Great stories from EcoSalon you may have missed this week.

In San Francisco’s Fashion Incubator At Macy’s Heralds New Designers, fashion writer Rowena Ritchie notes that over the years there have been numerous efforts to breathe life into San Francisco’s struggling fashion scene, “so it was a thrilling day for industry pundits when the announcement was made from Mayor Edwin M. Lee’s office on Monday that a new fashion incubator would launch next year.” The Fashion Incubator San Francisco at Macy’s Union Square (FISF), now has a group mission to turn creative fashion apparel designers into successful San Francisco entrepreneurs. We can’t wait to watch and see what happens.

With the healthy future of our environment at stake and a younger, more urban generation so far removed from forest paths and babbling brooks, are we in trouble? In Wanted: More Urban Children To Embrace Nature, writer Sarah Lewis-Hammond says, “Widely reported problems with our increasing penchant for urbanization expand well beyond the economic and environmental, and issues ranging from increasing obesity to widespread depression and stress disorders have been pinned on our proliferation of concrete.” Time to bring in the jackhammers.

If you live in the city of Portland, Oregon, you’re fully aware it’s been rated a top green city in the U.S. so it’s not a surprise that in this past week’s Places & Spaces, the Avalon Hotel and Spa, in Portland, Oregon has been featured. Kara DiCamillo points out that “With a cool architectural design, this luxury retreat is the tenth hotel in the world (and the first in Oregon), to be certified as a LEED hotel by the U.S. Green Building Council.” Pack your bags and go west, young women.

Foodie Underground columnist Anna Brones is back with more cupcake analysis. “Trendy cupcake stores are one thing, and even if I can’t get behind the popularity of the baked good, I’ll agree that they’re colorful, cute and, if you have a sweet tooth, taste good. But restraint is not a virtue Americans possess, and so we weren’t satisfied with adorably stenciled hole-in-the-wall cupcake shops. Instead we had to make the cupcake a national trend on a level of the beanie baby. Cupcakes have literally taken over.” See all the bizarre cupcake accessories you can handle in Burned Out On The Cupcake Trend.

In International Train Traveling To Romance You, Shira Levine explains that “Train travel is one of the cleanest, greenest, and often prettiest modes of transport for seeing the world. Less carbon is burned when riding the rails vs. flying or driving alone and thanks to technology, traveling by train has picked up speed over the last hundred or so years.” Did we mention that it was also totally sexy?

If new San Francisco Major Edwin M. Lee has his way, your clothing will be getting a whole lot more local.

From the boom time of the Gold Rush when a young Levi Strauss began making durable denim pants for miners, the Bay Area has always been a hot bed for U.S. apparel manufacturing. Things have changed a lot just since 2002, (commonly agreed as the final death knell for Bay Area fashion), when Levi’s shuttered six U.S. plants including its historic Valencia Street operation in San Francisco.

“Twenty years ago, fashion apparel was the second-biggest industry in San Francisco, behind tourism. Today local fashion apparel designers struggle to stay afloat,” says Dennis Conaghan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Center for Economic Development.

Over the years there have been numerous efforts to breathe life into San Francisco’s struggling fashion scene, so it was a thrilling day for industry pundits when the announcement was made from Mayor Edwin M. Lee’s office on Monday that a new fashion incubator would launch next year.

Called the Fashion Incubator San Francisco at Macy’s Union Square (FISF), the group’s mission is to turn creative fashion apparel designers into successful San Francisco entrepreneurs. “We’re proud to be starting San Francisco’s first fashion incubator program, and I believe FISF will help reclaim SF’s legacy as a leader in the fashion apparel industry and keep creative talent in San Francisco,” added Conaghan, who will lead the incubator’s board of directors comprised of fashion, retail and business development experts.

Each year FISF will provide six Designers in Residence with premier workshop space in Macy’s offices at Union Square where they can create new lines and showcase their collections to merchants, ranging from local boutiques to national retailers. FISF also will offer business operations training from experts in the San Francisco fashion and economic development communities. The first class of designers is expected to move into the FISF workshop in March 2012 for their yearlong training.

In the last few years, locally made clothing has been at the forefront of the green fashion movement. San Francisco is but one of many cities seeing the trend coming to life. Surfacing in a world dominated by globalization, many brands are reconsidering oversees production due to the measurable preference for and quality of U.S. goods, a strong fashion trend for heritage brands and the discovery that they can produce here with only a minimal end price difference.

FISF expects to announce plans for the Designer in Residence program in September at Macy’s Fashion’s Night Out events, with hopes that incubator graduates will be showcasing their lines at the event in the future. At least that’s what Macy’s is betting considerable resources and PR leverage on.

“Macy’s has long been a supporter of up-and-coming fashion designers. FISF was developed from the blueprint of the Chicago Fashion Incubator at Macy’s on State Street, where 83 percent of the program participants have opened apparel businesses that are thriving,” said Betsy Nelson, vice president of media relations and cause marketing for Macy’s northwest and southwest regions. “Through FISF’s incubator program, we can identify emerging local talent, provide the environment and materials to develop their collections, and introduce participants to the broader fashion community.”

Ecosalon will update you on this developing story in September when the program officially kicks off and the program begins accepting applications.

Sustainable style news from EcoSalon’s West Coast Fashion Correspondent.

Rebel Without A Pause Fashion’s indomitable “Godmother of Punk, ” Vivienne Westwood, celebrated the opening of her first flagship store in Los Angeles last week. The 10, 000 square foot space on Melrose Avenue makes available all of the Westwood labels including jewelry and accessories to discerning West Coast clients.  An unlikely eco-hero, Westwood has recently revealed she doesn’t wash her clothes very often and thinks that talcum powder makes the best deodorant, adding “I think it is a good thing to buy less and choose well – it’s good for the environment and to be fair it’s also good for me because my clothes are quite expensive.”  In these times of shifting patterns in fashion consumption and use, her down to earth approach reminds us of George Bernard Shaw’s line “Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius.”

Pick Up Stitches – The Thread show is coming to the Metreon in San Francisco this Sunday and promises to pretty-up the green scene this weekend.  Held in tandem with the Green Festival on Saturday, the show features the latest items from emerging eco-friendly designers such as COATT, Grammatique, Form & Fauna, and Free Hand Fashion.  If that’s not enough to get you down to SOMA from 11 a.m.– 6 p.m., attendees can enjoy new features like the DIY Lounge, Pop-Up Nail Salon, Live Blogger Style-Off Series, a THREAD Wellness Lounge and a Man Cave for the guys.

A League Of Our Own – With so much discussion about the relentless pace of the garment industry, it’s time to celebrate one fashion event that’s been going strong for 85 years. The Junior League of San Francisco is hosting their annual fashion show A Fashionable Legacy on Friday, April 8th at the Fairmont Hotel. The Bay Area’s most fashionable faces have their calendars annually marked and their dancing shoes ready for this glamorous evening. The event produced by the lovely Junior League ladies and long-time show partner, Macys and local company, Viasyn (who is offsetting the carbon impact this year), is one of the most successful fundraising events in San Francisco and has raised millions of dollars for various charities.

For low impact fashion practices – ethically sourced, sustainable fabrics and de-centralized manufacturing – to eventually become the norm, environmentally conscious fashion labels need to compete with the mainstream.

For a long time, marketing sustainable fashion was overturning stereotypes, but now, with the recent Green Shows at New York’s fashion week showing the movement is undeniably design-led, where do other standard industry practices such as endorsement deals and celebrity fashion brands fit in? Does the sustainable fashion industry need celebrity clothing lines that can often be synonymous with disposable fashion?

Closely tied to a star’s popularity – which like their marriages can be notably volatile and short-lived – some clothing lines have managed to do well, particularly those at lower price points with a mass market appeal and distribution in the likes of Kohl’s, Target and Macy’s.

If sustainable design represents a shift to a new luxury paradigm where consumers value true and lasting quality, can celebrity collaborations authentically raise the awareness of green brands? Of course, the real question is will it sell more clothes?  When done right, it can work successfully. It’s all about matching the right celebrity with the right business model. (I couldn’t tell whether Lady Gaga in her meat bikini was the ultimate poster child for, or against, PETA…?) With that in mind, let’s consider the celebrities who have recently joined the eco-fashion crusade.

People Tree at “A Garden Party To make A Difference”

Harry Potter actress Emma Watson recently previewed her spring/summer 2011 collection in her ongoing collaboration with British fair-trade fashion label, People Tree, at Prince Charles’s 12-day U.K. eco festival titled “A Garden Party to Make a Difference – a series of cultural events to promote sustainable living.” The line features knitwear for women and men, consisting of cotton T-shirts, jersey dresses, poplin skirts and shorts. Eighty percent of Watson’s new line is made of 100 percent fair trade-certified cotton.

Chrissie Hynde and JP Jones (her bandmate and lover)

Rock legend Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders is a longtime animal-rights activist, and her eco-friendly line called “Fairground Luck,” is a labor of love in more ways than one. In a collaboration with sometime love and songwriter JP Jones, the rock-inspired line will include non-leather versions of rocker chic T-shirts, skinny jeans, jackets, handbags and cowboy boots. Hynde nominated her friend, musician Emmylou Harris as the line’s muse and consulted with other famous friends including designers Todd Oldham, John Bartlett and Stella McCartney, whose own designs are vegan as well.

At a time when competition for fashion dollars has never been fiercer, celebrity eco clothing lines can cut through and create a little extra vital buzz. And let’s face it, as far as celebrities go, it could be a lot worse.

Raccoon dogs are bred, tortured, smashed to the ground and skinned alive in China. The unspeakable methods used amount to animal abuse in the most inconceivable way possible and you might be unwittingly endorsing it by simply buying a so-called faux fur jacket at Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Burlington Coat Factory and dozens of other stores that simply ignore the Federal Fur Products Labeling Act.

It seems it’s easy for retailers to slide by the labeling clauses of the act, despite the fact unsuspecting buyers might be opposed to the slaughter, not to mention allergic to animal fur.

This has prompted at least one California leader to take action to change the system. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, has followed in the footsteps of New York and four other states by introducing a law requiring  “conspicuous” labeling of all garments that include real fur. Ma announced the measure at a news conference joined by  Pierre Grzybowski of the Human Society’s Fur-Free Campaign.

Grzybowski says China’s lax animal welfare laws allow raccoon dogs to be raised by the millions and skinned alive and the fur is rarely disclosed on labels. He also paraded jackets, boots and other items purchased at Bay Area stores that contained rabbit and raccoon dog fur not listed on the labels.

The Humane Society fights against loopholes in existing laws which allow jackets trimmed with $150 worth of fur to be sold without labels. Since animal fur is often sheared and dyed to resemble synthetic coats, consumers are essentially being tricked into buying the real thing.

The need for labeling is clear, since we have no idea what we are getting from even the ritziest stores. For example, last summer, Neiman Marcus was caught misrepresenting a pair of Manolo Blahnik $1,495 boots – which it had advertised as “natural ocelot fur” – an endangered wildcat. Turns out the boots were actually common goat fur patterned with ocelot markings. If it had been ocelot it would have been a crime. Was it a crime that it was goat? Not yet.

Labels on clothes are as valuable as labels on food, which help consumers make choices for themselves. And the campaigns and state laws are moving retailers to shun fur all together. Among them is Overstock.com, which boasts revenues exceeding $700 million. It became the 100th on the Fur Free list of retailers and designers to commit to a no-fur policy.

Image: Jeremy Barwick, All Creatures; Democrats.Assembly

Image by: mandydale

While 2008′s holiday buying was a vicious sting for many retailers (read: overstocked store shelves with far more supply than demand), the buyers of American retail circa 2009 have evidently learned their lessons. We saw many stores tightening their inventory belts while others held off on any sales until after the holidays to generate more revenue and keep themselves afloat.

Angelina Rennell, owner of Beklina (and the designer behind the label Lina Rennell), says buying practices for her eco-boutique were of a much more cautious nature this holiday season.

“I ordered in lower numbers, and was maybe just a little more sober when it came to ordering,” Rennell says, adding that favoring “tried and true” designers that she knows sell well was also a big consideration this year versus taking risks with designers she wasn’t so sure of.

As for the discount-loving consumer, according to CNN, “in a surprising trend,” larger department stores like Macy’s and JC Penney beat out discounters as the destination of choice over 2009′s Black Friday weekend.

“Nearly half, 49.4%, of holiday shoppers visited at least one department store over the weekend, a 12.9% increase from last year,” reports the article.

Perhaps this is a sign of consumption with more thought?

Only gift cards, usually an impersonal holiday gift,  turned out to be one of the hottest gifts going, allowing for extra sales post-holiday.

But while retailers usually see customers spending well over what the gift cards are worth, post holiday spending has been reigned in, a trend shop owners are cringing at.

Image: Scalleja

Bianca and Michael Alexander, founders of Vert Couture, had their work cut out for them this past Sunday hosting Chicago’s first ever green fashion show. But with an already established track record in the sustainable field, the couple pulled it off with flying shades of green.

The husband and wife team, who recently migrated from California, have made the windy city more interesting with Conscious Living TV and Soul of Green. So producing Chicago’s debut sustainable design show was just another step in their progression towards sustainable.

Michael Alexander says he and his wife have a serious passion (bordering on addiction) for fabulous fashion that’s created consciously and sustainably. Vert Couture is their way of sharing this passion with the public.

“Seeing and meeting so many talented and committed eco-designers in our new home of Chicago, we wanted to support them by providing a platform to show the world their talent. We felt we could best serve them and the sustainability movement by producing arguably the hottest show of fashion week.”

Bianca and Michael Alexander, founders of the Vert Couture eco-fashion show

Chicago’s conscious community, including Fashion Focus Chicago and the Chicago Fashion Foundation, helped sponsor the show where Mountains of the Moon, Vaute Couture, Bryant McLemore Smith, Frei Designs and students from the International School of Design and Technology featured the best of their Spring 2010 collections.

Melissa Baswell, designer of Mountains of the Moon, says the show has strengthened the connection between Chicago’s eco-designers.

“Annie Novotny of Frei Designs and I decided that we’re not stopping with Vert Couture. We want to organize monthly gatherings with some of our fellow Chicago eco-designers to brainstorm and help each other out.”

Melissa Baswell of Mountains of the Moon takes a stroll down the runway at Vert Couture

Baswell says that unlike traditional shows she’s been a part of, more factors were involved in Chicago since the show was produced as green as possible (the event was carbon neutral, featured organic and vegan drinks and hors d’oeuvres, had green sponsors, eco-friendly printed materials, and of course, sustainable designers).

“There were a variety of designers and a wide array of pieces shown. It was put together as a fashion show first and foremost, but it also educated people on the importance of sustainability, and included much more than just the runway show.”

Annie Novotny, founder of Frei Designs, says that being part of Vert Couture is just what designers have to do right now.

“It turns some people off, promoting yourself as an eco-designer. But it’s my choice to produce ethically. It’s never been a cool thing to do. So whether people are educated or not, whether or not they know about issues of waste and sustainability, I’m going to be part of something like this simply because it’s important,” says Novotny.

Sustainable designer Lara Miller didn’t show her line at Vert Couture, but did show during Fashion Focus at Macy’s Designers of Chicago last Thursday evening. Her line is carried in the Chicago Designer Shop at Macy’s on State street.

Lara Miller Spring 2010, at Fashion Focus (Photo by Michele Wayman)

Miller says that Chicago is getting more competitive with the other major fashion cities in the U.S., but thinks that Chicago, in general, is just different.

“We’re providing a different view, a different market and allowing our designers to grow while reaching out to other markets. I think that Chicago designers have a unique perspective on fashion and on the industry. We’re incredibly hard workers, we understand who we sell to, and first and foremost we’re good people who support each other and our garment manufacturers here in the city.

Not all of our businesses are about creating a stir or a groundbreaking trend. We’re about quality, individuality, and our customers. We each have our own individual message and brand identity. And I think that we’re all showing something different and creating trends in our own ways, some more than others, but the trends to me don’t matter as much as creating beautiful quality work that pleases our customers. Because while we’re designers at the end of the day, we’re also entrepreneurs, which means that we want to make our customers happy.”

Chicago and Vert Couture have certainly made me happy.