Bambu’s newest line of cork fabric home and lifestyle products deliver a natural flair with a smaller carbon footprint.

Ok, let’s clear a couple of things up right away. This post is about a company called Bambu. Yes, they’ve made a name for themselves with handcrafted plates and utensils made from earth-friendly bamboo. But that’s not what this post is about.

Recently Bambu branched out into cork, another uber sustainable material that’s long been relegated to wine bottles and bulletin boards. They offered me a chance to take a couple of items from this new line for a test-drive, and, always on the lookout for responsible companies willing to buck the status quo, I jumped on it. Here’s what I discovered.

Soft, Flexible Cork

If the only cork you’ve encountered is shaped like, um, a cork, or riddled with thumb-tacks this may come as a surprise: cork doesn’t have to be rigid. All of the Bambu cork products I sampled were incredibly soft and flexible, especially the placemat and coasters. Hand constructed and backed with black cotton and contrast stitching, both items are naturally water and stain resistant. Which means (drum roll please…) you can throw them in the washing machine! Cork fabric is also dust and dirt-repellent, and inherently anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic.

Simple, Durable Design

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s “sustainable” products that are so high-priced or delicate that you’re scared to use them in your actual life. What good is a hand-crafted, artisinal anything if you’re constantly terrified of ruining it? This was absolutely not the case with Bambu cork fabric products. The slim wallet instantly caught the attention of my boyfriend, who noted its simplistic design and the fact that it would take up so little room in his back pocket. (Drawbacks he noted included the lack of a billfold portion and the rather large brushed-brass clasp element. Could be painful if you sit on it wrong).

Meanwhile, I’ve spent the last week or so playing around with the Adjust-A-Bowl, which has taken up permanent residence in the center of our dining room table. The silky, durable cork fabric is very pliable, allowing you to shape it, fold it, or even roll its edges to modify its size. So far, ours has held keys, mail, and a chubby orange cat who loves to snooze in baskets.

Responsible Manufacturing

I am constantly disappointed by how many “responsible” products are made in China to take advantage of cheap labor. Who cares whether or not your product is green when the people making it are treated like slaves? One of the most impressive things about Bambu is how they’re working to change this.

With roots in Portland, Oregon, the company is headquartered in Shanghai, China. Not only are Bambu’s production workshop, partnering facilities, raw-materials sources there, however, but the company’s founders re-located there as well. They live alongside the woodworkers, weavers and stitchers that make their products. “We make strides to further our commitment to 3rd-party certification and testing, promote fair labor practices and safe working conditions, and green our supply chain.” The company is a member of Green America and its Green Business Network, and manufactures using organic sources certified by IMO Switzerland. A selection of Bambu’s products are USDA Biobased-certified.

Images: Bambu

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A long wait to view the M.Patmos Fall/Winter 2012 collection, but well worth it.

On Thursday night outside Milk Studios, it looked like a scene from the Occupy movement’s Fashion Week spin-off. A long line snaked down 15th Street, filled with high-heeled fashion girls and thick-spectacled fashion boys waiting upwards of an hour in 30-degree weather for entry to the five presentations taking place on the 8th floor: Libertine, John Bartlett, Erickson Beamon, Tim Hamilton Redux, and M.Patmos. From the top of the line, you could hear the rough shouts of security guards yelling at the hordes of people who dared think they could surpass the line. One of the guards, hauling a metal security barrier to block the crowds, shook his head and muttered, “Who are these people?”

I was there for the M.Patmos presentation, and by the time the guards finally let my block in, the show was nearly over. I had a hot second to ogle Marcia Patmos’ artfully crafted collection of knitwear, though, and it left me wanting more.

For Fall/Winter 2012, Patmos was inspired by Edward S. Curtis’s The Women, a book featuring portraits of Native American women at the turn of the 20th century. Patmos incorporated Native American-inspired graphic patterns and traditional Indian trading blankets into a small collection with a mostly black-and-white palette, with pops of red, orange, hot pink, and camel. The luxe materials included eco-friendly merino wool and alpaca, faux fur made from wool and alpaca, and vegetable tanned leather.

In designing the collection, Patmos emphasized a slow fashion approach with multifunctional garments and layering that transcends seasons. Her pieces incorporated handwork techniques from women’s artisan collectives in Nepal and Bolivia, as well as zero-waste seamless knitting technology from Japan. In this line and moving forward, Patmos recognizes the importance of working locally, and has committed herself to producing a larger portion of her garments in the United States and sourcing materials closer to her factories.

Also showcased in the presentation were vegetable tanned leather booties produced in collaboration with Manolo Blahnik and reclaimed wooden jewelry made by TENTHOUSANDTHINGS for M. Patmos, which perfectly complemented the infinitely wearable knits. Below, some of our favorite looks.

Images: Jessica Marati

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In a recent competition in Miami, accessories are seen as valuable assets in a growing eco wardrobe.

EcoArtFashion Inc. and LMNT Contemporary Arts of Miami, Florida recently joined forces to host and sponsor the first annual EcoArtccessories challenge, a juried competition calling for artists and designers the world over to create and submit one of a kind fashion accessories using eco-friendly techniques and recycled materials. The competition included the following categories: head piece, neck piece, waist piece, arm/wrist piece, hand piece, hand bags and shoes.

EcoArtFashion Inc. is a concept created by renowned fashion designer and visual artist Luis Valenzuela in an effort to bring attention to innovative art and fashion-based ideas formulated with an earth friendly consciousness. EcoArtFashion Inc. developed the EcoArtccessories challenge as a means to bring special attention to accessories designed and created with sustainable materials in mind.

The jury was composed of Emma Grady, Publisher of www.pastfashionfuture.com, Michael DeSio, who works in Merchandising Management for Saks Fifth Avenue and has an extensive background in fashion including stonecutting and his own men’s shirt collection, Daniella Sforza, Curating Director for LMNT Contemporary Arts, and Luis Valenzuela. Valenzuela says the group of internationally renowned professionals were hand-picked based on their experience in the art, design and retail industries as well as their boundless support of EcoArtFashion Inc.’s green world mission.

Lisu Vega

I asked Emma Grady why she believes it is important to further develop, support and highlight the presence of eco accessories.

“Accessories can transform an outfit. It’s more acceptable to wear accessories (rather than clothing) day after day so they simply get more wear. They serve as a way to experiment with new styles without changing a whole look entirely. Like fashion, eco accessories can serve as great conversation pieces, which is an opportunity to share the story about their origin, whether they’re hand made by artisans or made with an unexpected material,” says Grady, adding that more mainstream designers are dabbling in eco fashion with accessories as they are also a way for designers to get their foot in the door designing sustainable products.

Valenzuela said they received over 100 submissions for the competition with designers implementing materials like recycled cardboard, wire, recycled plastic and unexpected hardware pieces.

Grady says, “I enjoyed seeing a collection of brightly-colored bracelets made with recycled fabrics. They were visually appealing, rich with texture, and statement pieces that would add instant personality to an outfit.”  The selected winning and finalist pieces were chosen by the jury considering use of materials, creativity, and innovative concept.

The winning piece was a geometric-inspired bracelet submitted by Carla Nesci made of hand painted repurposed cardboard from shoe boxes, food boxes, and other pieces of thin cardboard. Finalist’s whose work will also be featured during EcoArtFashion Week are Lisu Vega, Olga Saretsky, and Pat Taylor.

Carla Nesci

The winner and finalist’s works will be showcased on the opening night runway show for EcoArtFashion Week December 2011, and at the “Wrap Yourself In Art” party on November 28, during Miami’s Art Basel, a week-long annual event drawing more than 200,000 art and fashion enthusiasts.

Please visit here for further details.

Images: EcoArtFashion Inc., top image bracelet by Pat Taylor

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Nolcha’s Ethical Fashion Forum winners get crowned.

Following the success of the Innovation Awards in the UK, 2011 marked the launch of Innovation USA in partnership with Nolcha, “allowing the Ethical Fashion Forum to take their support of sustainable design to a transatlantic level.”

The EFF, a group dedicated to sustainable fashion, offers recognition to emerging designers and businesses within the ethical fashion sector. This year, the winners included Carrie Parry, Afia and Soham Dave, all fashion industry pioneers leading progress in the ethical fashion industry.

Nolcha says the winners have been selected “for demonstrating progressive attitudes towards social and environmental sustainability alongside their innovative approach to design – communicating that fashion and fairness are no longer mutually exclusive concepts.”

Each designer now receives one year in Showroom International/Bel Esprit  as well as a promotional and support package from the EFF, including access to all information on their SOURCE Intelligence Magazine and a listing on their SOURCE Database.

We caught up with all three winners at Nolcha’s Fashion Week, in the Metropolitan Pavilion to see their spring/summer ’12 collections.

Carrie Parry

A graduate of the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London, Carrie Parry was already honored with the Ethical Fashion Forum’s 2011 Innovation Award. Her eponymous line was “born from a passion for producing garments that never go out of style and a commitment to responsible sources and practices.”

Carrie Parry not only produces ethically and locally in the New York Garment District, she continues to source environmentally conscious materials and textiles supporting artisanal communities worldwide.

Afia

Meghan Sebold’s Afia is a sustainable women’s apparel line that does double time as a social business that “acts as a vehicle for economic mobility and wealth creation for women in Ghana by connecting their craft to the American market,” not to mention a stylish women’s line based in New York.

Sebold says her textiles are purchased from small vendors and sewn by Ghanaian seamstresses paid a fair wage. For women in the U.S., Afia offers transparency in the production process and an option for clothing that is stylish, affordable, and sustainably made.

We personally love how she marries colors, patterns, and West African motifs to urban American trends in a twist she calls “urban indigenous.”

Soham Dave

Hand dyed organic cotton, embroidery, hand block printing meet hand spun and hand woven cloth to create a stunning line of caftans, gauzy dresses and tailored tops for Soham Dave’s spring ’12 collection.

Amongst the many noteworthy attributes when it comes to ethical practices, Soham Dave helps local artisans who adopt traditional eco-friendly production techniques and fair trade to create a contemporary range of lifestyle products for the urban consumer.

Soham Dave focuses primarily on using biodegradable fabrics, recycled materials, and hand embroideries.

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A weekly roundup of EcoSalon’s top stories.

Anything But Shorts, Please is a fun look at a summer trend we simply cannot embrace unless hiking, biking or post surf: shorts. Instead, we give you a nice round-up of some great skirts that will love you for who you are and add a little more style when cruising about town.

EcoSalon Editor-in-Chief Sara Ost writes that DailyWorth is a “fuss-free, no-nonsense, wouldn’t-even-think-about-patronizing financial tips, guides and advice for women. From growing your savings, making your money work for you (instead of the credit card company), and ensuring you negotiate a pay raise on par with the guys, DailyWorth takes women and money seriously. Because we’ve come a long way, baby, and so have our bank accounts.” Don’t you owe it to yourself to know more about what your money can do? Read the article here to find out more.

Fast furniture retailers show no sign of slowing down, but the essence of slow furniture is something we can settle into. In Slow, Meet Furniture. Furniture, Meet Your Maker, Shelter Editor K. Emily Bond writes: “Like the slow food movement, the slow furniture movement is sweeping cities from Los Angeles to Toronto and is a reaction against mass-produced, cataloged, assemble-it-yourself, “disposable” furniture. Slower also denotes organic, as in the fabrication process is completed with human hands using sustainable materials. Slow food advocates seek a connection to the origin of each meal; slow furniture makers identify with their raw materials.”

You might have seen the headline, All We Are Saying Is Give Peas A Chance, and thought columnist Susan Goldberg was really into The Beatles – but no, she’s really into not tricking kids into eating veggies. Goldberg writes: “Besides the inherent ethical issues of deceiving one’s offspring, the problem with tricking children into eating vegetables is that they will grow up completely unaware that they have ever eaten or enjoyed a vegetable. If you steam, strain and puree spinach only to hide it in brownies, your kid will have no idea that he likes spinach – he will only know that he likes brownies. With childhood obesity at epidemic levels, do we really want to push more desserts on impressionable young people?”

In this week’s Sex By Numbers: Taking You For Granted, writer Abigail Wick encourages us to stop wasting time being so self-conscious and instead, live life to the fullest. She writes: “It’s this disproportionate focus on perceived lack that has really started to rub me the wrong way. Rather than celebrating their abundant gifts, there is a systematic zeroing-in on self-doubt. It frustrates me to see lovely, lovable female friends mired in such petty preoccupations. ‘Wake up!’ I want to scream. ‘Stop taking it for granted, stop thinking about yourself so much, stop this self-indulgence. Don’t wake up 30 years hence and rue the potential and pleasure you frittered away in a misery of your own making.’”

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Often when you see images of the earth, recycle signs and other eco-slogans on t-shirts, you just assume the t-shirt itself is made from sustainable materials, right?

Rarely.

In fact, next time you’re out, take a look at the tag and you’ll see that most are made from conventional cottons and toxic dyes. It makes me wonder who should be held more accountable, the manufacturer pushing the blatant greenwashing or the consumer who fails to be conscious?

To prove the point that most t-shirts aren’t eco at all, I did two basic searches: “Save The Earth T-shirts,” and “Recycle T-shirts.”

While lots of sites came up, not one on the first page was even close to organic.

Is saving the earth or recycling so trendy that green propaganda has immeasurable power to persuade even the best-intentioned tree hugger? Is our confederacy of dunces really so strong?

Katherine Hamnett, one of the UK’s leading designers, is well known for her own t-shirt propaganda in 1984 when she wore a t-shirt opposing the purchase of US Pershing missiles at a reception attended by Margaret Thatcher. She writes in an Ecologist article that the farming of conventional cotton is: “A modern-day nightmare: 400 million cotton farmers in the developing world are living in conditions of abject poverty due to the high costs and negative health impacts of pesticides used on cotton; up to 100,000 people (Pesticide Action Network) are dying every year of accidental pesticide poisoning; up to 1 million a year are suffering from acute long-term poisonings; 200,000 farmers commit suicide per year. Conventional cotton farming also causes long-term contamination of aquifers, rivers, the seas and air and desertification.”

With all this in mind, is simply wearing a cotton t-shirt promoting saving the earth acceptable? Not even close.

Image via G Living

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Whether hosting a casual summer cookout or stashing your sandals and towels after a trip to the beach, the Recycled Black Garden Trug from Spanish company Fiel is versatile enough to handle it all. We love that this flexible bucket is made from polyethylene used for manufacturing tires and comes in several sizes.

It looks durable enough that it could last for several years, even stored outdoors and exposed to the elements (after all, tires are made to withstand harsh winters, spring showers, and everything in between). We can totally picture this trug sitting in a hallway to collect dripping umbrellas, in a cute little shed to hold gardening tools, or at a backyard BBQ filled with ice and cold drinks.

Tell us! Where and how would you use this handy little trug? What other uses can you think of?

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I’ll be the first to admit that high school physics and math were not my best subjects. Though sine, cosine, and tangent frustrated me endlessly, I’ve since made peace with these tricky trigonometric functions.

Exhibit A: this sine table by Maçek Furniture. The Austin-based company makes heirloom-quality furniture using lumber from certified sustainable sources and low-VOC finishes.

Here’s a simple mathematical equation that sums it the concept: cypress lumber plus steel plus stainless steel equals an irresistibly stylish and modern entry table inspired by sine waves. Or if sine and cosine aren’t your thing, the table might make you think of a gently flowing stream or part of a hand-woven basket. I love how the different shades of wood work together with the steel poles to create an industrial-meets-natural vibe.

Physicist or fashionista, this is one table we can all appreciate. Class dismissed!

The post Finally, a Mathematical Concept We Love appeared first on EcoSalon.

With the eighth season of Project Runway debuting this Thursday (for the first time on Lifetime Television), a new crop of designers will once again have to woo host Heidi Klum, mentor Tim Gunn and judges (designer Michael Kors and Marie Claire Fashion Director Nina Garcia).

As this season’s 17 designers make this the largest amount of designers thus far in Project Runway history, we wondered if there were any sustainable designers we’d be able to cheer on to the end. Luckily there was one shining glory: Portland, Oregon’s Gretchen Jones, designer of Mothlove, a label we’ve written about a few times here on the site.

We’ve watched Gretchen evolve over the past few seasons into an even more contemplative, artistically and aesthetically sound designer who’s only negative was that she needed more investing in to continue manufacturing her line.

Will Project Runway be her Golden Ticket? I certainly hope so.

I recently caught up with Gretchen via a phone interview. Here’s what she had to say.

Were you the only sustainable designer on the show?

As far as I know, I was the only one that focused on sustainable materials but as I’ve said many times before, I think sustainable business practices go beyond materials. For example, I still believe that small scale production and producing locally is also very sustainable.

Was it hard to be on Project Runway as a designer who uses sustainable materials and practices with what was available to you?

When I was going through the application process, Tim Gunn’s first concern was my intention to stay sustainable on the show. We only shopped at Mood or used the alternative materials offered to us for challenges but Mood uses over-run materials from high-end designers so that sort of fit into my idea of sustainable. To represent myself as a solid designer was to let go of some materials I was used to using though.

Does a show like Project Runway accurately represent the fashion industry?

Some ways yes and some ways no. Being challenged continuously on the show represents a designer’s adaptability whether on the show or not. There are a number of factors that can make or break you. Having a strong enough conviction to stay true to one’s original concept and not second guess yourself as a designer. Articulating your vision especially in an economy and industry collapsing and being mindful of the choices you make is similar to being on Project Runway.

Without the ability to articulate perspective you can’t move forward to win on the show OR be a successful designer. And a big one, judges hold your fate just as a customer does.

Did the letting go free you to be a better designer?

Again yes and no. Using sustainable materials and the different low toxin dying processes I use off the show actually enable me to be very creative. I’m forced by limitation to create textiles and because that’s what I think, that’s what makes me special.

Because I didn’t have the time (on Project Runway) to focus on the usual processes, I focused more on concept than materials. For me, coming on the show wasn’t to spread the gospel of sustainability. How I approached the show was to focus on fashion first.

Did the speed of creating on Project Runway give you a new appreciation for “Fast Fashion?”

As an advocate for slow fashion, I was definitely creating and producing in a manner that was different for me. During challenges, pieces had to be produced regardless of how wearable they were or if they could even be worn time and time again.

I still felt that I had to create garments that had integrity and quality. That said, because there wasn’t as much of an editing process for lack of time, there was definitely an element of fast fashion.

How was it being judged?

Being judged was one of my reasons for going on the show. I wanted the critiques. Small time designers lead self-indulgent lives working out of their studios and often times have locals supporting them rather than critiquing them. I feel very privileged to be supported in my eco-community but it definitely doesn’t come with the full criticism I need.

That said, what makes a designer good are the critiques. It’s hard to get out of being creative to see what you’re doing and there’s a fine line between being talented and challenged.
Project Runway did challenge me and to have not taken the tools and criticism I got would’ve been arrogant regardless of how convicted I felt.

Did you ever just want to walk away from the show?

There came a point where I wondered if the challenges were really representing me or not, and I think all of us were worn down and questioning what we were doing at one point or another. What Project Runway showed me was that I’d put myself in a place of vulnerability so I had to push through to my own aesthetic to stay authentic for sure.

If given the chance, would you do it again?

For most participants on the show, it’s the hardest thing any of us have ever done. Not just the creative part, but the day to day living. I went on the show because I was in dire need of the greater American public and investors to get to know me.

Ask me again in six months.

Project Runway, Season 8, premieres on Thursday, July 29th at 9 p.m. EST.

Images courtesy of MyLifetime

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I love jewelry and that means metals as much as it does textile jewelry. So when I saw these cuties from Feisty Elle, I fell in love.

California Designer Leslie Yang has a penchant for powerful color and bold accessories, and combines her expertise in both graphic design and fiber arts to create jewelry and accessories that are “clean in form, vivid in color, and always fun and functional to wear.”

Designer Leslie Yang

As with many designers, Feisty Elle was founded out of a love for designing and has surreptitiously evolved into a company with a commitment to use sustainable materials such as merino wool felt, textiles, and bamboo ply.

These Petal Drop earring from Feisty Elle are made from lasercut merino wool, felt, and are soft enough to sleep in (though you might look a little odd in the morning).

All jewelry and accessories are designed and assembled in San Francisco bay area, but if you’re attending EcoSalon Shops! on June 4th in New York City, you can meet Leslie – east coast style!

Whether you are or aren’t going, here’s your chance to win a pair of Feisty Elle earrings. And you even get to choose from all the colors she has available on her website – so go take a look and leave a comment below for your chance to win.

(For complete giveaway guidelines click here. All offers are FTC compliant.)

Good Luck!

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