AlterG’s anti-gravity treadmill was first developed by a NASA research scientist who also happens to be the father of founder Sean Whalen (pictured). The treadmill features a pressurized chamber that encloses the lower body and enables users to walk or run at just 20 percent of their actual body weight. U.S. soccer star Oguchi "Guch" Onyewu used the machine to rehab his patellar tendon and is now an official spokesperson for AlterG.
Lauren Bush's company makes a line of canvas bags, sold online and at retailers including Lord & Taylor, Whole Foods, and, starting in September, Bergdorf Goodman. Profits from each bag go to not-for-profit organizations, such as the World Food Programme, to help feed hungry children worldwide. While some are handmade in Guatemala and Kenya by organizations that employ local women, the bulk are made in China at a fair trade factory.
Go online, and you can order one of Astor & Black's custom-made bespoke suits. Tailored in China, Hong Kong, Italy, and Brooklyn, the suits start at $499 (prices vary depending on the fabric), a fraction of what a traditional made-to-order suit would cost. High-profile clients include Shawne Marrimen, Anthony Gonzalez, Greg Oden, and the Jonas Brothers, according to CEO David Schottenstein.
These aren't your grandma’s gingham prints. To capture the fancy of a new generation of sewers, Callie Works-Leary stocks her Dallas store, CityCraft, with cotton fabrics in eye-popping patterns designed by the likes of Anna Marie Horner, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, and Alexander Henry.
Fraser Doherty tweaked his grandmother’s jam recipe and came up with an all-natural version that has taken the UK by storm and earned him the nickname “Jam Boy.” He’s hoping to make his way across the pond (into Whole Foods, perhaps) sometime next year.
What do you mean you can’t afford that Haute Hippie Beaded Fringe Tank Dress? Sure, it retails for $695, but you can rent it for $100 from Rent-the-Runway, a membership site that gives budding fashionistas access to a for-rent wardrobe that would make even Carrie Bradshaw drool.
McClure's Pickles, which now has national distribution in Whole Foods and Williams Sonoma, has a cult following. No wonder. You can actually feel virtuous eating these pickles. Joe, his mother, Jenny, father, Mike, and a couple employees, hand cut and brine up to 800 jars of pickles each day. They use as much local produce as possible, and the jars' labels are printed using vegetable inks by a press powered by hydroelectric and wind power. In other words, they’re, um, green.
