While I’ve been writing about lip gloss and pondering the use of dangling participles in chick-lit, my Columbia sorority sister, Ellen Gustafson, has been busy saving the world.

Together with Lauren Bush, CEO and Creative Director of FEED Projects, Ellen co-founded the now-wildly popular eco-friendly bag company dedicated to eradicating child hunger in developing nations. (For more on FEED’s mission, I urge you to visit here!)

I chatted with Ellen and Lauren about their work, their travels and how their notions of beauty have been influenced by what they’ve seen. (Plus, they spill about an upcoming collaboration with Bobbi Brown!)

Q: The two of you have traveled extensively working with FEED. Have you picked up any unique beauty tips or tricks from your travels that you might otherwise never have learned? Read more here on The Fairest!

Some of my friends from college have been doing amazing things with their lives.  My sorority sister Ellen Gustafson, however, takes the cake!  As co-Founder and Executive Vice President of FEED Projects, Ellen is one of the few people I know who’s making a genuine, long-lasting difference in the world.  If you’ve been to Whole Foods, Harrods or Ralph Lauren Rugby recently, you’ve probably seen Ellen’s handiwork: the stylish, organic cotton and burlap, eco-conscious FEED bags and totes that Ellen developed with Lauren Bush to feed children in 74 developing countries.  The purchase of just one FEED 2 bag will feed 2 children for a school year; the FEED 100 bag, meanwhile, provides 100 meals for schoolchildren in Rwanda.

You’re probably like me; you want to help and give back to society, but your day-to-day life and problems get in the way and distract you.  Supporting FEED is a step toward helping another human that, for whatever reason, didn’t hit the birth lottery.  Spend a few minutes learning more about FEED Projects here.  Please answer in the comments section below with a fact or tidbit you’ve learned from the FEED website and I’ll send one lucky US winner a beauty basket personally filled with my favorite products!  (The contest is open until Saturday; good luck!)

Mark your calendars, meanwhile, for Thursday March 12th from 6-8:30pm, when FEED launches at Fred Segal Trend in Santa Monica.  RSVP to rsvp@feedprojects.org, and I’ll see you there!