A “Green Vest” that simply attaches green gadgets to a perfectly good vest could be a bully-magnet if worn by kids, I wrote not too long ago. Now, it appears this bully magnet’s actually being created and sold to geeky environmentalists!

For the bargain price of $140, you can display your love of solar power by wearing an ugly Solar Vest. If any passerby happens not to notice the four chunky solar panels that take up a good quarter of the vest, the eco-wear’s clearly labeled “SOLAR VEST” in bold white letters to set them straight.

The Solar Vest boasts lots of pockets to carry all manner of gadgetry and keep them juiced up on sunny days. However, as Jaymi Heimbuch points out in Treehugger, “no geek who might wear this is going to be seen sitting in the sun for the hours it’ll take to charge the small handhelds.”

There’s a reason geeks are known to have pasty skin and it’s because they don’t walk around for hours in the sun. They might, however, devise a complicated pulley system that will haul this thing out their window into the sunlight, and back in when it finishes charging their gear.

Chinavasion’s making things even worse for lost eco-geeks by insisting that the vest’s perfect to wear to “go cruising for chicks,” who’ll be drawn to the vest “like moths to a light bulb.” Let’s hope that the green guys google for proof of chic-magnetism and find this post before donning the vest and stepping outside.

Not all solar clothing’s so blatantly ugly. The solar bikini, for example, actually looks like a futuristic, albeit uncomfortable, bikini, and makes better sense as a solar-power device since bikinis are meant to be worn on sunny beaches in the first place.

Know of any other solar-powered devices, whether eco-gorgeous or eco-fugly?

Photos courtesy of Chinavasion

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>> Eco-fugly lamp, or Duchamp-inspired found art? Apparently the rich are paying good money for upcycled household goods that look cheap. The price tag on the broom-lamp to the right: $850.

>> FastCompany has a slideshow of the 29 best buildings in Los Angeles., many of which are sustainably designed and community-oriented. Vista Hermosa Park in downtown L.A., Pasadena Bike Transit Center and Treepeople Center for Community Forestry are among those featured — alongside a gas station and parking structure. The buildings were recognized at the 39th annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards. (thanks for the tip, Rodney)

>> Want your home to make that list? Try entering the competition for a big green home makeover, complete with everything from an energy audit to eco-insulation to energy-efficient appliances — to green furniture from Cisco Homes and home furnishings from VivaTerra.

Image via ritabotelho.com

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I’ve called Terracycle’s other upcycled juice pouch stuff eco-fugly before — but the eco worm-poop company keeps comin’ out with new items, this time for the holidays.

Behold the Terracycle stockings and tree skirts, made with upcycled juice pouches and cookie wrappers diligently collected by Terracycle trash brigades!

Now in general, I consider both holiday stockings and tree pouches to be decorative items one saves and reuses year after year. Which makes me wonder — Even if I decided I was okay with cookie-wrapper stockings for one season, would I be able to stand looking at those things every year?

Then again, kids may actually really like this stuff (I’ve no firsthand experience and thus no clue — I’m totally guessing here) because the stockings may evoke warm memories of eating and drinking high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Yum!

Let me step back and say that I do love, in general, what Terracycle’s doing to eliminate the idea of trash. In fact, you only need to read TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky’s thoughts on the individual conundrums that non-recyclable, recyclable and biodegradable packagings all cause to know that Terracycle’s serious about its mission. About his own brigades, Tom writes: “these programs (almost 12,000 collection sites strong) are merely a drop in the ocean when compared to the many billions of used packages discarded every year.”

Other eco-conundrums posed by Terracycle’s upcycling ventures include: 1) People will come to think of nonrecyclable packaging as eco-okay since they can be upcycled — despite the fact that only a teensy amount of the stuff actually does get upcycled, and 2) The upcycled products themselves may serve as greenwashed advertisements for unhealthy, uneco products with non-recyclable packaging.

And yet, as far as stockings and tree skirts go, aren’t Terracycle’s products pretty far up on the eco-scale? Certainly since Terracycle’s goods are available via Home Depot at reasonable prices, one could make the argument that these products are the only eco-ones of their kind made accessible to the general public.

Would you buy a Terracycle stocking or tree skirt?

Images via homedepot.com

[crossposted on BlogHer]

Update, 12/8/08: Amenity makes a cuter — and more expensive — eco tree skirt.

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Now that Obama’s emails asking for money seem to have finally stopped — Do you miss them? If you’ve somehow become addicted to sending $5 – $10 to a cause you support every week in exchange for stickers and T-shirts, here’s how you can get something back for your donations to help save the environment:

If you like to wear your enviro-activism on your sleeve, a couple eco-bracelets are competing for your dollars — by promising to donate the funds to StopGlobalWarming.org, the virtual march against global climate change.

First up: A Stop Global Warming bracelet from Roots. Made from 100% recycled scrap leather in Canada, this bracelet’s available in five different colors and costs $5 — all of which is donated to StopGlobalWarming.org.

If you’re vegan — or simply want a slimmer bracelet — there’s the I’m Tired of Global Warming bracelet. Made from recycled tires and metals, this bracelet costs $10 — $5 of which goes to StopGlobalWarming.org.

No, I don’t think I’ll buy either bracelet — because I feel the same way about didactic messages on my wrist as I do about didactic messages on my chest. Also, the bracelets seem slightly eco-fugly and crunchy to me. But that’s just my opinion….

I did send $5 to StopGlobalWarming.org back in April though, when I bought special edition eco-friendly Simple Shoes….

Give to Get’s a holiday series about eco-friendly goodies you can buy — or get for free by donating to eco-motivated nonprofits. Earlier: Picking an eco-gift bag and A Surf-inspired eco T-shirt with benefits

Update: I spoke too soon! Just got another Obama email, this time asking for $35 in exchange for an Obama calendar.

Update, 12/15/08: Here’s a new Give to get post: A fancy necklace plus an eco-book that explains it

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The idea’s sweet — but are the shoes hot?

A London company called Above + Below‘s making “Limited Edition Tube Trainers” out of old subway and bus seat covers, recycled / repurposed leather, and recycled tire rubber. (via Grist) The resulting product’s pictured above.

The shoes do look a bit less jarring in photos taken from a distance — if the shoes are turned so you don’t see the seat cover sides too much….

Are these sturdy-looking kicks a smart use of existing resources that double as a subliminal ad for eco-friendly travel to boot? Or are the overly-colorful footwear perpetuating the frumpy hippie environmentalist stereotype?

Images via aboveandbelowlondon.com

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