Sleep well in cute sustainable cotton sleepwear by Australian label ALAS, now available in the U.S.

Aside from sleeping in the buff, stylish organic cotton sleepwear is the next best thing.  We’ve been smitten with the cute pieces by Australian sleepwear label ALAS (which stands for All Light All Shadow) for a long time, and were thrilled to hear that selected pieces are now available in the U.S. via Shopbop.

Founded on socially and ecologically responsible principles, the label makes innovative, unique sleepwear, often adorned with graphic patterns inspired by nature and unexpected details. “ALAS is a sleepwear label that is ever evolving, with time and inspiration. The acronym All Light All Shadow represents this nature of change; day to night, sleeping to waking. The phases of the moon and the movement of the tides remind us that everything is connected. Journeys are undertaken, in dreams and in reality. We wander the globe, picking up pieces of inspiration from under stones on beaches, constellations in the sky and patterns in nature.”

The designers behind ALAS use color and pattern to reflect these inspirations, producing vivid pieces that make sleepytime feel much more fun and fashionable. The garments are thoughtfully constructed with either GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) or Fair Trade accredited cotton (which means it’s been farmed by communities paid an above average liveable wage) grown, spun, woven and dyed in India, where the pieces are also made. Fabrics are printed and dyed using methods without harmful AZOs and formaldehyde, which is especially important for clothing worn closest to the body.

ALAS recently won the ‘Pure Spirit Award’ — a category of the UK based Ethical Fashion Forum’s Innovation Awards. All packaging, tags and business cards are recycled and recyclable, and the label also encourages customers to wash the garments in cool water and drip dry to reduce energy consumption. Looking cute and feeling good about what you’re wearing, you’re guaranteed to sleep well.

Images: ALAS

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Put the warm days and long nights of summer to good use by learning some new DIY craft skills.

Summer is a wonderful time to be lazy and do nothing, but also an excellent opportunity to take the time to make something. Put those warm days and long nights to good use by learning some new DIY craft skills. Here are some of our favorite creative projects — some can even be done while laying in a hammock.

Image: ar.nieza

1. Make T-shirt Yarn
We all have an abundance of old tees laying around the house. Put them to good use by making them into something useful — T-shirt yarn. It’s simple and you’ll actually end up with a ball of soft (just like your favorite tee) continuous yarn that you can then use to crochet, knit or knot. Check out this video tutorial by Relevé Design to learn how.

Image: sukigirl74

2. Learn to Crochet
No disrespect to knitting, but crocheting feels more like a summer skill. You barely need any supplies and it can be done anywhere (even in the hammock). Make a cute bikini, a patio stool cover or put that T-shirt yarn you just made to good use! Vogue knitting will teach you the basics.

Image: Honestly WTF

3. Make Friendship Bracelets
Remember how much fun you had with these when you were a kid? Well, friendship bracelets are still just as fun to make (and wear). Once you master the technique, demonstrated here by Honestly WTF, you can start playing around with different color variations, thicknesses, decorations and bling. The possibilities are endless. Make sure to actually make some for your friends, because they’ll want some.

Image: Mr. Kate

4. Make Prints
Printmaking is a fine art, but it’s also very DIYable. With a bit of creativity anything can turn into a stamp or a canvas. Make some fine art for your walls using acrylic paint to print, swap it out for fabric paint and spruce up a few old garments or make a nice set of invites for your next summer soirée — the sky is the limit. Check out this easy printmaking tutorial by Mr. Kate for some really nice tips.

Image: Serious Eats

5. Say ‘Yes I Can’
If you’ve ever tried growing your own tomatoes, you’ll know that time when they all seem to be ripe at the same time, forming a massive mountain impossible to eat your way through. Instead of letting them go bad, can them — or any other fruit and vegetable for that matter. It’s easy, fulfilling and will save you lots on money come winter. Invite your friends over for a canning party to get some extra hands. Serious Eats has a good beginner’s guide to canning.

Top image by Mr. Kate

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H&M teams up with fashion students at Beckmans School of Design in Sweden to launch a one-of-a-kind upcycled collection that will be auctioned off to benefit UNICEF.

For the first time ever, H&M has teamed up with Beckmans School of Design in Sweden to work on a project to raise awareness around sustainability and the power of upcycling. This comes on the heels of the fast fashion retailer being one of few large fashion brands signing an industry agreement aimed at preventing future garment factory disasters.

One of the winning designs by Leonard Kocic

Thirteen design students were given a week to design unique outfits made from recycled garments collected through H&M’s takeback program, launched earlier this year. A jury consisting of H&M’s own Margareta van den Bosch and Catarina Midby as well as Swedish fashion industry insiders judged them on how well they pulled off a design that was sustainable, wearable and high fashion.

One of the winning designs by Jonna Ru

“It’s been a fun project and exciting to see how the students in a playful way created unexpected outfits that are very fashionable and of the moment,” says van den Bosch. “The winners have been very creative and thought of sustainability when they’ve, for example, used a maximum of two recycled garments in the creation of their design in order to avoid textile waste. One example is a bomber jacket that was turned into a dress by repurposing the lining.”

The winners were Jonna Ru, Leonard Kocic och Malin Unga, whose outfits will be exhibited at H&M’s flagship store in Stockholm for a week before being auctioned off on Swedish site Tradera. All proceeds will be donated to UNICEF, and H&M will also match the winning bids.

One of the winning designs by Malin Unga

“With this collaboration we want people to realize that you already have the very latest right in your closet,” says Pär Engsheden, project manager at Beckmans School of Design. “With just a few simple adjustments you can create tomorrow’s trends, and that’s what these students have shown with this design project.” So, next time you feel like buying something at H&M, just repurpose something from your closet instead!

Images courtesy of H&M

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Merging European and African influences, Adèle Dejak’s designs use reclaimed and recycled materials to create pieces that benefit local artisans.

After working as a freelance typographer and art director for an Italian music magazine, Adèle Dejak moved to Kenya and turned her attention to designing accessories from her home in Nairobi. Harboring a long-standing fascination for jewelry and the use of ‘waste’ materials to make new things, her designs incorporate reclaimed and recycled materials from the local environment, including rice sacks, cement bags, glass, wood, ostrich egg shell, aluminum, bone, brass and cow horn.

Dejak merges European and African influences, and uses locally made fabrics, such as Kuba cloth and kitenge (wax print), to create products that honor and express an appreciation for local culture.

The materials are sourced from across the African continent but mainly from the East African region. Materials often arrive at the workshop in their raw form and are transformed by Dejak’s team of eight in-house artisans and five beaders into the final products. The process can be labor intensive and requires specialist knowledge. Each piece is made by hand, with utmost care and attention can be seen in the final beauty of the products.

The highly skilled artisans come from all walks of life and from different places in Kenya. Adèle Dejak also collaborates with a network of artisans outside of the studio, working to invest in communities in East Africa and training people to learn new skills that will enhance their livelihoods and contribute positively to the local and global community. Current partners include the Dadaab Refugee Camp, home to more than 500,000 refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Uganda and Rwanda who are not permitted to grow crops or keep livestock and have started earning wages by making bags from recycled food donation sacks, and the Wawoto Kacel Cooperative in Uganda, a social arts and crafts cooperative founded by a group of HIV positive women.

The brand recently collaborated with Salvatore Ferragamo on Bags for Africa, has been featured in Vogue Italia, and exhibited at Milan fashion week in 2012 as part of Vogue Talents. In 2011 Adèle Dejak was one of sixteen designers working in Africa chosen to join the Design Network Africa (DNA), an organization dedicated to inspiration and educating African designers and creating “good business out of good design by building a strong professional network to encourage collaboration and sharing to create new visions for business and inspiration.”

Images courtesy of Adèle Dejak

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Ten things you can make from old plastic bags.

Even though we always bring reusable shopping bags to the store, somehow we always find ourselves with an overflowing stash of plastic bags under the kitchen sink. Recognize that? The good news is that you can use them to make things. Here are ten of our favorite DIY projects that you can make from old plastic bags.

1. Plastic Bag Bracelets
Colorful bracelets and bangles are must-have summer accessories. Make your own using recycled plastic bags and basic supplies you already have around the house. Follow this easy tutorial by She to learn how.

image: She

2. Plarn, or Plastic Bag Yarn
Plastic yarn, plarn for short, is made by cutting plastic grocery bags into strips, which are then strung together into a single long strand. Plastic Bag Crafts has a good tutorial on how to make it. Use plarn instead of regular yarn to crochet sturdy, reusable tote bags, purses, doormats, and more.

image: Plastic Bag Crafts

3. Ruffled Lamp Shade
This cool lampshade is created from hundreds of black and white plastic bag rosettes. The bags are cut into long strips, rolled loosely into rosette shapes, then glued to the shade. For exact instructions, check out the tutorial by the 3 R’s blog.

image: the 3 R’s blog

4. Woven Plastic Basket
Instead of having those old plastic bags fill up that under-sink space to the brim, use them to make a nice woven basket, which can be used to store anything from fruit to, well, plastic bags. Grab a cutting mat, blade, ruler, some masking tape, a heavy yarn needle and crochet hook, and follow this tutorial by radmegan.

image: radmegan

5. Plastic Pendant Light
The most fulfilling DIY projects to make are those that end up looking like amazing designer pieces. This pendant light is made from a bunch of black and white plastic bags, but looks like a million bucks. Check out the 3 R’s blog’s tutorial for instructions.

image: the 3 R’s blog

6. Outdoor Pillow Case
For outdoor cushion, a waterproof case is a must. Instead of buying one, make it from old plastic bags. In My Own Style will show you how. For extra waterproofing, use more layers, and for bonus DIY points make the dishtowel covers as well.

image: In My Own Style

7. Plastic Bag Rug
Homestead Weaving Studio specializes in making rugs from recycled material. Their tutorial shows you how to make great-looking plastic rugs using a floor look. They are particularly well-suited for your kitchen, since any mess spilled on the floor can just be rinsed off.

image: Homestead Weaving Studio

8. Plastic Bag Beads
If you like making your own jewelry, why not take that one step further and actually make the beads as well? Fuse sheets of plastic together using an iron and parchment paper to give them firmness. Etsy’s New York Street Team gives you the full scoop.

image: Etsy’s New York Street Team

9. Plastic Bag Mandalas
Using only an exacto blade and tape, artist Virginia Fleck transforms plastic bags into large scale meditation mandalas that serve as a commentary of shopping and spirituality. Make your own by following this tutorial of Recylart.

image: Recylart

10. Plastic Flowers
The perfect gift for your favorite eco-warrior, recycled plastic flowers not only look cute, they never wilt. Grab the most colorful plastic bags you have in the drawer and follow this simple Instructables tutorial.

image: Instructables

Happy Crafting!

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Hong Kong-based fashion non-profit Redress launched a sustainable fashion design competition to inspire emerging designers from East to West to reduce waste in the fashion industry.

As you may have heard, fashion is one of the world’s most polluting and resource-intense industries, and our accelerating consumption and taste for fast fashion are contributing to environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources and human rights abuses. Integrating sustainability thinking into massive global supply chains often presents significant challenges to fashion brands, but that does not mean it can’t be done.

Reconstruction, by EcoChic Design Award 2012 China finalist Chen Qin Zi. Photo by Mathieu Lunard

Designers are the main influences when it comes to sustainability thinking and are thought to influence about 80-90 percent of the environmental and economic impact of a product through the choices they make in design sourcing and manufacturing.

The EcoChic Design Award is a sustainable fashion design competition with a mission to educate and enable emerging designers to create mainstream clothing with minimal textile waste. In its fourth year, The EcoChic Design Award 2013 is expanding its search for creative design talent to Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, UK, France, Belgium and Germany.

The competition is open to designers and students with less than three years of industry experience. For many of these emerging designers, particularly in China, this is their first introduction to sustainable fashion design. They are challenged to utilize zero-waste, up-cycling and reconstruction techniques to create their collections. Following nine months of education, design and judging, eight finalists will be chosen by a panel of acclaimed judges to present their sustainable collections at Hong Kong Fashion Week in January 2014, for a chance to win “career-changing prizes that will further ignite positive change in the industry.”

“Sustainability in the fashion industry is an over-discussed but under-actioned issue,” says Christina Dean, CEO and Founder of Redress, the fashion NGO organizing the awards. “Not enough focus is being put on reducing waste. We must crack the industry’s problem of excessive waste production and lost economic value. The EcoChic Design Award 2013 fires-up emerging fashion designers from East to West to make tomorrow’s mass market and independent fashion industries sustainable from the source.”

The winner of the EcoChic Design Award will get to design a recycled textile clothing collection for global retailer Esprit. “The collaboration with Redress allows us to bring talented emerging designers with new innovative sustainable ideas to the forefront of the fashion industry by bringing their works to life,” says Charles Dickinson, Head of Global Quality Management and Sustainability, Esprit.

The EcoChic Design Award Hong Kong 2012 Winner Wister Tsang

Kuan Teo, Winnie Cheng, Christina Dean, Sandy Lam, Margaret Kutt, Johanna Ho and Charming Ho at The EcoChic Design Award 2013 launch in Hong Kong. Photo by Colin

Zero-waste design on the runway by EcoChic Design Award Hong Kong 2011 Winner Janko Lam

Second prize is an educational trip to learn how jewelry designer John Hardy integrates environmental and social sustainability into the core of design, production and business philosophies. A Special Prize winner will get to design a sustainable outfit for artist Sandy Lam to wear on the cover of a fashion magazine to “redress” consumers’ attitudes towards sustainable fashion. All semi-finalists and finalists receive a career-boosting educational package, including a combination of mentorships, promotional opportunities and a selection of sustainable fashion books and journals. Entries are open now until August 15, 2013.

Images courtesy of Redress

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Ginkgo is the world’s first sustainably designed umbrella. Made entirely from one recyclable material, it’s lightweight, durable and comes in a variety of colors to brighten your day.

Most umbrellas out there are poorly made. Just spend one rainy day in a major city and you’ll to see hundreds of broken ones all over the street, and opportunistic vendors setting up shop to sell you equally poorly made replacements — not very sustainable. In fact, the about 1 billion umbrellas that are broken, lost, and improperly disposed of each year could circle the earth 18 times. There’s also enough metal in them to build more than 25 Eiffel Towers each year, and enough polyester (which takes about a century to biodegrade) to cover New York City. This combination of materials make most umbrellas what is often referred to as a “monstrous hybrid” — making it nearly impossible to recycle.

An Italian company called Ginkgo took this as a challenge and has designed an innovative compact umbrella, made entirely from just one completely recyclable material — polypropylene, which is both stiff and flexible. It is better able to absorb impacts and strong winds without breaking or bending, but also lightweight.

The number of components used to make it have been considerably reduced, from the traditional 120 pieces to just 20, assembled with the use of strong snap-fit joints instead of screws and moving parts. The fewer the components, the less chance of breaking. If something would break, that one part can easily be replaced.

Polypropylene was chosen because it’s one of the lightest plastic materials that is also highly flexible and resistant. Because it’s made from a single material, down to the thread used for the seams, it can be tossed in the recycling bin once it’s reached the end of its useful life.

The company has plans to start using zero-impact biodegradable polymers instead of the polypropylene, further enhancing the sustainability credentials of the umbrella. Ginkgo is currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and has raised more than $70,000 — more than twice the initial goal.

The best part is that Ginkgo umbrellas come in a variety of fun colors, which can be fully customizable through a special widget on the company’s site. We could all use a well-needed pop of well-needed pop of color to brighten a rainy day.

Images courtesy of Ginkgo

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Stylish camping essentials to pack for your camping trip this summer.

Summer is essentially here, and for outdoorsy types that means one thing — camping. We’re dreaming of hitting the road in a stylish Cricket Trailer or eco-chic VW Microbus. But a nice little tent will do as well, as long as it’s pitched in a gorgeous spot with a view. One of the keys to having a grand time out in the wild is packing wisely. Here’s what we’re bringing on the road (less traveled) this summer.

1. SoCo Camping Hammock
Although it’s large enough to comfortably hold two people  (up to 450 lbs) the SoCo Hammock packs down to the size of a softball. The high strength, triple stitched, breathable, mildew-resistant parachute nylon guarantees durability, and the optional SoCo straps allow it to be hung between two trees up to 32-feet apart. SoCo also works toward empowering the poor through nonprofit partnerships and a commitment to fair wages.
$69.95, SoCo Hammocks

2. Go! Towel
Disposable wipes are handy, but most of them are not very good for the environment. Go Towels, however, are made from bamboo and are completely biodegradable. Each one weighs only a third of a gram, making them ideal to bring when you’re backcountry camping. In a pinch, they can also be used as coffee filters.
$14.95 for a pack of 10, Go! Towel

3. To-Go Ware RePEaT Utensil Set
Disposable dinnerware is just not stylish, even if you are camping. Instead, pack this bamboo utensil set, which contains a fork, knife, spoon and chopsticks and comes in a holder make from recycled PET (plastic bottles). The bamboo is heat and stain resistant, durable, easy to wash and light to carry — perfect for camping.
$12.95, To-Go Ware

4. BioLite CampStove
This portable stove cooks your meals with nothing but the twigs you collect on your journey, eliminating the need for heavy, expensive, polluting petroleum gas. It uses thermoelectric technology to convert heat to electricity that powers a fan to make the fire ultra-efficient. BioLite also uses the same technology to bring clean, safe energy to families across the developing world. The extra electricity that is generated can be used to charge small electronics like mobile phones and LED lights. It’s quick and easy to use.
$129.95, BioLite

5. Mountainsmith Juniper 50 Backpack
This carry-all pack by Mountainsmith was designed especially for women and is large enough to fit all your essentials (and some non-essentials too). Made with 450d recycled PET (each bag contains about 21 16-ounce plastic bottles) it also features a detachable daypack for shorter excursions and summit wanderings. It’s better looking than most backpacking packs and comfortable and easy to carry.
$194.99, Next Adventure

6. Everly Pomegranate Maqui Berry Drink Mix
Designed to support truly healthy hydration for active, adventurous types, Everly was recently successfully funded through Kickstarter and is starting to produce their first three flavors. Made from all natural ingredients, the low-cost, low-waste powder packets can be cleverly carried on a carabiner.
Available soon, Everly

7. Badger Anti-Bug Balm
A natural mosquito repellent is a must when you’re camping. Badger’s tried-and-true formula consists of 100 percent organic ingredients like citronella, cedar, and lemongrass essential oils, which have been used for centuries to repel insects naturally. It contains no DEET, petrolatum or other chemicals and comes in a handy tin. Best of all, it smells super nice.
$9.99, Badger

8. Capsul Case
Store cash, credit cards, business cards (you never know when you may need them, right?) in a sturdy wallet by Capsul case. Made in Canada from of highly recyclable non-toxic polypropylene, it will keep all those valuables safe, dry and in one place.
$12, Capsul

9. Falcon Enamelware TumblersThis set of sturdy tumblers are as pretty as they are practical — use them for everything from coffee to white wine. Light to carry and easy to wash, they’re perfect for camping. Buying them in different colors makes it easier for your group to keep track of which mug belongs to you. Unlike plastic cups, they make a nice clinking sound when you do a cheers.
£4.99 each, Falcon Enamelware

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To highlight the positive style and environmental potentials of reusing, Christina Dean, Founder of Redress, swore to wear nothing but discarded clothes for an entire year.

Over the past ten years, our consumption of fashion has increased by about 60 percent. This has resulted in increased environmental pollution and landfills full of textile waste that could easily have been reused or recycled. In the UK, more than 1000 tons of clothes are dumped in landfills every day. Seems like a waste (pun intended), no?

The environmental impact of landfilled clothes is detrimental, since not all clothes are biodegradable. This adds pressure to landfills and results in the emission of a climate-change-inducing cocktail of chemicals. Photo by Luke Casey

The 365 Challenge, which began on January 1st of this year, was designed by sustainable fashion NGO Redress to promote its ‘Redress it, don’t bin it’ concept. Founder Christina Dean is now five months into the challenge, and has chronicled her entire journey on Instagram.

The outfits were put together with 100 percent dumped, discarded or donated secondhand clothes, sourced with support from Friends of the Earth (HK). All were styled in collaboration with leading fashion personalities, who each got a month to rummage around used clothing bins with Dean.

Day 1. January 1, 2013 – styled by TaniaReinert of A Boy Named Sue

Day 4. January 4, 2013 – styled by TaniaReinert of A Boy Named Sue

Day 28. January 28, 2013 – styled by TaniaReinert of A Boy Named Sue

“I’m shocked at what we’ve salvaged from the clothing bins so far,” says Dean. “From bags to bras, we’ve found that the public are chucking out amazing branded, quality clothes, some still with their price tags on. With our fashion stylists’ creativity, we’re turning other people’s trash, from swimming costumes to ski-gear, into my stylish wearable wardrobe. With today’s fashion production and consumption spiraling out of control, we must educate and inspire the public to rethink the way we consume, wear and discard our valuable clothes.”

Day 51. February 20, 2013 – styled by Julie Shah

Day 57. February 26, 2013 – quality stitched and lined Armani trousers with Valentino linen jacket, styled by Julie Shah

Day 66. March 7, 2013 – Dean in black skirt swapped with Shanghai fashion designer Helen Lee

Day 71. March 12, 2013 – outfit with swapped tee, styled by Anupreet Bhui

D

ay 82. March 23, 2013 – trousers swapped with Lucy Shea of Swishing, styled by Anupreet Bhui

Day 88. March 29, 2013 – styled by Anupreet Bhui

Tania Reinert, co-founder of online eco-boutique A Boy Named Sue, kicked off the year with January’s ‘Finding Your Wardrobe Essentials’ subject. February explored durability, styled by Redress’ Creative Director Julie Shah. In March, Anupreet Bhui focused on the idea of clothes swapping, enlisting help from people like Lucy Shea of Swishing. For April, DIY queen Geneva Vanderzeil, author of the blog a pair and a spare and the recently released book DIY Fashionista, took over with a (you guessed it) DIY theme.

Day 99. April 9, 2013 – DIY remade jacket, styled by Geneva Vanderzeil

Day 104. April 14, 2013 –  DIY remade blouse, styled by Geneva Vanderzeil of a pair and a spare

Day 113. April 23, 2013 –  blazer remade into vest, styled by Geneva Vanderzeil

Day 124. May 4, 2013 – “floral chic” for a sunny day in Brussels, styled by Elle.com.hk

Day 135. May 15, 2013 – monotone outfit set against secondhand jean mosaic wall at Taipei’s Amba hotel

Redress wants people to join the campaign by sharing pictures of themselves wearing restyled, reconstructed, repaired or recycled clothing on Instagram, and tagging them with @GetRedressed and #the365challenge.

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LA-based label Industry of All Nations works with producers in seven countries to produce goods that adhere to strict sustainability and ethical standards and help preserve culture and tradition.

With all the factory tragedies, overseas garment production has gotten a (sometimes very well-deserved) bad reputation. However, there are companies out there who are doing it right.

Based in Los Angeles, Industry of All Nations (I.O.A.N.) was founded in 2010 by three Argentinian brothers: Juan, Fernando, and Patricio Gerscovish. Envisioned as a contemporary lifestyle brand, I.O.A.N. combines the simplicity of good design with iconic styles of clothing and accessories from all across the world. With their new business model, the brothers set out to rethink how clothing can be manufactured and decided that they would bring manufacturing back to the regions where products and materials originate, bringing unique local businesses opportunity to an international market.

With design and manufacturing in seven different countries (Argentina, Bolivia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, and the U.S.) the company keeps close personal relationships with local factory owners and regional producers to ensure that it’s all done ethically. This commitment to sustainability and ethical production means that I.O.A.N. products have a slightly higher price point, but that’s a small price to pay to ensure that we are not contributing to environmental degradation or the suffering of fellow humans. The video below gives you a nice look into how I.O.A.N.’s batik line is made.

Industry of all Nations searched the world for iconic, timeless design — products and garments that would suit modern tastes and could be brought to market without alteration. The manufacturing is developed in collaboration with local communities around the world, sometimes creating new designs by combining  traditional craft with innovative industrial processes.

I.O.A.N. tailors Rajad, Muthuel & Keerthi in Madras Batik shirts, part of the Clean Clothes Project in South East India.

Besides unsafe factory condition, garment workers are often subjected to harmful chemicals used for textile coloring and treatment. To address this and make clothing in the cleanest way possible, I.O.A.N. teamed up with a group of manufacturers in the South of India to start the Clean Clothes Project. Local craftspeople use 100 percent Indian organic cotton, all natural dyes, water and biodegradable soap for dyeing and finishing. This not only ensures that you’re not wearing anything toxic against our skin, it also contributes to cleaner rivers, oceans, soil and air for everybody.

Through this project, men and women of this area are provided local employment (which means they don’t have to leave their communities in search of work) and opportunities to keep their traditions alive and further the cultural progress of natural dyeing. The colors of the shirts come from elements in nature: black from iron, blue from the Indigoferia Tinctoria plant and red from the Rubia Cardofilia plant. The varying color hues depend on how many times the shirt is dipped into the dye —the light hue is a 2-dip dye, while the darkest is a 12-dip dye. 

After dyeing, Clean Clothes are hang on bamboo poles to dry out.

I.O.A.N.’s Batik garments are made using a traditional block print wax resist dyeing technique, where melted wax is pressed onto a light Madras fabric and a series of nails on a wooden block stamp are used to create unique patterns in the material. After being dipped in the natural dye bath and a hot water wash, the wax dissolves and leaves behind natural ecru patterns in organically derived shades of indigo, yellow and shellac (depending on the color of the dye used).

For their sustainable denim line, I.O.A.N. has partnered with a natural dye house in the Southeast Indian province of Tamil Nadu. No petrochemicals, heavy metal dyes or chemical washes are used. Instead, the denim fabric is tinted with 100 percent natural dyes derived from plants and beetle resins. Local artisans use traditional foot-treadle looms to weave the naturally dyed organic cotton into bolts of clean selvedge denim that are then shipped to LA for cutting and sewing.

The brand’s Kenyatas sneakers are made from all natural materials in a Kenyan factory that employs more than 1,000 people in Mombasa. I.O.A.N.’s espadrilles are modeled on a classic shape designed in Brazil in the 1800s. They’re collapsible, which means they pack flat and ship efficiently, and will biodegrade completely after they’re reached the end of their useful life.

“In this modern time it is so easy and in everybody’s hands to do most anything, so the most important thing should be how we do these things. We aim to not negatively affect those around us and to provide opportunities to anyone who is out there working locally and well. We work together to develop clean and more sustainable industries around the world. We use all this to create products with the most simple and desirable aesthetic. This is the industry of the people, the Industry of All Nations” – The I.O.A.N. Team

Seeing brands that have joined the global movement for sustainable and ethical production, gives us hope for the future of fashion. Find Industry of all Nations of the brand’s web shop and at leading department stores and specialty boutiques around the globe.

Photos courtesy of Industry of All Nations

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