raisingawareness – Eco Couple

A Classic Sustainable Backpack to Last a Lifetime

Published on July 26, 2021March 6, 2023 by EcoCoupleLeave a comment

*I founded Opus Mind with one simple mission: to empower consumers with sustainable options that ensure the health of our beautiful planet. – Kathleen Kuo*

Opus Mind delivers a classic sustainable backpack to last a lifetime. Classy beautiful leather that will be a part of our family for life. It is sleek, intrinsically handcrafted and simply put: a classic. When speaking to Kathleen Kuo I was so impressed in her attention to detail, every aspect of the way she is running this brand has been thought out.

Kathleen used to work at Chanel in her previous life and was so distraught as to how much was actually wasted in production. This inspired her down the path of sustainability. Opus Mind’s bags are handmade in Italy, and the leather used to make them is actually the scraps from a factory that makes gloves. How cool is this?

Recycled from scraps to make these exquisite pieces. I have to say I am already looking forward to owning the Saddle Crossbody when I am back in the city.

I truly cannot emphasise enough the quality of these bags. The detail in the craftsmanship is superb. These bags are functional and match any occasion. A day out in the city or a day at the beach, this bag looks good wherever you take it. The thought that the scraps that are used to make this bag would have ended up in landfills polluting our planet, instead you get to treasure it and pass it down to your kids, just like your grandfathers old classic briefcase!

Mine still looks brand new and I look forward to seeing how it ages. Send us pictures with you and your ¨Opus Mind¨ we would love to share them.

Sustainably yours,

Eco Couple

Ethical Fashionweek in Berlin

Published on July 10, 2017November 5, 2020 by EcoCoupleLeave a comment

It was the first Ethical fashion Show held at Funkhaus Berlin. We had to take a sneak peak at all the wonderfully innovative up and coming sustainable designers. The location was amazing. Funkhaus really emanates the true spirit of Berlin and its sustainable trends.

The first day we arrived Green Showroom we were really excited to go to Safia Minney’s book presentation “Slave to Fashion” 💕 Safia’s book reinforces the truth of what is happening in the production chain of fashion. And we highly recommend it if you are interested in learning more about the ethical fashion industry.

Safia is currently the director for Po-Zu and founder of Tree People. I was lucky enough to check out the new Star Wars collection.

Photo with Safia and Po-Zu

We decided to head to the Mercedes fashion Week on wooden bicycles by Coco-Mat.

See video on twitter

Philomena Zanetti and I have a fun story, we met because I was desperately waiting for the Postal service to deliver a dress for an event. The morning of the event nothing arrived. I was introduced to Julia and within a few hours I was all ready to go to my event. I loved wearing her on several occassions. Here I am talking to Barbara Meier who not only is a friend but is now also an Abassador for fair trade textiles in Germany. So I hope we will possibly collaborate on something fun together in the future.

Sanny van Heteren – Ankunft zur Fashion Show Rebekka Ruètz zur Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Berlin Spring-/Summer 2018 im Kaufhaus Jandorf in Berlin am 05.07.2017. Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Berlin – Spring/Summer 2018 Sanny van HETEREN Arrival to Fashion Show Rebekka Ruètz to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Berlin Spring Summer 2018 in Department store JANDORF in Berlin at 05 07 2017 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Berlin Spring Summer 2018

We also came across two really fun companies Globe Hope and Mimmeko, Globe Hope makes bags from parachutes and other recycled materials. This bag is made from recycled sails. We so love that!

We also met Lanius I am wearing a Lanius top and Philomena Zanetti trousers in the left pic. Lanius has a reall great basic collection of responsible clothing.

Sanny van Heteren mit Freund Inaki Lopez Esparza – Ankunft zur Fashion Show Rebekka Ruètz zur Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Berlin Spring-/Summer 2018 im Kaufhaus Jandorf in Berlin am 05.07.2017. Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Berlin – Spring/Summer 2018 Sanny van HETEREN with Friend Inaki Lopez Esparza Arrival to Fashion Show Rebekka Ruètz to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Berlin Spring Summer 2018 in Department store JANDORF in Berlin at 05 07 2017 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Berlin Spring Summer 2018

I really loved the super stylish outfit I came across from Sanikai Clothing. I decided to wear it for the Ethical Fashion Show and was spotted by friends on instagram. Apparently even a few guests went down to visit the designer after the show which makes me very happy.

I am especially excited to have found an ethical jeans designer Mud Jeans

Here I am in a comfy look by Mud Jeans and the super cool Star Wars sneaker by Po-Zu.

Needless to stay we have found a lot of exciting brands and will be keeping our eye out for upcoming trendy sustainable fashion we can share with you.

Hope this was helpful to the sustainable shopper.

Love,

@ecocouple

Let there be light

Published on June 24, 2017November 25, 2020 by sanny van heterenLeave a comment

Captura de pantalla 2017-06-23 a las 11.00.05

We are very happy to promote a VISA campaign that we were recently a part of. The commercial was great in all aspects, yet we were both particulary delighted with the cooperation with WakaWakaLight.

For every credit card acquired there is a free WAKA WAKA Power bank included, but not only that. Another WAKA WAKA is gifted to someone in need of light. There mission statement “Share the Sun¨Solar paneled flashlight and powerbank gives up to 34 hours of light.

WORLD IMPACT by WAKA WAKA so far

Living without electricity is a sad reality that affects millions of people around the world; Once the sun goes down, there are families who are forced to live, eat, study and work in darkness.

WakaWaka has provided sustainable energy solutions to over 1.2 million people living in off-grid areas worldwide up to date, and numbers keep growing.

When we shoot the commercial we had to laugh so hard, because we had just lived a parallel experience in Baja california. We were there during the petrol strikes and we actually had to buy petrol from a man with a bucket and a plastic tube to make it back to California.

Captura de pantalla 2017-06-24 a las 16.54.07

The commercial was shot in Almeria, Spain. We had a lot of fun shooting it, the girl that played our daughter, Ellie, was an absolute gem.

All in all it was a really fun experience partnered with an awesome social cause….. keep making a difference.

Let there be light!

We no longer need electricity to charge our phones 🙂

Conscious Traveler- Destination Tarifa

Published on June 20, 2017November 24, 2020 by EcoCouple2 Comments

The greatest thing about Tarifa is its wilderness, it is surrounded by rolling hills and stretches of beaches beyond the eye can see. It is the idealic paradise for any wind related activity. Nature in raw form leaving you time and time again with your jaw slightly dropped as you stare out into the Mediterranean or Atlantic (depending what beach you’re r on).

As I have lived in LA for the last two decades (very spoiled) I seem to be on the constant search for organic and sustainable products while traveling. I believe it is absolutely imperative that we all stand together with where we spend our money.

In lieu of this I have found my favourite places to shop and be fashionable in the most amazing places in the world. This story starts in tarifa….

I came across a fabulous ultra chic and sexy sustainable line. I got to wear one of her fabulous outfits for the Cannes film festival this year. Maria Malo, her line is produced sustainably in Bali.

For a discount please enter code SANNYFRIENDS

She also has an organic bamboo yoga line that I absolutely love too.