Heidi McKenzie launched a Kickstarter campaign for Wheelchair Fashion in order to feature her ground-breaking, made-in-America jeans.

McKenzie’s jeans are made specifically for people who are in wheelchairs. The jeans are just as fashionable as any conventional jeans, but they come with certain adaptations that make them incredibly comfortable for people in chairs.

We wanted to find out more about McKenzie’s creation (and her soon-to-be-ending Kickstarter campaign — it’s over on August 29), so, we interviewed her about her passion for fashion, her designs, and what she plans to do in the future.

EcoSalon: Have you always been interested and inspired by fashion?

Heidi McKenzie: Yes, I have always had an interest in fashion. My aunt and I even designed my dress for my senior prom. Before my car accident, I was going to college for fashion merchandising and wanted to have a retail store.

ES: Tell us about what inspired you to start your own clothing line? Who has helped you along the way?

HM: Fashion has been a big influence in my life for as long as I can remember. After the accident that made me a paraplegic, I became involved in organizations that support other disabled people. For the first time, the ‘Miss Wheelchair Kentucky’ and ‘Miss Wheelchair America’ pageants gave me the opportunity to get to know many other people like me. In that, I realized that finding fashionable functional clothing was nearly impossible for all of us. I saw the opportunity to help the disabled community, as well as making my dreams of designing clothing possible.

ES: How did you think up the name of the company (Alter UR Ego) and what does it mean to you?

HM: I want those with disabilities to be able to express their “alter-ego” through fashion in hopes of breaking down social barriers and giving people the confidence they always want to feel.

ES: Tell us about the jeans you’re making — how did you design them and what are they made of?

HM: Mens and womens adaptable jeans for those in wheelchairs. Being in a wheelchair, I know first hand what grievances we have with regular clothing. I used that experience to design jeans with features to make us more comfortable in the jeans we wear. Accessible pockets on the thighs, customized length options, high back rise, elastic waistband, straps for ease of dressing, invisible catheter opening, tummy control panel, and a faux fly to make them look like a regular pair of jeans. They are made of 89-percent cotton, 8-percent polyester, 3-percent Elastane

ES: How are the jeans sustainable?

HM: What makes these jeans sustainable is that they were designed for a purpose to be functional for the daily lives of someone in a wheelchair. Everyone in the value chain has been paid fair wages.

I learned the importance of sustainability from Shannon Whitehead, the founder of Factory 45, an accelerator program for startup business creating sustainable clothing lines.

ES: What’s the key to making clothing adaptable for people in wheelchairs?

HM: The key to designing adaptable clothing is that it’s for a seated body. Keeping in mind that it’s comfortable and the features are functional. More importantly, considering the risk of causing sores. For example, not having butt pockets because it’s more material you are sitting on and making it more of a risk of a pressure sore.

ES: Why was completing production in North Carolina important to you?

HM: The material is sourced and product development was done in North Carolina. When I met with Quality Apparel Plus, they believed in my mission and I knew they would be the perfect production partner. Being made in the U.S.A. and creating jobs with fair wages is important.

ES: What other types of pieces would you like to make in the future and what’s most needed in the community? Do you have any “blueprint” plans now?

HM: I want to design everything from blouses, dresses, slacks, jackets, and maybe even shoes! It’s all in the works! I believe that the wheelchair community should have adaptable clothing options that are fashionable and functional.

People in wheelchairs are used to adapting to the world around them, not the other way around. When it comes to clothing, I want to make them feel good by knowing this clothing was made with them in mind!

Related on EcoSalon

ALDA ‘Plus-Size’ Modeling Collective: Every Woman is Beautiful

France and Lane Bryant are Shaking Up the Modeling Industry

5 Best Things to Happen at New York Fashion Week 2015

Image from Wheelchair Fashion’s Kickstarter

The post Heidi McKenzie Makes Fashion Waves With Wheelchair Fashion appeared first on EcoSalon.

Alice & Whittles’ simple but stylish espadrilles step lightly on the planet and benefit all who have a hand in making them.

Espadrilles are, once again, on the trend forecast for spring/summer 2013, so why not invest in a pair that are reducing poverty, supporting long-term sustainable growth and creating infrastructure for rural communities? Alice & Whittles, the venture of two humanitarians, offers a selection of bright, colorful and all natural flat espadrilles that are perfect for upcoming weather…and your karma. Their lightweight and breathable qualities also make these kicks the perfect pair to take traveling,  and you can stock your wardrobe sustainably by supporting the project on Kickstarter .

The philosophy behind Alice & Whittles lies in re-thinking how simple products are made and consumed. Through their work with North African refugees, founders Sofi Khwaja and Nicholas Horekens became profoundly inspired by the creativity and resourcefulness of these most vulnerable people. Experiencing the after effects of resource and labor exploitation, corruption and absurdly unbalanced distribution of power in several countries was a call to action, and so the duo decided to make a positive change by harnessing, supporting and sharing this raw creativity.

This led to a project involving the creation of espadrilles, which are simple, casual, travel well and are made from completely natural materials. Collaboration with small-scale organic farmers and rural weavers in India ensued for sourcing hand-woven “Social Cloth” at Fair Trade prices. Espadrilles can be manufactured outside of a factory setting, and were historically hand-made by artisans, which is why the label works with shoemakers in France–the birthplace of the espadrille– to assemble the shoes.

These handcrafted shoes truly benefit everyone who has a hand in making them, and are made out of completely natural, vegan materials. The canvas uppers are hand woven, organic cotton and the breathable soles are braided jute; the stitching is done with organic cotton thread, and the natural rubber bottoms make these kicks more durable than your average, lightweight, summer shoe. Sourcing organic, Indian cotton makes a significant difference, as the production of the materials consumes 95 percent fewer chemicals than conventional cotton, uses less energy, dramatically reduces the likelihood of farmer suicide and allows for a bio-diverse environment that supports its community.

Alice & Whittles’ spring/summer 2013 collection includes espadrilles in bright, solid colors, charming floral and nautical prints, as well as a delicate white pair in embroidered fabric. A $69 show of support will buy you a pair of these Fair Trade kicks and a shoe bag, so check out the Kickstarter page to learn more and make your donation!

If the project reaches its funding goal in the next 2 weeks, the founders aim to first solidify their supply chain and then move on to expanding the product line. Working in other regions of the world is part of the plan, as “respect for workers is a principle that can be transferred to a supply chain in any part of the world.” The Alice & Whittles philosophy is deeply rooted in creating a positive change in the communities the label is working with and creating transparent supply chains that put the power back into the hands of the consumers.

Sofi and Nicholas have sought to work with a local NGO in the rural area of Kutch  called Khamir to help build infrastructure and solid livelihoods for the farmers and artisans involved in producing their canvas. Collaboration with Khamir creates training opportunities and fosters promotion of local skills and traditions, alongside providing  health insurance, low-cost infrastructure and no-interest advance payments. Rural weaving communities such as Kutch have not benefited from the economic growth India has seen in recent years, and their skills are becoming a lost art. Most importantly, Sofi and Nicolas are making sure to work directly with the individuals involved in creating their products, ensuring clear communication and transparency across the entire supply chain.

Images: Alice & Whittles

The post Sole Food: Fair Trade Espadrilles by Alice & Whittles Support Sustainability appeared first on EcoSalon.

We’ve got a roundup of some unique and worthy crowdfunded projects to check out.

It seems you can’t scroll an inch through Facebook or Twitter these days without seeing a call to support a crowdfund project (or ten) featured on platforms like Kickstarter, Rally and Indiegogo. Maybe you’ve even started one of your own.

What’s so enticing about these crowdfunded social financing models is it’s helping shape the projects, product, art and causes that individuals and communities actually want, as opposed to giant corporations just giving us their preferred options to choose from.

This self-empowerment in turn helps us to send strong messages back to the corporatocracy about what we will and will not support, hopefully leading them towards developing more socially and environmentally supportive policies and products. These are exciting times indeed.

If you’ve not yet lent your support to a crowdfunded project, we’ve rounded up a few you might find particularly worthy. What’s also fun about social financing is there are incentives, often for nominal donations as low as $5 or $10. The more you give, the more you get, and while that’s not necessarily a reason to support a worthy cause, you can use the perks as gifts or even as a donation, if you feel called to.

1. Our own Foodie Underground columnist, Anna Brones, is working on a project about inspirational visionaries in Afghanistan called Afghan Dreamers.

2. Exile Nation: The Plastic People: This documentary film-in-process is a project about the mass-deportation of millions of Mexican-American immigrants and what happens when they’re forced out of the country.

3. Help build an urban garden in Ojai, California at the Topa Topa Elementary school.

4. Technology got you a little frazzled? Grab a handmade notebook (or several) to jot down your thoughts instead from Mirth and Company.

5. Love trees? Support non-profit efforts dedicated to rescuing timberlands from logging.

6. A film with a non-profit component tracks six women touring India, experiencing the harsh economic differences.

7. Support community in a unique experiment: walking the East Coast while holding hands. Results will be documented in books.

8. Keep one of Santa Monica’s most loved healthy and delicious raw food restaurants from shutting its doors. Euphoria Loves Rawvolution’s landlord has gone a little wacky and it’s threatening this long-time establishment.

Got a worthy crowd-funding project we should know about? Let me know on Twitter @jillettinger

 Image courtesy of Afghan Dreamers

The post 8 Eco and Socially Conscious Crowdfunded Projects Worth Supporting appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now. 

An editor of a luxury magazines claims that the “only good cyclist is a dead one.” Madness ensues. [Via Bike Biz]

Want to be more productive in your job? Get out of the office and start working from home. [Via Wired]

Men vs. women: who is healthier? [Via Organic Authority]

Hear about the study finding “no significant health benefit” to organic food? Here is Michael Pollan’s response. [Via KQED]

Snail shell miniature gardens: yes you will want to make this. [Via Treehugger]

Planning a trip to Portland? Then you will need a guide to the 20 best coffeehouses and roasters. [Via Eater]

Trip planning for river lovers: the top 10 river towns in America. [Via Outside]

Help support art as activism, with a photo exhibit that captures the beauty of real life in Afghanistan. [Via Kickstarter]

If there are still Republicans people out there that are confused about how reproduction works, this video from the 1940s should explain it. [Via The Atlantic]

Co-ops aren’t just for hippies, they’re responsible business models. [Via GOOD]

What does our actual human footprint look like? A visualization of the density levels and population size of 129 metropolitan regions gives us an idea. [Via LSE Cities]

Image: Ian Sane

The post Link Love: The ‘Only Good Cyclist is a Dead One,’ Sex Education from the 1940s, and Why People That Work From Home Are More Productive appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s vertical, it’s modular, it’s magnetic…hence lustable. 

As if a vertical garden wasn’t sexy enough, take a look at the new modular vertical. I think we can all agree that this is the year horizontal greenery officially became passé.

Of the moment, the Urbio, a collaboration between Beau Oyler, Jared Aller and the Enlisted Design team.

What it is: neutrally white recyclable “eco-plastic” pots (a kind of imitation ceramic) that can be mounted on just about any vertical surface with neodymium magnets. Because of the Urbio’s modularity (plus modernity and adaptability), plant pots can be purchased individually or as part of the larger wall mounting plate pack.

Check out this video, from their original Kickstarter campaign, to see the Urbio in action.

The post Lustables: The Urbio Modular, Vertical Garden appeared first on EcoSalon.

The girls of {r}evolution apparel are on a mission to ignite conversation in the fashion industry.

When Kristin Glenn (left) and Shannon Whitehead launched a Kickstarter project to fund their idea for a sustainably-produced convertible travel garment late last year, they had no idea the interest they’d generate. 796 backers contributed more than $64,000 dollars to the Versalette from {r}evolution apparel, making it the most funded fashion project in Kickstarter history. Now, Kristin and Shannon are working with producers in the U.S. to bring the garment to life, chronicling their production adventures on a blog, and keeping up on their conscious lifestyle news by reading EcoSalon. Here, Kristin chats with us about why she’s a regular reader.

Name: Kristin Glenn

Website: http://www.revolutionapparel.me

What sets EcoSalon apart from other publications you read?

In our quest for sustainability (in our business and our everday lives) it’s hard to find the cool, interesting, non-granola aspects of eco-living. EcoSalon brings so many things together – films we should be watching, companies to look out for, new and interesting things that actually apply to our lives! It’s not just for tree-huggers and it’s not just for snobby design people. It’s for readers like us who want to know what’s up in the eco-world in a relatable way.

We started {r}evolution apparel in the hopes of sparking conversations about fashion and consumption. Fashion wreaks havoc on the environment and is a source of many human rights issues across the globe – and we’d like to put a spotlight on that through our products.

We hope that our apparel line helps tell the story of the fashion industry, and what we can all do to make fashion more ethical (and enjoyable).

We are both avid travelers and realized that there was a need for versatile, sustainable clothing while we were in Central America learning about sustainable textiles. Working towards reducing our consumption seemed to make a lot of sense, especially when we were living out of a backpack! And the Versalette was born…

Fantastic, exciting, and nerve-wracking! We met so many people via Kickstarter who we never would have met otherwise. We offered pre-sales of our first piece, the Versalette, and ended up raising over $60,000. All-in-all, it was incredibly rewarding.

Our purchases make a difference. When we support a small button company or a recycled fabric company, it matters. The “butterfly effect” is very real.

Sustainability is about making the best decisions you can. Nothing is truly sustainable, but taking small steps towards that is what keeps us moving forwards.

People are generally awesome.

We will be going on a sustainable fashion tour this summer on the West Coast with an RV and some Versalettes, hoping to bring awareness to the issues behind fashion and consumption!

The post We Heart Our Readers: Kristin Glenn, {r}evolution apparel appeared first on EcoSalon.

Yoxi’s Trim the Waste Of Fashion competition aims to play an active role in changing the fashion industry.

Yoxi is a creative competition and a social game that challenges team players to tackle social issues with a sense of style and playfulness. Their first competition asked people to rethink fast food and produce a 90-second video to express their opinion about the challenge. This time around, the challenge is something equally important – the fashion industry and the winner stand a chance at winning $40,000.

Yoxi says: “In the nearly $1 trillion clothing industry, waste abounds from the estimated 15-20% of fabric trashed on the cutting room floor, unsustainable material sourcing, massive carbon emissions when transporting products from manufacturing centers, gallons upon gallons of wasted and polluted water during washing and dyeing, as well as wildly excessive packaging, tagging, and storage. Fashion choices matter to everybody, not just models, magazine and style mavens.”

Watch the Yoxi video that looks at the manufacturing of one pair of jeans.

Yoxi founder, Sharon Chang, says the idea of play and competition to solve social problems like waste from the fashion industry is somewhat of a cultural shift – moving the “do good” space from guilt-driven to fun-driven.

“We know that games have existed for as long as human societies have existed, and we all love to play, whether it’s a collaborative or competitive game. The idea of play brings people together and makes problem-solving more engaging and rewarding,” she says. “We also want to add a bit more glamor to the social innovation space. Style and substance are equally important.”

Influenced by a Kickstarter format, people vote for their favorite Yoxi team creating the most innovative fashion waste tools, which forwards teams to future rounds. “Promoters” can even pledge monetary donations should the team they are backing win.

Chang says one of the most interesting lessons from their last competition was how diverse the teams were in regards to geographic location, backgrounds, perspectives, and demographics. The big question is, do we have the time to play like this, or is it easier for people just to write a check for a cause and be done with it? Chang says that while funding is a key component in delivering solutions to pressing social issues, we have to recognize that the problems we face today are far too daunting to be resolved by conventional practices.

The post Fashion Industry Waste? Game On, Says Yoxi appeared first on EcoSalon.