best Ethical Destinations for 2012: “Travel is a Powerful Communicating Tool”

Ethicaltraveller.org is a nonprofit that takes an unbiased look at the status of socially and environmentally responsible programs in developing nations. I was incredibly curious to see which countries they designate as being the ‘best’ to travel to, because I believe in not only seeing the world, but supporting companies, countries, programs and incentives that actively work to protect indigenous people, give good jobs, protect the environment, and support human rights.

As they state: “There are many ways to deliver a message and take a stand for human rights and the health of our planet. Social networks are critical—but travel is also a powerful communicating tool. Travel and tourism are among the planet’s driving economic forces, and every journey we take makes a statement about our priorities and commitment to change.”

And The Winners Are:

Ethical Traveler congratulates the countries on our 2012 list of The Developing World’s 10 Best Ethical Destinations. The winners, in alphabetical order (not in order of merit), are:

Argentina *
The Bahamas
Chile *
Costa Rica *
Dominica *
Latvia *
Mauritius
Palau *
Serbia
Uruguay *
( * = also appeared on our 2011 list).

Check out all the considerations that went into putting this list together on the Ethical Traveller site, but the short list is below:

“Every year, Ethical Traveler reviews the policies and practices of all the nations in the developing world. We then select the ten that are doing the best job of promoting human rights, preserving their environment, and creating a sustainable, community-based tourism industry. By visiting these destinations, we use our economic power—our travel dollars—to support these countries.”

So far, of countries on the list, I’ve gotten to visit Costa Rica and the Bahamas, and Chile and Argentina are high on my list of places I’d like to see in 2012. Where have you been and where do you want to go? (PS – I’m going to have to do some reading about Mauritius and Palau…have to admit I don’t know much about them!)

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