H&M has been on a bit of a conscious company terror over the past few months. Just recently, the fashion retailer committed to helping animals and reducing waste. I know. We couldn’t believe it either.

Let’s talk about H&M’s animal welfare pledge first. According to Humane Society International, H&M and the Humane Society are working together to protect animals from suffering for human fashion whims. The joint venture is part of H&M’s sustainability commitments.

While H&M has previously supported animal welfare (its H&M-brand cosmetic products and its ingredients aren’t tested on animals), the company has now pledged to support the Humane Society International’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign.

The “#BeCrueltyFree USA campaign is leading efforts to achieve a nationwide ban on cosmetics cruelty,” the Humane Society reports. This past June, the organization began working with legislators to launch the Humane Cosmetics Act in Congress.

“Passage of the HCA would bring the US in line with more than 30 other countries that have already implemented similar bans on cosmetics animal testing and the sale of animal tested cosmetics,” says the organization.

The H&M collaboration also includes the “commitment to pursue policy change in countries around the world, such as national legislative bans on animal testing of cosmetics, as well as the cruel practices within wool and down production.” That’s a pretty big commitment. If this collaboration is successful, a lot of animals will be helped.

H&M plans to promote the campaign by communicating with key stakeholders on the issue, conducting consumer advocacy, and by supporting training and education programs.

And earlier this summer, H&M announced the launch of its “H&M $1 million closed loop challenge.” The challenge was created to “engage innovators, technologists, scientists and entrepreneurs to find a solution to a growing problem in the clothing industry: waste and pollution,” The Guardian reports.

This challenge is pretty cool, but like The Guardian states, some people are wondering if this “challenge” is really a “side step,” considering the company has yet to address “overproduction and worker rights by emphasizing materials innovation and technology – especially when recycling the mixed fibers so common in fast fashion is proving tricky.”

Fast fashion will most likely prove difficult for the brand to conquer, considering that’s kind of what it’s known for. But still, we’ve got to commend the brand for having a pretty great summer. Let’s hope it does even more this fall.

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The post For H&M, More Animal Love and Recycling are Fashionable appeared first on EcoSalon.

About a year ago, I was having dinner with a colleague, where we were discussing our respective desires to put our dollars toward the best use possible. I mentioned that it was almost overwhelming, given the devastating number of causes in need, when my associated said to me, “Education for girls.”

It was then that my colleague began to list the myriad positive outcomes that result of greater education for girls. Women are more likely to share their knowledge and education, for example, and reinvest it back into their families and communities. The impacts I heard about over dinner that night, in fact, were almost exactly the same ones listed on the website for Le Dessein: A fashion label dedicated to access to education among girls in developing countries.

That ethos is due in large part to the story of Eric Coly, Le Dessein’s founder and CEO, and the inspiration he draws from the women of his lineage. His grandmother – in position unconventional for women from any country in the 1930s, let alone a suburb of Dakar – was a full-fledged working woman, as a pioneer of midwifery in the African city of Rufisque. That participation in the workforce set the tone for Coly’s mother, who grew up with what he calls, according to Le Dessin’s website, the “almost taboo notion that women had an irrevocable right to be educated.”

Coly’s mother, of course, has pursed that path and continued the sentiment of that right to education: With both her pharmacy studies and France, as well as the emphasis on education with which Coly and his siblings were raised, bringing his inspiration behind Le Dessein full circle: The hybrid of his passion for both the creative and philanthropic.

Today, Le Dessein donates 25 percent of all profits to tuition at the More Than Me Academy: An institution that looks to shift the common path of girls in Liberia from “exploitation and poverty” to, instead, “education and opportunity.” Moreover, the line’s clothing is embellished with art composed by the girls of the More Than Me Academy, such as the drawing found on this white turtleneck.

The clothing, too, is unconventional in its ability to break the pattern of stereotypical “do-gooder” fashion brands, in which lackluster pieces are just outshone by an admirable mission. Le Dessein, with is Fall/Winter line, uses bold material like leather and other dark fabrics to accomplish a visual edge, without cheapening the overall look. This maxi dress, for example, serves as a material Goldilocks of sexiness: With a dropped line that exposes the back, and not much else, it leaves just enough to the beholder’s imagination. What’s more: Le Dessein doesn’t seem to conform to physical stereotypes with the models in its lookbook, either. These are clothes that truly serve women, intellectually and aesthetically.

Simply put, it seems that Le Dessein produces clothing that one can wear proudly, between its story and its uniquely functional, yet nearly boundary-pushing pieces. Consider us educated.

Say hey to Amanda on Twitter or Instagram

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Image: Le Dessein Fall/Winter Lookbook

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When seeking the latest and greatest in mobile fashion apps, it appears that every major designer is downloadable. Forbes, Mashable and Harper’s Bazaar, among many others, have all ranked their top picks for browsing trends on the go and, well, when Chanel has an app, everyone else is sure to follow. Now, there’s a new kid on the mobile block: Orange Harp.

Based in San Francisco, it’s much more than just a fashion app and, rather, seeks to promote a socially responsible lifestyle with ease. Indeed, Orange Harp specifically partners with mission-focused brands that not only craft covet-worthy apparel and goods, but also, dedicate proceeds to causes ranging from ending domestic violence, to making nail polish absent of formaldehyde.

As if that’s not convincing enough, there’s more to love about Orange Harp, even further beyond this list of its four most conscious features. Shop away; the pleasure of this fashion app comes free of guilt.

1. Commitment to the environment.

After browsing the products featured on Orange Harp, it becomes clear that the vast majority of its partner brands are committed to more than one way of making a difference through their business practices. One of the most common of those obligations is to the environment, such as that of Ecoalf, an outerwear manufacturer that makes products almost entirely from recycled materials like used fishing nets and coffee grounds. Going in a slightly different direction is PuraKai, a clothing company that works tirelessly to protect marine life, which inspires the brand’s name; “pura” translates to “pure” in Spanish and “kai” to “ocean” in Hawaiian. Orange Harp itself, of course, also seeks to encourage an eco-friendly lifestyle through fun posts and tips in its blog, like its entry on “5 Questions” everyone should ask herself about recycling, buying cruelty-free beauty products and more.

2. Commitment to fair and ethical labor. 

One thing is abundantly clear on Orange Harp’s desktop site: 1 percent of all its sales go to Not For Sale (NFS), a non-profit that works to end of human trafficking, an issue of much discussion within the retail sector. Orange Harp even has a section of its website devoted to highlighting NFS, complete with a sharp, inspiring video from the organization’s co-founder, Mark Wexler.

“With human trafficking affecting more than 30 million people worldwide, the Not For Sale cause is incredibly close to our hearts,” Orange Harp states. “We started Orange Harp to support and bring you companies that are transparent about their labor, diligent about fair working conditions, and support communities around the world.”

3. Commitment to small business.

In addition to digital eco-style porn, Orange Harp makes sure to give each of its partner brands a chance to stand in the spotlight. When a brand is selected from the app’s list of Makers, every last one comes with an option for users to read its story, learn about where its goods come from and what, exactly, each company’s mission is. These brands, to the general masses, may seem somewhat obscure, speaking volumes of Orange Harp’s genuine devotion to a local, grassroots mentality.

4. Commitment to a healthier, more responsible lifestyle.

Especially with this year’s terrible winter, clothing is essential to life. So does food: A fact to which Orange Harp is no stranger. That’s why the app looks to encourage a holistically responsible lifestyle, going beyond what we wear, and extending into what we eat. Through its blog, Orange Harp looks to share information and knowledge on a healthy lifestyle, too, with content on the best foods for beauty and related topics. Delicious living, maximized.

Say hey to Amanda on Twitter or Instagram

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Images: Orange Harp

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Brooklyn based brand, Bergwerk, is setting the tone for a more eco-friendly fashion industry with its environmentally positive approach of scouring the city to find recyclable materials that can be magically transformed into a completely unique garment.

Established in 2013, through the ingenious mind of Gertrude Berg, Bergwerk is the culmination of an ecological metamorphosis. In a simpler phrase, take the old and make it new. Berg grew up in Austria and crossed the pond to study at the School of Fine Arts in Boston where she obtained an arts degree. She took an interest in sculpture, which inspired her original take on shape and the idea of reusing components that are already in existence. New York City is littered, for lack of a better word, with recyclable materials that most people bypass regularly. It’s encouraging to see brands such as Bergwerk take a second glance and envision someone else’s “waste” as something better, something refreshed.

Upon hunting down discarded fabrics from the fashion industry, the formerly hopeless textiles are salvaged and repurposed into a brand new garment. The soul of Bergwerk’s transformation process is behind Berg’s influence of the city and the art of sculpture resulting in avant-garde layering and precise stitch-work. There are no other alterations made to each individual piece besides the stitching, which means there is no extra cutting of the fabric. Just like in centuries past, the practice of utilizing all of something still rings true today in Bergwerk’s designs. Nothing is left to waste.

An awesome aspect of Bergwerk is that every piece is one of a kind. No two are the same, which really allows the wearer to fully express their individuality. Not discriminatory to age, no matter how young or old you are, its garments are appropriate for all. Anyone can take part in helping our planet in a stylish and conscious way by purchasing an original Bergwerk design.

The style focus behind its design process is women’s overall beauty and confidence at the forefront. Nothing is more beautiful than feeling amazing in something that has potential to change habits and generate a new, sustainable direction for the future. Another super cool fact about Bergwerk is all of their garments are hand-wash only! So not only does it rescue scrapped textiles from a trash-hell, it also promotes energy efficiency! Buh-bye, washer and dryer!

Bergwerk is sort of like Cinderella’s fairy godmother to recyclable materials if you really think about it. It takes sad scraps and transforms them from rags to ecofriendly riches. Bergwerk is continuing to pioneer the way for our world to stop dreaming of a better place and in fact start making it a reality, one refurbished piece of fabric at a time. It’s true someone’s trash really is someone else’s treasure.

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Image via Bergwerk

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This week’s Link Love edition kinda rocks. Hole is back together. You can lose weight on the Coachella Diet. What’s up with disposable chopsticks? NYC is way too gentrified and more…

WTF? It’s the Coachella Diet. For reals. [via Well+GoodNYC]

Does Girls Night Out include takeout Chinese food? Better bring your own chopsticks. [via Eat Drink Better]

You knew she’d never really go away. Courtney Love reunites Hole. [via Spin]

Hey look! It’s the NYC nobody remembers. [via Grist]

Is there really such a thing as conscious fashion? [via Mommy Greenest]

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Link Love: Are You a Closet Diet Coke Drinker? + How to Quit Your Job + CA Stepping Up for Orcas

Image via Spin

The post Link Love: the Coachella Diet + Courtney’s Bringing Hole Back + NYC’s Sad Gentrification appeared first on EcoSalon.

Workers making garments for some of the world’s most successful clothing brands demand that the Bangladesh government increase the minimum wage, currently about $38 per month.

At least 50 people were hurt as protesters clashed with police in violent protests in Bangladesh’s capitol Dhaka. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to control nearly 50,000 garment workers protesting for higher wages.

In all, 400 of 5,000 Bangladesh garment factories have been closed as garment workers strike to increase their minimum wage from 3,000 daka (less than $40 per month) to 8,000 daka ($100 per month). Strikers have been blocking traffic, bringing Dhaka, Bangladesh’s largest city, to a standstill.

“I hope the workers will get back to work,” Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan told reporters on Bloomberg. In return, Khan promised to increase security for factories that employ 3.6 million people, mostly women, accounting for 78 percent of the country’s export earnings.

Forces for Fair Wages Unite

The protests come as a new law makes it legal for garment workers to form unions. At the same time, stakeholders, like H&M have joined IndustriALL Global Union in asking for a higher minimum wage for garment workers.

“We strongly support the workers demand for higher wages,” H&M spokeswoman Andrea Roos said by e-mail to Bloomberg. “Bangladesh is an important sourcing market for H&M and we have on various occasions and also together with other clothing companies, urged the government to raise minimum wages in the textile industry and to revise wages annually.”

Bangladesh has risen to become the second largest garment producer after China, grossing $19 billion, with minimum wages that are the lowest in Asia next to Myanmar.

Amid Disaster, Inspections Needed

The strike comes five months after the 8-story Rana Plaza factory collapsed killing more than 1,000 people. It’s considered the worst industrial disaster in the country’s history. In all, 2,000 factories in Dhaka, similar to Rana Plaza, have been unlawfully expanding using shoddy construction but with only 40 building inspectors in the city, it’s hard to shut them down.

According to The New York Times, “A single inspector might visit a 1,000-employee factory for six to eight hours to review all types of manufacturing issues, like wages, child labor or toxic chemicals. Some auditors receive only five days of training, whereas the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires three years of training and experience assisting inspectors before employees can lead an inspection of a sizable factory in the United States.”

While Bangladesh has a long way to go in terms of safety and a fair minimum wage, the government worries about alienating Western consumers who have helped to build an industry that makes up 80 percent of the country’s exports. But as factory workers begin to find their voice, it becomes more and more difficult to deny their rightful demands.

Related on EcoSalon:
Positive Globalism: The Growth of Fair Trade
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Image: dbackadder

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The ever elusive fashion industry gets an ethical checkpoint.

Information about what goes into our food is becoming increasingly transparent—with nutrition labels can find out what’s in it, how much, where it was made, and in some cases, under what conditions. When it comes to fashion though, the commodity chain still largely remains in a state of elusiveness.

Twenty years ago, when designer Carry Somers founded Pachacuti—a hat brand that specializes in panama and felt hats made in Ecuador—there was no question that she would base her brand on a framework of transparency and equitable practices, even though it was far from en vogue at the time.

“When I first went to Ecuador in 1991, I saw at first hand how balance scales were skewed by the vendors of the raw materials so that independent purchasers paid an unfairly high price,” says Somers. ‘The supply chain [of genuine panama hats—which have always come from Ecuador, despite the misnomer] is generally steeped in exploitation, involving around seven middlemen or perros (dogs) between the weaver and the exporter.”

By contrast, hats from Pachacuti—which means “world upside down” in the Andean Quechua language—are produced by an association of women, who do all the work including weaving, finishing, blocking, sewing, allowing them to retain more of the profits.

A regular at fashion weeks around the globe and one of the the first apparel brands to be certified as Fair Trade, Pachacuti was recently invited to participate in a an EU pilot program known as the GEO Fair Trade Project.

The project can easily be described as nutrition facts for clothing, as it attaches a uniquely scannable QR code to items, allowing the consumer to gain access to 100 social, economic, geo-localization and environmental indicators tracking change over several years and tracing production to the GPS co-ordinates of each weaver’s house.’ The social indicators include things such as producer literacy rate, access to primary healthcare, investment for healthcare, and hours of work per week.

Somers, who has developed a deep connection with the women and the region in which Pachacuti works, says that that often the external conditions of the region influence her design. For example, when other brands’ requests for machine embroidery sent a lot of local embroiderers looking for work, Somers included embroidered accents in her SS13 collection and is now developing a specific clothing line to keep the artisan technique going.

“Someone commented recently that Pachacuti performs the role that local government should play within the community and that is probably quite an accurate description as there is no social security safety net for these marginalized women.”

As the only non-commodity company asked to participate in the EU pilot, Pachacuti is again leading the way in the growing field of sustainable and conscious fashion, but Somers said the industry as a whole still has far to go.

‘The globalization we have seen during the 21st Century, coupled with the growth of the internet and the boom of cheap, fast fashion, has brought exploitation within fashion supply chains to the forefront,” Somers says. “Ethics and sustainability are no longer marginal issues in the fashion industry, but we are still too far from making them truly mainstream.’

The post Pachacuti Hats Set New Ethical Bar appeared first on EcoSalon.

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.”

– Jim Jarmusch

Inspired by the idea of inspiration, Editor-in-Chief and sustainable fashion consultant Amy DuFault, and curator/trender and heARTbeat columnist, Dominique Pacheco bring you the Influencer Project, in which ideas are found everywhere, and the creative force of cultural influence brings to fruition the genius of the creator.

We start The Influencer Project with artwork by Yayoi Kusama who is a national treasure of sorts in her native Japan. The Tate, where an exhibition of hers just closed, describes her so:

The nine decades of Yayoi Kusama’s life have taken her from rural Japan to the New York art scene to contemporary Tokyo, in a career in which she has continuously innovated and re-invented her style. Well-known for her repeating dot patterns, her art encompasses an astonishing variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance and immersive installation.

It ranges from works on paper featuring intense semi-abstract imagery, to soft sculpture known as Accumulations, to her Infinity Net paintings, made up of carefully repeated arcs of paint built up into large patterns. Since 1977 Kusama has lived voluntarily in a psychiatric institution, and much of her work has been marked with obsessiveness and a desire to escape from psychological trauma. In an attempt to share her experiences, she creates installations that immerse the viewer in her obsessive vision of endless dots and nets or infinitely mirrored space.

The influence of Kusama abounds in fashion at the moment as her much-anticipated collaboration with Marc Jacobs by Louis Vuitton was unveiled Tuesday at Louis Vuitton’s Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York. Kusama-inspired window displays and pop-up stores will open globally later this week, timed to coincide with the opening of a Kusama retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, following her run at the Tate Modern in London. Not to forget, the Vuitton venture will see a new line of ready-to-wear clothes and accessories, including polka-dotted jewelry, purses, shoes and watches.

In the case of sustainable fashion, we look at Kusama influences of patterns, dots and nets and ask is it truly life that imitates art, or is it that art imitates life?

Images from top to bottom: Kusama in Dots Obsession-Night, Olsen Haus, Kusama, Afia, Carrie Parry, Kusama, Kyler jewelry, Gretchen Jones, Natalie Frigo, Kusama, Dahl, Matt & Nat

Photo: Courtesy of Yayoi Kusama Studio Inc./Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Victoria Miro Gallery, London

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H&M adds to the fast fashion (slightly higher priced) craze.

Recently we learned that fast fashion giant H&M plans to open yet another retail chain. The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported that H&M submitted a copyright protection application for the name “& other stories” to the Swedish patent and trademark office last year. According to H&M press officer Camilla Emilsson, the new chain—which is scheduled to open in early 2013—will focus on higher-quality items, while still retaining H&M’s primary business principle: sell clothes fast and cheap.

It’s a business plan that’s been wildly successful in over 44 countries, raking in $745 million in the first quarter of 2012. This year, the chain will move into Bulgaria, Mexico, Latvia, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as starting online sales in the United States.

You don’t get to where H&M is by being oblivious to the global zeitgeist. More than ever, young people are concerned about minimizing their impact on the environment. To that end, H&M has made several nods towards sustainability, of which this year’s Conscious Collection—made from materials like organic cotton and recycled polyester—was probably the most conspicuous.

But the sheer volume of clothes that H&M produces might make the term “ethical fast fashion” an oxymoron. It’s a near impossible task for a company as large as H&M to police its supply chain as thoroughly as it should—which occasionally results in terrible working conditions in a factory in Cambodia, or polluted rivers in China.

Another retail chain means more worldwide exposure to H&M’s business model—one that pushes a dizzying 30 to 50 trend-driven seasons, which is profitable for CEOs and shareholders but not as beneficial for landfills, rivers and the fast fashion consumer who sees a t-shirt at H&M as disposable as a cup of coffee.

Image: Claire L. Evans.

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Fast fashion: high profits, big advertisements, little value.

Two weeks ago, I bought a leather handbag. When I spotted it sitting in a forlorn corner of an East London flea market, I told myself I would pay no more than £5 for it. When the uninterested hipster who was selling it said it cost just £2, I didn’t even try to barter down the price.

Sure, the bag’s inner lining was ripped and dirty enough that I cut it out as soon as I got home. And yes, the leather had some suspect markings as well as multiple spots where the stitching had become un-stitched. But, the rich and pleasant smell of its buttery leather and the slew of compliments I’ve accumulated while toting it around means that my new acquisition has essentially paid for itself, not that it had far to go.

While I’ve always been a fan of second-hand goods and the thrill of finding a one-off bargain, purchases like this one have become even more of a treasure since I made the decision to swear off “fast fashion” earlier this year.

With nearly instantaneous runway-to-retail turnover, ridiculously cheap prices, and a dizzying volume of colors, varieties and sizes, it’s no surprise that clothing from Forever 21 and H&M are the mainstays of many women’s wardrobes. I have, on more than one occasion, walked through the gleaming doors of H&M’s behemoth Oxford Street store in need of a simple shift dress or pair of black jeans, and have never struggled to find exactly what I needed, as well as a few items to add on.

However, despite big chains’  efforts to improve their environmental and social impact, I was finding it increasingly hard to justify buying even the occasional item from a place that pushes 30 to 50 trend-driven fashion seasons a year, rather than sticking with Mother Nature’s customary four. It was when I learned that clothes from most fast fashion outlets are designed to withstand no more than five wears, that I decided it was time to kick the habit for good.

It appears however, that few shoppers are joining me. With 2,575 stores in 44 countries, H&M announced last week that its 2nd quarter profits had reached $745 million, an impressive 20 percent rise over the previous year right in the midst of a recession. For most, the killer combination of up-to-the-minute trends and bottom-line prices is too tempting an offer to resist.

What is the alternative though? We can’t dress ourselves solely from the floors of flea markets and corners of thrift stores unless we want to smell like my leather handbag from head to toe. Furthermore, as someone who still declares it a minor victory each time I manage to pay my rent, affordability is as necessary as style and sustainability when it comes to buying clothes, if not more so. For most of us, eco-couture is not a viable option.

The answer, I’ve come to find, is what I like to call conscious fashion: valuing individual items in your wardrobe for the story they tell, who they belonged to first, or the unique place you bought them, thereby reducing the impulse to accumulate more. As someone who predominately lives out of a suitcase, I’ve become adept at paring my possessions down to the essentials, but that doesn’t mean I’ve lost my sense of style or creativity in the process.

Recently, I’ve been playing a mental game with myself: as I leave the house each morning, I mentally tally the items I’m wearing and where they came from. Points are scored when most of my outfit used to belong to someone else, known or unknown. A typical day might include my sisters riding boots (they were too small for her); my best friend’s vintage Coach satchel purse which she gave me for my last birthday (we call it “the lunch box”); a blazer I bought in a basement thrift store on a trip to Atlanta for $10; a sarong my mom bought in Ibiza that I wear as a scarf; and a pair of Goodwill jeans that remain the only pair of second-hand pants I’ve ever managed to find long enough for my lanky legs.

While an increasing majority of my wardrobe does come from other people (recently when someone asked me where my favorite place to shop was, my honest answer was my mom and sister’s closets), there are of course times when I need or want to buy something new.

These days, I try and do that with as much intention as possible. Buying new things less often means you can afford to spend a bit more and will be more likely to hold on to these purchases once you’ve made them. Impulsively wandering into Forever 21 before a night out is the opposite of shopping with intention; it’s the surest way to end up with a trendy, badly tailored item you won’t wear in a few months.

As someone who lives far from my family and friends, wearing things that used to belong to the people that I love makes my belongings feel less disposable and encourages me to take care of them more. Furthermore, buying unique clothing from vintage stores and street markets that are off the beaten track attaches a sentimental value to my belongings, a quality that Forever 21 and H&M will have a hard time reproducing no matter how hard they try.

It’s not simply that wearing something that’s not from a multi-national chain makes it sustainable. Conscious fashion is about more than that. In essence, my things have become more than just things to me, which I suppose is why I’m content with having less of them.

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