Capitalists with Heart

As we strive to live more sustainably, our choice of home makes a huge impact on our environmental footprint in terms of energy use and the environmental impact of the home’s materials. Fortunately, sustainable design is becoming increasingly mainstream, offering a growing number of options that seamlessly incorporate form and function.

Here’s a look at several Boston-area architecture firms with expertise in this arena.

Amacher & Associates Architects: Led by Franziska Amacher, LEEP AP and graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, this Cambridge-based firm offers architecture, space planning and sustainable development. Past projects include commercial and residential buildings including a zero-energy building, a renovation of a Beacon Hill brownstone, a green farmhouse in Maine and a solar two-family house.

Architerra: With all of its full-time professional staff LEED-accredited, Architerra has completed projects including the Massport cruise terminal in Boston, a new science and art center at Cambridge School of Weston and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Wind Technology Testing Center. The firm has received awards including the Boston Society of Architects Award for Sustainable Design and a AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project.

Studio G Architects: Studio G Architects’ portfolio includes sustainable design projects including the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance Offices (using recycled building materials and components), Eco-Tourist Resort in Israel (featuring graywater and rainwater recycling and passive ventilation systems) and the Green Roof at Boston Latin School. The firm also has a tradition of preserving historic structures and, in some cases, adapting them for new uses.

Reverse Architecture: Somerville-based Reverse Architecture has designed homes and commercial spaces as well home additions with features such as a “geothermal” ground source heat pump and LED lighting. One notable project, Condensation House in Twentynine Palms, California, is designed to extract and design water vapor from every potential source. The firm’s founder, Carl Solander, LEED AP also lectures at MIT.

ZeroEnergy Design: Based on Boston’s Milk Street, ZeroEnergy Design (or ZED for short) offers green architecture and mechanical design services, working on new home construction and renovations. ZED helps residential clients achieve energy performance targets such as net zero energy (using on-site energy production such as solar photovoltaic to match energy consumption), passive house standard (using 70-90 percent less energy for heating and cooling than a conventional structure) and deep energy retrofit (improving energy performance by at least 50 percent). It also has LEED-accredited professionals and LEED for Homes Green Rater on staff.

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You focus on keeping your home as eco-friendly as possible—so when you travel, it’s a priority to find accommodations that are as concerned about the earth as you are.

Amidst a growing awareness about the environmental impact of travel, many hotels now strive to reduce their environmental footprint through water and energy conservation, recycling and more. Here’s a look at several Massachusetts hotels large and small that are using eco-friendly practices.

The Lenox Hotel in Boston: The Lenox launched the nation’s first linen re-use program and Boston’s first commercial electric vehicle charging station. The Copley Square hotel features low-flow toilets, showerheads and aerators and in-room and lobby recycling bins. It also uses hybrid vehicles for its car service and housekeeping uniforms made from recycled plastic fiber.
Topia Inn in Adams: Nestled in the Berkshires, this intimate, 9-room organic inn serves guests non-GMO, USDA-certified organic meals with fair trade coffee and tea. Rooms are equipped with LED lights and dual flush toilets to conserve water and energy, while furnishings are made with organic, rapidly renewable and fair trade materials. The innkeepers also plan to add solar hot water in the coming year.
NineZero in Boston: Located near Boston Commons, NineZero’s sustainable practices include in-room recycling bins, low-flow toilets, showers and faucets, energy-efficient lighting fixtures and a towel and linen re-use program. NineZero also donates unused and partially used bath amenities (also eco-friendly) to community programs and makes eco-friendly dry cleaning services available to guests.
Irving House in Cambridge: Irving House is a bed and breakfast in Harvard Square and dispenses eco-friendly toiletries from built-in units to avoid the waste of individual bottles. It also composts food waste and uses household items such as cups, rugs and picture frames made from recycled materials. The B&B was awarded EPA’s Energy Star in 2006.
Provincetown Hotel in Provincetown: This historic Cape Cod hotel hosts educational workshops on wildlife tracking and birding; offers American-made bath amenities that are not tested on animals; and recycles materials including cans, metals, glass and paper. Guests use water-saving shower and faucet heads and enjoy breakfast served in a garden courtyard patio. The Inn also distributes literature about preserving the Ross Sea in Antarctica.
The Colonnade Hotel in Boston: The Colonnade Hotel uses a non-toxic, chemical-free cleaning system to reduce chemical waste and exposure to toxins. Other sustainable initiatives include composting food waste, recycling of paper, plastics, metals and other materials. The Colonnade was also the first hotel to join a soap recycling program, according to its website.

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With the growing popularity of organic, sustainable and local foods, conscious consumers have more options than ever to align their diets with their values.

And just as the “slow food” movement has raised awareness about where food comes from and the importance of making ethical dining decisions, “slow fashion” has likewise given consumers an alternative to synthetic, mass-produced garments.

Whether using organic materials, responsible manufacturing practices or sustainable farming, here’s a look at five New England companies producing or distributing sustainable clothing:

Arrowhead Clothing: Based in Yarmouth, Maine, Arrowhead Clothing uses sustainable fabrics such as hemp, bamboo rayon, silk and organic fabrics in its line of simple, timeless pieces that are handmade in owner Suzanne MacFadyen’s home studio. MacFadyen has launched several fashion lines, and began her fashion career as designer for Rhode Island’s India Imports line.
Rambler’s Way: Launched by the founders of Tom’s of Maine, Rambler’s Way sells worsted wool garments using wool from its 75-acre sheep farm in Kennebunk, Maine. Rambler’s Way Farm uses sustainable, organic and humane farming techniques, including bringing the farm’s 50 ewes in every night and housing them in the barn to protect them from predators. The company also uses green energy including geothermal heating systems and solar energy.
Hatched: This children’s clothing and toy boutique is located in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts and specializes in natural and organic products from responsible companies (none of its products are made in China). The shop strives for Zero-Waste and is painted with low- and no- VOC paint. Products include organic cotton onesies, merino wool booties handknit in Peru and organic French terry swaddle blankets.
Brook There: Maine College of Art grad Brook DeLorme launched this clothing and lingerie line in 2007. Brooke There uses local sewers in greater Portland, Maine and uses ethical fabrics such as US-milled organic cotton, organic wool, silk and bamboo rayon. Some pieces are vegan, without any silk or wool materials. The brand features pieces ranging from lingerie and T-shirts to accessories like arm warmers and eye masks.
Molly Miller: Boston College junior Danielle Dalton started Molly Miller, her eco-friendly clothing and accessories line, after raising over $4,000 on Indiegogo earlier this year. Her vision was to launch a fashion line that allows women to be their authentic selves instead of presenting idealized, Photoshopped images. All items are produced in socially responsible factories based in the United States, and 7 percent of profits are donated to the National Eating Disorder Association.

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Close up of wine at a dinner table with people in the background

When you’re dining out, would you rather eat fruits and vegetables that were grown thousands of miles away—or right in the restaurant’s backyard?

Today’s gourmands are shying away from the exotic offerings that characterized fine dining years ago in favor of locally grown fruits and vegetables, local pasture-raised meat, and sustainably-fished seafood.

While New England may not have the year-round bounty of California, it’s got plenty of restaurants showcasing the best of farm-to-table dining. Here are a few of our top picks in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Maine

Fore Street

Since 1996, Fore Street has been showcasing the best food that Maine has to offer, with an open kitchen and wood-fired stove that serve up local rotisserie chickens, pizzas topped with locally foraged mushrooms, fresh roasted vegetables, and other delicacies sourced from around New England.

The Well at Jordan’s Farm

Visit this seasonal, outdoor eatery, and chances are, you’ll be eating vegetables that were picked just a few feet away. On this picturesque farm in Cape Elizabeth, you can sit at a picnic table or bring your own blanket to enjoy your meal—pets are welcome, too. The menu offers a changing medley of local meats, seasonal veggie dishes, and fresh-picked fruit desserts.

Vinland

This Portland, Maine restaurant has an ambitious mission: Save for its wine menu, all ingredients used in its dishes are grown in Maine. That means olive oil, lemons, or chocolates, among other verboten ingredients. The restaurant rises to the challenges imposed by its limitations by crafting fresh, innovative meals that include pasture-raised meat, locally foraged mushrooms, farm-fresh vegetables, and seafood caught out of Portland’s harbor.

New Hampshire

Republic Café

Located in Manchester, New Hampshire, this restaurant was “certified local” by the state’s Farm to Restaurant connection. The establishment partners with more than 20 local vendors to supply meat, vegetables, seafood, cheese, and other ingredients for its Mediterranean-inspired menus, featuring antipasti, small plates, tagines and other larger dishes, and an extensive wine list.

Massachusetts

Just Right Farm

Located in Massachusetts’ South Shore area, Just Right Farm offers a screened porch for dining on a 300-year-old farmstead. The restaurant serves up seasonal, home-grown dishes, such as beet and apple soup and fingerling potatoes, along with local seafood and meat, such as Maine mussels and pasture-farmed pork.

The Farmer’s Daughter

This restaurant in North Easton, Mass., serves more casual, but still fresh and local, fare for breakfast and lunch. Using ingredients such as farm-fresh eggs, local bacon and sausage, and grass-fed organic beef, the menu offers something for everyone—even a kids’ meal with free-range, organic chicken tenders.

If you know of a great farm to table restaurant, please tell us about it. Perhaps we’ll write about it and more than likely we’ll also be sure to eat there too. To share your ideas, comment here or share with us on our Facebook pages. Thanks!

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5 New England Based Sustainable Clothing Companies

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6 Great Farm-to-Table Restaurants in New England

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