Clothing
What is eco-silk?
Peace Silk vs. Eco-Silk
I have been trying and trying to find an eco-friendly wedding dress for my September wedding, and it was much much harder than I anticipated. There are a variety of organic companies that sell dresses, and a few designers have environmentally conscious choices, but let me tell you, the options are slim. Heaven forbid you want something that fits your body style, or that you’ll actually look good in! I finally found a few choices I was comfortable with on Etsy. I typed in “organic white dress” and found a myriad of pretty little options. Still not much compared to a bridal store, but it was something. It at least got me to the point where I realized I could get it custom made. Since I have such specific requirements I had to get it custom made. I chose a design I liked from the J. Crew Wedding catalog then set out to find an eco-friendly silk to have the dress made from. Little did I know how hard it would be to find an honest vendor that really knew what their stuff (and wasn’t trying to rip me off). I found the easiest choice was to find a vendor, and let them give me a price and to provide them with fabric I’d researched.
I originally asked for organic silk, and was startled to see the price and people throwing the word “peace silk” around left and right. I knew it was time for me to ‘get educated’ about the fabric I wanted for my dress. Peace Silk is a type of unbleached, natural silk, where the silkworms are allowed to live out the entirety of their lives. Ordinarily with silk, only a few of the worms are allowed to fulfill their natural lives and emerge from their cocoon. With Peace Silk, all of the worms are allowed to fulfill their natural lives, and the silk from the cocoons is harvested. It is also referred to as vegetarian silk or Ahimsa (non-violence) silk. Tussah silk is also very similar to peace silk, in that the moths live out their natural life and their cocoons are harvested after they’ve been vacated, however Tussah silk refers only to wild silk worms. The color of Tussah also tends to be a bit darker due to a different diet than cultivated silk worms.
Eco Friendly Clothes Shopping – Verdessence
A topic covered often here on The Chic Ecologist are brands and stores which carry eco friendly clothing. Based in Chicago, Verdessence is an on-line retailer opened by Lauren McGinty and Michael McCarthy out of a desire to promote positive change in the world. They were kind enough to send me an item from one of the many eco-friendly brands they carry, a sustainable hoodie by Edun (and no, that is not me in the picture).
Edun is probably best know by its celebrity co-founder, Bono from the band U2. Edun is a socially conscious clothing company launched in spring 2005 by Ali Hewson and Bono with a mission is to create beautiful clothing while fostering sustainable employment in developing areas of the world, particularly Africa.
The hoodie I received was made in Africa (Madagascar to be exact) by sustainable and recycled elements like wool, polyamide, cashmere, and PBT. It has a very modern fitted look and is top notch quality, as I would expect with all the brands Verdessence carries.
I actually initially ordered the Sameunderneath hooded coat (which was brilliant by the way), but I indicated the wrong size. The return/exchange process was very quick and easy making it painless to get a really great item. › Continue reading
Eco-Chic Expo Seattle
Now for a local, small business and community centric alternative to the Seattle 2010 Go Green Conference. Seattle’s Eco-Chic Expo is being held on Saturday, May 1st, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center located in Northeast Seattle. A self described “interactive green lifestyle event”, the event is put together to provide the general public with an interactive day of tips, tricks and products to help people live greener, yet fashionable, lives. The Expo is free to the public and features a number of local companies dedicated to sustainable lifestyles. › Continue reading
Get The Stamp of Green Approval
I used to be a rice bag! Well, not me…
With the weather improving (I’ll take 65 degrees any day!) and it finally feeling like Spring, girls are dusting off their sundresses and flip flops to match. If you are looking for that perfect pair of flip flops, make sure you try on the unique I Used To Be A Ricebag collection from BC Footwear. They are made with love and stamped with approval, featuring an imprint that says “I Used To Be A Ricebag” surrounding a recycle symbol. It’s another type of reusable bag that will definitely gain you a lot of compliments.
The eco-friendly shoe, just like the title says, is handmade from used rice, detergent and various other storage bags. Previously intended to end up in a landfill somewhere, these bags can now show off their unique colors and patterns walking down the street. They feature a cushioned insole and rubber sole and fit true to size. BC makes two types of these chic sandals, the Danke Ricebag and the Earthquake Ricebag. › Continue reading
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Our landfills are filling up faster than ever, and the garbage problem, is only getting worse. Recycling the obvious cans, bottles, and cardboard are the first step. Beyond that, it’s our job to develop green shopping habits that will help us lead a more sustainable lifestyle. I’ve listed some of the eco-friendly shopping tips that have come in handy for me, as I’ve tried to rethink the way I shop, and develop more sustainable habits in my life.
Tips for eco-smart shopping:
- Try out your local thrift stores. Second hand stores are great, and they’re full of things for you to reuse. I live in a very affluent area of California, and the thrift stores are full of clothes and books that have barely, if ever, been used. Plus they are dirt cheap! I can find the greatest button up shirts and cookbooks at thrift st
ores. I not only get to feel great about reducing my monthly spending, but I get to feel good about buying used products instead of adding to the landfill.
- Give your old stuff to charity. Just as thrift stores are great for finding great stuff, they’re also a more eco-friendly way of getting rid of your stuff. Most charities for the homeless, or lower income families, are always in need of used clothes, books, or toys. This is a great way to give back to the community while reducing your net output.
- Cut back on your purchases. With the economy the way it is, it’s the perfect time to cut down on your purchases. Reducing your “stuff”starts by reducing what you buy, and keeping it down to the essentials. How many times have we found a screaming deal on something at our favorite store, only to watch it sit in our house unused, and wasted? › Continue reading
Destroying Clothes- Brand Managmenent and the Apparel Industry
It really is quite a dilemma, the question of brand and style management and environmental stewardship has been at the forefront of controversy since the H&M and Walmart clothing destruction and disposal incident. This conjures up a similar dumpster diving topic of food disposal by grocery stores and restaurants, food safety concerns can pose some justification while the destruction of clothes can be more difficult to explain.
Given that people are dying of exposure around the world and there really doesn’t seem to be any cause to destroy perfectly good clothes, there are two issues one must consider- Brand management and the fragile economy of clothing manufacturing. In some ways they can be interconnected although one is detrimental to a company, the other can doom an industry.
Brand management to some is not an excuse, but in our society it is a necessity. Much like the regulation of food production to maintain pricing, people starve as a consequence, however, it is needed to maintain the industry. If a brand is de-valued, it can bring about the death of the company. If you had just purchased a new jacket at a store for $100, and then started to see that same jacket being worn by homeless, showing up in large quantities at second hand stores and charities, it would probably disappoint you or make you feel like you got ripped off (you paid decent money for something that others are getting at a heavy discount or even free). Not only does it sabotage the ‘style’ (style inherently involves an exclusivity factor or comparison with ‘stylish’ people), but it de-values the item knowing that you over-paid for it. This will cause a collapse in the brand as no one will want to pay that much for their items if they can get it cheaper elsewhere, or know that ‘societal unsavory individuals’ will be wearing them at the same time.
The other, and probably least recognized issue is the affect on the clothing industry as a whole. This has been a particular problem in very poor regions of Africa and South America. The infiltration of charities giving away free clothes has destroyed any hope of a local industry and sadly closed down the manufacture of traditional style clothes. In areas of true extreme poverty, where the chance of death from exposure is a real risk, these practices have indeed saved lives. It is the collateral damage from an over-abundance of these items which has spread throughout these areas that wreak havoc on the local clothing industry.
Finisterre UK Surf Clothing
As a Christmas gift this year I received a surfing video from a friend which got me not only dreaming of surfing, but also of some of the great surf gear out there. This being winter for us up in the Northern Hemisphere, warm clothes and green wetsuits are required to ride our eco-friendly surfboards.
A company called Finisterre, based out of the UK, is doing great things in the world of surfing, and really for all outdoor activities. Also founders of Offset The PLC, they are working to reduce the amount of waste found in consumer goods today. Less raw material waste, production waste, transport waste, and ultimate disposable waste.
“After a certain point the correlation between material goods and happiness breaks down to such an extent that it is questionable as to whether a relationship actually exists.
So again we find less is more.”
With company values like that, along with truly eco-friendly products, and a One Percent for the Planet member, they earn five stars with me.
Eco-Friendly Friday – Sustainable Sushi n Rice + Tshirts
If you are following me on Twitter, you probably already have seen many of these, so start following @chicecologist for up-to-the-minute eco-friendly updates from The Chic Ecologist. Hope you are having a great Friday, and hopefully this will make it even better!
Sustainable Sushi
If you love sushi like I do, then you should check out Seafood Watch’s sustainable seafood initiative. You may already carry around a pocket guide (or the cool iphone app they have), but now you can help your favorite sushi restaurants also be more aware of the seafood they serve.
You can even get a sushi kit by pledging to get sustainable with your sushi. The kit includes chopsticks, sustainable sushi cards and informational brochures to leave with your sushi chef. For those who don’t know, Seafood watch is a part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a very respected marine institution.
Free Rice
Helping to feed the hungry and improving your vocabulary don’t seem like they go together, but freerice.com pairs them like white on rice. For every correct answer you get, you donate (through their sponsors) 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program.
Let me tell you, it gets very addicting, and before you know it you have a bowl-full of rice on the screen. You can even change the subject to different languages, geography, math, chemistry, even art! If you are a teacher, or know a teacher, pass it on to the students- they will love the game-like play and visual rewards. All for a great cause.
T shirt recycling
Andy over at hideyourarms.com put together a great blog article on how to customize and recycle your old t-shirts. From scarfs to dog clothes, pillow cases, underwear and more. Tons of great ideas, videos and how-to’s to reuse those favorite old T’s.
Can I Recycle This, and Where?
I have this happen to me all the time. Random electronics, toys, packaging, home remodeling projects, etc. I don’t want to throw it away, but can it be recycled? Real Simple has come up with a great A-Z guide to recycle just about anything, and gives you the information you need to find a recycler in your area. Their list is pretty complete, however I have a few additional resources for some specific items- mainly clothes and denim jeans.
Probably the best way to recycle clothes is to take them to your local charity that accepts donations. Goodwill, The Salvation Army, and many other large scale donation resellers will bundle unsellable clothes and sell them to textile recyclers who then make them into industrial rags. Alternatively, recycled denim is becoming an increasingly popular form of insulation in new and remodeled homes.
› Continue reading
Organic Colorful Childrens Clothes – Happy Green Bee
Fresh from Green Festival Seattle 2009 where I saw so much great stuff, i have decided to begin with some of the baby items I came across.
Drawn to the bright colors and simplicity of the designs, I could not help but love what I saw. The colors and patterns remind me of a roll of lifesavers candy, but with a European look and feel. Crafted to stretch and move with the energetic activities of young children, yet still be cute and stylish, and it’s no wonder; the companies founder Roxanne Quimby has a background in art and is well traveled.
Green Up Your Launderd Clothing – Dry Cleaning Re-thought
Ever think what a little tweak here and there to a huge industry such as dry cleaning? There are about 6 dry cleaners just in my one block radius, and they each get enough business to sustain themselves, so it makes me wonder; what kind of impact could a single little change do to preserving the environment? Many of you may have heard about new ‘Green’ Eco-friendly dry cleaners, so what makes them green you say?
Most dry cleaners use the chemical perchloroethylene (also called tetrachloroethylene, perc, Cl2C=CCl2 and C2Cl4) to launder your clothes. Exposure to perchloroethylene has been found to be dangerous to your health, and has been linked to increased risks of several cancers including: bladder cancer, cervical cancer, esophageal cancer. It also is an irritant causing skin, eye, nose and throat irritation, reduced fertility, and many other adverse health effects. Environmental impacts have been less clear, although lets assume that if it causes issues like that, it probably isn’t too good for anything else either. Those most affected by these afflictions are the actual dry cleaners themselves since they are exposed to these chemicals on a daily basis.
Environmentally friendly ‘Green’ dry cleaners commonly use one of two substitutes for perchloroethylene, mainly liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) or silicone-solvent based cleaning. Both of these are widely believed to be more environmentally friendly, however, the health risks to workers using silicone-solvents have not been fully studied. Consumer Reports recently compared the cleaning ability of these methods, and found that the liquid carbon dioxide ‘dry cleaning’ method to be far more effective than traditional perchloroethylene with silicone-solvents coming in a close second. It appears the green dry cleaning methods not only are more eco-friendly, but also more effective!
That’s really just the tip of the iceberg. What about the billions of disposable items that we take home from the dry-cleaners after picking up out clothes? Two companies have each addressed seperate items in order to green up the industry.
Hanger Network Recycled Hangers
It may not surprise you that over 3.5 billion wire hangers are used every year, and while they may be useful for pulling wire behind a wall or fishing a wedding ring out of a sink drain, most of us don’t re-use all of the dry cleaning hangars we collect over the years. A marketing company called Hanger Network has come up with a great earth friendly design and a new way to market to the consumer, the EcoHanger. It remains re-useable, and is composed of almost entirely recycled content from the 100% recycled paper cover to the recycled bottle-cap hook. Made in the USA from renewable resources, it also remains 100% recyclable.
Clothesnik Reuseable Cotton Dry-Cleaning Covers
And finally, the plastic bag covering that your dry cleaning always comes back wrapped in. Reuseniks came up with a reusable cotton cover to be used when transporting your dry cleaning to and from the dry cleaners called the Clothesnik. Not only does it make your dry cleaned clothes easier to find when picking them up, you reduce the plastic waste generated from the one time use disposable plastic covers. Now if only we could get them in organic cotton, or better yet, hemp!
For environmentally friendly dry cleaner locations near you, check out Hangars Cleaners or Blue Sky Cleaners, which uses to liquid carbon dioxide method, or Green Earth Cleaning for the silicone-solvent method.
[via treehugger and ecolect]
