Natural Products Expo West, the largest natural foods show in the country celebrated its 30th anniversary at the Anaheim Convention Center in California where, a record 56,000 attendees sampled the latest in natural, organic, healthy, eco-friendly and fair trade products. Thirty years ago, the size of the natural products industry was estimated to be $2.4 billion and natural and organic products were sold mostly by independent retailers and co-ops.

These days, consumers can find healthy, environmentally conscious products in most retail channels in North America. According to the Natural Foods Merchandiser’s 2009 Market Overview, the natural products industry is now worth nearly $68 billion.At the 2010 trade show, thousands of booths were set wall-to-wall and floor to ceiling over five massive pavilions exhibiting every kind of food, health and household product imaginable.

“Natural Products Expo West has grown because it is the premiere show in the industry,” said Adam Andersen, the show manager for Natural Products Expo West.  “Hundreds of new product introductions at Expo West are proof positive of the strategic value surrounding in-person business events.” …read more of Expo West ‘Greener than Ever’ Hosts 56,000 Attendees here

eBay, the world’s leading online marketplace with 88 Million users, has launched a social media initiative campaign designed to inspire eBay buyers and sellers to create positive social change through a variety of eBay activities.

The innovative campaign links all five of the company’s pro-social initiatives: eBay Foundation, eBay Giving Works, MicroPlace, WorldofGood.com by eBay and the eBay Green Team to create collective, lasting and scalable social good.

What makes this campaign different? …read more of eBay Launches Social Media Campaign: Give. Good. Green. here

Trash is a relative term. In 1995 Liz Gardener accepted the Academy Award for best costume design in a dress made entirely from 254 recycled American Express gold cards. The dress was auctioned off for charity four years later for more than $12,000.

Haute Couture has also been attracting a lot of fans in the glitterati, raising the profile of ‘Recycled Designer Duds” exponentially.

Design houses are using vintage cashmere, linen and lace and eco-fabrics such as Fortrel EcoSpun polyester fibers spun from recycled plastic bottles. The high-end fashion runway has created a ‘buzz’ with innovative concepts and fashions that are, for the most part unrealistic and out of reach for most of us.

Not to worry, these days, eco-fashionistas with an eye on the budget can find unique and affordable reincarnated clothing and accessories. You just have to know where to look. …read more of Recycled Fashion Finds here

Fair Trade fashion is eco-chic, and trendy fashion designers are forging a number of strategic partnerships that will increase visibility and distribution.

Bono, activist and U2 lead singer, introduced Edun last year, a Fair Trade fashion brand that sells high-end goods through upscale stores like Saks and Nordstrom. American Apparel is a publicly traded basics brand that is best known for tee shirts and underwear aimed at young urban buyers. Their Fair Trade clothing is made in Los Angeles and sold internationally.

Fair Indigo is a young company founded by a handful of Internet retailers that relies mostly on the Web and catalogs to sell its reasonably priced upscale casual clothing line.  Industry veteran and Chief Executive Bill Bass said that Fair Indigo was the first mainstream clothing line made in accordance with Fair Trade practices.

Mercado Global recently announced a partnership between a line of Fair Trade fashion accessories and Levi’s …read more of Fair Trade Fashion Marketplace here

Scientists have genetically modified the DNA of major agricultural crops, such as soybeans, corn, and cotton in order to resist a widely used herbicide.

Roundup is the flagship of Monsanto’s agricultural chemicals business and these new genetically modified plant strains are referred to as ”Roundup Ready.”

GMO: This is the acronym for “Genetically Modified Organism” and defines food products altered at the gene level with this technology. …read more of GMO Crops Threaten Biodiversity here