spotlight | the global soap project

from cnn online:
"derreck kayongo and his atlanta-based global soap project collect used hotel soap from across the united states. instead of ending up in landfills, the soaps are cleaned and reprocessed for shipment to impoverished nations such as haiti, uganda, kenya and swaziland."
the article details how expensive soap is in developing countries and how soap is the first line of disease prevention. i love businesses that are created because someone cared enough to notice a simple, everyday solution to a massive need that most of us overlook. find out more on their website: global soap project.

below the belt | environmentally responsible underwear?

pact underwear brand just won the 2010 industrial design and excellence awards. the idea behind pact: blending social responsibility with underwear. in the words of pact: "nothing that is shipped to you - the underwear, fabric bags, or compostable shipping bag and labels - should end up in a landfill." in addition to this, 10 percent of your purchase goes to an environmentally responsible non-profit. see? now you can feel good about those tighty-whiteys.

via | fast company | pact

step it up | toms shoes

toms: innovative company, exemplary mission. (for every pair of shoes you purchase toms will give a new pair to a child in need.) have a passionate love affair with toms that goes way back. finally: these are the ones i've been waiting for. (they're vegan. which rather ignorantly makes me wonder if i can eat them.)