Welcome to the Cult.

This blog has been a long time in the works. Four years–or maybe even 20–depending on how you look at it.

I’ve been interested in sustainability since I was a little girl, tramping around in the woods surrounding my home in North Carolina. I attended camp in the Appalachian mountains during the summer, where I learned about how fragile ecosystems have been upset by humans, and got my first lectures on how granola bars are over-packaged. My education continued in high school, where I took an AP environmental class. By this time, I was hooked. Living sustainably just seemed like common sense. Knowing what we know, how could you do otherwise? In college, even as a business and journalism major, I took whatever sustainability course I could get credit for.

After graduating, four years ago, I arrived fresh-faced and naive to New York City. I was excited to be here, and I set about exploring, collecting lists of my favorite restaurants, brands and stores. I said “yes” to everything–crazy parties, offbeat people, new experiences. You have something interesting to show me? Bring it on. And I did all of this through the prism of sustainability, documenting it on Clean Hippie, a typical, just-out-of-college, stream-of-consciousness blog about what it means to live sustainably.

Luckily, New York City is the place to be if you want organic, local, sustainably-designed awesomeness. I was passionate about writing and about living a mindful lifestyle, and readers responded well as my voice developed. But with my job, I never could give it the attention it deserved.

So I quit. Now, I’ll be blogging about how to live sustainably in the city full time–a niche that I think is sadly unfilled. I also decided to start fresh with a new look and feel. Hey, I’m a different lady than I was four years ago! (Seriously, you have no idea.) Voila: EcoCult.

I’m confident you’ll find something to love about EcoCult. Delicious food, tasty cocktails, beauty, inspiring music, New York City events (above and underground), fashion, news and more: You’ll find all of this, but geared toward the NYC resident who wants to live consciously.

I’m out to prove that the sustainable life is where everyone wants to be. Hey, if you’re going to drink the Kool-Aid, it might as well be organic and hand-crafted in Brooklyn, right?

(While you’re at it, make sure to like EcoCult on Facebook and follow me on Twitter for sample sales, news and other up-to-the-minute green NYC happenings. I collect sustainable fashion, gifts and design on Pinterest, I’m definitely an Instagram-er, and I curate a list of sustainable restaurants on Yelp. I’m not saying you should stalk me … actually, yeah, I am. Stalk my sustainable life.)