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Starting this weekend the UC Davis Design Museum opens a new eco-exhibit:
Designing with Conscience ::: A Sustainable Fashion Symposium ~

The Design Museum’s concurrent exhibition, Fashion Conscious, will display modern and wearable designs by established and up-and-coming green designers. This exploration will focus on the two most salient points prevalent in contemporary eco-fashion: the use of new materials that claim to be better for the environment and the reuse of existing materials. Read the rest of this entry »

Shown here is a feature from Crow Clothing a new online eco-boutique with a socially responsible mission. I find the Crow Clothing links very interesting. I see a commitment to environmental consciousness on the fabric page here, and movement toward social responsibility on the learning pages. There they explain:

“Crows make use of tools in their daily activities. They learn as they live- they adapt. Crows also come to the aid of unrelated crows in need or distress. Here are some resources to help you learn, adapt and help others in our world.”

Pictured here is American designer Rogan Gregory and one of his new organic designs for a partnership with Target that is set to create the next limited-edition collection for GO International, ® an innovative program designed to provide affordable fashion created by world-renowned designers.

Starting this week Barneys New York, will showcase an affordable Target collection from eco-conscious designer Rogan Gregory ~ Rogan for Target. The collection will be preview at Barneys New York in Manhattan from May 9 – May 11 and in Beverly Hills from May 16 – May 18. All cotton used in the collection is 100% certified organic.

Previously we highlighted a Loomstate event at Barneys. Rogan was actually once a designer for Loomstate, Edun, and his own CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund award winning line. Read the rest of this entry »

Nau is an outerwear company created by a team of individuals committed to the power of business as a force for change. Intrigued by the brand I recently intervied Andrew Wilkins the talented Brand Communications Specialist for the organization.

Your site is a provocative blend of visionary activism, story-telling, and creative organic outerwear designs. In addition on your about page I noticed how humble your organization is.

1. What are some cool ways your collective (staff, writers, designers, engineers, biz folk) communicates? Do you have any neat team building tips to share?

Rule #1: Team building = lots of trust falls. No, just kidding. I wouldn’t say we do anything particularly outrageous in this arena. We have a pretty typical ‘information age’ headquarters with an open floor plan—not even the CEO has his own office. Right now, the company is still quite small, so there is lots of opportunity for cross-communication between departments when we’re, say, waiting to use the microwave in the kitchen/overflow conference room. It’s a very entrepreneurial atmosphere. Anyone can feel comfortable bringing up an idea to any other person in the company.

2. Tell us more about the Collective. I see there is a place to submit a story and I’m tempted. I saw this educational film about H2O and the mini documentary “Sliding Liberia” was a truly moving story. Would you elaborate on this project and how to participate? Where you forecast this project going in the next five to ten years? Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know joining a conservation revolution is as easy as purchasing a Wildlife Works product?

Wildlife Works’ has a visionary company mission to create brilliant sustainable solutions for wildlife conservation enabled by the power of the global purchaser, a term they coined Consumer Powered Conservation.

Why am I in awe of WW? Because their promise to every customer is to use the proceeds of the sales to save endangered and threatened wildlife around the globe. Their dream and guiding principle is to protect wilderness habitats, build schools, create jobs, and bring benefits for those people who share land and resources with wildlife!

In our first location in Kenya, Africa, we created the 80,000-acre Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary, where elephants, cheetahs and 45 other large mammal species now roam freely. In addition, we built and operate our Eco-factory next to the sanctuary, where we employ members of the local community to create some of our products.

Wildlife Works gear is as good for the planet as they are for your soul: “You’re wearing the brand that says you won’t sit quietly by while the last wild things in the last wild places disappear forever.”

Bamboo is on the rise as a fast growing, biodegradable, anti-bacterial, and versatile fiber. Here at FGS we understand that the new (and booming) bamboo industry may not involve the most sustainable cloth treatment processes, yet we believe in recognizing those that are doing their best to create better manufacturing practices.

Oxygen Required is a new bamboo clothing brand that has a good understanding of bamboo fiber benefits and working toward sustainable manufacturing: 

Oxygen Required utilizes factory surplus fabrics in our efforts to create sustainable garments. As these excess materials are often left behind from manufacturer’s production, they provide a wonderful option to reduce waste and consume less. Our factories are ITS certified; adhering to stringent human rights and environmental standards, they facilitate the production of our collections from yarn to finished garments.     

As the worlds fastest growing plant, bamboo is harvested in less than three years and offers a renewable, biodegradable and sustainable source for fabric. The fibers contain an agent called “bamboo kun”, which prevents the cultivation of bacteria, resulting in odor free clothing. As the fibers are porous, the resulting apparel is also absorbent and evaporates moisture from the skin. 

I recently had the chance to interview O.R. creators Vivian Fang and Karen Young asking:

1. Where do you source the bamboo from?  Our bamboo fibers/ yarns are sourced from Taiwan. The fabrics are then knitted/ spun at our factories.  Read the rest of this entry »

While eco-friendly fabrics are showing up in more and more designer collections and stores, we often don’t hear enough about the dyeing and finishing processes that accompany them. Conventional dyeing methods often involve toxic chemicals, harmful to the wearer and the environment.

I recently hosted an event at Pivot where Chicago designer Annie Novotny of Frei Designs demonstrated how she naturally dyes some of her garments and accessories with pomegranate juice. First, select a 100% pure juice (no sugars or additives). Pour the juice in a large bowl and add some vinegar and water. The vinegar helps to set the color and also adds brown into the hue.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tune in. Turn on. Drop off! starts this week as the GREEN on Sundance Channel  helps promote a series of t-shirt recycling events by joining forces with Barneys New York and Loomstate.

The catch is for participants to drop off old t-shirts at all Barneys’ locations nationwide and Loomstate will then re-style the tops for a limited edition collection for Barneys Holiday 2008. Clearly the retailer is gearing up early for their smashing green holiday guide.

 Starting today, those interested in donating will receive a 20% discount on Loomstate for Barneys Green , and the promotion will go on for the next two weeks. Project proceeds go to 1% for the planet. Read the rest of this entry »

Since its inception in the autumn of 2005, Passenger Pigeon has become a green fashion favorite among women of all ages and financial means. Heather Schibli and Wendy Trass have created a company appreciated for its intelligent and passionate designs.

The Canadian media mavens at GreenLivingOnline.com have allowed me to share my interview with Heather and Wendy, which was first published on GLO a few weeks ago. Keep reading for all the juicy details about the past, present and future of Passenger Pigeon - and eco-fashion as a whole!

The label was previously named Calledyourbluff and was changed to Passenger Pigeon when the brand began using sustainable textiles. Why did the collection change to eco-fabrics? Do you find working with sustainable fibers to be more limiting when coming up with designs?

Wendy: Do we feel limited? Yes and no. In the past we’ve dyed fabric because it only came in beige, and the very reason we use prints so much is because much of the available fabric is quite basic. Working within these limitations means that we have to get pretty creative sometimes, but I think that’s where the charm of our line comes from.

There’s actually a good range of eco-friendly textiles, especially for more casual fabrics like knits and twill. The one thing that we would like to see more of is affordable organic wool and other heavier fabrics for winter. However, it seems every week we get new, exciting swatches from different suppliers. There seems to be a lot happening in the textile industry to develop beautiful, new, sustainable fabrics.

Read the rest of this entry »

As promised in autumn, the Spring/Summer 2008 ZegnaSport menswear collection dawns a luxury solar jacket. One of the first to market in sunlight harnessing textile inventions, Mens Vouge calls the new ZegnaSport solar jacket:

A marvel of eco-friendly efficiency, it resists the elements you can do without—like wind and rain, –—and uses the sun to power the digital devices you can’t be parted from. Solar panels mounted on the jacket’s neoprene collar soak up rays and then convert the light into energy….               

This is not breaking news in the solar-textile field, because  in 2005 Konarka solar products partnered Read the rest of this entry »