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

Whew. What a journey.

Over eight weeks ago, we set out to learn more about sustainable fashion and what we could do to help push the movement forward.

We met professors, designers, farmers, CEO’s, and people on the streets. We filmed it all. And this is a tiny, small bit of what we learned from these amazing individuals.

This is just the beginning for {r}evolution apparel; as we learn, and share, and converse, we realize that our work is crucial. We are all connected. We all matter. Every decision we make – from which tank top we buy to how we recycle our clothes – makes a difference.

Now, we’re taking time to sort through our footage, process our experience, and ultimately, create a short documentary chronicling our summer’s journey. Until then, we’ve loved posting here at EcoSalon and hope to stay connected to this community. We’ll be saying “au revoir” with a short trailer by our filmmaker, Steve Celano – enjoy!

The post {r}evolution reel: The Interviews Trailer appeared first on EcoSalon.

The best of the week at EcoSalon, hand-picked for your clicking pleasure.

Minimalism – “it’s about more than throwing $hit out”, and K. Emily Bond has some 25 delicious examples of the power of a sparsely but beautifully decorated room.

How woolen is modern wool, and what needs to be taken away to make it more authentically wooly? Leena Oijala investigates the modern boom in organic wool farming.

Get 30 people into a room, get them comfortable and let human nature take its course and what do you have? Our latest video update from the {r}evolution apparel’s sustainable trip shows and tells all.

At a loss for something to do but don’t have an extra cash to play with? Check out these fun things to do offline and online.

Finally, you know the phrase “it’s what’s on the inside that matters?” Here’s a radiographer turned fashion designer who has decided to take that literally, with stunning results.

The post The Friday 5: Stripped-Down Version appeared first on EcoSalon.

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, here, and here!

Money. It’s what makes the world go round.

We think about money a lot. We used to be bargain bin, after-Christmas-sale kind of girls. But then, during our crazy journey from college grads to nomadic travelers to clothing designers, we started tracking the money trail of fashion.

It changed our perspective completely. Now, after two years of living and breathing sustainable fashion, we can hardly remember what it’s like to buy something new, or make purchases without hemming and hawing.

But we wanted to know how other people shop. What’s important to them? How often do they think about the money trail of their purchase?

According to the US Census Bureau, the average American family spent $144 per month on clothing in 2009. But where does all of that money go? We created a diagram to trace the hands that touch a garment.

That’s a lot of hands, a lot of shipping, and a lot of activity for one t-shirt or one pair of jeans. And when we look closely at all of those steps, it’s hard not to ask,

“How can clothes possibly be so cheap?”

The average pair of jeans in America costs $34. But if we accounted for all of the environmental damage done along the way — emissions, processing, GMO seeds, pesticide-use — what would the cost really be?

How much would you pay to breathe clean air? Or drink clean water?

How much would you pay so that the people who make your clothes could breathe clean air and drink clean water?

A dollar extra? Two? Three?

We don’t have all the answers and we’re learning more about true cost and the trickle-down effect every day. What we do know, though, is that shopping isn’t some frivolous activity. Shopping is an investment in the world – and your investment represents the kind of world you want to live in.

The post {r}evolution Reel: Where Does the Money Go? 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.

Join us in Portland, Oregon on July 12, 2012.

This summer {r]evolution apparel is touring the west coast talking about fashion and sustainability. As a sponsor of the tour, we’re excited to be teaming up with them and one of our favorite eco-boutiques, EcoVibe Apparel, for an event in Portland, Oregon.

Join us to celebrate eco fashion and spark conversations about sustainability. There will be special happy hour pricing, door prizes and even a photo booth.

Come by to join this fun group of sustainable loving folks and talk about fashion, design and the latest in the world of conscious culture. We like to be inclusive, so the event is all ages and open to the public.

Please be sure to RSVP to alice@revolutionapparel.is.

We hope you’ll join us!

WHAT: Spark Something Sustainable

WHERE: Oba Restaurant, 555 NW 12th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

WHEN: Thursday July 12, 2012, 7-9pm

RSVP: alice@revolutionapparel.is

The post Spark Something Sustainable Coming to Portland, Oregon on July 12, 2012 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.

The road always surprises us. We see things that we’ve seen a million times before, but somehow, on the road, it all looks brand new.

On a rainy Seattle Sunday, we found ourselves exploring downtown. The first thing we saw was H&M, and above the building, a billboard. Featuring an attractive but relatable couple, it said:

TEES: $4.50

TOPS: $9.50

We made some snarky comments about H&M, expressed our sadness, and kept walking.

After a few minutes, our impromptu tour guide (an old friend) tepidly ventured to ask,

“What’s so bad about a cheap t-shirt?”

This friend – a super-smart, worldly, and generally aware person – had never thought about where his clothes come from. He had never thought about the story behind his purchases. And he certainly wasn’t repulsed by that attractive H&M billboard like we were.

It was such a small moment – with such a big lesson. We explained to him in a few minutes about how clothes are made, who makes most of them, and why disposable fashion is destructive to the planet. Afterwards, he said,

“Oh, I had really never thought about that before.”

That moment is what our summer is all about. It’s about seeing things for the first time, even if you see them every day. It’s about bringing “the road” to everyday life, and taking a moment to think deeper about the things we rush past while we’re caught up in our busy day-to-day.

It’s about sparking one thought – one person at a time.

{r}evolution reel: The Trailer from {r}evolution apparel on Vimeo.

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, Twitter, and watch this video about why we do what we do.

The post What’s So Bad About a Cheap T-shirt? appeared first on EcoSalon.

A tour along the West Coast to talk about fashion and sustainability.

It always comes back to wanderlust. Curiousity. A need to see and experience and learn.

A few weeks ago, we packed up our 1993 Chevy conversion van (lovingly named Zooey) and headed west. With several states and a big mission ahead of us, we thought about how we ended up here – driving a bright blue, decal-laden van from Missouri to the West Coast, in hopes of sparking conversations about fashion, consumption, and the environment.

In the last two years, we’ve started a company, designed a 100% recycled garment, raised over $64,000 on Kickstarter, and are gearing up for our biggest adventure yet:

A “sustainable fashion tour” of the Pacific Northwest.

The mission? To spark conversation about where our clothes come from. To encourage thought about where our money goes, who makes the products we buy, and how we can make them better. To change the way we shop, in order to change the ecological and humanitarian status of the planet.

Fashion is not pretty. It takes 4,310 chemicals to make the shirt you’re wearing. And one of the fastest ways to change the world is to make more conscious purchases. That means asking the tough questions of the companies you buy from and thinking deeper about how much you truly need. The state of our world depends on it.

We don’t have all of the answers, but we’re on a journey to find them. From Seattle to San Francisco, we’ll be talking to people on the streets, opening a mobile “pop-up shop,” hosting events and meetups, and interviewing some of the most exciting front-runners in sustainable fashion.

Simply put, we’re starting a movement. A movement to spark conversations between corporations and consumers, and to get people talking to each other. It’s going to be an adventure. And for it to be a success, we need you to come along.

For the next eight weeks, we’ll be sharing our stories from the road here at EcoSalon – the highs, the lows, the revelations, the setbacks. Along with a filmmaker, Steve Celano and our event coordinator, Alice, we’ll be making our way down the coast in hopes of sparking change in an industry that desperately needs it.

So it all comes back to wanderlust – with a purpose. We hope you’ll share in our need to see, experience, and learn. Until next week, here’s a (super-short!) description of who we are, what we do, and why we’re obsessed with sustainable fashion.

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, Twitter, and watch this video about why we do what we do.

The post Revolution Apparel: Sparking Conversations On the Road About Sustainability 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.