Say the phrase "sustainable footwear," and the images it's likely to conjure are not pretty. But green fashion is coming into its own, and shoes are no exception. At Terra Plana, "total beauty" means more than just aesthetically pleasing. The UK-based eco-friendly shoe designers make some of the funkiest footwear around - from lace-back heels to futuristic-looking men's loafers to super-groovy skater-style sneakers with camouflage soles.

Another day, another neurosis about eating right and living a good life. Su Avasthi on why it ain't easy being green.

We've written before about biodegradable plastics, such as the corn-based containers used at eco-minded stores like Wild Oats. The containers are a great idea in theory, and could one day revolutionize the fast-food industry. But for the moment, the containers can pose a problem.

I was just about to bite into a delicious chunk of tofu last night when one of my dining companions pointed at my chopsticks and told me they were destroying the planet. Chopsticks? Sure, they always seem wasteful to me, like those little wooden coffee stirrers that people use once to swirl the milk in and then throw away. But I'd assumed they were a byproduct of other timber uses, and had never really considered them before. Turns out disposable wooden chopsticks are a huge problem.

Here's a phrase that does't exactly roll off the tongue: "sustainable luxury lifestyle." It's the topic of an interesting post on the blog WorldChanging, by the CEO of Vivavi, a company that makes high-end sustainably designed furniture (using materials like water hyacinth fiber, recycled glass, and Forest Stewardship Council certified wood). The Vivavi CEO, Josh Dorfman, who is also the host of LIME Radio's "The Lazy Environmentalist," wrote of some people's concern "that marketplace environmentalism is only possible for celebrities and the super wealthy."