Earth-Friendly, Repurposed Fashions On The Runway Monday

By John Voket

BETHEL — Monday’s Mother Earth Fashion Show will celebrate the most trendy practices of recycling and repurposing, while raising money for Clean Ocean Action, a long-serving environmental cause that works locally and globally to protect waterways using science, law, research, education, and citizen action. 

This is the second year A New Beginning Salon and Spa, located in the Stony Hill section of Bethel, is presenting an environmentally-themed fashion show. The event, at the Stony Hill Inn in Bethel on Monday April 12, opens at 7 pm with a cocktail hour, hors d’oeuvres and door prizes, as well as more than a dozen “earth friendly exhibitors.” 

The featured door prize is a fresh water pearl earring set and gift card courtesy of Quality Gem of Bethel, and Newtown’s Relay For Life will be represented among the nonprofit causes exhibiting. Newtown’s McLaughlin Vineyard is also an exhibitor.

The highlight of the evening is a fashion show with styles/trends presented from Newtown resident Grace Napoleon, whose handmade clothing is created exclusively from recycled and deconstructed fashions and materials. Other exhibitors on the runway will include Flavours of Life, a fair trade retailer located in New London, as well as vintage clothing courtesy of  Upscale Downtown, a consignment shop in Danbury.

“The entire staff looks forward to this annual fundraising event,” said Carol Romer, a Newtown resident and owner of A New Beginning. “Everyone gets involved whether it’s providing hair design and makeup applications to selling tickets, volunteering to model or helping out with the event set up and cleanup.” 

Mid-day radio personality, Pam Brooks from WRKI will emcee the event. And live acoustic music will be provided by Marc Huberman.

A New Beginning Salon & Spa is an Aveda Wellness spa. Every year the Aveda company encourages their spas throughout the country to participate in fundraising efforts to benefit an earth-friendly organization. For the second year, Clean Ocean Action will receive 100% of the net proceeds of this event.

There is also an opportunity for tickets to be purchased and donated to The Women’s Center of Greater Danbury.  All ticket donations will be distributed to clients of the Center.

The spa also sells a number of items year-round to benefit Clean Ocean Action including pendants, stainless steel refillable water bottles, and 100% naturally derived soy wax lavender scented candles in candleholders that were recycled from wine cooler bottles.

According to Clean Ocean Action’s advocacy team, as a result of years of ocean dumping, a legacy of pollution remains in the ocean off the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to New York and Connecticut’s shores of Long Island Sound.

Besides the continuous sources of contamination, threats to ocean water quality, and new and renewed ideas to use the ocean, include:

*contaminated sediments disposal,

*wastewater discharge,

*strip-mining for sand and gravel resources,

*offshore energy development (i.e., oil & gas drilling and exploration, liquefied natural gas ports, potential for renewable energy sources), and

*stormwater runoff and nonpoint source pollution.

Clean Ocean Action leads informed campaigns against these sources of pollution and advocates for environmentally sound solutions.

The organization was recently instrumental in lending its voice to help defeat the installation of an LP gas pumping platform off the Branford coast that would have measured three football fields in length, and compromised recreational and commercial boating throughout much of Connecticut’s coastal waterway.

“It feels good to know you’re part of something that helps make a difference in the world,” Ms Romer added.

Tickets for the event are $25 and may be purchased online at anbsalonspa.com or by calling A New Beginning at 203-743-9795.  Exhibitor space is also still available.