West Elm, at the moment, will not find many fans in Brooklyn thanks to its ‘Made in Brooklyn’ snafu. 

Under fire for its “Made in Brooklyn” line of products, the retailer was recently outed for misleading consumers with products that, in reality, are not produced in Brooklyn. One item, West Elm’s “Made in Brooklyn Market Beanie,” is actually made in China.

This ambiguous labeling, which was revealed by The Brooklyn Paper earlier this week, carries significant repercussions for artisans and purveyors who specifically choose to conduct business in Brooklyn. Love it or hate it, Brooklyn is officially the it-girl of the five boroughs. It’s a proud moment for those who call it home and have built an enterprise on the foundation of its local economy, many of whom perceive West Elm’s “Made in Brooklyn” line as both a financial and personal blow. Such vendors are said to have largely influenced the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Brooklyn-Made certification program.

“As baseline criteria,” read’s the program’s Web site, “only legal businesses headquartered in Brooklyn making one or more physical products will be considered.”

West Elm, which has since removed the China-made beanie from its online store, is attempting to discreetly sidestep the impact of its “Made in Brooklyn” line on businesses that have actually met Brooklyn-Made’s certification requirements. Rather, the language is described by a company spokesperson as “a fun nod to the potential contents” of products like its beer growler.

The Williams-Sonoma-owned franchise is hardly the first of its kind. With Brooklyn having earned such an esteemed reputation in recent years, dozens of brands are rushing to put its name on various items of clothing. Last November, the New York Observer ran a piece on the desperation among big-name companies to be hip enough to fit in with the borough. Such outlets “can’t just waltz into a neighborhood anymore, least of all a Brooklyn neighborhood,” writes Kim Velsy. “No, now you must be yourself but also ‘Brooklyn.’”

The prevalence of evasive product-naming and Brooklyn-branding was a hot topic among panelists at the recent Social Retail Summit in the borough’s DUMBO neighborhood.

“I know for a fact that it’s very widespread,” says Gaia DiLoreto, founder of By Brooklyn, a Cobble Hill boutique strictly carrying products from local producers. “I’m always challenged with how to confront it. My mission is to promote and protect the brands…that I’m working with.”

DiLoreto, who advised the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in developing Brooklyn-Made, cites the example of the Brooklyn Candle Company, whose candles, she says, are actually made in China.

The commonality of this practice raises the broader question of corporate transparency. Arnon Rosan, co-founder and CEO of referral platform LocalMaven, points to Chipotle’s recent elimination of pork products from the menu, due to the inhumane treatment of pigs by some of its vendors. These stories, he says, are “a lesson to all retailers.”

Rosan isn’t the only one who sees positive outcomes from West Elm’s actions. Its public nature, adds DiLoreto, will “make people think twice” before buying something mistakenly identified as local.

Consumers are far from powerless in these situations and can follow some general guidelines to ensure that their purchases are, in fact, local.

1. Check the label. In the case of West Elm’s “Made in Brooklyn Market Beanie,” all it took was a re-examination of the product’s tags.

2. Do five minutes of research. The Brooklyn-Made program follows in the footsteps of such similar efforts of SF Made and Portland Made. A quick visit to the Web sites provides a listing of the businesses that have met each program’s certification requirements.

3. Talk to retailers. Ultimately, business owners and managers are the most knowledgeable when it comes to product sources. Brooke Richman, founder and CEO of Coop & Spree, makes a point to know her vendors. “I’ve had the opportunity to actually go to the factory and see where everything is physically made,” she says. “I know that the integrity is there.”

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Image: Jeremy Keith

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IBM predicts how future technology will affect our lives over the next five years.

Have you ever seen one of those movies in which modern characters somehow travel back in time? Knowing the future gives them a huge advantage over still living in the past, although it often causes more trouble than it’s worth. Well every year for the past eight years, IBM has given the world the next best thing: a list of educated predictions about future technology. No, these aren’t half-cocked dreams about flying cars or colonies on Mars. These are systems and gadgets that are very likely to change the way we do things in the next five years.

Surprisingly (or maybe not) many of IBM’s “5 in 5” predictions about future technology have come to fruition, or something close to it. As 2013 draws to a close, let’s take a look at the future technology that will likely become commonplace by the end of the decade.

IBM’s Future Technology Predictions For Education, Retail, Healthcare, Security and Cities

Education

According to IBM, the digitization of classrooms that’s already begun will really take off in the next five years. Future technology in the classroom will learn from the student while he or she is learning their daily lesson. “Cognitive computing, or learning technologies, will help us calculate everything we can about how each student learns and thrives, then create flexibility in the system to continually adapt and fine-tune what we deliver to that student and how this supports teachers and employers,” says Katharine Frase, IBM’s VP and CTO of Global Public Sector.

Retail

How many of us shopped on Amazon this holiday season? It may seem like online behemoth’s are stamping the local brick and mortar businesses out of existence, but IBM says a firm grasp on future technology could change this in the next five years. “Retailers will layer increasing levels of engagement and personalization on top of the shopping experience, ultimately merging the instant gratification of physical shopping with the richness of online shopping and making same-day delivery a snap,” says Sima Nadler, IBM’s Research Lead for Retail. According to Gizmag, “IBM has already demonstrated such technology in the form of an experimental augmented reality app that automatically delivers personalized coupons, offers, customer reviews and hidden product details to shoppers in stores.”

Healthcare

Mortality is a fact of, well, life, but according to IBM, future technology could help us to better prepare for it. The company predicts that DNA testing will move from a costly procedure to a mainstream tool doctors can use to test for cancers, or develop personalized treatment options for conditions such as stroke and heart disease.

Security

In perhaps the most strange and slightly terrifying prediction, IBM says future technology will provide each of us with an “online guardian” that will learn your habits to help protect your identity and sensitive information (I wonder if it works for the NSA too?).

Cities

Smart phones are already ubiquitous in big cities, but in the future, IBM predicts that they’ll making living in dense urban areas easier and more enjoyable. “For citizens, smart phones enabled by cognitive systems will provide a digital key to the city. People can have fingertip access to information about everything that’s happening in the city, whether an experience is right for them, and how best to get there,” says IBM’s Human Systems researcher Sergio Borger.

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Images via keoni101 and IBM

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After a rough patch, business in NYC’s Garment District is starting to pick up.

For decades, fashion mavens and budding designers have flocked to the quadrant between 34th and 42nd Streets, hedged in by 5th and 9th Avenues. Here, in New York City’s Garment District, fabric can be purchased, patterns made, pieces sewn, trimming added, and dreams realized, all in the space of a few blocks. Designers like Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and Oscar de la Renta have all made the Garment District their home at a point in their careers, and countless others got their start in the neighborhood. At one time, the Garment District was the global hub of textile manufacturing. But not anymore.

“The only thing that has not changed is the location,” says Anthony Lilore, owner of RESTORE Clothing and a founder of the Save the Garment Center movement. “The physical appearance has gone from streets packed with garment racks and push carts, to some racks, some push carts, and some rickshaws with tourists.”

Indeed, over the past fifty years, the Garment District has seen a steady decline in business, owing primarily to overseas outsourcing, mostly to China. When that picked up in the early 1990s, family-owned companies in business for generations were forced to shut their doors, and designers, burdened by the higher rents and rising costs of working in midtown Manhattan, moved elsewhere. Most of those who have survived the downturn and recession say they’re hanging on by a hair.

“At this point, it’s a labor of love,” says Maria Lipari-Bertone, whose family has run Quality Patterns, which specializes in grading and marking, for more than forty years. “This is our bread and butter. Many of us came from overseas, and we made our lives in the Garment District.”

But there are signs of revitalization. At New York’s first City Source Expo, held January 10 at the Fashion Institute of Technology, more than fifty producers, suppliers, and pattern makers turned out to field questions and take orders from attendees interested in local production. Several vendors said that they’re starting to see an uptick in sales, mostly due to China’s rising “minimums” for new orders, a weak dollar, and higher shipping costs. Lipari-Bertone says that many new designers can no longer afford to work in China, so they’re starting to inquire into local production again.

Plus, in recent years groups like Save the Garment Center, Made in Midtown, and the Garment Industry Development Corporation have surfaced to advocate for Garment District preservation and serve as a resource for designers interested in manufacturing there. Backed by New York fashion industry vets like Nanette Lepore, Anna Sui, Jason Wu, and Yeohlee Teng, these groups emphasize the district’s historical, creative, and economic value to the city of Manhattan.

Made in Midtown says:

Ultimately, this story is about much more than fashion. It’s about one of the last neighborhoods in Manhattan that has not yet been remade by recent waves of new development. It’s about jobs and immigrant workers. It’s about the decisions city officials make to support certain kinds of businesses.

And for designers interested in sustainability, a one-stop-shop like the Garment District means a more compact production process, which eliminates the costs, both financial and environmental, of working with subcontractors in different parts of the world.

“The quality of craftsmanship and the concentration of schools, designers, sample rooms, showrooms, production, and stores make the Garment Center the only one of its kind anywhere,” says Lilore.

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Mother/Daughter founders Judy Pezdir and Jill Palermo of WE ADD UP

WE ADD UP is a progressive global campaign utilizing organic cotton t-shirts as a tool to count you in the fight against global warming.

Every shirt is printed by hand with a number representing your place in the sequential global count of all the people who are taking steps to help stop climate change. On the back of each shirt is a word or phrase that describes an action wearers promote to reduce their carbon footprint – Unplug, Lights Off, Carpool, Hybrid, Bike, Buy Local and 18 others.

Created by mother-daughter team Judy Pezdir and Jill Palermo, WE ADD UP’s goal is to get millions of people around the world counted in and committed to helping stop global warming.

I recently caught up with Jill Palermo.

We Add up started how?

My Mom and I were having dinner out at a restaurant. I was feeling kinda hopeless and overwhelmed about everything – and trying to hide my tears behind my wine glass. I felt very alone in this feeling and then had a burst of inspiration – I bet other people feel this way, too. Maybe alone our efforts don’t seem like much, but together we do add up.

Out of your 24 shirts the “Shower Together” t-shirt is most popular. Kitschy or do you think people really are?

Trust me, people really are. We do green events all around the country where I get to meet lots of folks and I know a little too much about a lot of people. “Shower Together” is a conversation-starter, perhaps more than any of the tees, and that’s the whole point of the project. So, we think it’s effective, if not over-sharing.

Do you think the success of the best-selling t-shirts is a predictor for green trends?

Absolutely. For example, we’ve been surprised how many people are composting, which is great.  People usually pick from our 29 actions the one they are most passionate about, so it does become a barometer of green trends. Our top-selling actions, besides Shower Together, are: Plant Trees, Recycle, Bike, Buy Local, Drink Tap, Compost, and Demand Change.

Tell me about some of the fundraising efforts We Add Up has been a part of.

First of all, we offer We Add Up as a fundraising program for schools and non-profits. So far, over 100 groups have participated in our online and offline fundraisers. Basically, a group signs up. It’s free to start and free to run. They sell the shirts to their community, inviting them to choose a green action to commit to. And, they receive 15% of the sale.

We have contests and cash prizes for top sellers, too. It’s a replacement fundraiser for candy and wrapping paper, giving environmental clubs in schools an opportunity to raise money while also raising awareness about the environment. Secondly, We Add Up partners with a different non-profit for each t-shirt. $1-3 is donated for each shirt sold to a group that is working on the solution the shirt promotes. Some of our current partners include Sustainable Harvest International, The Green Project in New Orleans, and Take Back the Tap.

What’s your first reaction to the question: “Are you a retailer, a champion for a cause or an entrepreneur?

Yes.

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