Bianca and Michael Alexander, founders of Vert Couture, had their work cut out for them this past Sunday hosting Chicago’s first ever green fashion show. But with an already established track record in the sustainable field, the couple pulled it off with flying shades of green.

The husband and wife team, who recently migrated from California, have made the windy city more interesting with Conscious Living TV and Soul of Green. So producing Chicago’s debut sustainable design show was just another step in their progression towards sustainable.

Michael Alexander says he and his wife have a serious passion (bordering on addiction) for fabulous fashion that’s created consciously and sustainably. Vert Couture is their way of sharing this passion with the public.

“Seeing and meeting so many talented and committed eco-designers in our new home of Chicago, we wanted to support them by providing a platform to show the world their talent. We felt we could best serve them and the sustainability movement by producing arguably the hottest show of fashion week.”

Bianca and Michael Alexander, founders of the Vert Couture eco-fashion show

Chicago’s conscious community, including Fashion Focus Chicago and the Chicago Fashion Foundation, helped sponsor the show where Mountains of the Moon, Vaute Couture, Bryant McLemore Smith, Frei Designs and students from the International School of Design and Technology featured the best of their Spring 2010 collections.

Melissa Baswell, designer of Mountains of the Moon, says the show has strengthened the connection between Chicago’s eco-designers.

“Annie Novotny of Frei Designs and I decided that we’re not stopping with Vert Couture. We want to organize monthly gatherings with some of our fellow Chicago eco-designers to brainstorm and help each other out.”

Melissa Baswell of Mountains of the Moon takes a stroll down the runway at Vert Couture

Baswell says that unlike traditional shows she’s been a part of, more factors were involved in Chicago since the show was produced as green as possible (the event was carbon neutral, featured organic and vegan drinks and hors d’oeuvres, had green sponsors, eco-friendly printed materials, and of course, sustainable designers).

“There were a variety of designers and a wide array of pieces shown. It was put together as a fashion show first and foremost, but it also educated people on the importance of sustainability, and included much more than just the runway show.”

Annie Novotny, founder of Frei Designs, says that being part of Vert Couture is just what designers have to do right now.

“It turns some people off, promoting yourself as an eco-designer. But it’s my choice to produce ethically. It’s never been a cool thing to do. So whether people are educated or not, whether or not they know about issues of waste and sustainability, I’m going to be part of something like this simply because it’s important,” says Novotny.

Sustainable designer Lara Miller didn’t show her line at Vert Couture, but did show during Fashion Focus at Macy’s Designers of Chicago last Thursday evening. Her line is carried in the Chicago Designer Shop at Macy’s on State street.

Lara Miller Spring 2010, at Fashion Focus (Photo by Michele Wayman)

Miller says that Chicago is getting more competitive with the other major fashion cities in the U.S., but thinks that Chicago, in general, is just different.

“We’re providing a different view, a different market and allowing our designers to grow while reaching out to other markets. I think that Chicago designers have a unique perspective on fashion and on the industry. We’re incredibly hard workers, we understand who we sell to, and first and foremost we’re good people who support each other and our garment manufacturers here in the city.

Not all of our businesses are about creating a stir or a groundbreaking trend. We’re about quality, individuality, and our customers. We each have our own individual message and brand identity. And I think that we’re all showing something different and creating trends in our own ways, some more than others, but the trends to me don’t matter as much as creating beautiful quality work that pleases our customers. Because while we’re designers at the end of the day, we’re also entrepreneurs, which means that we want to make our customers happy.”

Chicago and Vert Couture have certainly made me happy.

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It’s Saturday and you know what that means!

We’ve given you a best-selling wrap dress from Mountains of the Moon and a statement necklace by muichic crafted from tagua nuts and braided hemp. Today we’re bringing you a grab at something sweet and perfect for lounging from the designer Meadow.

Made from bamboo and organic cotton with cotton twill tape as trim on the boy shorts, you can tie the top’s shoulder straps and throw a cardigan over it in colder weather or wear as a stand alone top in warmer months.

The set is perfect as sleep wear, too, and the boy shorts can be worn as comfy undies.

A multi-tasking lounge act? You got it baby, but in this venue, you get to be sustainably sound and cozy at home rather than stuck listening to bad Barry Manilow covers in a smoke-filled room.

The set comes in black and cream for those of you feeling more copa than cabana.

For more styles and information on Meadow designs go to her site: meadow-designs, or see the Etsy page.

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Mountans of the Moon Audrey Wrap Dress in Black

There’s nothing better than getting a piece of beautiful clothing for free. Unfortunately, how often does that happen?

When Melissa Baswell, founder and designer for the eco-clothing line Mountains of the Moon said she’d give us an Audrey Wrap Dress for our giveaway, well, we were quick to jump on it.

Who wouldn’t?

Elegant and super-flattering, this multi-use black or natural colored dress (your choice), features a soft 55% hemp, 45% organic cotton jersey that is perfect for all seasons. Setting itself apart from traditional wrap dresses, the Audrey is designed with a unique (and much more comfortable) pull-over mock wrap top, 3/4-length sleeves, side ties, and a chic, uneven hem that gives your legs the vavoom they need.

Yup. I wrote vavoom. Even if you think you don’t have it.

Made sweatshop-free in the USA and maybe free for you when you comment for the giveaway so start typing!

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Time and time again you hear it: “Eco-fashion is way too expensive!”

But is it?

Myths abound when it comes to sustainably designed clothing and accessories. Here’s what six designers had to say about it.

olsen Haus- Pure Vegan Shoes

As consumers become more aware of the impact of certain industries on the environment, they want to make better choices, and I can honor that people think eco products are more expensive, but they need to consider a few things:

1) The cost of organic, eco, raw materials is more expensive, so designers are spending more money to make a product that is better for the environment, humans and animals. These materials are more expensive because these companies/industries are not subsidized by our government.

2) As consumers become more aware of the power they have to change old, harmful industries, and the demand for eco products goes up, there will be more companies making better products. With more demand, there is more supply; the cost of raw goods will go down and this will be reflected in the final cost to consumers with a lower price tag.

3) Eco goods are generally better quality and are not mass-produced in countries with inhumane labour practices.

4) Lastly, the green movement is not only about the impact of activities upon the environment, but also a change in priorities of wants and needs. Materialism and consumerism is the path we have been on and it just isn’t sustainable on a physical or emotional level. Less is more and eco -friendly is better for everyone.

Mountains of the Moon

More than anything, I do my best to explain (without being preachy) why eco-clothing appears to be more expensive than conventional clothing. The process of creating truly green fashion involves expenses you don’t find when producing conventional garments.

Eco-fabrics are more expensive, low-impact dyes are more expensive, and manufacturing locally in the USA (rather than overseas) is also more expensive. Because of these factors, in order for a garment to produce any sort of profit for the designer or company, the price point may be higher. In the end, though, you get what you pay for.

Eco-clothing is often very well made, and eco-fabrics also have much longer life spans than conventional fabrics, so you aren’t purchasing disposable clothing. One of my biggest goals in design is to create pieces that are stylish, but also timeless – wardrobe staples that you’ll have in your closet for many years. In the long run, spending a little more for a few beautiful, key pieces that will last truly does save you money over continuously buying cheap pieces.

We also work very hard on our price points in an effort to keep our them reasonable. It’s more important to us to make our clothing accessible and available to as many people as possible than to make a huge profit. We want people to appreciate fashion, but also to realize the necessity of preserving our earth.

Oami Powers, designer of Judah Ross

We all love to look beautiful, and for most of us, we are trying to figure out how to do that on a budget. When times are tight, the lure of that cute, fashion-forward top going for $20 at H&M or Target can be overwhelming.

It’s important to try to look at the big picture, though. If you think about it, the amount of labor and energy that goes into each conventional garment we buy is kind of staggering. The crop is planted, nurtured, harvested. Then the raw material goes to a factory where it is processed and spun in yarn. The yarn is usually then taken to another factory where it’s woven into fabric, sent to a dye mill where it is dyed and possibly finished.

It’s sold to a manufacturer who must design, draft and grade patterns, create samples to test for fit & performance, cut and sew the garments, market, finish pack and ship. At each stage there are ordinary people who need to be paid for their labor, and the cost of raw materials.

The eco/sustainable movement is growing, but it is still very new and is a small part of the industry worldwide. Often, the raw material themselves are more expensive. It is a significant investment of time and money for a cotton grower to transition from a conventional to an organic crop. Raising sheep on organic pasture is more expensive than feeding them the non-organic option.

Processing the raw materials in a responsible manner often means that the mills and dye houses will need to alter existing machinery or buy new machinery, and add new waste treatment facilities. In order for worker conditions to improve all along the supply chain, factory’s cost of doing business will increase.

Because the demand for eco clothing is still a small proportion of the industry as a whole, they are often being made by smaller producers or they are a small part of a larger company’s production. Though it may cost us more to buy a hemp/silk dress than one made of conventional cotton, I think we can take some pride that a little portion of each of those dollars is paying a factory worker a better wage, or helping a factory treat the waste from their factory.

Do-Ni Shoes

If eco-clothing is expensive, just think of all the wasteland and oceanic deadzones that were created so we can have cheap and plentiful clothing. That is something no money can bring back.

Cost is a subjective thing. We don’t think twice about spending $200 on a pair of Nike sneakers, where the actual cost was $4.50, advertising cost $30 and profit margin 300%+. Yet a pair of shoes that costs the same, well made with honestly sustainable materials by an unknown designer, may be considered costly. Do we ever wonder why?

Perhaps if we each are more conscientious about our purchasing choices, even if it’s just one garment at a time, we can bring up demand, reduce cost and have the best of both worlds.

Feral Childe

Eco clothing absolutely costs more to manufacture than conventional clothing. The raw materials cost more. There’s only a limited supply of organic cotton. Extra processing to avoid nasty chemicals, waste and runoff all goes into the price of sustainable fabrics. Low-impact dyeing and printing costs more. Labor expenses are often higher for eco-clothing manufacturers, whether that means working with domestic contractors or with factories abroad who pay workers fair wages.

The profit margins are pretty slim in manufacturing and production volumes have to be high to negotiate pricing. It isn’t cost efficient yet to produce eco-clothing, but if more consumers choose to buy green we may see a wider range of price points in the near future. Buy eco now if you can, and it will benefit us all in the long run.

Cri de Coeur

Eco-clothing isn’t always that expensive, relative to similar designer brands.
Even so, the price tags aren’t come up with arbitrarily…every step of the production process adds its own cost to the bottom line.  For example, Cri de Coeur shoes are made in a socially responsible factory that pays fair wages.  Materials are high quality, so not only do they look and feel good, they’ll endure through many years of wear.  The shoes are made by hand, since the vegan materials don’t lend themselves to automated production processes that were developed for leather footwear.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the cost of a product isn’t solely what’s on the price tag.  Everything has a carbon footprint that it impacts upon our planet.  While buying the sustainable, organic or fair-trade product may be slightly more expensive in the short-term, it’s long term benefits are more than worth it.

Main image: Borman818

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