The ultimate cat lady-in-waiting

Because sexual relationships just aren’t hard enough:

San Francisco designer Rachel Pearson, 33, owns a successful line of children’s clothing made of organic cotton that also meets international fair-trade rules. For herself she favors clothing from thrift stores—“Not buying new,” she says, “eases the toll on the earth.” A vegetarian, she recycles religiously and loves to pamper herself with yoga and meditation.

There’s another arena in which Pearson upholds green values, and it can create a bit of an etiquette problem. “I won’t date a guy who doesn’t recycle,” she says. “He doesn’t have to wear nonleather shoes, but he has to get it.” And woe betide the guy who doesn’t.

I can’t even tell you how cheerful I am about the probability that various European governments will soon begin banning the consumption of soy as a threat to human health. Sure, it would be even better if they’d go right to the source of the problem and make vegetarianism a capital offense, but then, one can’t expect too much of a fallen world.

Although perhaps Miss Pearson isn’t completely without her charms. After all, how great would it be to be able to say, “Happy Valentine’s Day, I hope you enjoy this box of meditation… don’t overdo it!”

Then you could have a big fight about the box being made out of unrecycled cardboard. Ah, bliss.