Eco-Fashion Superhero?

Alicia Silverstone’s recent bestseller, “The Kind Diet,” tempts its readers to embrace a healthy, vegan lifestyle that will have them “feeling great, losing weight, and saving the planet.” Silverstone divides the diet into three levels: flirting, going vegan, and superhero. Offering up three non-judgmental pathways appealed to me as a great reference point for how to buy eco-fashion. As we get more conscious about how the production of our clothing impacts the environment, more women are turning to eco-labels for their latest fashion purchases. Most of us are flirting, checking out what is available in the eco fashion world and perhaps buying the occasional eco-friendly piece. Then there are the superheroes – we salute you! – who are buying everything in green – from their lingerie to their workout wear.

I find myself going eco at midlevel. For the last few years, I’ve been shopping in my closet, thrifting, rummaging around vintage stores, buying from local eco designers, skipping by fast-fashion, and generally keeping my clothing wantonness in check. But, the point at which I get a little stuck is wardrobe basics. I’m talking about the basic tees, leggings and simple knitwear like a black turtleneck, V-neck or long cardigan. These pieces are indispensable stalwarts in my wardrobe working hard to anchor my more adventurous attempts at flair.

As someone on a tiny clothing budget, my strategy used to be saving money for the more exciting stuff by skimping on the basics. When I heard Sally Singer, the features editor of Vogue, agree it’s best to save your money for the wild purple chubby and buy your basics at Club Monaco or H&M, I figured I was on the right track.

That was before I committed to a low-impact lifestyle and declared that my look should be elevated by this new focus. So, no more cheap basics for me. Not surprisingly, I found myself frenziedly flicking through a fast-fashion outlet’s sale rack today.  Hoping to find long black cardigans and plain white tees to get me thru until summer. Before long, I caught myself and remembered my pledge to sustainable fashion. While it’s true that there are far greater eco-friendly clothing lines than ever before, they just can’t compete with fast-fashion prices. Isn’t this getting down to the nitty-gritty of the green consumer dilemma?

In a recent study, despite economic woes, 35 percent of survey respondents say they would pay more for “˜environmentally-friendly’ products. But is paying $2 more for laundry detergent the same as justifying a plain black tee priced $30-50 more than the one in H&M. Or, the leggings you can buy at express for $26 for two pairs? It’s in this sticky, uncomfortable place that you find your defining moment as an ecologist.

Thanks to people like Annie Leonard, who invites us to trace the true cost of our belongings, we now know the true price of something made unbelievable cheap – hello H&M seven buck tees – is paid for quite literally by the environment, by the low paid worker tolling in bad conditions and the third world countries forever struggling to get on their knees.

The path to committing to the environment is a process that doesn’t have to take superhero strength, but perhaps, small acts over and over again. Luckily the leading edge of the industry is giving the green light too. What’s hot now is dressing with integrity in belief and action. While the eco design community produces pieces that have to be more expensive there are positive trade-offs to turning conventional wardrobe strategies on their head. Eco-basics are artfully designed and generally crafted better, making them cost-efficient because they won’t fall apart as fast. Think “Investment Basics.” Not just investments for your wardrobe, but for the planet too.

Check out my Investment Basics picks

Soft supple tees and leggings from SUST-their Disco tops are cut oh so flattering.

Edun’s plain and patterned leggings are cut in fabric that is long wearing and has great appearance retention (no sagging!)

Loomstate for simple knitwear such as hoodies and long cardigans.

Image: Bernhard Willhelm spring and summer 2006 by Christopher Moore

The post Basic Attraction: Are You an Eco-Fashion ‘Flirt’ or ‘Superhero?’ appeared first on EcoSalon.

Tie dye conjures up snap shots of music festivals in mud from a period past, but with a modern spin this trend is back in! In fact, it has a sister trend to support it – the dip dye. With both, the key is to not have the dye look too calculated or crazy. It’s an interesting balance, but one that adds a bit of texture to your outfit in a fresh new way.

Jaws dropped in utter lust at the Proenza Shouler S/S 2010 runway show, and celebs quickly caught the tie dye trend, pairing it with solid casual pieces to make it effortless and cool. We are loving the eco labels who are on top of this spring trend: Jonano, Frei and SUST.

From bold colors to more of the subtle tonal fades – this is a look that is ripe for spring weather with a little attitude! Keep your accessories neutral and let the tie or dip dye piece make the statement. The best part about this trend is that it is a true day to night converter. So ‘fess up: you are loving this trippy trend as much as we are!

This is the first installment in new fashion writer Greta Eagan’s column, Trending, on seasonal fashion trends and how to green them up. Say hi to Greta!

Graphics: Greta Eagan

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Covet, Spring 2010

Got a part of your arm you think is exceptional? Love the way it ripples with tender muscle when you reach for your take-out salad up on the cafe counter?
Do you work out religiously trying to keep the underarm dingle dangle from happening? Are you a painted lady who loves to show off her tribal arm tats?

You get it.

The trend towards cut outs along your arm is here and you can boast about what you like most. I’ve written recently about designers’ current fascination with showing shoulder skin, so of course the arms had to be next.

The Sayang by orangorang

The great thing abut this trend is that it’s almost your whole outfit. But, like a bold accessory, it needs room to breathe. Try pairing it with something simple and streamlined.
Me? I’ll be wearing it with my favorite skinny jeans and ruched boots so I look tough and sexy. What? You wanna mess with me?!

The post Better When Cut appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sust’s Disco Top

I love the nightlife, I’ve got to boogie, on the disco round, oh yeah.

Oh, Alicia Bridges, it’s as if when you sang that 70s song you just knew there would be a shirt to lay claim to your song’s inimitable fame – that an eco-lable named Sust would be inspired to create a Disco Top.

As the Sust site says (say that 10 times fast) “Sexy and sustainable, a modern twist on a seventies inspired piece. This asymmetrical organic Supima cotton tunic is fitted at the waist and features rouching details at the shoulder for off-the-shoulder styling.”

I’m sorry, did you say off-the-shoulder styling? A shirt that offers a little shoulder skin? Why, that’s my best feature!
Is it yours?

Leave a comment below and try winning this top that looks amazing on the disco round but also with leggings, pulled low like a fitted tunic or rouched up with your favorite pair of jeans.

Go to the Sust site to start contemplating which color will look best on you. Yes, this time there are color choices.

Sexy gold glitter lotion not included.

(Contest fine print here.)

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Kevin Baum, CEO of Sust and Moriah Carlson of Feral Childe at the recent NOW Showcase in NYC

October marches on with another look at men in eco-fashion.

Kevin Baum, CEO of sustainable label Sust, is one of many men carrying a well-lit torch for the eco-designing movement. He’s made great strides in laying the groundwork for the Sustainability Across America Tour (of which EcoSalon is a sponsor).

I caught up with him in the midst of markets and orders recently. Here’s what he had to say:

I know you come from a Fortune 500 background. How is it similar or different being the CEO of Sust, a sustainable clothing line?

Managing a start-up is an amazing and wonderful opportunity. The functional aspects of the business (concept, branding, strategy and infrastructure) are the same, regardless of whether or not you’re an eco-fashion or conventional company.

What are some ways you’ve drawn from your collection of experiences and put them into SUST?

This is a tough question, probably because the complete answer would be the foundation of a semester-long course at many fashion or design schools. In short, running a business (restaurant, retail store, etc.) is much the same in principle. It’s about designing or creating great product that is focused on a target market with enough disposable income and interest to purchase the amazing goods you’ve produced. Of course, the distribution model, price points, capital and infrastructure all come into play when you’re building a new business from scratch. All of these complicating factors are what makes a start-up such a great experience.

Tell me about some challenges that have entered your path that you couldn’t have foreseen?

I don’t think there really have been too many surprises in the basic day-to-day business. Of course, no one really understood the impact of the recession back in 2007 when Tristan & Marion started the company. I joined in early 2009, so I had a pretty good idea of what we were up against and we’ve adjusted our model to be more price competitive with conventional brands that we benchmark ourselves against the specialty store space. I feel strongly that we would have done the same thing, economic downturn or not, and the current macroeconomic climate may have expedited the exercise.

I asked the question on Twitter “Do you know of any men involved in the eco-fashion industry?” and all said they didn’t know any. Does that surprise you?

Not really. In the past 20 years I’ve always seen the core population in retail, merchandising and design positions primarily held by women. I don’t have a statistic, but I would venture to say it is 75% or more in the industry. Spend one day at any major trade show and you’ll see it’s an industry run by women. Yes, there are “other men” in eco design. Many of them happen to be focused on the men’s space or have companies that have multiple product categories.

Are you a part of the design team for Sust?

Marion McKee is our Creative Director. In most companies, there is an intersection between Creative, Sales and Production. In other words, how to take great design and match it up with what can be made with the right value proposition to ensure it will be successful in the marketplace. I handle the Sales & Production side, so Marion and I collaborate daily on how to build the right product each and every season.

What do you think is the hardest part of being a sustainable designer?

The market is nascent, but really very small in the overall retail landscape. Combine that with the macroeconomic climate and it is clear that most customers will not pay “more” for eco products. Our challenge is to find a way to make beautiful products cost effectively, so we can sit side by side with conventional brands and remain price competitive. The current environment has helped us to focus on this aspect of the business. It all starts with great product, but if you are not competitive on price, then you’ll have amazing goods with no place to go.

The post Sustainably Successful: Men in Eco-Fashion Part 2 appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Sustainability Across America Tour is a journey to bring the eco-movement to the people in a grassroots, human kind of way.

I’m Laura Jones, a writer armed with my curiosity, my laptop and a VW van. I’m traveling around the USA to deliver this movement from the ethereal marketing-wash to the you, the people. This is a mission to connect the dots between the movers and the shakers in this emerging economy and developing philosophy, to share the wisdom of the pioneers and to crowd-source inspiration with the powers of social media.

So far I’ve been lucky to talk to some incredible forces in the movement, to those really working to push the limits of what conventional business and politics thought possible about sustainability. What I’m discovering is a story about the fuel that fires the emergence of a new way of life, of business, and of politics. It’s about compassion, it’s about community and it’s about empowering global citizens to take the reigns and create the world they want to live in.

Check out what Kevin Hagen, the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at REI had to say during an interview, just a couple weeks into this tour.

Kevin Hagen, Director of CSR at REI

“There’s this idea that you don’t know what you don’t know – unconscious incompetence. It’s a great place to be, very comfortable,” Kevin Hagen says with a laugh. Hagen is the Director of CSR for Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI), sometimes considered the “gorilla” of the outdoor industry, although they don’t behave as such.

He’s describing a sort of “state of the union” that is the outdoor industry today as it’s collected and collaborated amongst itself in a myriad of ways, organizing into groups like the Outdoor Industry Association and the Eco Working Group, both of which are working towards a sustainable industry, improving upon everything in the big picture of operations like product life cycle, retail buildings and collective carbon footprint. It’s only been since about 2005 since the industry drew together and decided that the traditional random acts of kindness form of CSR was simply inadequate, and Hagen describes the shift in consciousness that’s evolved since that time.

“The next stage up from unconscious incompetence is that you start to know that there are things that you don’t know, you start to realize that there are things you don’t understand, it’s bigger than a breadbox. That stage, some call the consciously incompetent stage.”

This realization has hit the outdoor industry close to home, and perhaps no other industry is more closely married to the interest of the environment. Still, sustainability encompasses more than just eco-friendly materials and benign product design; it also entails a consciousness around social justice.

These are all things that the industry, perhaps under the lead of REI, has embraced and put into practice. Over the past four years, a collection of brands, businesses, nonprofits and government organizations have collaborated on progressive programs, like setting expectations on fair labor code that operate independent of local government enforcement. They’ve decided to shoulder the weight of product life cycle and the environmental impact of manufacture instead of passing it on to the consumer or off-shoring it to another’s land.

Hagen continues to describe this philosophical shift around sustainability with what I would call naked emotion – there’s no marketing spin to his statements.

“I would say that as a business and as an industry, we’re fully embracing conscious incompetence when it comes to sustainability. I think that that stage is really enlightening on one hand, frightening on the other, and it causes the average individual to have two places to go from there – denial, which is okay, it works for a while, or despair. I think the next step though, because neither of those are very good answers, is that if you’re working on something that works, and you have a good example at hand, you can move forward into a period of hope. And, as soon as you make that shift individually and organizationally, form despair into hope, you can really catch the fire and start to realize that one step at a time can start to make huge differences.”

He spends a little time reflecting on the plight of the retailer who, like many of us, is just trying to make a living. What the collective at REI has begun to realize is that both the public and their employees count the company responsible for the environmental and social impacts of products from Cradle to Cradle, and Hagen says, “I think that’s a hard pill to swallow for most retailers.”

But the revolution in the retail industry has come recently and from what some may deem an unlikely source: Wal-Mart. This July, the company announced that it will develop a sustainable product index, to assist in developing the tools that will enable sustainable consumption on a global scale.

Hagen says, “I think what’s fabulous about that is that now, no retailer on the face of the planet will be able to say, ‘Not my problem, not my job’ because Wal-Mart says its their job. That’s revolutionary.”

So that’s where we stand today, with a wholehearted acceptance that we are consciously incompetent, a battery of positive examples of things that work, and most importantly, a well of hope.

Once conscious companies like Wal-Mart and REI have set the stage, it’s like Hagen says, “We can turn the free market loose on this problem. We’ve always counted on our suppliers to amaze us, so if we give them the right direction, if we can give them the guardrails, they will amaze us again.”

Editor’s note: EcoSalon is an official sponsor of the Sustainability Across America Tour.

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If I could relive my life, I’d be that person who names paint. How fun would it be to name all the colors of the rainbow after strange occurrences in your life, old boyfriends, family names and nature’s wonders?

To compensate, whenever I see a good name I try and think about why they called it that. Designers aren’t exempt. So, just to see if I was right, I asked a range of designers to tell me the significance of their name.

I was way off.

Here are some fun answers:

FILLY – It came down to aesthetics, of course. I liked the way FILLY looked – all those tall narrow letters pressed against each other. Ladies and gentlemen at a crowded party.

Rebe Designs – Rebe was created in 2000 when I saw my oldest daughter’s art talents blossom at age 15. We used Rebe as a nickname for her, (Hillery Rebeka) and since she was my muse in starting a business I chose the name.

modaspia – “modaspia” very loosely translates in Italian to spy fashion. At the time I started the label I had a cropped bob I dyed several colors in one year and was dubbed “Spygirl” by my boyfriend – like the spies in old movies, changing their look. We had “Spycar”, a ’62 Volvo like the one in the old spy series “The Saint”. A clothing line? It had to fit in the scheme but the Italian sounded cool. I still have the car and married the boyfriend.

SUST – SUST came to me towards the end of a 9-day meditation retreat in Iceland in the spiritual heart of the country. The concept of an organic clothing company came like a thunderbolt to me with the name SUST, short for sustainable and also a play on the British slang word sussed, which according the Oxford English dictionary means well informed street-wise, in the know, cool.

Feral Childe – I don’t really go into the story too much. I like to say that Feral refers to our approach to sewing and construction – we weren’t trained as designers so we have a very unconventional approach – a wild, untamed technique. Childe refers to the stories behind each garment – their reference to something from the past – that’s why we put the “e” at the end – to get at that days-gone-by feel.

ANGELROX – I created my symbol first and was searching for the right name. Already felt the concept of balancing opposites was the core idea.  When a girlfriend of mine named Angel and I used to go out people would refer to us as ANGELROX.

It seemed to fit and has played a significant role in the evolution of my product and brand. I was never that into angels before but now firmly believe we are all angels both living and in spirit form. It has also given me strength to understand that our loved ones that have been relieved from the burdens and pain of living are then free to be with us at all time offering strength hope and love.

Loyale – loyal to style, loyal to the environment.

Image: jack dorsey

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