Starre Vartan is the editor of Greenopia.com, the web's largest vetted green business listings site. Greenopia checks into the real deal sustainability of green companies, rates products for their ecofriendliness, and checks into auto manufacturers and retailers green claims. They have some pretty fun news content too.

Starre is also the founder and editor of Eco Chick, a blog for hip, environmentally savvy young women. Eco Chick has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Shape Magazine, Glamour, the Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, Grist, Treehugger, and a host of green blogs. Starre's book entitled The Eco Chick Guide to Life: How to Be Fabulously Green was published Fall, 2008 by St. Martin’s Press and was reviewed in the Style section of the NYTimes next to a biography of Sarah Palin.

Starre has been an environmental journalist for nine years. She began as a contributing writer for E/The Environmental Magazine, the nation’s oldest independent environmental publication, and was a dining columnist for The Fairfield County Weekly, where she also regularly wrote about commuting, transportation, and alternative energy. Starre was the style editor for Plenty Magazine, Green Guru columnist for Audubon Magazine, and has also written for Elle South Africa, The Berkeley Daily Planet, The Honolulu Weekly, and others.

Starre has also been published online at Elle.com as their Earth month (April, 2008) columnist and at Worldchanging, Alternet and Jewschool. She is excited to have been an associate producer for the Discovery Channel’s upcoming mini-series, Final Hour, a parable about humanity’s impact on Earth’s ecosystems.

Starre grew up in the Hudson Valley of New York and Sydney, Australia; both environments instilled in her a deep love and appreciation for the natural world. She graduated from Syracuse University with a BS in Geology, a minor in Biology and a BA in English. She has recently completed her coursework for her MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Columbia University. She lives and writes from her home on the Connecticut shore that she shares with two rescued cats and a crazy cocker spaniel.

Blog Entries by Starre Vartan

Behind the Scenes at Project Green Search Model Competition

6 Comments | Posted November 18, 2009 | 02:04 PM (EST)


Project Green Search, the first-ever green model competition, has a winner! Rachel Avalon hails from Los Angeles, California, and beat out over 130 other serious contenders for her new title as Green It Girl (read more about Rachel and her plans here). But before the winner was chosen,...

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Gorgeous Green Girls Compete to Win the Project Green Search Model Competition

Posted October 22, 2009 | 05:51 PM (EST)


From 125+ entries into the Project Green Search Model Competition, a top 10 have been picked to go to Los Angeles for the November 6th crowning of the new Green It Girl. Now I (and the other PGS judges) have an even tougher job; crowning a winner from...

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Got Environmental Issues? The Next Generation's On It with Solutions-Oriented Projects Galore

Posted October 16, 2009 | 03:41 PM (EST)


Almost two years ago, I wrote about here about how the next generation was going to be pissed off at us for our environmental negligence and overall lack of action-taking on climate change and species extinction. Well, I was wrong.

The kids that are coming of age now (Generation...

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If the Future of Fashion Isn't Green, What Is It?

7 Comments | Posted July 23, 2009 | 09:40 PM (EST)


Having covered ecofashion designers for four years now on my blog and having written a book discussing ways to live green (including supporting ecofashion), I was interested and excited to attend the "Is the Future of Fashion Green" discussion recently held at SoHo House in association with...

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LL Cool J Honors Linda Loudermilk and Others at Fashion Pays it Forward

Posted June 19, 2009 | 04:47 PM (EST)


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A friend and LL Cool J

Last night the second annual Fashion Pays it Forward party honored those in the fashion industry who have made a difference through charitable works. Originally begun to help assist victims of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the nonprofit...

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Ownership Is So Last Century: From Owners/Consumers to Borrowers/Lenders

Posted June 8, 2009 | 12:26 PM (EST)


Reed Doyle, the head of global strategic sourcing for Seventh Generation, put it simply: "People don't want to own and maintain cars, they want a way to get from point A to point B."

Reed and I were chatting prior to a tour of Seventh Gen's Burlington, Vermont...

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Some Oil Companies are More Eco Friendly: Who's Fuelling Your Summer Drives?

8 Comments | Posted May 18, 2009 | 12:47 AM (EST)


When I first started driving 15 years ago, I had it out for Exxon. I had seen the oil-covered birds from the Valdez oil spill in Alaska and had cried for the sad-eyed seals who were hosed down by volunteers. For years -- at least a decade -- I refused...

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Green Porno 2 with Isabella Rossellini: Now with More Sex!*

Posted March 25, 2009 | 06:27 PM (EST)


*OK, it's fishy sex (and I don't mean the kind you have with your ex when you've had six ''Pacific Sunset" martinis, but actual sex between fish and crustaceans).

If you haven't seen the creatively off-balance and weirdly sexy show, Green Porno, stop now and go check out

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Walking the Eco Talk: Green Media Veggies Follow Their Own Advice

Posted March 19, 2009 | 07:23 PM (EST)


Just the other day, my friend and colleague Michael d'Estries (who runs the celebulicious Ecorazzi, and also Groovy Green, and also Ecorattle ) started a new site, Veg Daily (which he runs with partner Michael Dudell who is an eight-years-and-going strong vegetarian). Michael made the switch...

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WWGD? (What Would Greenies Drive?): The Ultimate Green Car

Posted February 26, 2009 | 02:27 PM (EST)


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These days, almost every auto company promotes the greenness of its fleet one way or another.  Some tout their clean emissions , others high miles per gallon, and a few even mention the recyclability of their vehicles.  And while...

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Style, Naturally: Summer Rayne Oakes' Guide to Green Fashion and Beauty for Every Woman (Not Just Greenies!)

Posted February 17, 2009 | 01:06 AM (EST)


Summer Rayne Oakes' own life is a study in how to make ethical choices work in the real world. She's a model (for ecofriendly fashion labels), environmental activist, and resident expert on Discovery Channel's Planet Green- jobs which challenge both body and mind, so she knows what...

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Dive into Google Earth's New Ocean Exploration Features (Sans Snorkel)

Posted February 2, 2009 | 08:55 PM (EST)


Like many other little girls who grew up with a love of animals and a talent for swimming, I wanted to be a marine biologist; what could be better than a day filled with swimming, snorkeling, diving, and playing with sea creatures? (hmmm...still a good question!) Though I started studying...

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President Obama, Wear a Sweater! The New POTUS' Eco-Sins, and Virtues

Posted January 29, 2009 | 12:38 AM (EST)


Loved this piece in the NYTimes about our new President's style; it's kind of an intimate look at the day-to-day life of our new POTUS and how different from Bush he really is. I picked out a few clues from the piece about his eco-cred. Just like most Americans,...

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Bring Back Beauty Sleep! Save Money, Energy

Posted December 9, 2008 | 12:41 PM (EST)


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Strength doesn't lie in numbers, strength doesn't lie in wealth, strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers so when you wake up, WAKE UP!

-Maria von Trapp, The Sound of Music

As a blogger, author, editor, ecofashion stylist, and all-around...

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Corporate Cotton Greenwash!

Posted September 4, 2008 | 11:38 AM (EST)


Have you seen the cotton ad below?

I've found it in lots of mainstream mags like Lucky, Marie Claire, etc. and it's total B.S. It's basically asserting that because it's a 'natural' fiber (ie. it grows from the ground), cotton is green, or environmentally friendly. Nothing...

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Deplasticize Your Life!

Posted July 31, 2008 | 10:40 PM (EST)



This movie from the 1950's shows Disney's "House of the Future" which is totally kitted out in plastic EVERYthing. Ironic that here I am from 2008 writing about how to get plastic out of my life!

...
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Five (New) Rules for Driving Green

Posted July 14, 2008 | 01:18 PM (EST)


So you have a car, and not only do you feel a wee bit of carbon footprint guilt every time you start the engine, you just plain can't afford $71 a pop to fill up the tank. But for whatever reason, you can't quite give that fossil fuel fiend sitting...

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Does Mother Earth Need Men?

Posted June 9, 2008 | 12:19 AM (EST)


Lately, I've been frustrated. Many of the people I interact with on a regular basis (from marketers and advertisers to politicians) take if for granted that environmentalism, or the 'green trend,' or the powerful acronym LOHAS-- call it whatever you want-- is a women's issue.

Perhaps this is...

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Sharing: A Truly Radical (And Green) Idea

Posted May 30, 2008 | 05:07 PM (EST)


One of the first lessons we teach kids is to share, so you'd think our grown-up society would be all about give and take. In our super-consumer culture though, we're all convinced by companies that we each need our own versions of everything. But do we? Maybe sharing is one...

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Making Greener Gadgets a Reality

Posted January 30, 2008 | 07:16 PM (EST)


Hey, you, on your Crackberry! You know those fun gadgets that we all love sooooo much? Not only that PDA in your sweaty palm, but also mobile phones, iPods, laptops, GPS's, and their buzzy, addictive ilk? Well, they're not so good for the planet. They create tons of ewaste...

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