(Courtesy of Vogue U.K.)

Becoming a mother changed my life in the biggest way ever. You become a lot more conscious of yourself and your relationship to the environment and to other people. You become a living example of what your children live by. And they teach you to be very present and in the moment.

From an environmental perspective, at first I focused on the external environment—pollution, all of those things—but now that I’ve been on this journey for 10 years in a major way I’m realizing how everything is so interconnected. It’s not only external—it’s internal. It’s taking it down from the macro to the micro in our communities: How we interact with one another and our families and values.

If we’re aligned and connected we make choices that impact the larger whole in a positive way.

– Retired supermodel Angela Lindvall on her evolving view of the importance of eco-fashion. Read the whole interview to find out her favorite eco-beauty companies and designers.

(Courtesy of Jezebel.com)

Jezebel is really on the ball lately when it comes to spotting photoshop disasters in fashion advertising. The latest offender: London Fog, which recently hired Mad Men‘s curvaceous Christina Hendricks to star in its fall ad campaign.

The trouble is, her famous curves are way less recognizable after London Fog’s photo retouchers overzealously took the Liquefy filter to her waist, hips, and even her wrists. The proof is in these photos — candids from the shoot compared with the finished product. There’s really no question that she’s been digitally slimmed down.

Why any brand would go to the trouble to hire Christina Hendricks — the proud poster child for curvy girls — and then change her proportions in post-production is beyond us. Talk about missing the forest for the trees.

(Courtesy of LoveAndCasinoWar.com)

As fashion’s heaviest hitters duke it out over intellectual property and design copyrights, fast fashion and streamlined manufacturing in Asia have made it easier than ever to translate trends into retail in record time. Sometimes it’s legal, sometimes it’s not. But in any case, is it ethical?

In this issue, we take a look at the reasons counterfeit goods have gone mainstream and when you should just say no to knockoffs:

• Is there really nothing new under the sun anymore? We ponder why knockoffs have become so prevalent.
• Evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller makes the case that we are biologically hardwired to seek out status symbols — and whether they are authentic is besides the point. With that in mind, we review his well-researched book Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior.
• In the same vein, you may wonder – is buying fake every ethically warranted? Madison explores the problems and benefits of buying into trends.
• If you’re a dedicated online shopper, you want to make sure you’re not getting ripped off by knockoffs. But how? This handy guide to avoiding fakes will steer you in the right direction.
• And as always, check out Seam Ripper for more news and developments on the fakery front.

In 2005, Vogue editor Anna Wintour was pelted with a pie thrown by a PETA protestor at Paris Fashion Week. (AP/Guardian.co.uk)

We were disheartened to see the news that PETA’s website for kids now hosts a video game in which budding activists can throw rotten tomatoes at people in fur coats. The game’s introduction even says that game players can find tomatoes in real-life produce aisles, with the directive: “No mink stole or raccoon wrap is safe from a pulpy projectile that’s gone to seed.”

A blogger for the Dallas Morning News writes:

In real life, of course, this is assault, and it’s illegal. And I wonder how ethical it is to teach kids to assault other people and destroy property just because those people don’t happen to share the same views as Peta members do about animals. What would Peta say if, for example, Rush Limbaugh urged tea partiers (or their children) to run around throwing tomatoes at anyone they believe is acting too liberal, like lettuce-wearing members of Peta?

And where does Peta drawn the line? I wear a leather belt and leather shoes. Does that mean I’m a tomato target too?

It’s disappointing to see that a prominent group would advocate threatening the personal safety and property of people with opposing views, only to say that animals deserve better treatment — and directing this contradictory message at kids, no less. There are better (and more legal) ways to make the point.

(Courtesy of ShalomNewYork.com)

A controversial law that will ban the import and sale of fur in Israel is set for debate next week. If passed, the law will be the first one in any country that outright bans the fur trade.

AOL News reports:

On Sept. 2, the Knesset is due to debate the second and third readings of the groundbreaking bill introduced by Ronit Tirosh, a legislator from the opposition Kadima Party, to outlaw the production, processing, import, export and sale of fur from all animal species not already part of the meat industry.

There was some opposition from religious groups representing ultra-orthodox Jews, whose traditional festive headgear, known as a shtreimel, is made partly from fox fur. Tirosh introduced a clause in her proposed legislation allowing for the import of fox fur for religious purposes.

Israel’s fur trade generates only about $1 million a year in sales — a tiny slice of the overall $11 billion market. However, the people who do provide that demand for fur will be forced to turn to the black market to get what they want. And we’re not sure that’s an improvement.

Once fur is illegal, there will be no regulatory safeguards (like the Origin Assured program) that will protect how the fur was obtained. Therefore, a ban could potentially lead to worse conditions for animals raised for their fur.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

(Courtesy of Harper's Bazaar U.K.)

Interesting data analysis of the makeup of models and celebrities on the September covers of the 29 mainstream fashion magazines currently on newsstands, courtesy of Jezebel.com:

Number of people on all the covers of these magazines: 48 (including six people with covers of LOVE, not pictured)
Number of covers featuring Gisele Bündchen: 2 (counting one cover of LOVE, not pictured)
Number of covers featuring Naomi Campbell: 2
Number of covers featuring Kate Moss: 2
Number of covers featuring Lady Gaga: 2
Number of covers featuring one or more people of color: 6
Total number of people of color on all of these magazines: 12
12 out of 48 makes: 25%

The data also shows that of the 48, ten of the cover girls (women?) are over 40 and the oldest star in the glossies is Lauren Hutton at age 66. Dakota Fanning, at 16, is the youngest. And there is only one man: Tom Cruise, on Harper’s Bazaar Japan. And as previously noted, this is the first time in 21 years that a black woman — Halle Berry, in this instance — scored the September cover of American Vogue.

So while there isn’t a ton of gender or racial diversity (and regrettably, zero plus-size models or celebrities made a cover this month), at least there’s some variety this year as compared to Septembers past. Progress is slow but it’s a-coming.

(Courtesy of Kmart.com)

By now you’ve probably heard of the J Brand “Houlihan” phenomenon. The company’s skinny cargo pants (which are sadly not part of the line’s awesome organic Green Label) are flying off the shelves this summer, and everyone wants a piece of the action.

Enter Kmart. In the span of just a couple of months, design execs at the discount retailer (or more precisely, its overseas factories) have whipped up a pretty close copy of the Houlihan for its Kmart Design collection.

The jeans, which are being promoted in the September issue of Vogue, will reportedly retail for less than $100 on Kmart.com, as compared to the $230 price tag on the real deal.

But what about protecting designer creativity? As far as we can tell, Kmart hasn’t ripped off the J Brand label or pocket detail, but every other element of the pants are copied down to the last stitch.

What do you think: Is this a fair appropriation of a trendy new style, or an intellectual property grey area?

(via Denimology)

Sacramento stylist Kari Shipman of Juniper James poses in some of her thrift-shop finds. (Courtesy of JuniperJames.WordPress.com)

Look, we love a great deal. But that doesn’t mean we want to compromise our fashion ethics. Is it possible to balance both?

The short answer is yes. Bottom line is: You don’t have to get a second mortgage to support eco-fashion endeavors, and green looks great on you.

But cheap eco-fashion is equal parts great find and big scam. In this issue, we look at both sides of the coin.

• First off: How to do cheap and eco-chic right? This article will get you started.
• Kara, our DIY Doyenne, throws herself into a project of remaking old belts without spending a lot of money or time. It’s the kind of DIY you can do on your way out the door for dinner and a movie. Follow along with her tips here.
• Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be cheap: Plastic shoes and polyester clothing are some of the worst environmental and social offenders. How bad are they? Take a look.
• Fall is a popular time for makeovers, perhaps because the heat finally abates and your makeup will finally stay in place. There are a whole host of great green options for 2010, and we put together this list of our favorite potions and lotions for under $25 a pop.
• Finally, in Seam Ripper there’s always something new to be found by revisiting our top posts on cheap fashion from this very blog. And as always, it’s free to join the discussion in our comments section!

(Courtesy of Vogue.com)

If you’ve ever watched the documentary The September Issue, you know just how important the fall fashion is at Vogue headquarters — and by extension, for fashion followers around the world.

So with Halle Berry gracing the cover of the biggest issue of the year, it’s somewhat mystifying why it’s been 21 years since a black woman had the honor. Naomi Campbell appeared on it in 1989, and since then? Nada.

Really, Vogue? No Beyoncé, no Rihanna, no Liya Kebede, not even Michelle Obama had the opportunity in the ’00s? Or going back into the ’90s: Tyra Banks, Alek Wek, and Ms. Berry herself, all blacklisted, as it were?

Speaking of Halle, even she acknowledged in the interview that it was long overdue:

The only reason she is submitting now, she says, is that Vogue made her an offer she couldn’t refuse: the September cover. ”What that means for a woman of color and what that means in the fashion world, what that means to pop culture, there was no way I could say, ‘No, I’m not going to be on the biggest issue of the year.’”

There’s no good reason for such a long drought, and with so many accomplished black women working in Hollywood and the fashion industry today, it would be shameful if we have to wait until 2030 for the next September cover girl of color to appear on the newsstands.

(via The Cut)

(Courtesy of Jezebel.com)

It hasn’t been the best summer for healthy body image, but it’s been a great few months for photoshop disasters.

The newest airbrushing scandal on the block is the above ad for Ann Taylor. The image on the left appeared in AnnTaylor.com search results, but if you clicked on the photo to buy the shirt, the wrinkles magically disappear — along with about four inches of her already-slim waist and a few inches off her thighs as well.

Oops.

To their credit, Ann Taylor’s marketing execs copped to the problem immediately:

We have a standard retouching guideline that shows realistic images. An art director will look over the selects, choose the best poses, and the retouching vendor will handle the rest. Our art directors are responsible for calling out any obvious issues and providing direction to the retoucher.

We are working with clothing that hasn’t been fully fitted so we have to take care of that with some of the retouching. Retouching is not only about tweaking the clothing but also the lighting as well. …

We really put precautionary measures in place this year as we agree our retouching had been overzealous and inconsistent with our beliefs.

There are two ethical issues at play here: Photoshop is being used to improve the quality of clothes, and models are being digitally manipulated to fit an unattainable mold. If Ann Taylor’s clothing doesn’t drape perfectly due to fit issues, it should be shown that way so online customers can make an informed purchasing decision. And the second issue is self-evident.

As followers of fashion who believe there’s value in seeing merchandise presented honestly, we hope Ann Taylor — and other brands that are just as guilty of “overzealous” airbrushing — shape up and start offering consumers the truth.