Shabd, a Brooklyn based label, features 100% organic cotton, hand dyed tees inspired by celestial and galactic imagery. Tie Dye never looked so good, and it’s definitely back in a big-bang way!
Germany’s VILDE SVANER
VILDE SVANER is a sustainably produced European line with a very wearable men’s collection. The aim of VILDE SVANER is to conciliate ecological and economical sustainability with a way of aesthetically challenging fashion. That is why VILDE SVANER uses only organic and sustainable fabrics and establishes a transparent production process for the customer.
Their garments are made from recycled mens shirts or organic cotton, and everything is dyed and manufactured locally in Germany.
They do use some leather in accessories, but I’ve spoken to designer Anne Gorke, and they are seriously considering switching over to an eco-friendly faux, which I think is a brilliant idea!
Swedish Chic & Lucky Duck
I visited the Eco Chic showcase at the Scandanavia House in Manhattan to get a sense of what’s happening with sustainable fashion in Europe and beyond. There wasn’t a ton of menswear, but there were some gems, and below I’ll share the highlights. My favorite piece in the show was an organic, Japanese denim suit that had a hand-feel very similar to wool. It’s nice to find non-wool suits, now that we know that wool production is one of largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions (for example, New Zealand’s 40 million sheep constitute 90% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions). Julian Red, a sustainable Swedish clothing line, harnesses ecological textiles and fair labor, turning them into universally attractive garments. Over 60% of their entire collection is organic.
Bergman’s has the claim of being the first commercially available organic cotton in the world, beginning in 1986. With partners as big as Levi’s, their have their fingers in many pies. Bergman’s also developed the criteria for organic certification of cotton and textiles, which have been adopted globally. On a neighboring dress form was Zion, a street fashion label using organic cotton, fair labor, and water-based dyes free of heavy-metals. They also support a tree-planting initiative in Tanzania to reduce carbon.
• I was One Lucky Duck when I tried all these scrumptious snacks from the company of the same name. It’s hard for me not to nosh all day long while working or running errands. It’s helpful to have snacks that aren’t going to kill you (either by taste or lack or nutrition). My two favorites are the rich, dark chocolate macaroons and the cheese-y ‘quackers’. They are sophisticated, indulgent, and healthfully vegan, raw and locally made in NYC, like all their treats. One Luck Duck is has two locations in New York: the Chelsea Market, and Gramercy, but their treats can be purchased from anywhere on their website: www.oneluckyduck.com
Lionhearts & Battle Cries: 20 Lines for 2010
by Joshua Katcher
featured on HintMag.com
Tevas with socks. Cargo Pants. Slogan tees. Let’s face it, people who care about ecosystems, animals, and worker’s rights aren’t typically celebrated for their sartorial poise. Likewise, most designers who care about form, function, and aesthetics aren’t typically known for their environmental wisdom or empathy; Fur coats, leather everything, toxic cotton, sweatshops.
There is new breed of designer, though, not so easily written off, who can turn old televisions into jaw-dropping shoes, who foster relationships with organic cotton farmers in developing countries, who invest in research and development of warm, biodegradable, recycled, cruelty-free textiles, whose aesthetic vision is not hampered by the challenges of navigating ethical dilemmas, and who – armed with tencel, lenpur, hemp, recycled fabrics, faux-fur, soda-bottle ultrasuede, and organics – aren’t afraid of challenging the tragic credo set by heritage brands. In a culture where the iconography of the rebel is tied up in so many embarrassingly common and mainstream social, environmental and ethical muddles, these true iconoclasts are redefining cool, and reinvigorating the lost meaning of dressing like a dissident.
1. Vaute Couture. Leanne Mai-Ly Hilgart is the prefect example of a designer who dreamed big. Her line went from a fantasy (gorgeous, eco, vegan winter coats that can handle Chicago in February) to reality. The line looks as amazing as it is warm and ethical; 100% Cruelty-free, sustainable, and fair-labor. Vaute Couture took over 8 months of fabric research and development and launched just last year, but has already garnered a host of celeb fanatics from Emily Deschanel, to Alicia Silverstone, and Ginnifer Goodwin. The men’s line launches August 2010. vautecouture.com
Eco Designers Earth Day Special, Part 2
How will you dress after the 40th anniversary of Earth Day? Go read part 2 of my “20 Designers to Know by Earth Day” special, over at the respected fashion website, Hint Magazine, featuring Kuyichi, Cri De Coeur, Samantha Pleet, NOHARM, and The Hill-Side.
If you missed part 1, click here!
Fashion Harm Reduction, & Turk + Taylor AW 2010
After writing so critically yesterday about the heritage luxury brands (Gucci, et al) finally hearing the death-rattle and attempting to figure out how to become sustainable (or at least greenwash their marketing enough to convince people that leather and cashmere could be sustainable), it’s important to point out clothing lines that are using organic cotton, fair labor, and moving towards having a substantial vegan product base. Lines like Vaute Couture, Matt & Nat that are entirely vegan and utilize organic and recycled textiles and ensure fair labor are taking their rightful place in the limelight.
It’s easy for some activists and critics to brush off the entire fashion industry (including the sustainable and vegan brands) as “frivolous” or have a “down with it all” attitude and concentrate on what they see as more pressing issues – but the fashion industry impacts the environment, people, and animals in such huge ways that it deserves much more detailed attention. For example, conventional cotton is responsible for 25% of all insecticide use worldwide, and leather and wool products are an incredibly profitable aspect of the hugest cause of global warming (livestock production). It’s a classic harm-reduction vs abstinence scenario. Clean needles or denial that people are doing drugs? Condoms or denial that teens have sex is happening. Sustainable fashion, or denial that people are buying into these images and ideas?
That being said, we are so excited to see that Turk + Taylor has many vegan items in the new winter collection (which is something that is always hard to come by). Typically, when we think of winter clothing, it is almost invariably wool or other animal products. Below are some images from the new menswear look-book, and our favorite vegan model, Jayce, is featured in them.
Featuring western-style “Panhandle” organic cotton button-downs, “Glen Canyon Grandad” pea coat-style, french-terry, shawl-neck sweaters with organic cotton fleece, and military-inspired “Washington Square” jackets in waxed organic cotton and upcycled sailcloth – the vegan highlights from this and other growing collections and brands are something that the old-school luxury brands who, like the polar bears, are on thin ice, need to carefully learn from and look up to.
