C.L.A.S.S. founder Giusy Bettoni is educating the next generation of sustainable designers and entrepreneurs this week in NYC with a packed program that includes workshops on the latest in sustainable fabrics and natural dyes, to an eco-scavenger hunt through New York City’s garment district.

Fashion Institute of Technology is hosting Connecting the Dots, a forward-thinking three-day symposium for business owners, industry workers and students to learn about the positive impacts of taking a more sustainable design approach to the fashion, beauty, and health industries.

Beginning Wednesday, July 10, the event includes 

workshops, demonstrations, panels, an eco-fashion show, and a sustainable fashion tour around Manhattan. “I am very excited that we are able to offer 3 days of events around sustainable fashion, health and beauty,” said Christine Helm, Director of the Enterprise Center at FIT, “We are building on the excitement, exchange of ideas and knowledge that we started with last year’s event.”

In addition to running a textile, fashion, home and design business, Bettoni (left) is also the Green Carpet Challenge’s (founded by Livia Firth, right) go-to woman. (Image: FIT )

Milan-based Giusy Bettoni, cofounder of C.L.A.S.S., an international eco-platform that promotes environmentally friendly products and Livia Firth’s co-collaborator on the Green Carpet Challenge, will provide the keynote address entitled, “Welcome to the Third Dimension, Where Design and Innovation Meet Responsibility.”

We caught up with Bettoni to learn more about sustainable design:

Rowena Ritchie: What do you want people to know about the fashion, home and design products they currently buy? 

Giusy Bettoni: I believe it would be absolutely great for them to discover the majority of products they desire are not just performing from a design and functional perspective, but also from an environmental level which is incredibly low.

RR: Can you tell us about what led you to set up C.L.A.S.S. and how your organization creates more environmentally friendly products for the fashion, home and design industries? 

GB: I have a 30 year-long background in raw materials, fibers, yarns and fabrics. My goal was to turn them into something beautiful, precious, innovative and most importantly, eco-friendly. I founded C.L.A.S.S. to concretely prove that these new horizons of sustainable fashion textiles are not just possible, but actually represent a new step in the value chain. We have now created  “ecolibraries“ where brands and designers can source new, high-tech and responsible materials coming from natural, organic, recycled and renewable resources—each fabric meets our criteria of design, innovation and responsible certification.

The missing ingredient in today’s design world is products that are designed responsibly. There’s real added value and competitive market advantage available to us by promoting these qualities to the consumers; that’s the other dimension I’ll be discussing at the symposium.

RR: Why are educational events like FIT’s symposium so important?

GB: Sharing information and experiences is key to this new way of working with textiles. Education is so important. It’s what C.L.A.S.S. is really all about. We are really pleased and honored to be invited by FIT to be part of this symposium, and will do our best to disseminate what we have learned in the last years. I truly believe sharing and networking is the key to this movement’s success.

RR: Do you think there is a difference in the way eco-friendly fashion is received by consumers in Europe versus the U.S?

GB: Each country has his own lifestyle and culture, but I have to admit that the perception of eco-friendly fashion is quite the same everywhere and the perception is not as good, unfortunately. That is why a symposium like this one is so vital.  We need to show that responsible innovation in fashion creates a competitive business advantage, and not just a nice story.

RR: Tell us about your latest project with Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge?

GB: The Green Carpet Challenge is a fantastic exercise, and we are always working at something special… I cannot go into detail now as it is early days, but I can say we are preparing something amazing for the next London Fashion Week!

 To learn more about Connecting the Dots: A Sustainable Fashion, Health and Beauty Symposium or to register for the event, click here, or call (212) 217-4000. 



Top Image: courtesy C.L.A.S.S.

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Livia Firth designs her first piece of sustainable jewelry and teams up with C.L.A.S.S. to create a fabric library.

We’ve been thrilled to follow Livia Firth, Creative Director of Eco Age and wife of Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth, as she has brought sustainability thinking onto the red carpets for a few awards seasons now. Her Green Carpet Challenge started out as a personal project, where she chronicled her conscious gown choices on her Vogue UK blog, but has garnered significant attention lately as Firth has managed to recruit some serious star-power.

Meryl Streep teamed up with Lanvin to create a golden gown made from eco certified fabric, Tom Ford created a gorgeous v-neck cocktail gown for Julianne Moore using vintage velvet and, for the BAFTAs, Viola Davis wore the first-ever eco Valentino gown.

For the Oscars this year, Livia Firth herself worked with Valentino’s studio to create a stunning red gown made from post-consumer recycled PET. Mr. Firth, who has done his fair share of green carpet challenges, played the recycling card and wore the same Tom Ford tuxedo he donned while accepting his Oscar for The King’s Speech.

It’s great seeing Firth challenging A-listers to dress consciously on the red carpet to make it a little more green. To make this easier for her fellow award show attendees, she recently teamed up with sustainable fabric guru Giusy Bettoni’s global network C.L.A.S.S. (Creativity Lifestyle and Sustainable Synergy) to start the first Green Carpet Challenge Fabric Library. Designers and their celebrity clients can use this resource to find more sustainable fabric options, making the entire process of creating a green carpet gown much easier.

“We will offer the great designers who work with us a host of exciting ethical fibers and ideas and continue to push the boundaries of world class aesthetics with ethics,” says Firth.

What is really great about this new venture is that the Green Carpet Challenge Fabric Library will include offerings far beyond the typical eco staples like hemp and organic cotton. There are ethical and sustainable alternatives for a whole spectrum of materials, from wool, silk cashmere, cotton, linen, hemp, vegetable tanned and dyed leather to recycled polyester (eg. Newlife®), recycled polyamide, cashmere, cotton, denim and wool (eg. Cardato Regenerated).

“I have known and enjoyed working with Giusy of C.L.A.S.S. for a number of years,” Firth says. “Bringing together her unparalleled knowledge of sustainable fabrics with the GCC’s continued mission to increase the profile and the possibilities of sustainable style makes huge sense.”

We could not agree more.

Firth also recently launched her own eponymous eco-friendly fashion label, Livia Firth Design (LFD). This collection will feature a small line of luxury clothes and accessories designed by Mrs. Firth herself. Pieces are all produced with “love, fair trade rules and environmental standards in mind.”

The first piece from the collection to be released is a limited edition skull necklace. This necklace is Liva Firth Design’s first piece and it’s been made with sound manufacturing ethics in mind. The bronze used is made in the U.S. – in a solar powered factory – and is then sent to a jewelry-making co-operative in Devon in Southwestern England. There, the skulls are hand-crafted using the lost wax casting technique, a process developed by the Ancient Egyptians over 4000 years ago which involves covering a clay work of art in molten wax and allowing it to harden before covering it in a substance called “grog” to create a mold. The hot molten bronze melts the wax when it is poured in and a bronze sculpture is the result. Each of the four skulls on this necklace has been handcrafted in this manner, by artisan workers who are keeping age-old traditions alive.

The necklace is exclusive to Eco Age and features four handcrafted skulls on an unconnected chain, meaning that the necklace can be worn in a variety of ways (which Livia demonstrates in a the video clip below) and you can mix it up as you wish, wrapping it around your wrist or upper arm, or wearing it as a choker or pendant, depending on your mood and occasion. Intricately made with strength, playfulness and rebellion at its core, this necklace is guaranteed to bring an exciting edge to any outfit.

“LFD has at its heart simplicity and glamour and a little bit of playfulness, which should always be part of our life.” said Firth.

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