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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

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Shopping With... Strawberry Earth

In the ever-evolving world of green initiatives, Strawberry Earth seems to have stumbled upon a strategy that just about everyone can get behind: Throw a huge party, raise a ton of money and invest the profits into environmental actions. It’s so simple, and guess what…it works. The green activists behind the Amsterdam-based company, Ikenna Azuike and Mette te Velde—a former lawyer and journalist, respectively—document their own events and all other manner of tongue-in-cheek, eco-friendly news happening around the globe on their site, StrawberryEarth.com. We recently caught up with the busy duo straight from wrapping their biggest event yet, The Dutch Environmental Film Festival, and chatted about the direction of environmentalism these days, why their approach seems to be resonating with the creative youth, and what we have to look forward to next from Strawberry Earth.

 

The Inside Source: You were both in very different fields before starting Strawberry Earth, was there an ah-ha moment where you knew this was what you really wanted to do?

Ikenna Azuike: Well, we were living in New York, and Mette was writing an article about how green the city is. We had always been environmentally aware, but we weren’t activists. Then we started to explore the green movement and saw the connection between climate change and social justice—which had been my personal interest—and felt compelled to action. There wasn’t a platform out there for creative people who wanted to do something for the environment. So that became our goal. And in December 2008 Strawberry Earth was born. So it wasn’t a single “Ah-ha” moment, but more of a drawn out “Ah-haaaaaa….” moment.

 

TIS: Why do you think your approach has been such a success with young creatives?

IA: What really makes Strawberry Earth different is that we put more fun and humor into our activism. Our first event, a bar night to raise money to make the venue more environmentally friendly, had the tagline: “Get Drunk for the Environment.” You wouldn’t hear that from traditional green initiatives.

 

TIS: You just wrapped the second annual Dutch Environmental Film Festival. Congratulations! How did it go?

IA: It was a huge success. It attracted a lot of attention across Europe, because of the focus on films and music, our young target audience and the partners we have. And again, all the money raised went towards making the venues we used eco-friendlier. This year, nearly all the movies we screened were European or national premieres, like DIVE! —winner of our first Golden Strawberry Award. Everything was solutions-focused, no boring, preachy films! We ended the night with different live international music acts. Plus, we brought together a ton of young, creative green organizations under the same roof, so they could showcase their work. There was a lot going on. We had nearly 2,000 people attend and raised almost €12,000—roughly $15,000—for the eco-improvements. Not bad!

 

TIS: Not bad at all. What’s up next for you and the Strawberry Earth team?

IA: We’re planning an eco-fashion show in October called Strawberry Earth Wonderland. It’ll be held in a Trouw in Amsterdam—a club/cultural center in the heart of the city. Aveda has already signed on as one of our main partners. There’ll be a lot going on there, too, but the main focus will be showing off the best eco-fashion in Europe right now—from established collections to hip smaller brands, like local favorite Studio Jux or Goodone and LU Flux out of the UK. We’re planning to take the event abroad in 2011.

 

TIS: Exciting. So if we can’t jet off to your next event, what are a few easy changes we can make in our daily routine to make our lives a bit more eco-friendly?

IA: Hmmm. That’s tough because so many changes are way easier than people think. OK, here goes:

1. Change your bank. Choose one that invests in social and environmental initiatives and businesses instead of bad things, like weapons or oil!

2. Make the switch to a green energy company and get clean energy.

3. Vote with your wallet in the supermarket for products that are local, organic and good for people and the planet.

4. Use eco-friendly washing powder and cleaning products. Isn’t it silly that we clean our clothes, but pollute the water at the same time? That’s not necessary anymore with green products.

5. Buy vintage clothes; they’re unique and fashionable!

 

TIS: Speaking of vintage clothes, do you ever shop on eBay?

IA: Shopping for vintage items on eBay is recycling 101. We all throw away way too much which can find a new home. And actually, we’d love to do a Strawberry Earth shop on eBay one day. It could be fantastic, but we’re far away from that right now. One day…

 

If Strawberry Earth the Store ever comes to fruition, here’s a sneak peek at how Azuike would stock it:

Roll over items for details
Vintage women’s slip-on sneakers
Vintage Ihagee Exakta camera (current bid, $9.99)
(buy it now price, $25)
Vintage Ihagee Exakta camera
Ihagee EXA-IIa
(current bid, $9.99)
Vintage embroidered floral bag
NEW Brazilian Hammock (buy it now price, $50)
(starting bid, $5.99)
NEW Brazilian Hammock
Hammock from Brazil
(buy it now price, $50)
Vintage men’s checked blazer
Vintage two-tone Oxfords (current bid, $13.95)
(winning bid, $24.18)
Vintage two-tone Oxfords
Oxford Shoes
(current bid, $13.95)
Silver cottage charm
Vintage UCAGCO Japan deer salt and pepper shakers (winning bid, $8.46)
(winning bid, $17.49)
Vintage UCAGCO Japan deer salt and pepper shakers
Vintage salt and pepper shakers
(winning bid, $8.46)
Shopping With... Strawberry Earth

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