If you’re new here, we’ve been on a road trip down the West Coast this summer with our sustainable clothing company, {r}evolution apparel. You can track our journey here!

Whew. What a journey.

Over eight weeks ago, we set out to learn more about sustainable fashion and what we could do to help push the movement forward.

We met professors, designers, farmers, CEO’s, and people on the streets. We filmed it all. And this is a tiny, small bit of what we learned from these amazing individuals.

This is just the beginning for {r}evolution apparel; as we learn, and share, and converse, we realize that our work is crucial. We are all connected. We all matter. Every decision we make – from which tank top we buy to how we recycle our clothes – makes a difference.

Now, we’re taking time to sort through our footage, process our experience, and ultimately, create a short documentary chronicling our summer’s journey. Until then, we’ve loved posting here at EcoSalon and hope to stay connected to this community. We’ll be saying “au revoir” with a short trailer by our filmmaker, Steve Celano – enjoy!

The post {r}evolution reel: The Interviews Trailer appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new here, we’re on a road trip down the West Coast this summer with our sustainable clothing company, {r}evolution apparel. You can track our journey here!

It’s been an insane summer. We’ve done so much, and we’ve learned so much. On Wednesday, we finished the tour with a lecture on sustainable fashion at FIDM San Francisco.

Now, we’re headed back to our new “homebase” in Boulder, Colorado to continue shipping out Versalettes and prep for the next phase of our business.

So, what’s going to happen to all of the footage and interviews we’ve accumulated over the past two months? We’re not really sure yet. We’ll be working on a long-form documentary and slowly figuring out the best way to share everything we’ve learned from some of the best in the industry.

Next week, we’ll debut the trailer for those interviews and you’ll get a taste of just how valuable our conversations along the road have been. From Justin Dillon of Slavery Footprint to sustainable fashion legends Kate Fletcher and Lynda Grose, we’ll share the best of what’s to come.

Until then, we have one last {r}evolution Reel for EcoSalon!

{r}evolution reel: The End of the Road (Almost) from {r}evolution apparel on Vimeo.

The post {r}evolution Reel: The End of the Road (Almost) appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new here, we’re on a road trip down the West Coast this summer with our sustainable clothing company, {r}evolution apparel. You can track our journey here!

“Why have we become a culture that wants more, faster cheaper?”

We’ve asked this question to over 20 people in filmed interviews throughout our Sustainable Fashion Tour. Farmers, professors, writers, textile developers, CEO’s, and designers have all weighed-in on issues surrounding fashion, consumption, and the environment.

Each person has added a piece to this complex puzzle of how we got here – a world where you can buy an H&M t-shirt for $4.95 and a pair of sunglasses for a few dollars. With their collective answers, we’re beginning to piece things together.

Our grandparents were thrifty and cautious – they grew up during the Great Depression and among their deep-seeded values was a good bargain. They spent prudently, even after WWII when people began consuming more. A good bargain was a value that they passed onto their kids – our parents.

Our parents grew up with technologies that encouraged buying more clothes – like washing machines. They were the first to have TV’s (and commercials) as youths. The world got smaller with better communication and shipping technologies. The West discovered cheap labor markets. The race to the bottom quickened pace.

As more cheap products became available to us, we became addicted. So addicted, in fact, that we started purchasing things with money we didn’t have.

We became obsessed with material things, filling our homes and closets. But we were detached from those things. Our stuff was just stuff. There were no stories behind our purchases. The only explanation for a cheap shirt or pair of shoes was, “Made in China” with the accomplished feeling of a “deal.”

We stopped mending clothes, because a new outfit cost less than a sewing machine or repair job. Our garbage bins got bigger to make room for our discard. Wal-Mart became more powerful than our government.

With so many distractions in our lives, it’s been easy to overlook our mindless consumption. Our phones and inboxes vie for our attention, while we work stressful jobs so that we can make more money to buy more stuff. We’re stuck in a cycle, and hardly have the time to notice.

But there is change happening. We can already see it – the “slow food movement” is only the beginning. Our generation is going back to the basics, slowly but surely. We’re taking an interest in growing our own produce, supporting local microbreweries, and buying fashion with a story.

Justin Dillon, the founder of SlaveryFootprint.org, told us that while the developing world experiences a poverty of means, the Western world is experiencing a poverty of meaning. But if we know anything about the “Millenials” (and the “Globals”), it’s that we’re seeking meaning with a vengeance. We crave purpose. We crave stories.

This is where the fashion industry is headed. Yes, fast fashion is a buzzkill. So are stories like America’s Chinese-made outfits in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. But people are paying a little more attention. We see that, first-hand, with every person we talk to.

We have a long road ahead of us, but ultimately, we have no other choice than to change the direction we’re headed. Industries, of all types, will be forced to progress and make change – whether they know it now or not. They will have to reevaluate the way they make, market, and sell their products, because this new generation is going to demand more. Demand better.

The bottom line? Corporations can either move forward and change or get left behind.

We’re Kristin and Shannon, the founders of {r}evolution apparel – a clothing company focused on sustainable and versatile design. We created the Versalette – one garment that can be worn over 20 different ways — as a dress, skirt, shirt, poncho, purse & more. It’s made in the USA with 100% recycled fabrics. In 2011, we launched the Versalette on Kickstarter and raised over $64,000. Since then, we’ve been featured in Forbes, Gadling, and the New York Times. To learn more about our mission, check out our website, Facebook, and Twitter.

The post {r}evolution Reel: A Look Inside the Movement appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new here, we’re on a road trip down the West Coast this summer with our sustainable clothing company, {r}evolution apparel. You can track our journey here!

This summer, we’ve talked a lot about sparking conversations. Our goal, when we set off on this Sustainable Fashion Tour, was to get people talking about fashion, consumption, and the environment.

We’ve met with industry insiders, people on the streets, CouchSurfing hosts, organic farmers, professors – you name it. And from each conversation, we’re learning something new about what it will take to spark change and start a movement.

With six weeks under our belts, this is what we’ve learned:

• People know all about local, organic food – the slow food movement is full speed ahead. But fashion? It’s early in the game. It’ll be awhile until we realize that a t-shirt is no different than a hamburger. You don’t hear people bragging about the $2 quarter-pounder they ordered – eventually, the same will go for a $2 t-shirt.

• It’s important to compromise. Change doesn’t happen overnight, and compromising will get you there quicker. We can’t be perfect in the choices we make, but we can be better. And it has to be a collaborative effort of many companies, organizations and people.

• We are a materialistic culture, but we are also quite detached from our material things. Our culture promotes “buy, buy, buy” without much thought as to where or how something is made. But that’s changing – we can see it. Stories are becoming more important in the way we shop.

• Enthusiasm is great, but action is what matters. To change an industry, we can’t just get excited about a revolution. We have to provide actionable steps for getting there. Conversation is just the first step.

This week’s video is a recap of where we’ve been and who we’ve met. We’ll be sharing more adventures in sustainable fashion next week, so stay tuned!

The post {r}evolution Reel: Life in a Van Named Zooey appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new here, we’re on a road trip down the West Coast this summer with our sustainable clothing company, {r}evolution apparel. You can track our journey here, here, here and here!

On a random Thursday night in Portland, 30 people packed into a dining room at Oba Restaurant. We had drinks. We swapped eco-tips. We took photos. We talked about sustainable fashion. We played dress-up.

It was a small gathering with a big goal: to “Spark Something Sustainable.”

Nothing earth-shattering happened that night – no petitions were signed, or commitments made, or fast-fashion CEO’s burned at the stake. It was just about the conversation.

That’s how change starts – with that amount of people in a small room on a weeknight, who care enough to show up and inspire each other to live, design, and work more sustainably. It’s change on a small, yet crucial, level.

And we believe that’s what a fashion movement looks like. Working together towards something bigger than each of us individually. It’s about people and small businesses simply sparking something, no matter how big or small. It’s a slow revolution and it all makes a difference.

A huge thanks to EcoVibe Apparel for partnering with us on this great event, and of course, to our media sponsor here at EcoSalon!

We’re Kristin and Shannon, the founders of {r}evolution apparel – a clothing company focused on sustainable and versatile design. We created the Versalette – one garment that can be worn over 20 different ways — as a dress, skirt, shirt, poncho, purse & more. It’s made in the USA with 100% recycled fabrics. In 2011, we launched the Versalette on Kickstarter and raised over $64,000. Since then, we’ve been featured in Forbes, Gadling, and the New York Times. To learn more about our mission, check out our website, Facebook, and Twitter.

The post Spark Something Sustainable: The Power of Conversation appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new here, we’re on a road trip down the West Coast this summer with our sustainable clothing company, {r}evolution apparel. You can track our journey here, here, and here!

Money. It’s what makes the world go round.

We think about money a lot. We used to be bargain bin, after-Christmas-sale kind of girls. But then, during our crazy journey from college grads to nomadic travelers to clothing designers, we started tracking the money trail of fashion.

It changed our perspective completely. Now, after two years of living and breathing sustainable fashion, we can hardly remember what it’s like to buy something new, or make purchases without hemming and hawing.

But we wanted to know how other people shop. What’s important to them? How often do they think about the money trail of their purchase?

According to the US Census Bureau, the average American family spent $144 per month on clothing in 2009. But where does all of that money go? We created a diagram to trace the hands that touch a garment.

That’s a lot of hands, a lot of shipping, and a lot of activity for one t-shirt or one pair of jeans. And when we look closely at all of those steps, it’s hard not to ask,

“How can clothes possibly be so cheap?”

The average pair of jeans in America costs $34. But if we accounted for all of the environmental damage done along the way — emissions, processing, GMO seeds, pesticide-use — what would the cost really be?

How much would you pay to breathe clean air? Or drink clean water?

How much would you pay so that the people who make your clothes could breathe clean air and drink clean water?

A dollar extra? Two? Three?

We don’t have all the answers and we’re learning more about true cost and the trickle-down effect every day. What we do know, though, is that shopping isn’t some frivolous activity. Shopping is an investment in the world – and your investment represents the kind of world you want to live in.

The post {r}evolution Reel: Where Does the Money Go? appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new to our journey (or even if you’re not!) we’ve created a video to introduce ourselves, our journey, and our mission. We’ll be posting here each Friday with videos and thoughts from the road, so we hope you’ll join the conversation.

It’s a tough question to answer. Sustainable fashion can mean so many things and be described in so many different ways.

But last week, while on tour, we took the opportunity to ask the people of Seattle this question: What is sustainable fashion?

We got a mix of answers – and not one of the same. So today, we’re sharing what it means to us.

Sustainable fashion is clothing that’s created with the whole life-cycle of the garment in mind. From design to sale, two questions are asked:

Where did that piece of clothing come from?

And…

What’s going to happen to it when it’s no longer worn?

Sustainability means a system of longevity that considers everyone and everything that’s involved, from the cotton farmer to the factory worker to the seamstress. It means using responsible (and low-impact) fabrics, ethically-sourced materials, and smart design that doesn’t deteriorate as quickly as the trends.

People often ask us where they can find sustainable clothing, so below is a list to get you started:

Buffalo Exchange, Good Will, Savers, Value Village. We always prefer buying used to buying new. Recycling, repurposing and reusing are the fastest way to get textiles out of our landfills. Remember, one (wo)man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure.

Horny Toad and NAU. These two labels partnered up, and you can find a combination of outdoor active-wear and casual wear all sustainably-sourced.

The Autonomie Project. Great basic tees, sneakers and pet products. Everything is organic, sweat-shop free, and vegan.

People Tree. Based in the UK, founder Safia Minney has pioneered the environmentally-friendly and fair trade fashion industry.

PACT. 100% organic-cotton underwear. Remember, the stuff underneath your clothes matters, too!

Sites we love. Fashioning Change is a great resource for finding responsible fashion at the same price points as mainstream brands, and they’re here featured here on EcoSalon weekdays, with new and interesting labels introduced all the time.

For more great sites, check out EcoSalon’s top eco-boutiques to shop.

What does sustainable fashion mean to you? Leave a note in the comments below, and check back next week when we post about spending, our shopping habits, and true cost!

The post {r}evolution Reel: What Does Sustainable Fashion Mean to You? appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new to our journey (or even if you’re not!) we’ve created a video to introduce ourselves, our journey, and our mission. We’ll be posting here each Friday with videos and thoughts from the road, so we hope you’ll join the conversation.

The road always surprises us. We see things that we’ve seen a million times before, but somehow, on the road, it all looks brand new.

On a rainy Seattle Sunday, we found ourselves exploring downtown. The first thing we saw was H&M, and above the building, a billboard. Featuring an attractive but relatable couple, it said:

TEES: $4.50

TOPS: $9.50

We made some snarky comments about H&M, expressed our sadness, and kept walking.

After a few minutes, our impromptu tour guide (an old friend) tepidly ventured to ask,

“What’s so bad about a cheap t-shirt?”

This friend – a super-smart, worldly, and generally aware person – had never thought about where his clothes come from. He had never thought about the story behind his purchases. And he certainly wasn’t repulsed by that attractive H&M billboard like we were.

It was such a small moment – with such a big lesson. We explained to him in a few minutes about how clothes are made, who makes most of them, and why disposable fashion is destructive to the planet. Afterwards, he said,

“Oh, I had really never thought about that before.”

That moment is what our summer is all about. It’s about seeing things for the first time, even if you see them every day. It’s about bringing “the road” to everyday life, and taking a moment to think deeper about the things we rush past while we’re caught up in our busy day-to-day.

It’s about sparking one thought – one person at a time.

{r}evolution reel: The Trailer from {r}evolution apparel on Vimeo.

We’re Kristin and Shannon, the founders of {r}evolution apparel – a clothing company focused on sustainable and versatile design. We created the Versalette – one garment that can be worn over 20 different ways — as a dress, skirt, shirt, poncho, purse & more. It’s made in the USA with 100% recycled fabrics. In 2011, we launched the Versalette on Kickstarter and raised over $64,000. Since then, we’ve been featured in Forbes, Gadling, and the New York Times. To learn more about our mission, check out our website, Facebook, Twitter, and watch this video about why we do what we do.

The post What’s So Bad About a Cheap T-shirt? appeared first on EcoSalon.

A tour along the West Coast to talk about fashion and sustainability.

It always comes back to wanderlust. Curiousity. A need to see and experience and learn.

A few weeks ago, we packed up our 1993 Chevy conversion van (lovingly named Zooey) and headed west. With several states and a big mission ahead of us, we thought about how we ended up here – driving a bright blue, decal-laden van from Missouri to the West Coast, in hopes of sparking conversations about fashion, consumption, and the environment.

In the last two years, we’ve started a company, designed a 100% recycled garment, raised over $64,000 on Kickstarter, and are gearing up for our biggest adventure yet:

A “sustainable fashion tour” of the Pacific Northwest.

The mission? To spark conversation about where our clothes come from. To encourage thought about where our money goes, who makes the products we buy, and how we can make them better. To change the way we shop, in order to change the ecological and humanitarian status of the planet.

Fashion is not pretty. It takes 4,310 chemicals to make the shirt you’re wearing. And one of the fastest ways to change the world is to make more conscious purchases. That means asking the tough questions of the companies you buy from and thinking deeper about how much you truly need. The state of our world depends on it.

We don’t have all of the answers, but we’re on a journey to find them. From Seattle to San Francisco, we’ll be talking to people on the streets, opening a mobile “pop-up shop,” hosting events and meetups, and interviewing some of the most exciting front-runners in sustainable fashion.

Simply put, we’re starting a movement. A movement to spark conversations between corporations and consumers, and to get people talking to each other. It’s going to be an adventure. And for it to be a success, we need you to come along.

For the next eight weeks, we’ll be sharing our stories from the road here at EcoSalon – the highs, the lows, the revelations, the setbacks. Along with a filmmaker, Steve Celano and our event coordinator, Alice, we’ll be making our way down the coast in hopes of sparking change in an industry that desperately needs it.

So it all comes back to wanderlust – with a purpose. We hope you’ll share in our need to see, experience, and learn. Until next week, here’s a (super-short!) description of who we are, what we do, and why we’re obsessed with sustainable fashion.

We’re Kristin and Shannon, the founders of {r}evolution apparel – a clothing company focused on sustainable and versatile design. We created the Versalette – one garment that can be worn over 20 different ways — as a dress, skirt, shirt, poncho, purse & more. It’s made in the USA with 100% recycled fabrics. In 2011, we launched the Versalette on Kickstarter and raised over $64,000. Since then, we’ve been featured in Forbes, Gadling, and the New York Times. To learn more about our mission, check out our website, Facebook, Twitter, and watch this video about why we do what we do.

The post Revolution Apparel: Sparking Conversations On the Road About Sustainability appeared first on EcoSalon.