Cameron Diaz joins Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge in Stella McCartney’s eco dress.

It’s great to see Cameron Diaz looking stunning in her eco-friendly Stella McCartney dress at the Met Ball on Monday night. Created as part of Livia Firth’s ongoing green carpet challenge, the low-backed column dress was made of Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified silk and dramatically embellished with ethically sourced beading. All that sparkle didn’t come easy according to Firth, writing on her blog, “Stella added thousands of beautiful glass beads and crystal chain, which gave us a new challenge for the future as we work on traceability and sourcing embellished materials.”

Worn by a world famous actress on the red carpet of fashion’s biggest promotional event of the year, the dress, its designer and green credentials are destined for maximum exposure with the quick flash of a paparazzi’s camera. It’s the break an up-and-coming sustainable designer would give their eye teeth for.

The phenomenon of celebrity fashion promotion is not new, but there has been a huge resurgence of this trend in recent times and if you stop to consider the names we see actresses wearing, they form a small pool of oft-repeated brands. Like so many of our products under closer examination, you discover most of those brands are owned by huge conglomerates that have considerable resources and power to win those celebrity endorsements.

So when the news broke last month that one of those luxury fashion conglomerates, PPR (who own the Gucci Group, which includes Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga amongst others) launched it’s Creative Sustainability Lab, the potential impact seems huge.

With a strategic, multi-faceted action plan over the next five years that includes a partnership with William McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle, 15 dedicated employees and an annual budget of more than $14 million; hopes for the initiative are high. Its ambitious goals include offsetting the entire organization’s carbon footprint for the year – more than 97,000 tons of carbon – and developing new processes and standards across the group’s luxury, sports, lifestyle and retail sectors.

According to PPR CEO, Francois-Henri Pinault, “PPR HOME will provide us with novel, more sustainable approaches to contribute to a better world for the long run.“

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While initially that headline might not mean anything to you, under David Basson’s leadership at Greensouce, organic cotton was sourced for the very first time to Walmart. In fact, since 1999, the company has planted over 8,000 acres of organic cotton fields.

No small feat.

Under Basson’s reign, Seattle’s Greensource is now ranked as the 9th largest user of organic cotton in the world for its very own “Greensource” and “Re-Gen” (Recycled Generation) branded apparel. According to a Greensource press release, if the company’s considerable private label production for major retailers, including Walmart (“Faded Glory”) and Kmart (“Route 66”), was taken into account, the company would actually rank much higher.

David Basson, CEO of Greensource

No matter how you feel about Walmart selling organic clothing, as a supplier for them, Greensource’s pros far outweigh the cons. The brand grows its own organic cotton crop, is building schools for its workers’ children, uses only organic cotton and other sustainable fibers and has certified all five of its manufacturing facilities according to the new Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). In addition, the company uses an online system enabling shoppers to input a code found on a garment label and track the garment’s voyage from the field to the store.

The tracking system gives customers a rare opportunity to trace their garments from field to final production using a Greensource brand product ID # on each hang tag that one can use to check the history and authenticity of the product purchased.

With all this progress soon behind Basson marking major strides in the sustainable fashion field, one can only imagine how Greensource will move forward.

Taking over the reins in January 2011 and continuing the company’s organic cotton leadership will be John Flynn, currently vice president of design and development, and Brady Hill, currently vice president of marketing, two men we’ll all keep a close watch on.

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A few years ago, “eco fashion” became the hottest buzzword. The media in particular loved it and used every opportunity available to position it as the hottest trend. Recall those “Green is the New Black” headlines everywhere? Fast forward to today, and we know that eco fashion is definitely not a trend. It is a movement, and one that is taking the world by storm.

How so? Well for starters, a growing number of designers are now sourcing more sustainable fabrics than a few years ago, and the variety and quantity of those fabrics has grown out of this demand. An increasing number of brands and retailers are now engaged in ethical sourcing, and are working with their suppliers to create benchmarks and standards. Many companies now understand the benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR), even if their product or service is not “green”.

Organic Exchange (OE) offers more evidence of this eco fashion movement. According to their Organic Cotton Market Report, global sales of organic cotton apparel and textiles has grown by $1 billion in 2009, which amounts to a 35 percent increase over 2008. And at the same time that organic cotton sales have grown, overall cotton clothing and home textiles sales have shrunk by seven percent.

However, the rise of organic cotton has been steady for nearly a decade – on average by 40 percent each year since 2001. You just didn’t hear much about it because it wasn’t deemed important enough by mainstream media and industry. But that seems to be changing.

Organic Exchange estimates that the organic cotton market will continue to grow at this steady pace of 20-40 percent – both this year and next, to about $6 billion; and that the organic cotton market has been driven largely by consumer interest in “green” products, and by retailers and companies looking to offer more organic options.

So just who are the top organic cotton buyers from 2009 according to the OE report? You might be shocked to learn that it’s some of the biggest names in retail, including Nike, Walmart and Adidas.

But really, this isn’t all that surprising when you consider the report Exporting Textiles: March to Sustainability, that recently profiled the top brands and retailers who are implementing environmental sustainability throughout their global supply chains. Among the 19 companies profiled are once again, Nike, Walmart and Adidas! So what exactly are these companies doing to be given such accolades? Let’s take a look.

Adidas adheres to the ISO14001 standard and has an internal environmental benchmarking assessment that they use to collect data from their suppliers. Their top three sustainability priorities are embedding environmental sustainability across the business, effectively managing business risks and social compliance in the supply chain, and extending engagement internally and externally.

Walmart, as we all know, has issued their Sustainability Index, which asks their suppliers a series of questions as they relate to social and environmental practices. They also carry GOTS certification on organic textiles (although questionable to what degree) and their focus on energy efficiency is now shifting toward their suppliers.

Nike uses a few internal tools such as Material Analysis Tool (MAT) and Considered Index to evaluate its life cycle impacts. They have a water program, and have integrated energy efficiency practices at supplier factories.

According to this report, which focuses primarily on energy efficiency, carbon emissions, water and chemical footprint as well as logistics, these three companies rank in the top 5 (Levi Strauss & Co. and Marks & Spencer round out the list).

And so the evidence is mounting. It becomes clearer every day that eco fashion is a movement, and one that is gaining solid ground. I look forward to actively watching as more and more of the big brands and retailers move toward increased sustainability, motivated by people like us who demand quality and ethics from the products we choose to buy.

Image: adifansnet

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One of the biggest obstacles facing sustainable fashion and apparel brands is how to make sense of the overwhelming number of certification schemes and standards that are available. Given that transparency and accountability is key to any successful sustainable brand (in apparel or otherwise), having a certification scheme to back up claims such as organic and fair trade, is crucial.

The same challenge is facing the eco-active consumer. Exactly how are we supposed to avoid eco-fatigue with so many eco logos out there? Which ones do we trust? And what do they even mean? We have logos for our food, our household products and appliances, and now a growing number of eco fashion logos to remember.

Many certification schemes address one or more areas across the supply chain. There are fair trade labels that certify the farming, manufacturing, and/or trade of textiles; and there are schemes that address the energy, waste, water and toxic chemicals. There are ethical sourcing and social compliance standards, life cycle assessments, and the list goes on. Has your head exploded yet?

One of the most reputable standards in apparel however is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) – a globally recognized leading processing standard for textiles that are made from organic fibers. Because all fibers certified to GOTS must already be certified organic, it means consumers are purchasing items certified organic – from field to finished product. Not only does GOTS define environmental criteria (energy, waste, toxins etc) across the supply chain, but it also imposes criteria on social compliance. Finally, a solution to the eco certification clutter!

There are twelve certification bodies that are accredited to certify according to the GOTS standard. Fashion Takes Action member Ecocert is one of them. In collaboration with two other groups, who had each developed their own standards, the three collaborated and combined their private standards to create GOTS. For the full list of accredited certification bodies, please visit the GOTS website: http://www.global-standard.org/certification/approved-certification-bodies.html

“The introduction of this standard should help to reduce the saturation of logos, since any product certified by any of the accredited certification bodies can use the GOTS logo”, states Ecocert Canada rep Simon Jacques. “Consumers can also look forward to increasing standardization of labeling, and should focus on “organic” and/or “fair trade” certification, rather than other certifications, as these have clearly defined meanings, and were developed by independent, accredited certification bodies”.

GOTS recently re-launched its database of certified entities that allows the user to search in a number of ways: by company name, license number or product type and specification, as well as by trade activities and operations. Unfortunately I was disappointed in the few Canadian companies who are certified to GOTS, but hopefully this will soon change.

Despite the lack of Canadian companies in their database, it is very exciting to see the growing number of companies who meet the GOTS standard. There are close to 400 dyeing facilities, over 200 spinning, knitting, and weaving units, and about 140 printing and manufacturing facilities. There are more than 700 export businesses listed, and close to 50 import operations that hold GOTS certificates as well. Twelve independent certification organizations around the world are qualified to certify operations to the standard.

My hope is that more apparel-based businesses will meet the GOTS certification, thus reducing the number of eco logos we must identify with. Until then, I will continue to do my due diligence when shopping for sustainable clothing. If a logo is unfamiliar to me, I will ask questions. I have faith that soon there will be a recognized standard in place that takes the guesswork out of the equation, allows us to feel good about our purchases, and all without the headache!

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Dawn Pickering, founder of San Francisco-based Pickering International, Inc. opened the doors of her fabric import and wholesale company in the early 90s.

Since then Pickering’s offerings have expanded into nine distinct fabric categories specializing in textiles made from sustainable and organic fibers and certified by recognized green standards like GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).

I caught up with Dawn recently.

What fabrics do you currently offer and who are your customers?

We currently offer hemp, soy, bamboo, organic cotton, organic linen, silk, wool, tencel blends and recycled fiber blends. Our customers come from the apparel, footwear, accessory, baby and children’s and home fashions/home furnishing industries.

Where are your fabrics sourced?

Our fabrics are all milled in China. The raw materials also come from China, with the exception of the organic cotton which is Turkish, and the wool which is Australian.

What’s the biggest misconception regarding manufacturing in China?

China has been known as a very polluted country due to its speedy industrial growth. How is it possible for it to produce certified organic and eco friendly textiles in the meantime? Well, the truth is that the government has implemented strict environmental protection laws in the recent years. All the textile mills and dyeing houses must meet the set standards or face severe penalties. The eco movement has taken root steadily in China as consumers are more informed on environmental issues than before. With a growing demand from both domestic and international markets, China is producing a commendable amount of eco textiles because all the natural resources are readily available right there.

How do you stay true to your fair trade practices?

Our management team visits our manufacturers at least twice a year to verify that they are continuing to adhere to our company’s Manufacturing Inspection Guidelines. These guidelines are in line with the principles described by the Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production website. We personally check and confirm that workers operate in a well-maintained, healthy and safe environment; that they are well-trained for their jobs; that they are treated with respect; that they are paid fairly and have health insurance, sick leave and maternity leave; that there is no child labor and more.

Have you considered working more with U.S. mills for organic cotton or Canada for hemp?

We have not considered working with U.S. mills for organic cotton because the price point makes it unappealing to our customer base. Canadian hemp has traditionally been geared toward oil production so the hemp is harvested at a later stage of its life cycle. Though there have been discussions about growing hemp for fabric there, and some funding provided for development of that industry we have yet to see Canadian hemp fabrics appear on the market. We would certainly be open to sourcing there if and when that happens.

Do you support research for alternative fabrics?

Absolutely.

Talk about Patagonia and Nike and how they’re implementing eco-fabrics slowly. Looking at the future, what will the impact of large corporations like Target, Payless, Kohls and Wal-Mart (in addition to Patagonia and Nike) investing in sustainable fabrics be?

As a small business owner this is a hard question to answer. These companies tend to have very tight margins and a price-sensitive customer base so they may be limited in how much of their product lines they can convert to sustainable fabrics. There was some concern that the needs of companies like these would outstrip worldwide organic cotton production but according to recent information from Organic Exchange the opposite is true.
In your opinion, can the U.S ever be a leader in sustainable fabrics?

We aren’t as familiar with the U.S. market. It makes sense that each region should focus on producing fabrics from the raw materials that come from that region. One of the benefits of working with China is the range of raw materials to choose from. The most readily available raw material here in the U.S. is probably plastic, so a good place to start might be recycled PET & recycled poly.

Image: telmo32

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When Greensource, one of the largest suppliers of organic cotton apparel production in the world launched its private label organic jean line at Kmart and Wal-Mart this month, I became skeptical.

After all, are Wal-Mart and Kmart customers really green shoppers? Do they care about pesticide free pants?

Am I being bratty by asking?

Eco-Textile news reports that all five of Greensource’s manufacturing facilities were certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) by Control Union between 2007 and 2008, making them some of the first mills worldwide to gain certification.

And while this is all well and good for both Marts, inquiring minds still ponder who these women are who are looking for good, quality eco-denim alongside the mega-store’s Subway and discounted food aisles (and consequently, if GOTS strict standards are being utilized alongside monitored production of these jeans in China).

We commend them for incorporating organic cotton but looking at the whole picture is another thing and something we urge you to consider.

Del Forte denim, made in the U.S.A. is 100% organic cotton, too – and when you buy a pair you support L.A. designers who dream of denim night and day. And when you’re done with your pair, you can ship them back to produce the second generation of Del Fortes which they fondly call “Rejeaneration Denim”.

There’s something to be said about rooting for the underdog.

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