Health, Fitness and Style

The Communist regime of Mao Zedong banned the use of cosmetics in the 1970s, and visitors to China struggled to tell men from women. Today China is the world’s fourth largest beauty market, with most leading Western brands sold as skin lighteners. more »

Ethical fashion looks no different from conventionally produced clothing; it can be exciting and it is possible to construct high fashion garments with sustainable and ecological practices. more »

The difficulty and the exertion in sampling and filming marine life is a unique challenge, at times exhilarating but also occasionally disappointing. Sea horses and their kin are being harvested intentionally for the aquarium and medicinal trades, and incidentally as bycatch in the shrimp and bottom trawl fisheries more »

Although the Manchu rulers of Qing dynasty China (1644-1911) loved beautiful things, they were not blind to practicality. In summer, they traded their heavy satin robes for lighter garments made of semi-sheer silk gauze. The open weave of these robes provided not only ventilation, but also the perfect foundation for embroidery carried out in colored silk as well as gold and silver threads. more »