About

Hi! Welcome to the About page. We hope you enjoy your stay. There’s a lot here, so click to skip to your area of interest, or scroll down to see it all.

• About EcoSalon
• Contact and Connect
• The Team
• Vital Stats
• Blogroll
• The “Eco” in EcoSalon
• Publicist? How to Pitch
• Submit a Guest Post
• …or Get a Gig with Us!
• Comment Policy
• Privacy Statement and Policy
• Editorial Statement and Disclaimer
• Advertising

About EcoSalon

How do you go green without sacrificing style? This is the question that defines EcoSalon. We believe that environmental consciousness doesn’t have to mean granola, that style and sustainability belong in the same sentence and that living green is fun, not fussy.

If you’re new here, a good way to get started is by viewing one of our sections: Fashion, Decor, Wellness, News, Lifestyle. You can also check out our list of the most popular recent posts. Whether it’s an interview with an up-and-coming designer, the inside story on the latest green claim, or smarter living tips, you’ll find new ideas curated and created daily. We publish about 20 posts per week, including original features, interviews and breaking stories, special weekly columns and daily posts that help you discover useful tips and trends.

Contact and Connect

Feel free to contact us. We read every email and we do our best to write back, although it should be noted that if you inquire about our herbal supplement preferences or wish to help us with our international search engine results we may have to ignore you.

If you just can’t get enough of EcoSalon during the day, sign up for the (almost) weekly email newsletter. Why not subscribe to your favorite RSS feed, too? Whether you prefer an email or a feed, subscribing is a nice way to optimize your reading preferences, which makes us feel loved. Besides, when you sign up for the newsletter we practically beg you to take all these great green prizes – like designer handbags and organic goodies – so there’s really nothing to lose. Want the tweets behind the scenes? See what we’re up to on Twitter. (You can also get the RSS feed via Twitter if you’re really feeling cheeky.)

The Team

Get to know us.

Sara Ost
Editor-in-Chief

Hi, I’m Sara, your editor. I’m passionate about sustainability, design and new media. I’m never far from EcoSalon, but I can also be found out and about exploring the world, enjoying nature and indulging my inner foodie. I have a background in editing, marketing and new media. I have an M.A. in American Studies from Pepperdine University. I am always happy to chat with you, so don’t be shy. Read my posts, and while you’re here, meet the team. I think you’ll agree they’re a very talented bunch.

Luanne Bradley
Senior Editor

Luanne Bradley is a design writer and interior design consultant. She has edited several magazines, including Northern California Home and Design, contributed to magazines and newspapers nationwide, and recently produced the book NurseryStyle about the upscale baby’s room. Luanne writes for all sections of EcoSalon and her column Life in the Green Lane, about the humorous adventures of a family going green in the city, can be read weekly. Read all of Luanne’s posts.

Kim Derby
Senior Editor

Kim Derby has a graduate degree in Interior & Architectural Design and dreams of someday building her own green home. She believes she popped out of the womb with her discerning eye and eclectic sense of style. She has worked in advertising, politics, interior design and the finance industry. Kim covers design, decor and architecture and occasionally contributes fashion and lifestyle pieces. Read Kim’s posts.

Amy DuFault
Fashion Editor

Amy DuFault has been writing about fashion and design for 10 years at such publications as Boston Magazine, Coastal Living and Bluefly.com as well as appearing on ABC’s Emmy award-winning Boston news magazine Chronicle and NBC’s “Style File” as a fashion expert. When not falling in love with beautiful clothes, she can be found supporting green affordable housing and dreaming of the day when she’ll overcome stage fright enough to get up and sing with her husband’s band. Read Amy’s posts.

Vanessa Barrington
Columnist

Vanessa Barrington is a writer specializing in food, wellness, and sustainability. She’s also a cooking teacher, food stylist, editor, and recipe developer. She recently co-authored a book, Heirloom Beans: Great recipes for dips and spreads, soups and stews, salads and salsas, and much more from Rancho Gordo, which was published by Chronicle Books in September 2008. She has a new book on homemade from scratch foods coming out in September 2010. She is not a goat farmer. Vanessa contributes recipes, commentary and a weekly column on food politics and social justice. Read all of Vanessa’s posts.

Lora Kolodny
Columnist

Lora Kolodny writes about innovation and entrepreneurs for the New York Times online when she is not writing about gadgets, e-waste and global-social ventures for EcoSalon. She previously worked as a web editor and reporter for The Hollywood Reporter, Inc. magazine and Citysearch.com, and contributed stories to Fortune Small Business, Playboy, Village Voice media blogs and others. She eagerly awaits the day when smart-phones and laptops run on biodegradable, non-toxic, possibly chocolate-flavored, solar batteries. Lora contributes news, profiles and a weekly column, EcoMeme, featuring eco news, tech and business highlights. Read all of Lora’s posts.

Regular contributors:

Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Caitlin Fitzsimmons is an Australian freelance writer who recently relocated to San Francisco, after five years in Europe. She writes about media, social and environmental reportage, and travel and food for websites, newspapers and websites around the world. You can find Caitlin on Twitter or at her food and travel blog Roaming Tales. At EcoSalon, Caitlin contributes eco-travel pieces and green news and commentary. Read Caitlin’s posts.

Susan Chaityn Lebovits

Susan Chaityn Lebovits is a Boston-based writer who covers lifestyle, business trends, architecture, wellness, and sustainability. She’s a regular contributor to The Boston Globe and a number of national magazines. Susan has a personal interest in complementary medicine, organic cooking and inventions that make the world a better place. She is the Communications Specialist for the Office of Sustainability at Boston University. Susan contributes wellness, news and lifestyle posts. Read Susan’s posts.

Liz Lewis

Liz Lewis is a New Zealand-based freelance writer and blogger who specializes in travel, green issues and health. Along with writing for EcoSalon, Liz contributes to Perceptive Travel, as well as developing The Green Wine Guide that will focus on eco-friendly, sustainable wines and wineries around the world. Liz covers news, wellness and lifestyle topics for EcoSalon, digging up the interesting, unique and fascinating. Read Liz’s posts.

Tina McCarthy

Tina McCarthy studied journalism and creative writing at the University of Miami and has written for numerous regional lifestyle magazines. She most enjoys exploring eco-friendly ways to decorate the home. In her free time, she works on her first novel and indulges her passion for literary fiction, history and film. Read Tina’s posts.

Vital Stats

Launched in March 2008, EcoSalon reached an audience of 100,000 unique visitors per month and 15,000 subscribers in its first six months online. After implementing a redesign in December 2008 to allow for additional site features, advertising and technical improvements, growth has been steady and consistent, with a current readership (Fall 2009) of 450,000 visitors per month, 20,000 subscribers (RSS and newsletter), 10,000 Twitter followers and an Alexa rank of #42,665.

A Technorati top 3,000 blog, EcoSalon is trusted as an authority voice in the green blogosphere, offering unique, original editorial content including interviews, special features, reportage and news. Articles can be seen frequently on the front pages of social media sites like Digg, Reddit and Stumbleupon, and at leading online publications like the #1 ranked Huffington Post, Alternet and Divine Caroline. EcoSalon feeds pop up all over the web, from Alltop to popurls and beyond. We’ve been featured or linked to by many of today’s most popular blogs and sites, including Treehugger, The Daily Green, MNN, Environmental Graffiti, Inhabitat, US News and World Report, The Consumerist, Lifehacker, Dumb Little Man, Neatorama, Dark Roasted Blend, WebUrbanist, Mental Floss, eHow, Apartment Therapy, Kirtsy and many more. EcoSalon is read by an active and engaged audience that is part of a vibrant online community of readers, designers, bloggers and social newsers passionate about green, wellness, travel, tech, food, fashion and design.

Blogroll

Check out our friends.

Publicist? How to Pitch

We regret that due to the sheer volume of email received we cannot respond to everyone personally. Please do not follow up with us if we do not respond to your initial email. Please do not email us about products or ideas that are not 100% ethical and sustainable. Please do not send the same email to us more than once. Please do not send blast emails that are not personalized and relevant. Please do not spam the comments section. In short, pretty please, treat us as you would like to be treated. Don’t you think that’s a nice thing to do?

Submit a Guest Post

We welcome guest posts. Guest posts should be original content that has not previously been published. We do not accept promotional or commercial guest posts. Email us for the full list of requirements.

…or Get a Gig with Us!

Does your face belong here? We’re always happy to consider professional writers with experience in social media and journalism, but if you don’t have that, a strong voice can get you far. Write for us.

The “Eco” in EcoSalon

We write about products that are earth-friendly and socially responsible. We believe it’s important to celebrate community development and fair trade artisans in addition to eco-friendly materials and green innovations. We never accept payment for any product we recommend; but if we do, we’ll tell you. If you have a story idea or product of merit – or if you’re a designer or artist – feel free to drop us a line.

Comment Policy

Everyone is encouraged to participate in conversation and debate at EcoSalon. Please do you best to be civil and friendly, and of course, don’t use the comment option as an opportunity to promote yourself, your site or your company. We request that you use a real name (an initial or nickname is fine), rather than the name of your site or company. For example, “Jane”, not “Jane at Blog/Site” or “Blog/Site” or “Company”. This helps to keep our community authentic. Thanks for using your best judgment in contributing your thoughts.

Privacy Statement and Policy

EcoSalon values your privacy. We don’t give out your information and we do not spam. Read on to learn more.

Policy

The EcoSalon privacy policy applies to all your personal information, given and received. Personal information is information that might identify you, like your name, address, phone number, email, or website. When you visit EcoSalon, we may gather information about you such as your name, email, cookie information, and IP location. We may contact you regarding your preferences for information and updates. This information allows us to honor your requests for products and services and to improve our service to you. We never share or sell your personal information, unless we need to do so in order to provide a product or service that you have requested. We guarantee adherence to industry best practices that ensure complete security, and we fully comply with all federal regulations. If we change our privacy policy, we will tell you.

Interest-Based Advertising

In order to generate revenue to help maintain this website, we display Google Adsense interest-based ads. These ads do not necessarily reflect the views of EcoSalon staff or sponsors. To learn more about Google’s interest-based advertising and your privacy, click here.

Editorial Statement and Disclaimer

The views expressed at EcoSalon are the views of the EcoSalon staff and do not necessarily represent the views of EcoSalon sponsors and/or partners. EcoSalon content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and any views expressed should not be accepted as a substitute for qualified expertise. Though we make every effort to provide accurate information and a consistent, secure experience, it is up to you, the reader, to use EcoSalon’s content responsibly.

Advertising

EcoSalon is an independent media company supported by advertising (banners, videos, links and sponsorships). Providing you with world-class original content and a quality site experience is our goal, so we appreciate your support! Your feedback about our advertising is always welcome.

Interested in advertising? Learn more about advertising options and download our media kit here.