pink rickshaw

4 minutes: he named me malala

"I don't want to be remembered as the girl who got shot. I want to remembered as the girl who stood up."-Malala Yousafzai

Most everyone knows some aspect of teen activist Malala Yousafzai's amazing story. Whether it is the headlines regarding the horrific attempt on her life and her remarkable recovery, or her outspoken activism for girls' education around the world or perhaps, how she is the youngest Noble Peace Prize winner. In fact most of her story is so well documented in the media, I was very curious what fresh perspective the new documentary, He Named Me Malala would present. David Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting For Superman) definitely does not disappoint. His film is a lovely but powerful portrait of Malala that definitely covers all the aforementioned headlines (including a goose bump inducing recount of the assassination attempt) but also feels  very intimate by focusing on her family and her everyday life. Malala struggles in Physics class, picks on her brothers, likes looking at Roger Federer online. In a nutshell, "Superheroes: They're just like us!" These small moments of reminding the audience that despite her icon status, Malala is a still a regular teenage girl who was forced to leave her native home and adjust to life in London are touching and the strength of the film. Those moments are beautifully contrasted with footage of her admirable passion, eloquence and dedication when traveling around the world advocating for education for girls.

4 minutes: taxi fabric

"The fabric of existence weaves itself whole."-Charles Ives

Words that never (or maybe rarely) get spoken entering a taxicab in most countries: "Wow, the interior of this taxi looks amazing!" In fact, boring taxi interiors are just yet another mundane, unnoticed detail of a city dwellers's life. Which is why I was so intrigued by the creativity of designer Sanket Avlani's Taxi Fabric project in India. I first read about Taxi Fabric when it was recently featured in this Good article.  At that time the effort was still seeking support through its Kickstarter page but has since exceeded its fundraising goal and has outfitted ten taxis in Mumbai.

Here's how Taxi Fabric works. The interiors of old (and new) Mumbai taxis are reupholstered with original textile designs created by up and coming designers. It really is an unique way to give exposure to beautiful design in a practical way.  According to Good, "Taxi Fabric acts as the matchmaker between the designers and cab owners, offering to fund the collaboration and set the wheels in motion." Taxi Fabric describes the match beautifully: "The designs that cover the taxi seats are often functional and forgettable and with the outstanding design talent Mumbai has to offer, this shouldn’t be the case. Design, as a job or even simply something studied at school, is unfortunately not widely recognized in India. Older generations don't understand it- design to them, just performs a function. Many people don't know that design can create a real impact. With so few spaces for young people to show off their skills, it's hard to change that perception."

4 minutes: the girl effect

"It's not what you call me, but what I answer to."-African proverb

Today marks the annual celebration of International Women's Day. It is a great time to reflect on the achievements women have made along with the numerous challenges women continue to face on a daily basis. I received a link to the video above a while ago and thought it was fitting to post it today. It's a powerful reminder of how empowering a girl can be the key to changing the world. Your four minutes to save the world is easy today: take three minutes to watch the video above, 45 seconds to read an article on The Girl Effect  site like how the world is uniting to end gender based violence and 15 seconds to make a difference by pledging your support demanding global action.  Happy International Women's Day.

video source: girleffect.org

-SD

4 minutes: movember

"With great moustache comes great responsibility."-Family Guy

 

Happy November! Or shall I say Movember? To start this month, let's talk about the ol' stache. The crumb catcher. The nose neighbor. The soup-strainer. Fellas, if you have ever wanted to grow a little (or big) moustache, this month you can join thousands of men in the US and around the world that will doing the same while helping out a very important cause. The Movember movement which started in Australia in 2003 (mo is Aussie slang for moustache) is a facial hair adventure where men commit to have a moustache for 30 days to raise awareness and funds for the often ignored issues of men's health, specifically prostate cancer. The popular effort started by the non-profit Movember Foundation had 64,500 people participate last year in the US alone and raised over $7.5 million for cancer research and programs. Are you already stroking your soon-to-be 'stache in intrigue? Here's how it works.

Guys, start out clean shaven today, November 1. Register at the fun Movember website which will help you spread the word to friends and family about your hairy endeavor to raise funds for the cause. Grow, groom and show off that puppy for the next 30 days. On November 30th, celebrate the end of your moustache month and feel good that the money raised is going to programs like Livestrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and men's health awareness and education.

And ladies, don't think you have to be left out. You can participate and there's no facial hair growing involved (thank goodness). Just support the moustached men in your life (women are lovingly referred to as mo sistas) by hiding any disdain you may have for the moustache, helping to spread the word, donating or even starting your own online fundraising page. So, fellas, time is ticking...we promise the ladies will love your generosity and the 'stache..well, at for these 30 days.

image source: Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation (nbc.com), Brad Pitt (Associate Press), Hritik Roshan (Jodha Akbar film still), Ryan Gosling (Getty images)

-SD

4 minutes: for japan with love

"For it is in giving that we receive."-St. Francis of Assisi

 

No fashion, food or art today here at Pink Rickshaw. Just love and prayers for those in Japan facing the unimaginable devastation. PR is proud to be participating in the Bloggers Day of Silence organized by Ever Ours and Utterly Engaged. If you have not already donated, please consider donating to their Shelterbox donation page.

Other donation options include:
Brett Buchanan's Japan Prints (100 percent of the proceeds go the Red Cross) or donate directly to the Red Cross.
Help Japan poster
Sfgirlbybay: Artists and Designers for Japan

image source: utterlyengaged.com

-SD

4 minutes: international women's day

"To tell a woman everything she may not do is to tell her what she can do."-Spanish proverb

 
Happy Fat Tuesday and Happy International Women's Day. You probably have enough reasons to be excited that it's Fat Tuesday (hello? king cake, jambalaya and gumbo) so here are the top six reasons to be just as excited about International Women's Day:

6. You are a woman.
Demographic data shows that if you are reading this right now, you are likely a woman. It also shows if you are a male reading this, you are manly enough to care deeply about bridging the gender gap but don't mind reading about foo dogs and flowers.

5. This is the 100th anniversary of the day.
Making it to a hundred of anything is always a big deal.

4. Our mothers, grandmothers and great-grannies have done a lot for us.
No doubt women have come a long way in the last 100 years. If it weren't for them, it would be unlikely we would be expressing opinions on a blog, bringing home the bacon (and turning it into a fabulous bacon cupcake), or voting (yes, American Idol counts). Yet, on a serious note, there's still a ways to go worldwide, as you will learn from many of the stats highlighted on the web today. Example: Women perform two-thirds of the world's work and produce half the world's food, but earn just 10 percent of the income and own one percent of the property. Along with stats, this day brings a lot of interesting topics and discussions to light like Feministing.com's Courtney Martin's talk about Reinventing Feminism on TED.

3. There will be people on bridges.
Google teamed up with Women For Women International to invite people all over the world to come together on bridges to show their support for women's causes. They make it super easy to find an event today or if you're chained to your desk, the Google site allows you to check-in virtually. The page has also made it very simple to donate to your favorite women's causes including the Global Fund for Women, the Komen Foundation, Society of Women Engineers, Dress For Success, CARE and the Girl Scouts with just a few clicks.

2. There is shopping involved.
Show your support with some fashionable goods that support women's causes. Kate Spade has partnered with Women for Women International to create jewelry and a tote handcrafted by women in Rwanda. Diane Von Furstenberg has limited edition tees and totes that benefit the non-profit Vital Voices. Her line is also releasing a special edition CD with tunes from Florence + The Machine, Katy Perry and Madonna. And for fair trade handmade goods made from women around the world Global Goods Partners always has interesting gifts and goodies for yourself.

And the number one reason to be excited..
1. Girls rule!

image source: europarl.europa.eu, wafreepress.org

-SD

4 minutes: caps for good

"Stay calm and carry yarn."-Logo from a knitter's tote bag

  

A wise woman once told me, "when all is cold and wrong in the world, SD, just knit". It's probably because there's a certain unexplainable comfort in knitting just like hot chocolate and a US Weekly on a very cold winter day. Or maybe the comfort comes from an image of a grandmother knitting away by a fire. Whatever it may be, knitting and crocheting is hardly just for Grandma these days, with the hobby having a large following among hipsters for the last five years. At the height of the trend and with so many cute yarn stores around,  I started to learn to knit a few years ago from my Mom (she'll tell you some stories..) and have been working on the same scarf for about three years now. It's awful.  But I have to admit after reading about this special cause, I and others may just be willing to pick up those needles (or crochet hooks..it's on 2011's list) again.

Save the Children's Caps For Good program is asking novice, occasional and expert knitters alike to knit or crochet a cap for a newborn. The caps will be sent to Save the Children's newborn health programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America. According to the organization, "nearly 4 million babies die each year in their first month of life--half within their first 24 hours-mostly from preventable or treatable causes." But the good news is that with this program, "baby caps are a simple and effective tool that can keep babies warm and ultimately contribute to reducing newborn deaths in the developing world."

If you know how to knit or crochet, the action kit  gives you patterns (additional patterns can be found here) to get started. When you're done, fill out a cap tag with a personal message (also in the kit) to the mother and baby abroad who will receive the cap. The kit also includes a form to write a letter to President Obama to bring his attention the cause. Mail your cap with tag and letter to Save the Children by February 28 (this is the deadline as caps will be distributed around the world after this date) and sit back and revel in you accomplishment.

Since the end of the month may be pushing it for us novices, do not fret. You can send in your cap as part of next year's campaign and in the meantime still do your part by making a contribution to newborn care by making a donation to Save the Children. As little as a $10 donation can provide mothers a newborn care package.

image source: caps in collage from various shops at etsy.com, goodgoes.org

-SD 

4 minutes: one day without shoes

"I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty."-Imelda Marcos

Like many gals, shoes are my financial kryptonite. If years from now, anthropologists studied my credit card bill, they may be perplexed at why so much income was spent on mocha frappuccinos, letterpress paper and peep toed pumps. Perhaps the shoe portion will just be written off as another girl living in the Carrie Bradshaw era. So, in 4 minutes to save the world fashion, it's always nice to remember how lucky we truly are to be able to collect fashionable footwear while so many in this world go barefoot and TOMS shoes wants to remind everyone of that, if just for a day.

Today (April 8) is One Day Without Shoes. TOMS Shoes has asked people to go one day, part of the day or even a few minutes barefoot to spread awareness about the impact of shoes in a child's life. So, as you read this, kick off your shoes for a bit (you may want to warn your neighbor first if you're at work) and familiarize yourself with TOMS shoes. It's very likely you've heard about the company by now. A media darling for its popular shoes and unique social entrepreneurialism, the company sells casual chic styles (my personal favorites are the Red Canvas Classic and the Vegan Wrap Boots) for men, women and kids. For every pair of TOMS shoes purchased, a pair of new shoes is given to a child in need. For more about the cause and company, Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes writes about the campaign on the Huffington Post.

So for today, let your toes feel the sunlight, but April 9 pick up a pair of TOMS at Nordstrom, Whole Earth Provisions and Whole Foods Markets, other retailers or online. In the Carrie Bradshaw era, they are Louboutins with none of the guilt and a whole lot of good.

image source: toms.com

-SD

4 minutes: giving back to the big D

"He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own."-Confucius

Back in January, after ringing in the New Year like a bona fide rock star, you pledged to find true love, get healthy and give back to the community in 2009. With Fall officially here, it's time to re-evaluate where you stand on these goals for this year.

• True Love: You finally met the love of your life, Winston, a perfect puppy who loves you unconditionally. Resolution? Met
• Health: Between spinning, top secret So You Think You Can Dance reenactments, and chasing Winston through the neighborhood, you finally lost those last 5 lbs. Another resolution down.
• Charity Work: You listened to your sister's break-up drama for 5 days straight..surely that counts for something?

Not so much. Clearly, the progress on the community front is lacking. The good news is PR found some excellent ways to give back to the Dallas community by doing three things you love to do anyways: shop, stroll and eat.

Shop: Welcome Henri Bendel
The opening of the NYC icon Henri Bendel in Dallas could be considered community service simply because providing good accessories is certainly a good deed, but we promise there's more to it. The famous shop with its signature brown and white stripped shopping bags will open its first Texas location at Northpark Mall on September 25. So why feel guilt-free in indulging in the designer accessories when the store opens? Well, the brand is famous for regularly hosting special charity shopping events that donate funds to local causes. Case and point, to celebrate the grand opening, the Dallas location will have a private shopping event benefiting the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for children. More shopping events benefiting charities will be open to the public in the future like "Girls Night Out".

Stroll: Paws for a Cause
The annual Dallas event is a fun-filled race/walk complete with lovable canines that helps raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This year's dog walk will be held on September 27 at 1pm at White Rock Lake at the Dreyfus Club. Register online or at the day of the event. Winston will have just as much fun as you will and you could even win the owner/pup lookalike contest.

Eat: Celebrity Kidd's Kids Cookie Fundraiser
Visit any of the local Celebrity Cafe and Bakery locations to purchase delicious iced cookies and in turn make a difference in a child's life with special medical needs. Celebrity is donating $2 for every iced cookie sold between now and October 15 to Kidd's Kids, the organization founded by local celeb DJ Kidd Kraddick that sends chronically ill children on an unforgettable Walt Disney World vacation. If you don't want to ruin that diet with cookies, the website list other ways to help the organization with a good meal.

image source: candle/leather driving gloves:henribendel.com,dogtopics.com, enjoycelebrity.com

-RW

4 minutes: great elephant poo poo paper

"We take the 'OO' out of poo."-Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company

Having your first VMA acceptance speech hijacked by Kanye West? Stinks. Having "you lie" heckled at you while delivering your address to Congress? Stinks, too. Paper made from elephant waste? (Didn't see that coming, huh?). Surprisingly...does not stink.

When I first read about the creative eco-paper products in this month's Ode Magazine; two thoughts immediately entered my mind: 1) Ewwh! and 2) How in the world? So, for those skeptical like me (I have since become a believer), here's the skinny.
As anyone who has ever been to a zoo or circus knows, there is A LOT of elephant dung in this world. It is a natural resource that usually goes to waste. So, to put all this waste to use, the Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company creates and sells products that take creative sustainability to a whole new level.
Elephant dung is full of short and medium-grain fibers (from the elephant's vegetarian diet of grass, bamboo and fruit), an ideal raw material for the paper-making process. The company (and this is where you should be lucky you are the consumer and not the creator), collects naturally dried elephant dung from elephant conservation parks and then processes it (including boiling the fibers to make sure everything is super clean) to make them into the lovely (and yes, completely odorless and sanitary) journals, cards and stationary pictured above. The paper is acid-free and linen like. Tree-huggers rejoice: a single elephant dropping can provide enough eco-friendly paper for 10 journal covers. The benefits: pretty paper, saving trees, a reliable and renewable resource for paper products and even a boon to the economies of elephant-heavy countries like Sri Lanka.

The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company offers quite a collection of elegant handmade products in their Pootique with a simple blank design or my favorite: the elephant silhouette. The company also creates elephant poo roses for Valentine's Day. The journals and stationary sets are under $16 and the best part is a portion of the profits from your purchase is donated to elephant welfare and conservation programs. With that, the sustainable cycle continues and no one can poo poo on that. So there you go: clean, pretty paper made from poo. And you thought I was full of...well..you know.

-image source: poopoopaper.com, billia.files.wordpress.com

-SD