I'm dreaming of a green Christmas...

I tried to make my Christmas gift giving as green as possible this year. Both with clothing and in general. I tried to find gifts that were either recycled, handmade, or alive. Yes alive. Here are a few highlights, and since it's after Christmas I can share them with you!

Green Gift # 1

An actual green gift... my sister has been wanting an orange tree for years, and I have tried and failed to find one for her, until this year! 

Through this website: http://lemoncitrustree.com/ I bought her a reasonably priced 2-3 year old clementine tree! It is hearty enough to live indoors in Boston in the winter, and as long as you give it some TLC, it should give you clementines in return for many years!  

Green Gift #2

A handmade screen printed shirt made by Ferdinand, a local artist/shop in Portland ME. I found it at Magpie in Davis (which is a fantastic store for local handmade gifts). 

The artist behind Ferdinand pretty much makes everything in the world, you can find more of her things for sale on her Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ferdinandhome

I just couldn't resist getting the squirrel playing the snare drum for my sis! Plus I like that it's printed on American Apparel T-shirts (yay for made in the USA).

Green Gift #3

OK this one is a bit kooky. It's a picture frame made out of recycled elephant poo! 

Yup. They sanitized it, turned it into a paper-like substance that doesn't smell like poo, and its quite cute. I got it for my cousin and her family. I found it at www.uncommongoods.com and chose the zebra variation. 

Nothing says let's remember the good times like recycled poo!

Green Gift #4

Homemade booze! Well sort of...

This year I decided to infuse vodka to give as gifts to my friends. My friend from Portland OR gave me the idea, and it was actually really easy and fun. 

I made two different kinds: an herbal infusion with rosemary and lavender and a hot pepper infusion. Basically you just throw the ingredients in with the vodka for a few days, taste it now and then, and when you think it's ready you filter the ingredients out of the vodka. I put them in cute little (reusable) containers since they were gifts.

The rosemary lavender is really nice in a cocktail with St. Germain and tonic, and the hot pepper is actually delicious on its own but great in Bloody Mary's.

Green Gift Giving Recap:

Overall I would say that it was pretty difficult to stick to green gifts. First of all, buying presents for friends and family is hard enough before adding restrictions. I also scoured Esty to try to find more handmade goods, but to be honest I found it incredibly difficult to find good products. The search engine gives too many hits, and it's overwhelming. More than "green" I tried most of all to buy things from local stores instead of big chains. I think I did pretty well in the grand scheme of things!

Happy New Year everyone!

What is Fashion?

I'm sorry, I just have to post something new so that every time I open up my blog I don't see crotches (from my last posting on underwear)!

So I give you this beautiful quote from an amazing man. If you haven't seen the documentary about him, you really have to as soon as possible!

Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. 

Bill Cunningham

To  me, this quote helps explain why fashion is important. Fashion and clothing are two different things. Clothing is a physical t-shirt and a pair of pants, whereas fashion is a concept, an idea, an emotion, a real part of our lives. For eco-fashion to be successful, I feel that we must think about it as a more than just an organic t-shirt. It needs to be fashion movement, something that embraces sustainability yet also holds true to what fashion really is, and what it means to us.

Organic Unmentionables...

For a while now I've been needing to buy some new, ahem... underwear. But I procrastinated because I was not looking forward to finding some that fit into my rules. Obviously secondhand is out of the question for this one (yuck!), and I know I could purchase something made in the USA from American Apparel, but that feels like a bit of a cop-out. Plus I've been thinking that I'd really like organic fabrics for this particular item in my wardrobe!

Exhibit A: ugly organic undies

Scouring the internet, I came upon a lot of websites with organic cotton underwear, but quite frankly they looked really old-lady-like and not faltering at all. In addition they were pretty expensive, around $25 per pair.

Then I found a really neat looking company that specializes in pretty much exactly what I'm looking for: organic, socially conscious, attractive and stylish undergarments. They are called PACT (wearpact.com), and their philosophy is that...

CHANGE STARTS WITH YOUR UNDERWEAR. The purchase of PACT underwear is participation in a social movement: when you buy PACT underwear, you are supporting and encouraging organic cotton farmers, responsible labor practices, and businesses that form partnerships with nonprofit organizations dedicated to positive change in our world.

Pact's underwear is 95% organic cotton and 5% elastane to give it stretch so that it doesn't loose shape. Their cuts are young and attractive looking, and they partner with non-profit organizations. For example, some of their prints are created by artists from the Creative Growth Art Center which is an art studio/gallery that serves adult artists with developmental, mental and physical disabilities. And the prints are really great!

In addition, Pact has made almost all aspects of their business socially responsible: from their supply chain, to their dying techniques, to their packaging. Check out this page on their website to see all that they do  http://www.wearpact.com/ingredients/

The prices aren't the cheapest in the world, most range from $20 - $22 per pair, however there were many on sale for around $15. I bought a couple of pairs. I think it's worth spending the money if you get exactly what you are looking for. I also like their policy for your first order: if it doesn't fit right they will get you the right size for free! Oh and they also have men's underwear.

The next step in my eco-unmentionables will have to be the bra department. Which reminds me, you should check out this article from Ecouterre about a company in Japan who is recycling women's old bras into fuel... http://www.ecouterre.com/triumph-japan-recycles-old-bras-into-power-generating-fuel/

Green Halloween?

Halloween having just passed, I feel like it's important to analyze the eco impact of what just happens to be my favorite holiday. I have to say it's difficult for me to criticize Halloween because I love it so much, and because I didn't do a great job of greening my Halloween this year...

Technically I did follow my rules, I made my own costume. I've been making my own Halloween costumes for years and I put entirely too much time and effort into them because, well it's what I love doing. Sometimes (like this year) I wasn't even sure I'd have a place to wear it. But it's not the wearing of the costume that I love, it's creating something fun, unique, and beautiful that really doesn't serve a point in the normal world. But therein lies the rub, creating something to be only worn once is pretty much as un-green as you can get. So how do I justify this and what does it mean for Halloween?

I don't think that we can go so far as to say that holidays like Halloween shouldn't exist because of how unsustainable they are. I think we should just each try to reduce our waste on Halloween as much as possible. Buying store bought costumes is the first no no. They are super cheap, made overseas, fall apart in one night, and are made from non-recyclable synthetic fabrics. If everyone made their own costume with things they owned, or purchased items from second hand stores, it would be much less of an impact. I will still stand behind people like me who buy fabric and make their own from scratch. The impact from making my own is much less than buying the pre-packaged, plus I plan to keep my costumes for years and years. I've already had several friends borrow my old costumes when they needed something to wear last minute on Halloween night. So see, they are being reused!

The thing is we can't say that Halloween shouldn't exist. That borders on very dangerous territory which takes being green to an extreme. If we say costumes for Halloween are wasteful, then I feel like you start to look into things like theater, arts, dance, and even sports, and could potentially say that these things are also expendable activities that use a huge amount of resources for costumes on a regular basis. I think the key to being successful in sustainability is making smart day to day choices. If we start attacking the things in life that bring meaning and beauty to the world, then we might as well live in a colorless bland world where everyone is the same.

Here is an interesting article from the ecologist on how to have a green Halloween, if you are interested: http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/how_to/1107551/how_tohave_an_ecofriendly_halloween.html

And if you're curious, here is my costume from this year.

The white swan (from the movie Black Swan) -  I hand made my tutu trying to use real tutu making techniques and I hand made head piece made from an old headband and some wire. The base of the corset was made from old fabric I had lying around, but I do have to confess that I had to buy many yards of tulle and 2 yards of fashion fabric for the rest of the costume. So not the greenest, but also still didn't break my rules! :)

Happy Halloween everyone!

A particularly depressing episode of the Daily Show last night got me thinking...

The whole concept of eco friendly fashion is based off of something that I take for granted. I operate under the assumption that most people are concerned about the environment and global warming. That even though they might not currently realize the environmental impact of their clothes, they eventually will, and then they will start asking for more eco-friendly fashion goods. It's depressing to recognize to the reality in America which is that only 59% of Americans actually believe that global warming exists at all! Watch Jon Stewart's clip from last night if you feel like being depressed: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-26-2011/weathering-fights?xrs=share_copy 

"even as scientific projections of global climate change get ever more certain, public perceptions about climate change are getting ever more skeptical." - Chandler, MIT news office

The people that don't believe in global warming think that scientists are trying to trick the public. They won't believe facts and can't understand the scientific explanations behind those facts so they dismiss them as fake. Here is an interesting article about a professor at MIT who is trying to find ways for people to understand climate change: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/communicating-climate-change-1027.html 

I think this denial of climate change could be the major reason that the USA is so far behind Europe in eco-friendly fashion. I've always wondered why it seemed that Europe has so much going on in eco-fashion, and the US seems to be lagging behind. I suppose the key is taking things step by step. Hopefully some day everyone will realize that climate change is real and take steps to make change. In the mean time the rest of us who knew it all along will be way ahead of the game. **sigh** If you know someone who doesn't believe in global warming, try to convince them for me OK? 

Snapshot of a Local Eco-Conscious Designer

My friend, former classmate, and fashion designer June Monteiro has been growning her brand "Everything Enamour" for the past few years. She recently showed her Monarch Collection at Baltimore Fashion Week, and premiered her Isabella Blow Collection this September during Boston Fashion Week. As her classmate, I was always amazed by the creativity behind June's collections (her Monarch Collection is inspired by the various stages of the Victorian mourning period). Also I thought it was interesting that from the very beginning of building her brand, June decided to focus on sustainability.

Monarch Collection

I asked June a few questions about why, as an emerging designer, she has decided to take this route (which I would expect to be very challenging when you are starting a company)...

Why do you use sustainable fabrics? 

Isabella Blow Collection

I became interested in sustainable fabrics when our Professor at MassArt, Jenn Varekamp, told us about the damage the major design houses were doing to the industry. Although they're trying to use more recycled goods, most won't change to sustainable materials, especially if the alternative is cheap. I figured it may help for me to begin my career being more conscious of my materials.

What type of fabrics do you use?
I try to use organic fabrics whenever possible and primarily use natural fibers like silks, cottons, tencel, and wools. On a rare occasion I will use a blend, but I want most of my collections to be all natural. For my first collection I hand dyed a lot of my fabric and just bought them in natural tones.

Do you find it challenging because sustainable fabrics are more expensive?
Most of my fabric shopping is done online in wholesale bulk. So it's usually a 15 yd minimum with a small vendor. Larger vendors sell at a 25+ yd minimum. It is much more expensive to buy so it helps that I utilize the fabric in more than one look.

You can find out more about Everything Enamour on her website:
http://www.everythingenamour.moonfruit.com/#

Recap - Clothing Purchases

I've been really good about not buying a lot of clothes. It actually hasn't been too difficult. I just know that when I look into my closet, that's all I've got to work with! However, when Boston Fashion Week came up I found myself needing three different fantastic outfits for one week, and I realized I really wanted to buy something new! But I was good. I kept to my rules and did some second-hand shopping. Here's what I picked up:

Currently my favorite dress ever - this beautiful blue-patterned strapless dress. I got it second-hand from Poor Little Rich girl, and it's made in the USA!  Plus it's adorable. It didn't fit well on top at first, but I just sewed in a little elastic band to make it tighter, and now it's perfect!

Getting an award (!) at the seArts show

I wore it working backstage at the seArts fashion show and then to the Launch Show at the Boston Fashion Week Tent that same night!

Cindy and I at the BFW Tent!

While I was at Poor little Rich Girl I picked up some great jeggings (which I am now quite frankly addicted to wearing), and this great long comfy sweater.

I guess my hipster camera app doesn't take the best clothing photos...

Also, way back in May I found this cute off-white long sleeved lace dress at Urban Outfitters. I couldn't believe it was made in the USA! I didn't know anything they sold would fit my rules. I almost wore it to a BFW show, but then changed my mind last minute.

My fabulous fashion friends at the Everything Enamour show!

Backstage @ the Liberty show

For the other Boston Fashion Week events I was a good girl, I didn't buy any more clothing and instead I reused things from my closet! For my friend June's Fashion show for her brand Everything Enamour, I re-wore the dress I made for my friends wedding in June.












Then for the Rising Design Liberty Hotel show, I wore a black dress that I've had for a while. It was simple but chic, and I think it worked well. I only have photos of me running around backstage that night!


With a few small exceptions, this is pretty much all the clothing I've purchased since April! I'm pretty proud of myself, but I wish I could notice more of a change in my bank account!