No More Dirty Dancing

Throughout the Earth Day festivities this week, environmentalists and ecofriendly scenesters can celebrate knowing their late-night partying won't interfere with their green lifestyle. Nightclubs all over the world are reinventing themselves as ecosensitive dance spots, incorporating renewable or recycled materials and conservation-minded facilities. They're a far cry from the heedless excess of the '90s club scene—but that doesn't mean they're spartan. "Just because a club goes green does not mean it can't be luxurious," says Jon Bakhshi, owner of the New York City nightclub Greenhouse.

At Greenhouse, everything from the dance floor to the décor has been carefully selected to preserve the environment and promote conservation. The club's décor is a nature lover's dream; the walls are covered with moss, and the restrooms are reached through a tunnel lined with rainforest plants. The floor is made of bamboo that has been certified as a renewable resource; indeed, only 20 percent of any given bamboo forest is hand-cut at a time, ensuring that the habitat is not unduly decimated in the service of all those grooving Louboutins. The bathrooms use low-flow sink faucets and waterless urinals developed according to strict new Environmental Protection Agency standards, which save nearly 114,000 liters of water a year compared with standard club facilities. Lighting in nightclubs is already dim, but Greenhouse uses LED fixtures, which further saves on energy costs. The bartenders' uniforms are made by Edun, the organic-cotton company founded by U2's Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, whose mission is "trade—not aid." The club's celebrity clientele includes Jay-Z, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mary-Kate Olsen and Kevin Spacey, who come to show their green streak and sip cocktails made of organic vodka.

In Los Angeles, the Ecco Ultra Lounge uses energy from the L.A. Department of Water and Power's Green Power resources, a municipal utility that provides sun, wind and water power. The club also offers free valet parking for hybrid vehicles—but not for the paparazzi who may be following the celebrities driving them—as well as an LED lighting system and insulation made of 100 percent organic cotton, which cuts energy use by 20 percent. Owners Danny Bitar, David Stratton, Sean Muniz and Matthew Portnoff chose to install Turbosound loudspeakers, positioned adjacent to the dance floor, and Powersoft amps, which reduce the amount of energy used by 70 percent over standard sound systems.

Club Watt in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was the first to feature the Sustainable Dance Floor, a movable surface measuring about 30 square meters, which converts the kinetic energy from dancers into electricity. The dance floor is made of modules that move vertically when a person is dancing on the surface. The movement is registered by advanced mechatronics and converted into electricity used to light up the floor. Bar Surya (named after the Hindu sun god) in London also features the Sustainable Dance Floor, which charges batteries used to power parts of the club through electricity generated by the movements of dancers. Bar Surya is also powered by its own wind turbine and solar-energy system. The entrance fee is £10 for those who arrive courtesy of fossil fuels; cyclists and walkers get in free. Customers are allowed in only if they sign a pledge promising to work toward reducing climate change. Both venues also feature waterless urinals, similar to ones used in airplanes, and low-flush toilets. Thanks to the rise of such clubs, people don't have to honor Earth Day by hugging trees. They can simply don their vegan dancing shoes and head out for a night on the town.

© 2009