Eco-Friendly Fashion From Head To Toe

Sustainable fashion is possible! Although the best method is to shop your closet, here are my favorite pieces to construct the perfect green outfit:

Alkemie Jewelry “Cowry Shell” necklace, forged from 100% recycled metals, $120

Kitson LIV GRN “The world would be a better place if we all LIV GRN” T-shirt, 100% Organic Cotton, $48

Del Forte”Bluebelle” Mid-Rise Flare jeans, 99% organic cotton, $89

Bag the Habit “Reusable Shopping Tote in Plum”, 55% recycled fabric, $18

Zoe&Zac for Payless “Tigerlily Espadrille” platform wedge, organic cotton, hemp and recycled rubber, $27

Personal finance for the Facebook Generation

“Generation F”, a demographic Gary Hamel refers to as the ‘Facebook Generation‘, is now influencing how financial companies design and develop new products.  While social networks like Twitter and Facebook become increasingly ubiquitous, applications for personal finance are scarce.   Most tools I have tried have yet to improve my bottom line, until now.

Mint.com is a web-based financial analytics tool for consumers that is changing how Generation F manages its finances.  By summarizing financial transactions from its users, Mint is able to provide valuable tools to track spending trends and habits.  Shedding light on these trends could potentially save consumers hundreds, or even thousands each year.

I’ve personally been using this service since 2007 and recently set a $200 monthly budget for gas.  Mint will display a graph of my current usage, allowing me to visualize whether I’ve exceeded my monthly expenditures.  If I’m over budget, I will adjust my spending habits and perhaps resist a last-minute Starbucks run.  My favorite feature: the ability to manage my account via an iPhone application launched last December.

Another company fast-tracking personal finance for Generation F is Revolution Money.  This Florida-based firm now provides the Revolution Card which is printed without the customer name or signature in order to increase security and reduce identity theft. The unconventional card, shaped like a bone, attracts users who appreciate design and creativity.  Moving beyond the constraints of PayPal, the company also features a free money exchange service between members, making it easy to pay a friend back for concert tickets.

Revolution Money only charges merchants a half-percent processing fee per transaction versus the 1.5% to 4% fees charged by giants in the industry.  This is great news for companies which are trying to reduce selling expenses.  Essentially, Revolution Money aims to pass cost savings to its consumers the same way ARCO did for retail gas in the 1980s.  Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom are among the 650,000 merchants which have already signed up to accept payments.

Once these financial institutions prove to be secure and reputable, they could become as powerful as Google.  After all, spending habits, consumer trends, and personal finance are the underpinnings of a great micromarketing strategy.