Dare the World to Save the Planet...One Fashion/Beauty Enthusiast At a Time

As many of you may know, I am working on my Master of Public Health degree, and I can't see myself in any other program right now.  I find it so easy to do my assignments and go to class because I know that someday, I will be an advocate for my patients and for the wonderland around me.

As many of you don't know, Earth Month or Public Health Month (as my school named it) starts tonight at 8:30, March 31, 2012 (by turning off all unnecessary lights for one hour) and lasts all through April.  Because I'm in this public health program, I have already inherently pledged to contribute to the sustainability of our health and environment, but I challenge all of you starting today to incorporate sustainability into your life.  Many of you, my supportive readers, are interested in fashion and beauty, but how do we incorporate public health and sustainability into the fashion world?

I think I found a way for all of us to do just that.

Pretty Mayan Lake from my trip to Progeso, Mexico

You will see soon that my blog will be changing in a different direction.  Thanks to my friends for helping me mull over this idea, I have decided that from now on, I will be incorporating sustainable fashion and beauty tips on this blog.  I have lately been uneasy on the idea that consumerism is so unsustainable, from making the products themselves down to the factory workers who make and put together our fashion products.  What toxic chemicals and fibers do they put in our clothes and accessories?  Have you ever gotten something and you couldn't pronounce what material the clothing item was made out of?  Do the workers who manufacture the clothing get compensated fairly and sufficiently?

I also want to incorporate these tips on this blog because I haven't found any good tips anywhere else online.  Thus, I will be doing a lot of my own research and exploration before I become comfortable with announcing such tips.

Beach Boardwalk from my trip to Cozumel, Mexico

To start off, I have dedicated to purchase only thrifted or "sustainable" fashion items, meaning they may be made out of organic cotton, are made in my country (USA: I am familiar with their stricter regulations on compensating and treating workers, and it's local so less fuel used to import items), are made of plant-based materials, etc.  I am still in the process of exploring what "sustainable" fashion really means, so this is just a preliminary list.

By purchasing these "sustainable" items, we can put our dollar vote towards supporting sustainable fashion and beauty.

Also as a fun thing, I just created my own Earth Hour challenge on YouTube, and if 100 of you pledge to wash your clothes at 30 degrees C (or 86 degrees F) for the month of April, I will let my boyfriend, Jerry, dress me for school/work for 2 weeks and document it on this blog.

Please go here to accept my challenge so I know that 100 of you will wash your clothes at that lower temperature....and will want to see me dressed by Jerry....

There are many other challenges out there that you can pick from!  You can create your own too if you'd like (warning: you only have a few options on the right box.  I just chose the most fashion-related one lol)!

Thank you for taking the time read my blog!  I've become really fond of this blog community, and I'm so ready to marry my two loves: public health and fashion.

heart, alice

"We only have one planet.  You can help protect it. Participate in the world’s largest single campaign for the planet: Earth Hour. It starts by turning off your lights for an hour at 8:30 pm on March 31, 2012 in a collective display of commitment to a better future for the planet.  Think what can be achieved when we all come together for a common cause." -EarthHour.org