ColumnOur first Fall 2014 edition of On Trend offers up a selection of comfortable, super soft and easy to layer basics for the office, weekend outings or just lounging around at home. Get cozy this season and let your skin breathe easy in our favorite organic cotton basics for fall!

Basic Sweat by Baserange This simple and classic sweatshirt (pictured above) from Danish label Baserange is made from 100 percent certified organic cotton that is so soft to the touch. Made in Portugal under fair labor conditions, you can rest assured that you’ll feel as good about buying this pullover as will when wearing it. Pair it with your favorite jeans and fall boots for a casual outing or simply wear it around the house once the temperatures start to drop. Available in nude and black. $90

Butterfly Leggings by PACT

These super soft and amazingly affordable leggings have just the right amount of stretch for the perfect hug around your hips, thighs and calves. Layer them under fall dresses, skirts or tunics, or test them out at your next yoga or pilates class. Made in a Fair Trade certified factory from organic cotton these leggings have “No pesticides, no fertilizers, no bleaches, no sweatshops, no nasty stuff at all”.  $34

Georgia Wrap by Prana

This Fair Trade and organic cotton wrap from one of our favorite eco fashion brands, Prana, is elegant yet simple enough to wear with anything from a chic fall dress to your favorite yoga pants or leggings. Available in cream, blue and grey, this super soft wrap will keep you warm and cozy as you layer it over your cold weather outfits. $70

Boyfriend Jeans by Eileen Fisher

Everybody loves a pair of good old jeans, and the boyfriend style that is on trend for this season is so flattering and comfortable. This pair by Eileen Fisher is made in the USA from organic cotton, ensuring that all American fit and look. Wear them up or down with flats or ankle booties and your favorite button-down. $178

Prairie Multi Stripe Socks by PACT

Made from a blend of 75 percent organic cotton and 25 percent recycled nylon, these cute stripy socks are perfect for fall! Choose from two different color combinations to keep your feet warm and cozy in your favorite fall boots or when lounging around the house. $10

Scoop Neck Henley Tee by Eileen Fisher

Simple and comfy, this organic cotton henley tee from Eileen Fisher is your go to top for any casual occasion. Available in black, yellow, coral and white, this top is super easy to pair with almost anything, be it jeans, patterned pants, a skirt or even layered over a fitted minidress. $118

More On Trend at EcoSalon

The Sustainable Shirtdress: On Trend

The Rad Return of 90’s Fashion: On Trend

8 Best Made in America Jeans Brands: On Trend

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What exactly does Fair Trade fashion mean?

Fair Trade is a term that is often loftily thrown around, just like its compatriots “sustainable”, “eco” and “green”, causing several of us to have no concrete understanding of what the term entails. When it comes to Fair Trade fashion, we may have a fragmented understanding of the fair wages and working conditions that the certified garments were made in – but how is the certification acquired and what does it mean in reality? We’ve investigated to find out, so read on!

There are several different types of Fair Trade certification processes in existence -part of which makes understanding the viability and significance of the certification confusing. However, all Fair Trade certifications are created on the same base-line principles. To receive certification a product must meet all of the criteria, which is the case of a fashion item must:

• Be made from a material grown and processed under Fair Trade conditions, meaning that the farmers receive fair prices and credit for their crop.
• Be manufactured by factory workers or artisans working under satisfactory, safe conditions and receiving fair wages. Forced child and slave labor are strictly prohibited.
• Be purchased by the retail label as directly as possible from the makers, cutting out the middle men. Most often the designers or design team of the fashion label will work directly with the artisans to convey their designs to the weavers, knitters, sewers and embellishers.
• Be created in a setting that fosters transparency and accountability throughout the textile and garment supply chain.
• Be created by communities of farmers, artisans and/or factory workers whose economic independence, social infrastructure and business organization skills are consequentially developed.
• Be manufactured in an environmentally friendly way, most favorably with organic certification of the raw materials (e.g. cotton, silk, wool, rayon, etc.) used, and with strict prohibition of harmful agrochemicals and GMOs.

These points are carefully inspected by the Fair Trade organization, which carries out routine check ups to maintain worker safety and health and ensure fair wages and prices to workers and farmers. This in turn helps the communities where various fashion items are made (which often are in third-world, developing countries or underprivileged communities) to improve standards and help establish sustainable local economies to develop local health care, education and social services. People Tree (a committed and certified Fair Trade fashion label) has beautifully outlined the benefits of Fair Trade on their blog.

The benefits of developing Fair Trade certified products and markets are immense, especially in developing countries where many fashion items are produced. The fragmented and often far from transparent supply chain of the fashion industry can often make Fair Trade certification difficult for garments and accessories, but can be trusted if the company provides specific information, down to the person who made your particular item, on the clothing tag, website or in-store.

If a fashion brand claims to be selling Fair Trade certified items, you can do your research, looking them up online to see if the information they provide backs up this claim. There are several online stores selling crafts that adhere to Fair Trade principals, and can be found through the Fair Trade USA website, which also points out Good & Fair Clothing, HAE Now, prAna, and Tompkins Point Apparel as Fair Trade fashion producers. Although based in the UK, The Fairtrade Foundation’s shopping guide also provides a list of brands and retailers providing us with Fair Trade fashion. To see more Fair Trade fashion options become available, contact your favorite label to educate them on the matter and inform them of how you and several others are more likely to invest in their products if they source Fair Trade certified ones.

Related on EcoSalon

New York Fashion Week’s Fair Trade Runway Show

Fair Trade USA Launches New Garment and Textile Certification

Sole Food: Fairtrade Espadrilles by Alice & Whittles Support Sustainability

Image: People Tree

The post Understanding Fair Trade Certification for Fashion appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sure, you probably need the newest iPhone for some reason or another, but have you considered whether or not your smart phone is Fair Trade?

They seem harmless enough, if not downright necessary. Can you even name one person you know who doesn’t own a smart phone? They’re more prevalent than landlines ever were. Can you remember when payphone booths were like, things on streets people actually used? We’re such a savvy future culture these day. If only we were civilized, too.

Today’s communications happen via smart phone technology—be they texts, Tweets, Snapchats instant messaging, or yes, even the occasional phone call (kids, ask your parents). But at what cost?

According to The Conversation, mobile phones contain “rare minerals that are often linked with violent conflicts, and many of them are produced in “difficult conditions by low-paid factory workers.” Kinda ruins the mood for a selfie just a little bit. “Part of the problem is that we really feel like we have no choice but to buy a phone.” The Conversation asks, “Can we realistically expect to ‘go without’ a phone, when our work, family and friends expect us to be available at all times? And when our carrier invites us to upgrade our phone for next to nothing every two years, what incentive do we have to slow down?”

We may no longer have the option of foregoing smart phones altogether, but we can opt for a smarter phone, like the Fairphone, which has emphasized its production process as its sole marketing strategy.

While not yet available in the U.S., Fairphone is picking up momentum in Europe. The first production run sold out completely (a meager 25,000 of the 1.7 billion phones sold last year, but it’s a step in the right direction). And the company is excited by the potential. The trend has even caught on a bit with Motorola and it’s “Ara” phone, “their attempt to provide a less destructive alternative,”  notes The Conversation. “The Ara phone is modular, meaning that people can use 3D printers from their homes to replace core technological components as needed and switch aesthetic parts such as the housing at leisure.”

Technology is moving our communication devices forward by leaps and bounds. It’s only a matter of time before our ethics catch up and impractical, wasteful smart phone devices go the way of phone booths too.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Related on EcoSalon

Celebrate Fair Trade Month with Ethically Made Beauty Products: A to Z

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Images via gizmag

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The Fair Fashion runway show, held during New York Fashion Week, shows us that fashion can look good and do good.

When attending fashion week, it’s easy to become overwhelmed (and slightly disturbed) about the sheer amount of clothing that designers put out every season, much of it produced less than ethically. A nice counterpoint to this was the NYC Fair Runway Show, held on Thursday at co-working space Wix Lounge in NYC.

The runway show was organized by the NYC Fair Trade Coalition, an all-volunteer grassroots organization dedicated to educating consumers about the value and importance of fair trade and promoting fair trade businesses in NYC.

Kibonen|NY (also top)

Featured designers included Kibonen|NY by Cameroonian designer Kibonen Nfi, inspired by traditional Cameroonian garments, REBORN by Soham Dave, which fuses the old and new with contemporary leisure clothing, filling a niche for authentic pieced and hand crafted from natural materials, and mccoll&clan, a New Jersey-based SEE (sustainable, eco, ethical) label committed to a design and business ethos that supports more sensible ways of innovating fashion.

REBORN by Soham Dave

The models wore vegan shoes by Monisha Raja of Love is Mighty, a brand dedicated to preserving indigenous arts, tribal culture and craftsmanship in India. Makeup artist Lacey Elliot used products from Josie Maran’s vegan, eco-friendly line.

mccoll&clan

After the show, guests were treated to samples from fair trade makers of tea, root tea, chocolate and quinoa vodka. There was also a marketplace, featuring pieces from the runway show.

Fair trade may not yet be a buzz word in the fashion world at large, but maybe this fashion week runway show could be the start of a greater discussion of the topic? We certainly hope so.

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Bohemian chic jewelry from a socially responsible brand dedicated to empowering women through design and sustainable economic opportunities.

Founded by Kirsten Dickerson, a former set and wardrobe stylist, and Sophia Lin, who made a name for herself in graphic design, Raven + Lily is a humanitarian, fairtrade and eco-friendly line of accessories and stationery founded on do-good principles. Dickerson and Lin share a close friendship and passion for fashion and ethical design, and envision Raven + Lily as a platform to utilize those passions to alleviate poverty among women.

The brand’s current collections feature exclusive handmade and eco-friendly jewelry and accessories from North India, Ethiopia and Cambodia. The beauty of each design reflects the values, skill and culture of the woman who made it, and you can learn more about the artisans on Raven + Lily’s website.

By providing a sustainable source of income, these partnerships seek to empower women artisans who have been victims of trafficking, marginalized from society, or suffer from HIV. Raven + Lily uses 100% of their profits from sales to achieve their social cause: empowering women through design.  This means employing these marginalized women, but also launching new partnerships and funding microloans, healthcare and educational needs in their partnership communities.

The Ethiopia Collection is comprised of bohemian chic statement necklaces, earrings and bracelets crafted with handmade beads and charms from melted bullet casings and vintage silver coins. It’s made by HIV-positive women in Ethiopia.

The India Collection features gorgeous recycled cotton papers, hand-carved wood journals, metallic leather jewelry and hand-milled natural soaps. This collection empowers marginalized women in Northern India.

Raven + Lily’s new artisan group, located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, specializes in creating beautiful pieces out of materials like naturally-dyed remnant jersey and hand-loomed cotton. These locally made raw materials also help employ community based weaving families and the craftsmen who produce them, many of whom are HIV positive or have formerly been victims of trafficking and abuse.

Feel good about buying something you know helps give back and empower women all over the world. And look good wearing it too!

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African-inspired prints are perfect for summer. Mix them all together or make a statement with one bold piece.

African-inspired prints are a trend that’s been around for a while, but we think it deserves some attention since it’s so perfect for summer. Be daring and mix your prints, there’s no such thing as too much – anything goes with this trend. You can even wear all these picks together if you want to. Support sustainable development in Africa by ensuring that you buy pieces that are made by local artisans who make a fair living wage.

ASOS Africa Bra Top in Rhino Print
A quirkier take on the print trend, this handcrafted stretch bra top features a cute hand-drawn rhino print in poppy greens and oranges. The ASOS Africa collection looks to traditional East African fabrics and prints and reworks them with a modern sporty aesthetic in a punchy acid color palette. It’s produced in collaboration with several small communities in Africa, enabling them to earn a sustainable living through their craftsmanship.
$41, ASOS

Light Gives Heat Bold Moss Pearl Necklace
This necklace is the perfect complement to your African prints. It’s hand-crafted by the Suubi women in Uganda from beads made from recycled paper. By making and selling these beaded necklaces, these women are able to make a living wage, helping them create better lives for their families.
$20, Light Gives Heat

Della Treasure Hunt MacBook Case
Since you’re looking all stylish, your computer should too, right? Dress your MacBook up in this fun, protective case from Della. It’s 100% vegan, made from sustainable materials, lined with local Ghanaian fabric, and thinly padded for protection.
$38, Della

Doreen African Print Peplum Top
The ultimate convergence of two trends – print and peplum – this African print peplum top is one-of-a-kind and handmade in New York. Made from 100% cotton blue printed fabric with gold detailing it works really well with a pair of skinny jeans.
$35, Ann Jodes/Etsy

Wrapped Bangles by Mikuti
Mikuti‘s original banana bark bracelets have been all dressed up with local Tanzania wax fabric. Made using a unique wrapping technique, the vibrant colors of the fabric enhance the natural earth tones of the bark, creating gorgeous printed bangles that are surprisingly versatile. They come in stacks of three and should really be worn together.
$68, Mikuti

AFIA Staple Skirt in Neon
AFIA’s bright, colorful staple skirt is the perfect summer piece. It’s easy to dress up or down, but always makes a statement. It’s made from handpicked cotton wax fabric from the markets of Accra and hand-sewn by cooperatives in Ghana who are paid a fair wage for their craft.
$100, AFIA

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Perhaps the most compelling argument you can make to your teenage daughter about wearing a school uniform is that the pleated skirt looks totally amazing with Uggs. “Your legs look sooo long, honey!” Tell your son girls have always had a weakness for the classics. Google Gregory Peck.

Naturally, there’s a more substantive argument new generations will surely learn soon enough. Doing one’s part in the collaborative effort to reduce consumption outweighs the fleeting thrill of showing up looking ravishing in something new.

From a mom who can’t seem to pry her two fashion beauties away from the bathroom mirror in the morning, those navy blue uniforms associated with prep academies and no-nonsense parochial schools would be a godsend! I repeat, a godsend! I’m as much a fan of fashion as anyone (perhaps even more as a stylist), but it is not the end-all of self-expression. And don’t forget, there’s always the weekend.

While simplicity is my main motivation, public school systems across the country are instituting school uniforms for other reasons. In 1987, Cherry Hill Elementary in Baltimore, MD, was the first public school to institute a uniform policy. In 1994, the Long Beach Unified School District in California followed sailor suit, the first urban district to do so. The driving force was getting kids to concentrate on lessons, not labels.

In 1996, when state laws were being passed to give public schools the latitude to insist upon blazers, khakis and those adorable jumpers, President Bill Clinton applauded the notion in a speech, saying: “If it means that the school rooms will be more orderly and more disciplined, and that our young people will learn to evaluate themselves by what they are on the inside, instead of what they’re wearing on the outside, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear uniforms.”

Three years later, the New York City district, the largest school district in the U.S, adopted school uniforms for its half-million elementary-school students. In a PBS report, the president of the NYC school board was quoted saying the policy is “important to diminish peer pressure and promote school pride.” You go, school board guy. I like the way you think.

Perhaps more U.S. schools need a uniform mentality like the one they have in Japan, where many public schools have boys clad in black pants and gold-button jackets and girls in skirts with sailor tops and matching vests. Sure, those Harjuku teens tweak the ensembles by hiking up the skirts or choosing the baggiest black pants. They go nutty with the shoes and Edward Scissorhands haircuts and knee socks. Meantime, nothing gets lost in translation. At the end of the day, you’re still in a low-maintenance uniform.

Here in America, going green is a new arsenal in the school uniform debate. So what if it crimps your style, dude. It’s like good for the planet. Almost all schools, public and private, encourage the recycling of uniforms, passing on used garments like other hand-me-downs children outgrow. Considering most students own several sets of uniforms, they often fall into the gently-used category, which is especially great for the K-6 population.

Beyond the reuse and recycle angle, there’s a burgeoning organic and fair trade school uniform market. Tesco makes organic uniforms of cotton shirts, trousers, pinafores and polo shirts (above) that schools can opt for and help school children in Kenya at the same time – children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go to school because they can’t afford a uniform. For each pair of Tesco Save the Children Trousers sold, the company will give a Kenyan child either a school skirt, shirt or pair of trousers.

There, doesn’t that feel better than a rack of new Juicy Couture dresses and Abercrombie jeans? Sure it does. Now turn off Gossip Girl and do your homework!

The post School Uniforms: Sustainable Garb for the Under-17 Crowd appeared first on EcoSalon.

These have to be the cutest kids ever. Not just because they’re, well, adorable children, but look at what they’re wearing! Soft, comfy, organic cotton striped clothes! If these aren’t the happiest little munchkins you’ve ever seen…well…don’t tell that to their moms.

And just what are these tykes wearing? Clothes made by Happy Green Bee, a manufacturer of Fair Trade Certified, organic cotton children’s clothing. I found them at a trade show and got sucked into their happy little hive. Not only was it the bright, fun colors that attracted me – but the softness of the clothes, as well. And don’t be intimidated thinking that organic cotton has to be expensive – they’ve got a great sale page too.

Now if only they made this stuff in my size.

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When Guayaki stepped up and claimed that they are now offering the world’s first Fair Trade Certified yerba mate’, I thought “Really? Are they really the first?” With so many mate’ brands out there, I thought surely there must be others. But after Googling around a bit, it seems that yes, indeed, Guayaki is it.

Your first question perhaps: What is yerba mate? It’s Argentina’s national tea and comes from a shrub, actually a relative of holly, that grows in subtropical South America. Yerba Mate and Argentina’s social culture are tightly intertwined – you’ll almost never see a group hanging around without simultaneously passing around a gourd.

And your second question: What is Fair Trade? It’s a global certification which ensures that all the workers (the South American mate’ farmers, for example) are treated humanely and paid a living wage. It also ensures there’s no child labor and no toxic chemical exposure for the workers involved. Fair Trade Certification is a positive way to make sure that everybody involved in a business wins.

Images: Guayaki.

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