Arrive Magazine - March/April, 2009

First Class
NO NOISE IS
GOOD NOISE

“WHAT? YEAH, SORRY
ABOUT THE NOISE. I’M AT
THE TRAIN STATION.”
How many times have you
yelled something like this into
your phone? But screaming
doesn’t get you very far—it
only irritates the person on the
other end.
You need the PureAudio
wireless headset. The Bluetooth
device uses noise-canceling
technology to pick up your
voice clear as day without
transmitting the noises around
you to your caller. In other
words, you can talk to your
boss without fear of him

or her hearing, “Would you like that shaken or stirred, sir?” $89.95; andreaelectronics.com

Earth Ple sponsored first sustain haute cout fashion sh

TRENDSETTERS

Earth Pledge Foundation

With the environment topping our national agenda, it’s di cult to imagine a time when it was barely a blip on our collective radar. Nonetheless, that was exactly the state of a airs when attorney and activist Theodore Kheel founded the Earth Pledge Foundation in 1991. Formed in support of the United Nations’ Earth Summit, the Earth Pledge Foundation not only has promoted environmental awareness but also has formed successful partnerships with private-sector entities to apply innovative green technique and technology in a wide variety of fields.

“Long ago I accepted that capitalism won,” says Leslie Ho man, executive director. “It’s the market, and the market players that are ultimately going to make the di erence.”

Along with its “market player” partners, Earth Pledge has amassed an impressive list of firsts for an environmental

organization. From producing the first high-end, sustainable fashion show with top designers, including Calvin Klein and Donna Karan, to building the first high-temperature anaerobic food digester for transforming food waste into renewable natural gas, Earth Pledge has spread green innovation into astonishingly diverse areas.

With so many years of environmental activism under her belt, Hoffman has been pleasantly surprised by the current groundswell of interest in the environment but shocked that it took so long. She hopes that newly minted environmentalists will become informed consumers able to guide the market toward better green products.

“It also would be great if people could consume less,” she says. “It’s important to question what the making of a good life really is, and sometimes quality over quantity is the answer.”