Full Mettle
Jacket
Every year, it seems, we have a new
indispensable electronic device to
cram into our carry-ons: a digital
camera, an iPod, a BlackBerry. And
each one comes with an indispensable charger, so daily powering now
requires more electrical outlets than
a Las Vegas casino. Fortunately, the
designers at Ermenegildo Zegna have
figured out a convenient way to let
you plug everything into one outlet—
the Sun. With Zegna Sport’s solar
jacket, all you need to power your
gadgets is five hours of sunshine,
no matter where you are on the
planet. The lightweight, waterproof
jacket will make you look like Jason
Bourne, eco warrior, as the solar
cells on your neoprene collar feed
a rechargeable battery that works
with a range of adapters. The collar
and battery also detach, so you can
use the tech without wearing the
threads. There’s no ladies’ version
yet, so women should snag the collar
from significant others to power their
own devices.
—Michael Dolan
In the
Bluff
A new spa raises the bar for sustainable luxury and service
If you think conservation and excess are mutually exclusive, you haven’t really explored
the recent trend toward uniting luxury and
sustainable travel. Case in point: The posh,
eco-friendly Curtain Bluff resort in Antigua
now offers to shower clients with champagne at its new spa. Indulge in the signature caviar-and-champagne massage
knowing that the staff has taken aggressive
measures to recycle waste. Or de-stress in
a full-body, aromatic mud masque without worrying about how your towel was
laundered—they use only nontoxic detergents. Chuckle if you must at the irony, but
the Green Globe–certified resort takes large
steps toward sustainability elsewhere on its
property, too. The pool is sanitized using salt
rather than chlorine; drinking water comes
from a reverse osmosis system that reclaims
seawater; landscaping seedlings are grown
on-site instead of being flown in; and the
specially d esigned, energy-saving air-conditioning system uses an environmentally
safe coolant. The resort also sets aside a
portion of its profits to sponsor health-care
and scholarship programs for local children.
All in all, heading to Curtain Bluff is a pretty
circuitous route to saving the world, but options like this one are sure to attract of plenty
of willing do-gooders.
—Sarah Schmidt
>
Resort rates start at $595
per night, curtainbluff.com.
Transportation Nation
Road-trippers’ alert: It’s getting easier to rent a hybrid while on the road in America. For
frequent travelers, a car-sharing membership makes more sense than ever now that Zipcar
and Flexcar, the two largest US car-sharing companies, have merged. By April, a membership will give you access to 550 Priuses, hybrid Honda Civics, and Ford Escapes (as well as
5,000 fuel-efficient conventional autos) in 50 US cities as well as Toronto, Vancouver, and
London. Members of the service (which will use the Zipcar name) pay a $50 annual fee to
then rent a car for only the hours they need, with rates starting at $10 per hour or $65 per
day on weekdays (rates are higher on weekends). Traditional car-rental companies are also
answering customer demand for less gas-guzzling by including more hybrids in their fleets.
Hertz just added 2,500 Priuses to its Green Collection; Enterprise now has nearly 4,000
Priuses, Camrys, Ford Escapes, and Saturn Vue Green Line hybrids; and Avis and Budget
combined have 2,500 hybrids available across the country. Here’s to a gentler vacation
footprint this spring and summer.
—Christine Cyr
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