Alternative Apparel Blog

Zach Gilford is Bringing Backcountry Rules to the Big City

 

For three seasons, the rabid fans of Friday Night Lights have followed Zach Gilford from heartbreak to triumph and back. And in the forthcoming Sundance darling Dare, the Northwestern-trained thesp finally puts his bedroom eyes to work, playing the object of two teenager's affection. Off-screen meanwhile, Gilford has been seduced by the great outdoors; for several years, he's been leading backcountry trips for teenagers in his spare time. Here, he gives us his wilderness tips for the big city.

How long have you been working as a backcountry guide? And how did you get into doing that?

I went to summer camp, as a kid, and wound up getting really into the outdoors. So, I guess it's been six or seven years now that I've been working with Adventures Cross-Country; same basic idea as Outward Bound, but just during the summer and just for high school kids.

Do you find that working with kids forces you to be more conscious of your own behavior, eco-wise? 

I’d like to think I can inspire these kids the way my own trip leaders inspired me when I was their age. And it is my job to set a certain kind of example. Like, we’ll be walking through the woods and I’ll see a piece of trash, and it’s my job to say, "Well, it sucks that someone did that, and now I’m going to pick up that trash, and carry it around in my pack until I can dispose of it properly." And that way, that trash won’t be here anymore. There’s this principle, outdoors: Leave no trace. Outdoor ethics. Those backcountry rules have been drilled into my head. Now I’m trying to pass them along.

Read more of Zach's interview after the jump.

To get Zach's eco-friendly style, shop the Alternative Earth collection.

A Fine Frenzy - A Friend to the Planet

A heap o' good stuff today!  First, we've got a new track up on our music player today by A Fine Frenzy.  The track, entitled "Happier," is a whimsical tune that comes from their recently released sophomore album Bomb in a Birdcage.  Alison Sudol, the driving force behind A Fine Frenzy, says of the new album, “I felt like being daring; I wasn’t interested in doing more of the same, that doesn’t inspire me."  For those of you who were fans of the first album, you're definitely in store for something different.  And for those of you who haven't heard anything before? Prepare to be wowed!

But before we get to the giveaway (because I know you're all waiting for it), we've got another announcement - it's an extra special day because this new song comes alongside the launch of our ReThink campaign!  Our ReThink magazine (printed on recycled paper) features Alison speaking out about what she does day-to-day to be gentle to our planet.  She also shares her outlook on the future of the planet:

The state of our environment is really quite grim, but it's encouraging that green living has become the cool thing to do.  If the general consensus is that we must develop new plans, fostering alternative ways of living that work with the earth instead of against it, then society will put pressure on big businesses and the government to make real changes.  I am definitely optimistic.

As a celebration, we've got some really good gifts up for grabs!  You can enter to win one of SIX gift packs which contains

• the album Bomb in a Birdcage by A Fine Frenzy in CD format; comes in a special cardboard sleeve made from 30% recycled materials
• a special photo and lyric book, a companion piece to the album, autographed by Alison of A Fine Frenzy
• one of our limited edition unisex Think Earth tees printed on our Eco-Heather Crew, which is made using organic cotton and recycled polyester; all proceeds from the sale of these shirts go to benefit Global Green

How do you enter to win? Just leave a comment on this post and we'll pick our SIX lucky winners on Friday, Nov. 20.  Winners will be announced on Monday, Nov. 23.

Alicia Silverstone is Anything But Clueless

Alicia Silverstone earned her place in the silver screen's pantheon of do-gooding ditzes with her performance as Cher Horowitz in Clueless (1995). In the years since, Silverstone has kept up the do-gooding, minus the ditziness. An outspoken animal rights activist and committed conservationist, Silverstone has spent much of her post-Clueless time in the spotlight advocating for veganism, a diet she sees as marrying both causes. According to Silverstone, eating vegan is the healthiest choice, too—and the silver bullet solution to clingy pounds and problem skin. Silverstone has distilled her food wisdom into a new book, The Kind Diet, which offers ideas, info and encouragement to people ready to test out the veg lifestyle. "I’m really trying to nudge people into making better choices," Silverstone explains, between bites of her homemade vegan cheesecake. "The more good choices you make, the better. But it’s not all or nothing." Here, Silverstone talks about opening people’s minds to the pleasures of eating kind.

People know you as an advocate for animal rights and for veganism, but I think people also have a sense that those causes are off to one side of the sustainability movement, if not entirely separate from it. But you seem to see all these issues as profoundly intertwined.

They're so connected. I’ll tell you a story: I was in the rain forest not long ago, on a conservation trip, and I’d say the people on the trip were about 50/50, veg and meat-eaters. Now, these are all very committed people, they care about what’s happening to the planet and they want to make things better. But the people who ate meat, you know, they’d kind of chide us, saying, "Look, this isn’t about the environment; you guys just love animals, that’s all." Well, that’s true, I love animals. Guilty as charged. But you could literally point at land that, until just recently, had been rain forest, and it had all been cleared away for cattle ranges. That is rain forest that is never coming back. I mean, the way a herd of cattle grazes the land, the way they tread on the ground, they turn soil into desert. And that land won’t be fertile again—not in our lifetime, anyway. So you’ve taken out rain forest, which sponges up the carbon in the atmosphere, and you’ve replaced it with a cattle range, and soon, that range is going to be dead ground. That’s the trade-off. And I’d go through all of that with the meat-eaters on the trip, and they’d sort of stick their fingers in their ears and say, "Noooo…."

Of course, the rejoinder you often hear to that kind of argument is, well, the people who live in and around the rain forest deserve access to good protein.

The rainforest has so much food in it—wonderful, healthy food. You can absolutely thrive on what can be harvested from it. Look at it another way: You’ve taken land that is naturally flourishing with nutritious food for people, and you’ve turned it into land that feeds animals that are then supposed to go back and feed the same people, only much less efficiently. That doesn’t make any sense.

Read more of Alicia's interview after the jump.

To get Alicia's eco-friendly style, shop the Alternative Earth collection.

Sweater Weather

 
No bones about it—one of the best things about fall’s cooler weather is the chance to sport all your stylish sweaters. Cardigans, pullovers, wraps or hoodies—whatever your sweater of choice, you can’t go wrong this season (unless, of course, you’re wearing a patchwork holiday-themed sweater).

Sure, this may seem like common knowledge to all of you fashionistas now, but I remember a time not too long ago when the oversized, slouchy cardigan did not rule the runways and was considered nerdy and boring (See: Mister Rogers).

These days however, sweaters are a sleek staple for men and women. They can be worn a ton of different ways, and with pretty much any outfit. One simple way for you ladies to tie your sweater weather look together is with a belt. Go for a skinny belt over your cardigan to look perfectly polished, or try a wider belt if you’re wearing a sweater coat or sweater dress. For guys, the V-neck sweater is a top trend this season in cardigans and pullovers. Wear it over your favorite tee or under your jacket to add an element of sophistication.

For more stunning sweater styles, check out Alternative’s Sweater Weather collection for women, or shop Sweaters & Vests for guys.

Steal Of The Week! Burnout Leggings for $25

To all the girls & ladies & women: I know that you really want to wear leggings all the time right now.  All the time!  And everywhere, I see you in leggings.  Would you wear them with a dress?  Would you wear them to impress?  Would you wear them to a ball?  Would you wear them at the mall?  Yes x 4.  To give you a leg up on the competition (pun most definitely intended), we're giving you our Heather Burnout Leggings for a mere $25!  Made from our wicked cool heather burnout fabric, you can get them in plain grey or add a splash of color with blue, pink or yellow.

Use promo code CXLEGZ to get these Heather Burnout Leggings for $25.
Hurry! Offer expires Sunday 11/08/2009.

Promotion applies to all regular and sale merchandise. Offer valid on style aa4603 only. Valid for consumers only; not valid on merchandise purchased at wholesale pricing. Discount will be taken off subtotal of goods at time of checkout; does not apply to additional charges such as tax or shipping fees. Discount not valid for the purchase of gift cards. In order to be eligible for free shipping, subtotal of the order must equal minimum requirement after discount is calculated; free shipping is not calculated before discount is applied. Offer ends November 8, 2009. Offer subject to change.

Destroyed. Distressed. Delightful.

Who says being rough around the edges is a bad thing? When it comes to your clothes, a little distressing never hurt anybody.

A 21st century take on grunge, this season's destroyed look is a little more sophisticated than its late 80s/early 90s predecessor. Think Mary Kate Olsen and Gossip Girls' Taylor Momsen. Balmain dominated the destroyed trend last spring with its bleached, ripped jeans. And now the distressed look is extending further to cardigans, tops and tights. Those frayed edges look ever-so-slightly unkempt in a way that seems to say,"Yeah, I'm cool...and I'm not even trying."

Of course, you don't want to look like you live in a van down by the river. There is a fine line between a perfectly put-together destroyed ensemble and looking like a Def Leppard groupie. My advice would be to rock the destroyed look in moderation, not from head to toe. For example, if you've got on a seriously destroyed pair of jeans, pair them with a well-tailored shirt. Or, juxtapose your destroyed sweater or tee with a sleek mini-skirt. Top off your distressed look with some rocker-inspired accessories and a devil-may-care attitude for the finishing touches.

Alternative recommends: The Destroyed Tee for men or women. The collar and sleeves are ground down with a special machine to create a uniquely worn-in, deconstructed look.