Eco Now!
Yesterday I took a little jaunt to Eco Now, an expo for environmentally conscious companies and organizations, which is being held for the first time here in Stockholm.
It’s being held at Kistamässan (the expo center in Kista) and the last time I was there was in the spring when I was representing my now ex-employer at Print 2009. Then the expo hall was packed full of printing machines, whirring away printing out colourful flirty images, each one trying to produce better quality eye candy than their neighbours. HUGE images. Fumes from the printers. On duty. Fuzzy head. Trip to the powder room to get away from it all. Which is when I saw Eco Now advertised. Joy! Much more my scene!
ekoskoter.se
So needless to say I really enjoyed this collection of like minded people. Here you could peruse everything from organic wine, to funky electric scooters, including the one from Ekoskoter.se that we are thinking of investing in next year to whizz along our little country roads to get to the train station.
Also at this expo there are yummy samples. Heh heh! So, in the name of research I purchased some goodies which I would love to share with you should you pop round for tea. Chances are you wont (sadly) so you will just have to use your imagination!
From VeganLife (founded by Pernilla Karlsson who has written Pillans Vegankokbok) I bought some organic green jasmine and rose tea leaves and some wonderful cookies: Gluten free Coffee flavour and Spelt, Apple & Cranberry. I am not usually one for cookies (unless they are raw) as I tend to find them too sweet and it’s easy to over indulge and make myself feel a bit icky, but these cookies made by Billy’s Farm are sweetened with rice syrup and apple juice, and are made with unrefined flour so they feel and taste more wholesome and homemade. The coffee ones were my favorite; delicious coffee and vanilla flavours melting in your mouth. The tea is fantastic; so clean and beautifully scented. For those of you who don’t live in Sweden, you can find information about the cookies here on the baker’s website.
During the afternoon I had the pleasure of viewing a fashion show which flaunted some beautiful collections of eco friendly clothes. Some of them were so fabulously elegant. It’s a delight to see organic clothes that prove to the world that ‘green’ doesn’t have to mean hippy! We can still wear stylish clothes and shoes, eat gourmet food, consciously and fashionably decorate our homes and still make less of a dent on the planet and all that sail on her.
Here are two of my favorites: Fin Oslo and Revery
I found it a shame that they only focused on women’s clothing, well except for this little chap, who quite understandably – I certainly wouldn’t want to trot down the runway – looked rather horror stricken at having to parade about in his funky little outfit in front of an audience of strangers and dozens of flashing cameras.
Just as I was about to leave for the day my eye was caught by Grön Interiör who sell green products for the home. They sell amongst other things eco and ergonomically aware mattresses and office chairs; both of which I feel I really need to invest in. I got chatting with the owner and left feeling upbeat and inspired by all the projects she is involved in, which as well as Grön Interiör include Ekogrossisten and an eco retreat.
As I made my way to exit the hall to go and take my bus to the station I spotted Gemenskap Grön who were displaying some perfectly gorgeous dog accessories. Since I have recently become a proud dog mummy, I couldn’t help but stop and lust over all the wonderful collars and leads. I nearly came home with a new organic bamboo collar for our little Pixie but couldn’t decide which to choose among their brilliant designs. You can find them on their website, and for those of you further afield in the States you can get them from Wagging Green.
Eco Now is on until tomorrow (22 August) and well worth the visit. I have said to my self that I would make do with one day there, but now as I sit here with my empty tea cup, still delicately scented with jasmine, and as I pick cookie crumbs from my keyboard, I wonder if I perhaps should scoot in again tomorrow…
By the way, if you are thinking of going, join the Facebook group and you’ll find a link to print off some free tickets.
Eco Now: Kistamässan, 20-22 August 2009
www.econow.se
