“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.”

Pop quiz, first question: to whom is that first quote attributed? The answer, friends, is founding father Thomas Jefferson who would probably spew corn kernels out of his coffin at the backseat American agriculture has taken to special interests and the (industrialized) food lobby. After regaining his composure, he’d probably tip his hat (had he worn one) to the pioneering brethren and sistren of today who are revitalizing agriculture from the comfort of their own backyards.

Urban agriculturalists Colin McCrate and Brad Halm are two such citizens. The founders of Seattle Urban Farm Company have recently come out with a book outlining pretty much everything you need to know about edible gardening (dare we call it homesteading of the urban variety). Using case studies of just about every type of urban and suburban lot, they map out irrigation solutions, design strategies, soil prepping and container gardening how-to’s.

We reached out to Colin with a few nagging, lingering questions of our own. Here’s what he had to say:

Where does one begin? Basically, what do I need to plant to get a decent edible garden going?

It’s easy to grow food at home…but it is even easier if you take a few minutes to plan things out before you get started.  Whether you are thinking about setting up a few containers on your deck or tilling up your entire backyard, there are a few basic things to you will want to address before putting your plants in the ground.

Like what?

Access to sunlight and water: Your garden must receive at least 6-8 hours of sunlight per day for healthy growth and productivity. Think about your options for garden locations and consider sun exposure as the number one priority.

Second priority is to make sure that it will be easy for you to get water to your plants on a regular basis.  It is easy to end up hauling buckets of water across the yard or knocking over pottery with an unwieldy hose, so take the time to figure out a watering system beforehand!

Bear in mind that vegetables are “heavy feeders.” This means that they absorb large amounts of nutrients from the soil as they grow. In order to produce a maximum harvest, each crop needs an adequate supply of plant food. Nutrients are supplied by compost and organic fertilizers, and both should be added to your soil before each season begins.

Make sure to follow the plant’s (or seed’s) recommended spacing requirement. Many beginning gardeners assume that, if they plant their crops closer together, then they will get more food per square foot.  But that’s not quite how it works. When crops are planted too closely together, they compete for sunlight, water and nutrients. When forced to compete, plant growth is stunted, production is limited and crops are more susceptible to pest and disease pressures.

Finally, choose crops that you are excited to grow. Certain crops give a higher yield per square foot of planting space, but it is also important to choose plants that you are really psyched about growing. It will make them easier to take care of.

What plants get you psyched?

A few of our favorite crops for small gardens are Head Lettuce, especially Deer Tongue, Flashy Trout Back; Arugula, Rocket and Surrey; Bush Beans; Summer Squash; Radishes, of the Cherriette variety; Cilantro; Basil; Tomatoes, like Sungold and Black Prince.

All of the above is basically pornography for our food writers. When should we start planting?

Planting dates vary widely depending on your climate and the crop you want to grow. In temperate parts of the country (much of the east coast, west coast and the Midwest), most crops are planted in the spring and early summer. For many gardeners, the majority of planting happens between early March and late May.

Most people don’t realize that it is possible to continue planting throughout much of the summer and even into the fall.  Planting a crop several times throughout the season is called “succession planting” and it allows the gardener to spread out their harvest over a longer period (its better to have 2 heads of lettuce per week all season than to have 20 heads all at the same time!) and to really make the most of the limited space they have available.

What’s the best coast for edible gardening?

Every region of the country has its benefits and drawbacks…The east coast has very hot summers which allows for rapid plant growth and huge yields, but that area also has some of the most prevalent pest and disease issues which have been known to frustrate many a beginning farmer. Much of the west coast has a temperate climate that allows for a long, slow growing season where certain crops can be harvested almost year round. On the downside, in the more mild parts of the coast, like our Pacific Northwest, cool summers can make some of the most coveted crops difficult to grow.

The incredible soil quality of the Midwest makes that region one of the best places in the world for food production…of course season-long droughts can shift your perspective on things a little bit…

What’s your favorite tomato variety and why?

Now that I have been living in the Pacific Northwest for almost 10 years, my expectations of a tomato plant have shifted dramatically. Given the nature of our climate, large slicing tomatoes (and sometimes even Romas) are difficult to ripen. They perform better in a greenhouse, but are more likely to encounter disease problems in those conditions. In the PNW, Sungold cherry tomatoes are without a doubt the best tasting, best producing plant you can grow. They are incredibly vigorous and healthy; and just about everybody who tries them gets addicted.

Generally speaking…I still think Sungold is the best cherry tomato for any climate, San Marzano are amazing Roma tomatoes, and the Cherokee Purple is my favorite slicer.

What’s the story with your cropping headquarters?

Seattle Urban Farm Company operates out of a house in North Seattle. The HQ is affectionately referred to as “Moonbase,” a title that attests to our location at the city limits and because we figure that our work is pioneering intensive gardening techniques that will be implemented in future moon colonies or something like that.

What crops do you recommend for vertical gardeners?

Vertical gardening can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.

The simplest vertical gardens are built with hanging pieces of string or wooden or bamboo stakes. If you have a spot that will work well for a row of tall crops, consider planting pole beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and winter squash like pumpkins or butternut.  These are all vine crops that produce better, have less disease problems and look great when supported on a trellis.

There are also some pretty cool perennial edibles that make great vertical elements in a garden like hops, grapes, kiwis, and columnar apple trees.

There are all sorts of more complex vertical gardening systems on the market today. Some allow you to plant in soil and others are set up as hydroponic or aeroponic systems. The concept of building narrow, tall planting containers makes a lot of sense for people with limited square footage of sunny real estate. I think we will see a lot of gimmicky and well-functioning vertical garden systems in the next few years, but it is important to do your homework on the products because some of them are very far to the gimmicky end of that spectrum.

What’s your take on the homestead naming controversy?

I think that putting a trademark on the phrase “urban homestead” was, at best, ill-advised. I believe that, if our society values the progress that is being made on sustainability and farming issues, then the people who work on those issues should be compensated (just like any other discipline). I think that, in this case, the move seemed more like a money-grabbing, overly-capitalistic strategy that alienated their community and potential allies instead of helping to foster a healthy homesteading economy. Based on my limited understanding of trademark law, “urban homesteading” is a wholly descriptive term and shouldn’t even be permissible as a trademark anyways.

Food Grown Right, In Your Backyard authored by Colin McCrate and Brad Halm is available for purchase now through Mountaineers Books. 

The post The Seattle Urban Farm Company Kicks Out Homesteaders for a New Urban Agriculture appeared first on EcoSalon.

Is your city on the list?

Vegetarians and vegans won’t be surprised. GrubHub, the nation’s number-one food ordering service, recently analyzed the over 15,000 restaurants now in its database to find the cities that offer the highest percentage of vegetarian restaurants. Seattle, Washington topped the list, followed by San Jose, California. Half of the cities on the top 10 list were on the West Coast and three were in California-San Jose, San Diego and San Francisco.

But in a surprising twist, Texas also landed three spots on the top 10 list, with Houston, Dallas and Austin ranked 4, 5, and 6, and all three beat San Francisco at number 7. While this might be welcome news to Texan vegetarians, it’s important to remember that the results might not be entirely trustworthy. GrubHub’s offerings are naturally skewed towards what might be termed “eateries of convenience,” and many vegan and vegetarian restaurants aren’t listed. For example, Berkeley’s Cafe Gratitude, a staple for Bay Area vegetarians and vegans, isn’t listed.

Still, vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike can rejoice at the increasing number of options for both convenience and sit-down restaurants alike. GrubHub filters also allow customers to select for different dietary needs, like gluten-free options. And their customer service team will be a helpful mediator if there’s any confusion over how or what to order online.

Image: ecstaticist.

The post Seattle Tops GrubHub’s List of Top 10 Vegetarian Cities 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.

Willows Inn offers the freshest seafood imaginable…from right outside the door.

Organic dining from a chef trained at the world’s best restaurant: Willows Inn is sheer heaven for foodies. It’s also the antidote to the hustle and bustle of city life, where you’d expect to find such summa cum laude gastronomy. Culinary star-in-the-making Blaine Witzel (age 25) trained at Noma in Copenhagen, where Rene Rezdepi has taken on Ferran Adria’s mantle as today’s most garlanded restaurateur. Now Witzel (pictured below) wows the crowds at this idyllic slow food haven on a tiny island off the coast of Washington State.

The Pacific Northwest is famous for its fabulous shellfish, especially razor clams, but also crabs, oysters and scallops, and fish such as salmon and halibut. They don’t have far to travel to reach your plate. Local organic vegetables provide the supporting roles in Witzel’s starry menus – don’t be surprised to see beach-foraged seaweed make an appearance. “Fished, foraged and farmed,” as they say since many ingredients as possible come from the island itself, and the water around it.

The seven onsite guest rooms in this wood-built inn are a stylish mix of traditional and contemporary featuring organic bathroom goodies, free WIFI and some rooms even have radiant heating, for toasty toes. Two rooms in the detached guest house have their own private decks and bath tubs; you can also stay on the farm where much of the food served at the restaurant is produced, including the eggs, or in stunning beachfront houses and apartments around the island.

If you’re all gourmeted out, have a massage (in your room, if you prefer) or a hot stone treatment in the spa. Then roll down to the nearby beach or venture out into slow-paced Lummi Island, with its thriving community of artists and artisans and respect for the environment; the island is renowned for its sustainable fisheries and eco-farms.

The more adventurous (and die-hard foodies) can take a kayak out to visit the other San Juan islands, minding any Orca whales or seals en route, to forage for sea lettuce, Saragassum, and beach plantain.

Rates from $204 including tax and whale-watching from the comfort of your room; the kayaking is an extra activity.

Photos: Willows Inn, Celebrate Big, coffee&donuts

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

The post Places & Spaces: Willows Inn, Lummi Island, Washington State appeared first on EcoSalon.

Describe this playlist

Camilla listens to a lot of NPR. If you want to know her playlist turn the dial to your local NPR station. She also enjoys 90.3 KEXP which is often playing in the warehouse. It’s how we first heard several songs on this list.

This playlist is a combination of my favorite tracks from new releases in 2012 and older music I’ve listened to as a result. I wish I could have included a track from Theesatisfaction‘s new album that is being released March 29th. Several Prairie staff members are fans and NPR is streaming their new release.

What role does music play in your personal life? Your work life?

Seattle is still a music city and people talk about it with passion. A high percentage of our population is conversant in obscure musicians and genres. After eight years here I’m still being educated by those around me.

In our climate it’s another version of discussing the weather. Those conversations can be viewed as an emotional barometer.  Staff share what they’re listening to and frequently attend shows together. My playlist isn’t at all reflective of our eclectic musical taste. We’re planning a staff trip to see Heart at Puyallup Fair and we’ve named several garments after Stevie Nicks songs. We always listen to music at work and sometimes neglect to turn it down when answering the phone. It’s an integral part of our work environment and keeps us motivated and connected.

Why do you think so many of us draw inspiration from music?

Musical affinities are way to signify who you are.

How does music play into the Prairie ethos?

We work to create our own environment. Playing music is a simple way to achieve that goal.

If you could spend one day with an artist on this playlist who would it be and why?

Brian Eno must have some great stories.

Image: Lilia Ramirez

The post Music Monday: Prairie Underground’s Barometer appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnA book about oysters teaches the real meaning of farm-to-table.

A month ago, a good friend put a copy of Shucked into my hands and said, “You have to read this.”

I looked at the cover. A watercolor painting of an oyster and a fork paired with the title of Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm was intriguing.

“It’s about a woman food writer that decides to trade her city life for working on an oyster farm.”

While I have never expressed the specific interest in working on an oyster farm, I saw where she was coming from. Having grown up in the country, I have my personal organic farm and vineyard dreams, the kind of place where you can get your hands dirty and find a new appreciation for the food and drink that ends up in front of you every evening. A personal narrative about what farm-to-table really means was therefore right up my alley. What I didn’t realize before diving into the pages of Shucked was how much I would fall in love with oysters in the process.

Odd as it might seem to fall in love with a food via a book, author Erin Byers Murray opened up an entirely new world to me, one that involved saltwater, hard work, rain boots and oyster recipes.

A few months ago, I had scribbled in my worn Moleskine notebook that finds itself along on most food adventures, “Oysters are the new bread.” It was a comment induced by a weekend of overindulgence of seafood, but working my way through Shucked, I again realized that oysters were everywhere.

My brain full of words like bivalve and oyster farm, my eyes and ears sought out any mention of the seafood. Byers Murray’s descriptive personal narrative and informative approach to describing life at Island Creek Oysters made me feel like I too was working on an oyster farm, or at least had an intimate understanding of the industry and the food she and so many others were working hard to harvest.

Which is how I ended up at The Walrus and The Carpenter.

The oyster bar in Ballard, just north of downtown Seattle, Washington, had been recommended by two food enthusiasts: a food photographer that worked with a friend of mine, and a charismatic wine connoisseur at McCarthy & Schiering Wine Merchants, who on a chance encounter with their Saturday afternoon wine tasting, had launched into a long conversation on wine, food and beyond. “So, are you a food writer?” he asked. (Is it that obvious?) A mere nod got me a list of eight places to visit, all scribbled on the back of his business card. The Walrus and The Carpenter had a star next to it and the name of a server we were supposed to track down.

After a two hour wait, which no one at the oyster bar seemed to mind, we were seated on stools at the bar, watching as a man with a bright red beard that went all the way down to his collar line pulled oysters from various buckets full of ice and shucked quicker than I can type. A menu full of local seafood, the “least” local of the oysters coming from British Columbia, only a few hours north, our server pointed us in the right direction of some of the stronger tasting oysters. Always trust your server. Soon we were in the midst of shells from Effingham and Dabob Bay, and I had a newfound love for this bivalve shellfish.

I am not alone in oyster love, however. As it turns out, they really are everywhere.

“[Oysters are] actually making a comeback – they were this hugely popular a century ago but then oyster populations around the country were depleted or completely wiped out by over consumption, pollution, and other factors. But there’s been a real effort to rebuild wild stocks around the country along with a huge rise in popularity of oyster farming on both coasts. Essentially, there are more oysters on the market than there have been in decades and restauranteurs are finding them to be a popular menu addition. I’ve been to a few sports bars that now boast raw bar menus – it’s pretty incredible to see one food product cross over so many different tastes and styles,” says Byers Murray.

Oysters aren’t just a fancy delicious component of a dinner party, they’re also a key part of our ecosystem. When I asked Byers Murray what she thought the single most impressive thing about an oyster is, she responded with, “oysters can filter up to 40 gallons of water a day – imagine what that can do help clean up our waterways.”

Oysters may have struck such a personal chord because they play the key role in my home state’s economy. According to Geoff Menzies, Manager of the Drayton Harbor Community Oyster Farm, a project by the Puget Sound Restoration Fund to “engage community members in the actual act of growing oysters and getting muddy,” Washington State is actually the leading producer of farmed bivalve shellfish in the U.S., producing 61 million pounds of oysters in 2011 which accounts for $58 million. Menzies cites Rowan Jacobsen’s book A Geography of Oysters when he says, “No city is as oyster-mad as Seattle.” It’s like I was born to fall in love with them.

Looking at the efforts in the Pacific Northwest and the East Coast, it is clear that there is a significant effort to rebuild wild stocks, which is good for both the environment and our health. Oysters are low in saturated fat, contain Omega 3 fatty acids, and as Menzies points out, are “especially good sources of high-quality protein, minerals: Iron, zinc and copper, and Vitamin B12.”

Oysters also have a positive communal effect. “When a community is located next to a bay which supports commercial  oyster harvest, they benefit from all of the efforts of that business or nonprofit to restore and to keep marine waters clean. Oyster farmers need clean marine water in order to survive. Everybody benefits. They often lead the charge to reduce bacterial contamination from livestock farms and septic systems, which are often the leading sources of pollution that close shellfish beds,” says Menzies.

Take a step back, and oysters are a good reminder of all of the elements of the food system that are essential to keeping us and our communities alive. Byers Murray says that if there is one lesson she can take away from Island Creek it’s “that there is an enormous amount of human effort and energy that goes into our food supply and we should do everything we can to appreciate and support that effort.”

Ensuring that we are well educated about that supply chain is the game changer when it comes to food politics. “I think we need more transparency in the food system overall. The media has really picked up its game in terms of reporting what’s happening behind the curtain at some of these massive food producers. But so much more can be done at a more basic level, such as in our education system, to bring awareness to what we’re eating and where it comes from,” says Byers Murray.

Keeping all of this in mind, I savored my oysters at The Walrus and The Carpenter, with a new appreciation of what, for so long in my mind, had just been another shellfish. But as is clear with good food, everything we eat has a story. Nothing on our plates can be paired with the word “just.”

A place of production, people to produce it, a system for getting it to a restaurant or a store and lastly the people that prepare it for us, or the preparation that happens in our very own kitchens; that entire system happens with every single thing that we eat. Every. Single. Time. Discovering that story is part of enjoying and appreciating what we’re eating, and putting us on a path to better food and food system.
Erin Byer’s Murray Drink and Oyster Preparation Recommendations

• Drink: It depends on the oyster but for an East Coast oyster like an Island Creek, I’d go with an ice cold Pilsner or a glass of mineral-ly white wine.
• Preparation: One of my favorite methods is throwing them on the grill until they pop open. You quickly pull the tops off, then add a pat of butter and a dash of Mexican hot sauce, like Cholula. Let the butter melt just slightly and serve.

Want to win a copy of Shucked?! We’re giving one away! To enter to win, leave a comment below telling us why you’re committed to local food. 

Image: samantha celera, The Walrus and the Carpenter, Geoff Menzies, Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: The Wide and Wonderful World of Oysters appeared first on EcoSalon.

A “Duster” might sound old-fashioned, but some dresses are just perfect for comfort, like this Hemp Cleo Dress from Seattle’s Prairie Underground. The cap sleeve shift dress features contrast stitching at the neckline and pockets and, true to its name, is made from 100% hemp linen.

Dust, lounge, have a long talk over coffee with a friend – whatever you do in this dress, it most certainly should not be a high stress affair.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

The post Lustables: Prairie Underground Hemp Cleo Dress appeared first on EcoSalon.

I rarely regret voicing my opinion, but in the time since what I deemed an enlightened cupcake rant went to press, my father has taken it upon himself to send me every possible card, photo, and present that relates to the still-trendy dessert. Case in point: on a recent visit, he showed up at my apartment practically exploding with giddiness, which is something to behold from a bearded man of 6’4″. He handed me a wine bottle wrapped in pastel-colored cupcake wrapping paper. The content, shockingly enough, was a wine bottle from Cupcake Vineyards. My father found this hilarious.

Personal opinion aside, foodies concur, cupcakes are so last year. There are plenty of foodie forward replacement options, from chic and cosmopolitan to straight-out-of-the-family-reunion category. And they’re all giving cupcakes a run for their money.

1. Cookies on a string

In San Francisco, you can buy cookies straight out of a window. Fat Cookies entices its consumers with cookies in a paper bag, delivered by a dangling string. Now that’s the coolest bakery concept I’ve seen in awhile.

2. Pie By Bike

It’s fitting that Piecycle, just like Fat Cookie, doesn’t have an actual website. Just a Facebook page and Twitter stream – the marketing tools of guerilla foodies. It’s simple really: $3 for a slice and $20 for a whole pie, all delivered in the wee hours of the weekend, via two wheels in the University District of Seattle. Piecycle is certainly taking advantage of the late night sweet tooth – much like Voodoo Doughnuts of Portland, Oregon – but it’s also combining the two loves of 20-something urbanites: DIY food and bikes. It’s a match made in flaky, fruity heaven. And if you’re not into the whole bike delivery thing, there’s always the pop-up pie variety.

3. Macarons

They’re French and they’re fabulous (and shown at top). In fact, some might say they’re a little bourgeois, but at a handful of pocket change a pop, macarons aren’t limited to the upper echelons of foodie society. There are cafes devoted to them, whole books written about them and, just like cupcakes, with their flavor variations and transportable size, they’re the dessert that can fit every occasion, from weddings to picnics in the park.

4. Cake Pops

It’s almost a cupcake. But not. And they’re everywhere. Apartment Therapy thinks they’re cool. I’m currently attempting a creative, organic, non high-fructose corn syrup version (check back for that in a couple of weeks). If you’re new to cake pops, they’re just that: cake batter rolled in frosting and turned into what looks like a lollipop. The new cupcake? With cake pop focused businesses popping up all over the place, you better believe it.

5. The -frees

Kick the sugar habit and get on the healthy train. Trust us, everyone is doing it. Seems like every week here at EcoSalon we’ve got another recipe packed with antioxidants and Omega-3s, and if there’s anything that cupcakes can’t do, it’s be good for you. Which is why healthier desserts are on the up and coming list. Think dark chocolate covered kale chips.

There’s a reason gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and other “free” bakeries and patisseries are taking off. It’s not just for those who have food allergies or adhere to certain culinary lifestyles. Many of these foods are better for you and the planet, and people are eating them willingly. Take Sweetpea in Portland, which always seems to be serving a salivating crowd. A girl still needs a recipe heavy in eggs, cream and butter once in awhile. But when alternatives abound we can go much farther than the standard cupcake, and that will please any foodie.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, taking a conscious look at what’s bubbling in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: bloggyboulga, sandwichgirl, Piecycle, imcountingufoz, sweetpea baking co

The post Foodie Underground: The Replacements appeared first on EcoSalon.

Is Edun getting tired from all the work that is involved in being sustainable?

With the recent heralding from the green trenches and even the Wall Street Journal, which exposed the celebrity-based line for going “Out of Africa, Into Asia,” we all have to sit back and scratch our chins.

After all, if you have money and a front man like U2’s Bono backing you up, you should be able to do more than just what everyone else is doing. Translated? When the indie designers in Seattle are struggling to make ends meet, and are making their lines more sustainable than yours, there’s a big problem. I mean, they don’t have the luxury of having Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) buy 49 percent of the shares in their company, they work craft fairs.

So during the recent NYFW, when fresh faced Edun designer Sharon Wauchob unveiled her vision for the label (which was stunning), and we all discovered that roughly 70 percent of the line is now made in China, it was a real slap in the face to what the brand initiated and inspired us to believe: That empowering other countries, like those in Africa, through job creation could, as Goodlifer points out, be an “important tool for societal transformation, something that is urgently needed in the world of conscious fashion.”

Edun’s new chief executive, Janice Sullivan (former president of Liz Claiborne Inc.’s DKNY Jeans division and who later ran Narcisco Rodriguez), says in a recent Wall Street Journal article about taking on Edun, “The whole celebrity piece wasn’t the draw for me. I am all about the product.”

Gulp.

Everybody’s got to make a buck, but when you brand yourself as more than that and involve community from the get go, shouldn’t you be more than that?

Image: Ali Hewson and Bono wearing Edun for a recent Louis Vuitton ad

The post The Fall from Edun appeared first on EcoSalon.

Our series on Dumbing Down American Design, has afforded us opportunities to catch up with some really interesting people. Our final installment is no less attractive, interviewing both Howard Brown of Stewart+Brown and Davora Lindner, co-designer of Prairie Underground.

For the last time we revisit the driving question: Has our quest for convenience and rock bottom prices forever altered fashion and is American design becoming a thing of the past?

When it comes to American design, two top designers in the sustainable design field, Davora Lindner of Prairie Underground and Howard Brown of Stewart+Brown both stand out.

Brown, whose mother owned a boutique in Missoula, Montana for 30+ years says she taught him that fit was everything.

“It took us a couple times to get our sizing right but now we know exactly who we’re designing for,” says Brown, whose being raised around people trying on clothing has only helped Stewart+Brown when it comes to a base customer fit.

Today, 93 percent of Stewart+Brown is U.S. manufactured in L.A. facilities while the other seven percent – including knits – is outsourced to China, (what Brown calls our own ignorance in letting the knitwear industry fade away stateside).

But why China? “Why not?” Brown says. “People need to be very careful with their preconceptions of China. I think it all comes down to racial stereotyping and elements of ignorance based on headlines and media,” he adds. “In China, people are protesting over environmental degradation and unfair labor practices and getting shot and killed for it. We need to be supporting those people,” he says.

Brown is pretty outspoken about his line and manufacturing practices and with good reason. “When we first started out, there was no way to track the supply chain, it was uncharted territory. The easy solution would’ve been to just go the conventional route but we thought we’d use the opportunity to raise the bar on sustainable production and design,” Brown says, adding that thanks to today’s “conscious consumer,” who buys from lines like Stewart+Brown and Prairie Underground, they can do more than exist, they can thrive.

Davora Lindner co-designer of Prairie Underground says her label’s “hardscrabble approach to getting things done through hard work and keeping our hands busy,” has enabled Prairie to stay afloat just fine in the U.S. and almost completely in Seattle, WA.

“Local production is an extension of our work ethic and pragmatism, but it was also a choice and a political stance. Aside from the fact that we had no experience producing overseas, we wanted to produce our collection locally and were willing to work within that vernacular to make it a possibility,” she says, adding that it seems “bewildering and out of touch” to have production take place so far away.

Though disturbing to her and design partner Camilla Eckersley that fewer things are made in the United States, owning their own business also meant conscious choices to manufacture as well as design domestically. “Our responsibility now is to sustain the momentum and we feel an obligation to provide meaningful work for our subcontractors,” says Lindner.

Like a lot of independent designers Stewart+Brown and Prairie Underground’s business template was influenced by previous work experience.

Prairie co-designer Camilla Eckersley’s experience working for companies in San Francisco as a production sewer later evolved into a position of a production manager and after additional training she became a designer and pattern maker. “The companies she worked for all produced domestically so this was what she knew and became the basis for our company,” says Lindner. “I come from a background of a fine artist who made things by hand and learned new techniques at community art centers, networking at supply stores or in dialogue with other artists,” she adds.

Lindner’s grassroots approach has paid off and like in Brown’s L.A., there is a lot of micro-manufacturing happening all over Seattle for her to tap into.

“Our contractors work within 20 minutes of one another and some know each other or have employed the same sewers. They appear as pioneers in their neighborhoods and they operate more like small businesses than huge factories,” says Lindner.

While Prairie Underground and Stewart+Brown hold tight to their supply chains and do their best to keep all design in the U.S., Brown offers his best advice to an overlooked part of this whole series: the consumer. “Educate yourself. Dig deeper and look at the big picture all around you. Being a conscious consumer and supporting brands that support sustainability is the only way we’re going to win this battle.”

Top image from Rob Lee

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