EcoSalon caught up with fashion designer Tara St. James of Study NY on her latest socially conscious collaboration with prison women in Mexico, ethical fashion and what made in NYC really means.

Juliette Donatelli: Your newest work involves a collaboration with a women’s prison in Mexico. How are you working together and how did the partnership evolve?

Tara St. James: On a recent trip to Oaxaca I discovered a shoe line that I really loved called Taller Nu. I got along very well with the designers, they invited me to their workshop in Mexico City, so we decided to do a collaboration together. They work with a women’s prison group. They train them to do cross-stitch on leather, and they use that cross-stitch for their shoes. What I did was send them an image of one of the sweater knits that I am doing from Peru, and I asked them to reinterpret that knit pattern into a cross-stitch. So they did the interpretation themselves, I approved it and we designed the shoes and the bag together. That will be for late summer, fall delivery because of the lead time. I will be working directly with the designers and the collaboration co-op.

JD: The cross-stitch is done in Mexico. Are the shoes also made in Mexico?

TSJ: Yeah, everything is done in Mexico. They source the leather there, it is all domestic leather. They have it perforated so the cross-stitch can be done more easily. They bring just the panels to the prison and give them the instruction.

What is really kind of interesting that I love about it, is that if you look inside the panels each one has a different finishing on the inside. You can tell it is done by different women, and it’s just the way they interpret it. So on the outside they are all uniform, but on the inside they all have this signature.  I love that. And I love that you can see that.

And the only other thing I am importing are these alpaca knits from Peru. I have been working with this women-run co-op there for about a year now and this is the first development that we have done together.

And then the rest of the collection is made here in NYC.

The other thing that I am launching for this year, which will be early than fall, it will be a spring launch, is the open back shirt dress style that I always do. But instead of one piece, I am doing it as a piece that can be worn different ways, and convertible. So you can mix and match the fabric and remove certain panels or add on other panels.

JD: What about made in NYC? Is that a selling point for your brand?

TSJ: As far as wholesale buyers are concerned, I find the reaction not super encouraging. They are not all that inspired by it, although I think they like having the story to tell to their customers. Because I do see the reaction, you know when we had this space [Market 605] as a retail space, people coming in, whether they were tourists or New Yorkers, loved the fact that everything was made here. And so I think having that story associated with the brand, or even part of the brand, is important for the buyers, not for themselves necessarily, although some of them really care, but they like to communicate that to their customers.

I am not sure a lot of people are seeking it out yet, but they are definitely interested in it.

I have always felt the same way about the sustainability of the brand: I don’t think people really care about organic cotton, as long as it felt good and could be worn easily and washed easily and cared for easily. So it was really my responsibility to make it sustainable, but also my responsibility to make the design last long and be a quality good. And part of that is making it here in New York, I think the workmanship here is just good. I am lucky, I have a great factory that I work with and they do a really great job. I am not going to lie, I have had great factories in China too that do a really really great job but if I can get that quality and workmanship here then why shouldn’t I?

Want more interviews? See also:

Hannah Jones, Nike VP of Sustainable Business: Behind-The-Scenes Interview (Part 1)

Interview: Nike’s VP of Sustainable Business Hannah Jones (Part 2)

Interview: Author Kate Fletcher On New Fashion & Sustainability Book

Author Interview: Elizabeth Cline of Overdressed The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

images: Study NY

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One half of the dynamic ethical fashion label, Feral Childe’s Alice Wu, chats with EcoSalon for an inside discussion on their work as made in New York City designers.

Designing all their prints by hand, the bi-coastal team, Moriah Carlson, in Brooklyn, and Alice Wu, in Oakland, are never short of eye-catching designs, easy feminine silhouettes and intelligent ethical values. We sat down with Alice Wu of Feral Childe to talk about their carefully sourced fabrics, ethical production and why having a keen eye for practicality matters for sustainability.

Juliette Donatelli: Feral Childe is best known for its prints and fabrics. Where are the prints made and is there a story behind them?

Alice Wu: Some of the prints are done right in Los Angeles. We use a sample dye house in Marin so we work with our dye guy to create the sample palette for the season. We have our printer print one color and do different dye lots. The same fabric comes out different ways so you get a nice tonal range.

This one is actually printed in Korea. So our silks come from either Korea or India. It depends on what fabric our suppliers have on offer. Everyone has different specialties and fiber qualities. We used a silk linen which was really nice. And for a really vibrant silk, this is digitally printed on a silk cotton.

So we make the image and then we try to find the right fabric partner to do it. Then you have to wrestle with the fabric to make it into the garment. But we try to make it fun altogether.

JD: And all the clothes are made in NYC?

AW: Yes, all the clothes are made either in midtown sewing facilities or we also have started working work sewing contractors in Sunset Park.

JD: When you have a buyer, or the general public come in and see the collection or see the clothing in a store, and then find out they are made in NYC, is that a selling point?

AW: It is. I think people like it. I think it is really wonderful to know the person who made your clothes, to say hello, and thank you for cutting my fabric and putting it together. It adds a very personal touch to something you are going to be wearing for a long time. That is something that is very important to Moriah and me–to try to work with people we can interface with. Even my fabric supplier from India I have met. The first time we worked together was over email, but about a year later he came to New York on business and we met up. It was really wonderful to put a face to all the email correspondences.

JD: How important is it to you to think about where and what fabrics you are using?

AW: For us it is very important to consider materials and where they come from at all steps of the design process. It is choosing materials that have meaning.

In the beginning, whether that meant discovering Garment District castoffs or remnant fabrics, we like to have a story to go along with the fabrics we find. Even though we aren’t necessarily working with remnant fabrics right now–we are creating our own–it is still important for us to have personal connections with the fabric suppliers that we are in contact with each season and to know as much as we can about where the fabrics are coming from, whether they are durable, and are they easy to care for.

It is less important that it is specifically organic — but we try to use organic whenever possible just because it is better for everybody. But for example, even though this is not organic cotton, [this fabric] is woven in Japan working with a small mill that has restored all this vintage production equipment. So you could say it is more of an artisan fabric or made by people who really care.

For instance, take [a product] blend of modal, cotton and polyester. There was a time where I thought, ‘I am never going to make anything with polyester again, I am only going to use natural fibers.’ But if there is a little bit of poly blended with natural fibers it sometimes helps to make the garment withstand more wear and tear. You can throw it in the washing machine, or we have customers that are vegan but want to look nice. So there are lots of things to consider.  But we certainly want to make things to treasure.

Related on EcoSalon

Author Interview: Elizabeth Cline of Overdressed The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

Interview: Author Kate Fletcher On New Fashion & Sustainability Book

Hannah Jones, Nike VP of Sustainable Business: Behind-The-Scenes Interview (Part 1)

Interview: Nike’s VP of Sustainable Business Hannah Jones (Part 2)

images: photographed by Jonathan Hökklo for the brand

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EcoSalon sits down for a fun conversation with jewelry designer Natalie Frigo on her made in New York ethically sourced stones, the three kinds of fashion consumers and what it takes for people to change.

Juliette Donatelli: All your jewelry is made in New York. How important is that to your customer?

Natalie Frigo: I launched my first line in 2010 and I would say that it was made in NYC, and it didn’t matter at all. Nobody cared. There were, like, three people who cared. How could you not care about this? This is awesome! You don’t want something domestic? There would be a couple of stores that would say, ‘Oh, we love that. We will totally promote that.’

So, now people are more excited about it. And I have people who will contact me –buyers and retail customers who will contact me and say, ‘I love your designs, but then I saw it was made in New York, and I knew I wanted to get it.’ And it’s this thing that justifies it to them.

If you are interested in that it matters, but this is not going to convince you to be interested in that.

I definitely still get from buyers, they seem to understand it more, but I do get a resistance on price because my stuff is made domestically. And my stones are ethically sourced. If you don’t know where your stones are coming from, it is like apparel, a little child cut that stone. There is no question in my mind. I would put money on it. Awful. My stones are not like that. They cost more money–two to ten times as much. And so some people are like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s all great but our customer won’t pay more.’ They like the designs but there is a price resistance and they would just rather have a cheaper good. As much as they think that it’s great that it’s made domestically, it’s not worth it to them, or they don’t want to educate their customer or try to get a new customer base.

JD: What do you think it would take?

NF: Really. What could it take? How much more information do you need to make things domestically? The economy fell from underneath us.

There was a woman who came in [to Market 605], she was dressed pretty cute, and she started going through the clothes. I was wearing something from Feral Childe, and I said ‘I love this jacket, I just bought it.’

And she looks at the tag and it’s a four hundred dollar jacket and she’s like, ‘Oh yeah. That’s too expensive.’

And I said, ‘Well, you know, it is an investment piece. I am going to have it for a really long time, it’s very classic, this isn’t going to go out of style.’

And she said, ‘Yeah, I don’t shop like that. I buy multiple things every season and I never invest in anything. I have friends that do that, I am so impressed. But I can’t do that.’

You can do that right this second! You could get that one thing right now and just start. So people who shop like that are also the buyers.

What does it take to change a person?! I feel like some people are just never going to think it matters. And then there are people on the fence, and the more they learn about it they get super excited. And then there are people who have always known about it and they’ve always been into it and they are all about it.

I would say most of my accounts are galleries or local stores that have been in their communities for a long time and are interested in developing relationships.

JD: It’s all about the relationships we build.

NF: Yeah. You don’t have to have everything made domestically but you could have some things. People want to buy domestically, but they are so used to not having to pay for things on that level.

JD: Getting the conversation started is so important. If Michelle Obama, someone who is always being asked who she is wearing, made a simple statement about where it was made, because it was probably made in the USA because of the designers she wears and the quality of the pieces–a little awareness like that could go really far. 

NF: Yes, we need good fashionable ambassadors.

I got into a conversation with this guy, he was one of the workers at a show that I was setting up for. He came over to my booth, and said, ‘Oh your stuff is really cool,’ and I said thanks, it’s made in NYC. He said, ‘That’s awesome. I had to stop buying Carhartt because they don’t make it in America anymore, they make it in Mexico.’

He was amazing! Just this regular guy wearing t-shirt and jeans, and he’s all mad because Carhartt stopped producing domestically. You need people like that in all walks of life. He’s probably lecturing his friend non stop about wearing something made in China!

Related on EcoSalon

The Promising Future of Men’s Fashion: An Interview With the Discerning Brute’s Joshua Katcher

Interview: Lingerie Line Enamore Promotes Design Over Eco

The Insourcing Trend: What is the Impact of Clothing Made in the USA?

images from the brand

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If you’re new here, we’re on a road trip down the West Coast this summer with our sustainable clothing company, {r}evolution apparel. You can track our journey here!

“Why have we become a culture that wants more, faster cheaper?”

We’ve asked this question to over 20 people in filmed interviews throughout our Sustainable Fashion Tour. Farmers, professors, writers, textile developers, CEO’s, and designers have all weighed-in on issues surrounding fashion, consumption, and the environment.

Each person has added a piece to this complex puzzle of how we got here – a world where you can buy an H&M t-shirt for $4.95 and a pair of sunglasses for a few dollars. With their collective answers, we’re beginning to piece things together.

Our grandparents were thrifty and cautious – they grew up during the Great Depression and among their deep-seeded values was a good bargain. They spent prudently, even after WWII when people began consuming more. A good bargain was a value that they passed onto their kids – our parents.

Our parents grew up with technologies that encouraged buying more clothes – like washing machines. They were the first to have TV’s (and commercials) as youths. The world got smaller with better communication and shipping technologies. The West discovered cheap labor markets. The race to the bottom quickened pace.

As more cheap products became available to us, we became addicted. So addicted, in fact, that we started purchasing things with money we didn’t have.

We became obsessed with material things, filling our homes and closets. But we were detached from those things. Our stuff was just stuff. There were no stories behind our purchases. The only explanation for a cheap shirt or pair of shoes was, “Made in China” with the accomplished feeling of a “deal.”

We stopped mending clothes, because a new outfit cost less than a sewing machine or repair job. Our garbage bins got bigger to make room for our discard. Wal-Mart became more powerful than our government.

With so many distractions in our lives, it’s been easy to overlook our mindless consumption. Our phones and inboxes vie for our attention, while we work stressful jobs so that we can make more money to buy more stuff. We’re stuck in a cycle, and hardly have the time to notice.

But there is change happening. We can already see it – the “slow food movement” is only the beginning. Our generation is going back to the basics, slowly but surely. We’re taking an interest in growing our own produce, supporting local microbreweries, and buying fashion with a story.

Justin Dillon, the founder of SlaveryFootprint.org, told us that while the developing world experiences a poverty of means, the Western world is experiencing a poverty of meaning. But if we know anything about the “Millenials” (and the “Globals”), it’s that we’re seeking meaning with a vengeance. We crave purpose. We crave stories.

This is where the fashion industry is headed. Yes, fast fashion is a buzzkill. So are stories like America’s Chinese-made outfits in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. But people are paying a little more attention. We see that, first-hand, with every person we talk to.

We have a long road ahead of us, but ultimately, we have no other choice than to change the direction we’re headed. Industries, of all types, will be forced to progress and make change – whether they know it now or not. They will have to reevaluate the way they make, market, and sell their products, because this new generation is going to demand more. Demand better.

The bottom line? Corporations can either move forward and change or get left behind.

We’re Kristin and Shannon, the founders of {r}evolution apparel – a clothing company focused on sustainable and versatile design. We created the Versalette – one garment that can be worn over 20 different ways — as a dress, skirt, shirt, poncho, purse & more. It’s made in the USA with 100% recycled fabrics. In 2011, we launched the Versalette on Kickstarter and raised over $64,000. Since then, we’ve been featured in Forbes, Gadling, and the New York Times. To learn more about our mission, check out our website, Facebook, and Twitter.

The post {r}evolution Reel: A Look Inside the Movement appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re new to our journey (or even if you’re not!) we’ve created a video to introduce ourselves, our journey, and our mission. We’ll be posting here each Friday with videos and thoughts from the road, so we hope you’ll join the conversation.

It’s a tough question to answer. Sustainable fashion can mean so many things and be described in so many different ways.

But last week, while on tour, we took the opportunity to ask the people of Seattle this question: What is sustainable fashion?

We got a mix of answers – and not one of the same. So today, we’re sharing what it means to us.

Sustainable fashion is clothing that’s created with the whole life-cycle of the garment in mind. From design to sale, two questions are asked:

Where did that piece of clothing come from?

And…

What’s going to happen to it when it’s no longer worn?

Sustainability means a system of longevity that considers everyone and everything that’s involved, from the cotton farmer to the factory worker to the seamstress. It means using responsible (and low-impact) fabrics, ethically-sourced materials, and smart design that doesn’t deteriorate as quickly as the trends.

People often ask us where they can find sustainable clothing, so below is a list to get you started:

Buffalo Exchange, Good Will, Savers, Value Village. We always prefer buying used to buying new. Recycling, repurposing and reusing are the fastest way to get textiles out of our landfills. Remember, one (wo)man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure.

Horny Toad and NAU. These two labels partnered up, and you can find a combination of outdoor active-wear and casual wear all sustainably-sourced.

The Autonomie Project. Great basic tees, sneakers and pet products. Everything is organic, sweat-shop free, and vegan.

People Tree. Based in the UK, founder Safia Minney has pioneered the environmentally-friendly and fair trade fashion industry.

PACT. 100% organic-cotton underwear. Remember, the stuff underneath your clothes matters, too!

Sites we love. Fashioning Change is a great resource for finding responsible fashion at the same price points as mainstream brands, and they’re here featured here on EcoSalon weekdays, with new and interesting labels introduced all the time.

For more great sites, check out EcoSalon’s top eco-boutiques to shop.

What does sustainable fashion mean to you? Leave a note in the comments below, and check back next week when we post about spending, our shopping habits, and true cost!

The post {r}evolution Reel: What Does Sustainable Fashion Mean to You? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media. What’s wrong with this picture?

Women and media are a common topic of discussion in my close circles, as it’s something that we all care strongly about. Be it the role of female filmmakers in a male dominated industry or the portrayal of women in television and film, when it comes to my gender and the media there’s never a lack of things to talk about.

Here at EcoSalon, where we are steeped in both worlds, things are no different. So when a good friend in the film industry posted a link to a trailer for Miss Representation – a documentary that explores the misrepresentation of women in culture and media and how that influences the under representation of women in other realms, like politics and business – it got my attention immediately.

Constantly inundated with all forms of media on a practically 24/7 basis, it is rare that something truly moves me. Call it desensitized, but in the era of short audio and video clips it’s easy to scan, fast forward and move on. But this trailer was different. It gave me chills. It left me staring at the screen frustrated. Some statistics that I couldn’t get over:

While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors.

And yet there was a sense of empowerment to be garnered; the sense that rallying together we can make serious change.

That’s the idea that the film’s writer and producer, Jennifer Siebel Newsom wants to get across. In between dealing with her daughter’s bout of pink eye and breast feeding her 4-month old son, she took time to talk about the inspiration behind the film and why she is driven to work on this question of women and their portrayal in the media.

In the entertainment industry since the age of 28, Siebel Newsom knows what she’s talking about, having seen the portrayal of women and its effects early on. “I was [already] very very concerned about what it would be like raising a child in our modern culture… I had a daughter and my concern increased,” says Siebel Newsom.

That concern was fueled even more during the 2008 presidential campaign. “[I] witnessed all the campaigns directed against Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin and couldn’t help but recognize what was happening to them and what was happening to women aspiring towards leadership,” says Siebel Newsom, adding that those types of negative campaigns “would discourage anyone from aspiring to be a leader.”

Ultimately she saw the difficult cultural obstacles that women were up against, and tied them back to media. Why aren’t there more women in leadership roles? “It’s sort of a chicken and the egg, both the media and our culture don’t value women enough,” she says. That leads to an image that, as Siebel Newsom puts it, is “disparaging and hyper-sexualized and ultimately relays to the culture that that’s what women are.”

Which means women are up against some very difficult obstacles when it comes to changing these embedded values. “97% of what you see and hear comes from the male perspective, I’m not saying that it’s wrong but it’s a limited perspective,” Siebel Newsom says.

Women’s portrayal in media, as well as their role in guiding it, is a multi-faceted issue, influenced by numerous factors. From education to commercialization of gender roles, women’s identities are shaped from a young age. As a mother, Siebel Newsom knows this all too well, “Disney is now selling to kids as early as newborns.” She adds, “your pink little onesie… reinforces gender.”

Start girls off with that role early, exacerbate it with an over sexualized image in the media, and the effects later in life aren’t pretty. Women end up “willingly thinking that it’s their role to please and satisfy,” says Siebel Newsom. With that idea drilled into our subconscious, it’s no surprise that we invest millions of dollars into making ourselves look better, going under the knife to attain a media defined ideal.

As the film highlights, the number of cosmetic surgical procedures performed on youths 18 or younger more than tripled from 1997 to 2007. Those are valuable dollars, and if we’re going to make change we need to rethink where our priorities lie. “Instead of investing that money in their own beauty and investing it in changing our cultural landscape, that would be huge,” says Siebel Newsom.

In the midst of a slew of disheartening statistics, it is easy to get overwhelmed, but if there’s one thing about Siebel Newsom, it’s that her energy and passion for this issue comes across loud and clear and it was hard to leave the call uninspired.

In the end, the answer may be as simple as joining forces. As Siebel Newsom points out, “We need a village of women supporting each other… to change the cultural landscape.”

I asked her if she were to give advice to three different generations of women, what it would be.

For younger girls, those like her daughter:

“[That] they’re each unique. Whatever is unique about us makes us special.”

For women in their 20s-40s:

“Figure out what you’re passionate about and go for it and don’t let anything stop you. Surround yourself with women that are like minded and supportive.”

For women in their 50s and 60s:

“Embrace your wisdom… empower younger women that need support.”

Siebel Newsom encourages people to take the Miss Representation pledge or host a screening of the film, as well as follow these five action steps:

1. Tell five people about the film and share one thing you learned from watching it.

2. Parents- watch TV and films with your children. Raise questions like “What if that character had been a girl instead?”

3. Remember your actions influence others. Mothers, aunts and loved ones- don’t downgrade or judge yourself by your looks. Fathers, uncles and loved ones—treat women around you with respect. Remember children in your life are watching and learning from you.

4. Use your consumer power. Stop buying tabloid magazines and watching shows that degrade women. Go see movies that are written and directed by women (especially on opening weekend to boost the box office ratings). Avoid products that resort to sexism in their advertising.

5. Mentor others! It’s as easy as taking a young woman to lunch. Start by having open and honest conversations with young people in your life.

Having already made the festival circuit, Miss Representation has its broadcast premiere this week. You can catch it on Thursday, October 20 at 9 p.m. on OWN.

Images: Miss Representation

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Designers offer insights on why some styles sell more than others.

Designers will be the first to admit that when it comes to their collections they have their favorites. But does their cloth-crush sometimes outshine the actual needs of the buyer?

A boutique owner has to be part fortune teller, part knowledgeable curator. A smart buyer realizes that above all, they need to be prudent. Getting caught up in the hype of Market Week with a designer telling them something is “Amazing!” and “Will sell through,” can translate to merchandise that doesn’t move.

What this means for you is an uninteresting store selection and a buyer whose investment isn’t going to give much return.

I caught up with a handful of sustainable designers at Market in New York this past week and had them show me a piece they loved, but was it what the buyers were choosing for their Fall 2011 assortments? Not necessarily.

Alice Wu, founder and designer of Feral Childe (above), says the Paganini Practice Shift was her favorite but the more colorful signature prints of her line were buyers’ favorites.

Lara Miller, founder and designer of Lara Miller: “The Callie Flip Cardigan was one of my best sellers and is also one of my favorites. Buyers like that they can wear it more than four different ways and get so much from one piece.”

Tracey Forrest, Owner of True Collaborative Showroom, representing Pendleton’s Portland Collection: “The Cape was placed by every buyer but the men’s pants were sometimes overlooked which typically happens in bottoms that are not denim or khakis-This is often a missed category for men’s clothing.”

Raina Blyer, designer and founder of Creem: “These two were my favorites and the buyers’ because they’re different, but not so different to alienate any type of customer.”

Moriah Carlson, co-designer and founder of Feral Childe, said her Rabbit Bump Dress was a bright spot for buyer’s ordering because she loves it and thankfully, so did they.

Lizz Wasserman, founder and designer behind the line Popomomo, says her A/W ’11 Ferus Shirt is a favorite of hers as well as the buyers: “It’s a shift in silhouette for the buyers but they’re able to see the piece has cross-appeal and accommodates lots of body types.”

The post At Market, Favorites Aren’t Always Best-Sellers appeared first on EcoSalon.

We’ve been scratching our heads wondering why the “slow fashion” movement is, well, slower to catch on than its widely embraced cousin, “slow food.”

A new shopping website aims to usher in a change of pace by offering the chance to buy your clothes just like you do your dinner – hand picked for quality, locally grown and providing that feel good buzz you get for supporting local business.

Recently launched in the Bay Area, Eko Table is giving style-loving shoppers an online resource for finding locally designed fashion and accessories. Sure to become a trend in communities throughout the U.S. concerned with boosting their local economy, Eko Table also provides customers an opportunity to meet up-and-coming designers and help designers to show their work to a wider audience.

Eko Table founder, Erin Gallup answers a couple of questions and shows us how simple it is to keep both our waistlines and our closets lean in 2011. Because lets face it, all that fast fashion is just as ultimately unsatisfying as easy but greasy takeout, isn’t it?

What inspired you to create EkoTable?

A few years ago I began to realize the devastating carbon impact and economic instability created by global manufacturing processes and shipping practices. For example, each of the 90,000+ container ships carrying products from other countries pollutes the air at an amount equivalent to 50 million vehicles. I wanted to opt out. Soon after wards, I became determined to be a locavore of all products but had trouble finding them in one place: I could find food at farmers’ markets, local fashion at trunk shows, art at art shows, but not one place where I could find local products together. As a result, we created EkoTable to make locavorism convenient and accessible.

Can you give us a run-through of the process of say, finding a local fashion designer producing sustainable belts

To find Vagadu, a Bay Area eco-fashion designer of sustainable clothing and accessories, a shopper would go to the Explore section and browse to find her profile and store. They could also go to the Shop section and find her products through browsing “apparel items,” or by entering “belt” in the search box.

Apart from finding unique boutique fashions from promising designers, what other local products can shoppers find on Eko Table?

EkoTable is the perfect resource for San Francisco Bay Area locavores to find one of a kind home wares, personal care items, art and gifts. They can be assured that products purchased not only reduce carbon footprint but also keep their local economy going. And they get to meet incredibly talented people in the process!

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Feral Childe, a bi-coastal collaboration of Oakland, CA, based designer Alice Wu and Brooklynite Moriah Carlson, has sped to the forefront of sustainable design labels, most notably for their refreshing prints and inventive styling details. The brand’s following is comprised of all ages of women who want something unique for their closet and know these two designers will never let them down.

The duo is fortunate enough to be able to manufacture in New York City where Carlson is based – so why would they ever want to produce their line in China? Is the backlash so bad against the entire country that now it’s all Chinese we sneer at? Wu, of Chinese descent, and I recently had a conversation about whether it was insulting, all the negative connotations from the entire sustainable community regarding China.

Offshore manufacturing? That’s just something designers have to do. Many are doing it in China. The best way to look at all this and your feelings on China is to support the handful of designers who are manufacturing from China, the right way.

Alice Wu and Moriah Carlson, designers of Feral Childe

Here’s what Alice Wu had to say about it:

“Our company, Feral Childe, is proud to be able to manufacture our garments in New York City, and hope to do so for as long as we can. I prefer to manufacture in the US but am frequently dismayed that ‘Made in China’ has such negative connotations, especially within the green community. I think that before you dismiss manufacturing in China as completely unethical, you have to look at what ‘Made in China’ really means.

We have all read about worker abuse and fraudulent manufacturing practices, horrific pollution and so on. But these days, it’s almost impossible to have an apparel business without China being involved in some way, simply because we don’t have all of these options domestically. These overseas options can still be eco: many organic and sustainable fabrics are sourced from China, whether from the raw materials or to the milling of the fabric.

Hang tags and labels are often outsourced to China even if you order them from a US-based company. But those can be green too: at least one Chinese company uses non-toxic inks to print hang tags on recycled paper and garment labels made from recycled polyester. I know American eco-designers who have made the choice to produce in China. And they are in China up to six months out of the year, overseeing their production. They tell me that the working conditions are fair and that the sewing is quality top-notch.

Obviously, there are reputable suppliers and manufacturers in China – if we want to do business with China, we are the ones who have to do our homework and steer clear of the bad apples (and there are no doubt a bunch of them) and push China for greener business practices. China is fast and smart and it is in their best interest to clean up their negative image, and they are already working on it. I think we’ll start hearing an explosion of green innovations in China within the next few years. They know the world is watching. It’s going to take awhile for the negative image to go away, but there are a growing number of young Chinese entrepreneurs in various business sectors who care about green, and collectively they can make a difference at home and abroad.”

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Depending on which camp you belong to, vegan or eco (and they are two completely different ones), your views on wearing animals will differ greatly.

If you are vegan, they will not only differ, they will absolutely mean you never wear another piece of clothing or accessory made from an animal again. The eco establishment will argue that recycling and using sustainable materials (ones not filled with pesticides or petroleum by-products) is the better way to go. It’s a tough consumer dilemma, and one that divides, as there are strong arguments for both.

When I came across Harricana by Mariouche, I thought the recycled fur line was tastefully done and contacted the designer Mariouche Gagné for an interview.

My two questions for her rested on the claim that the company “has recycled over 50,000 coats and turned them into new branded creations, adding up to nearly 400 metric tons of refurbished fur,” an estimated half a million animals’ lives saved thanks to recycling countless vintage jackets and pelts. While I thought the idea of recycling fur into forward designs was ingenious, the devil’s advocate in me also thought if I were an animal rights activist, I’d think the mere wearing of fur just promoted it – and I’d be angry.

Second, noticing her claim that the shops featuring her work were all over the world, I wondered if the reason they aren’t sold in the U.S. is due to a different mentality about wearing fur.

Harricana by Mariouche, Winter 2010

Mariouche has her own feelings about wearing fur: “I like to think further than just that the poor animal that died for the jacket a hundred years ago, I think about the animals I save now by recycling. That makes a lot more sense,” she says from her Montreal studio which today has international sales in 18 countries including Switzerland, France, Austria, Germany, and Russia.

“I am not for making with new,” she adds. “I recycle thousands of coats, silk scarves and army jackets every year into pieces that will last for another 100 years. I don’t design just for a passing trend.”

Amongst her cold weather designing credentials – like living at the North Pole – Mariouche has spent time in Kuujjuaq in Nunavik, where local Inuit women make clothing using traditional methods and see the killing of an animal in a holistic way where every drop of the animal is utilized from their oil to their pelt. While she does not condone the killing of animals, her message is clear: “We are all these city hypocrites and we want other people we don’t see to kill our food and make our clothes and that, is not natural.”

Harricana by Mariouche, Winter 2010

Jennifer Miller, founder of Mission Savvy, an eco-boutique that pairs eco fashion with pressing issues in animal welfare has her own feelings on recycling fur: “I’m just sort of over it. That’s all.”

A longtime animal rights activist, Miller asks why we even need to be wearing fur in the first place.

“If you live in a heated house, have the privilege of being able to cook yourself a warm meal and snuggle up in a warm bed at night, there’s no real survival purpose to owning a fur coat. Communities outside of true indigenous lifestyles really have no purpose wearing fur. And therefore if you are inclined to wear it, choose your Nordic destination, endure a season of coastal fishing, sheep herding, knitting, hunting and territorial defense and really immerse yourself in the culture of having no choice but to wear fur. Otherwise please spare me the headache of preaching about how the jacket keeps you warm in the winter, all 1.5 hours of the day that you are actually outside,” says Miller.

But from an animal welfare perspective, Miller thinks if there must be a fur industry, it should most certainly revolve around recycled fur with not a single animal being skinned alive again.

“Fur can be put to better use than fashion,” she says, “There are hundreds of thousands of homeless people that would appreciate a fur coat donation. Humane Society of the United States has a great program called ‘Coats for Cubs’ where you can donate your fur coat and it’s used to comfort animals in rehab. And what about using them as a down alternative as well? Fur stuffed blankets is another great idea for families with children that can’t afford to turn on the heat in the winter.”

Mariouche, who might agree with the multitude of uses for fur, holds the position that no matter what, people are going to buy fur.

“I offer people with money a choice though to be more ethical and I think if you can offer that in the luxury sector, giving them a choice, it’s better than nothing.”

Top Image From Harricana by Mariouche

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