In the spirit of our February commenting contest, we want to draw attention to one of the many thoughtful messages we have received from E.S. readers over the past year and a half. (Yes, this week marks our 1.5 year anniversary!)

This one comes from Roe at YesHoneyChyle.com in response to our post about Aeropostale’s denim drive for Haiti:

Do you think Aeropostale is really doing something ethical or that they might be “charity-washing” themselves to gain more buyers and creating marketing ties in a country they didn’t have before (Haiti)? And if Aeropostale uses cheap sweat-shop labor to make their products and ships that product to a country without jeans, is it still considered benevolence?

It’s a great question.

In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale’s parent corporation, admitted it used sweatshop labor in its manufacturing and settled in a landmark $22-million class action lawsuit on behalf of factory workers in Saipan. Since then, allegations of unethical labor policies have quieted down, but it’s worth noting that Abercrombie’s history (and, by extension, Aeropostale’s) isn’t so squeaky clean.

We can certainly see the contradiction in a company sending relief supplies to one impoverished country while employing cheap labor in another. How about you? Do you think Aeropostale is sincere in its campaign to help Haitians?

While not as urgent a need as the need for blood donations and clean water, the ongoing relief effort in Haiti will now benefit from the donation of clean clothes, thanks to casual brand Aeropostale.

Through February 12, the mall retailer is accepting donations of gently used jeans and will match each donated pair with a new one from their own line. And Aeropostale is offering a 25 percent off coupon to anyone who brings in a pair from his or her closet.

And there’s no reason to hold back: If the company collects more than 100,000 pairs of pants, the surplus will be donated to local charities and homeless shelters.

For more details, check out the Teens for Jeans page on DoSomething.org.

If you haven’t tried mineral makeup yet, you are really missing out, my friend. With its natural sunscreen protection and gentle formulations, mineral makeup offers the best way to get flawless coverage without irritating your skin with harmful chemicals.

Our favorite brand to date is Everyday Minerals. We love the Austin-based company for a variety of reasons — not just because its cosmetics and cruelty-free brushes are crazy affordable for the quality, but for the little things they do, like providing employees with free bicycles to cut down on carbon emissions in commuting. Know of any other companies that do that?

Best of all, with its Try Me Free program, you can sample their range of products for free before you buy. Seriously! You only pay for shipping.

So if you’re not sure which blush is the perfect shade of peach for you or whether your skintone is more warm-medium beige or beige-light medium, order up some generously-sized free samples to see for yourself.

Bonus: Since they’re powder instead of liquid, they pack well, too.

Project RED may be misleading consumers in how much money from its branded products actually goes to medical research, says a new paper from the Institute for International Law and Justice at New York University’s School of Law.

Sarah Dadush, the research fellow who presented her findings at an NYU conference last week, says the popular campaign claims to have generated $135 million in donations to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since 2006.

However, the lack of transparency regarding how Project RED raises money and how much the corporate partners benefit from the sales of charitably-branded products is troubling, Dadush says:

In some ways Red toes a difficult line: It aims to inspire and mobilize consumers to think charitably and Buy Red without turning them into actual donors. For the consumer, this can be confusing in as far as it is neither clear what is being asked of them, nor what the consequences are of acceding to this request. On the one hand, consumers are being beckoned to make purchases that are meaningful and important because they will “save a life.” On the other hand, consumers are being told that their purchase does not actually constitute a charitable act. …

Another risk of un-transparency is that unless the precise percentage or dollar amount of the sale price going to the Global Fund is clearly disclosed on Red items, consumers may make decisions based on mistaken and inflated assumptions of the beneficial impact of their purchases.

If issues of corporate social responsibility are of interest to you, read the whole paper. Fascinating.

(via AidWatchers.com)

Andira International’s line of graphic tees boast three ways consumers can feel good buying them: The brand’s Rain Tees are 100 percent organic, manufactured adhering to fair labor practices, and support a financial pledge to a rainforest charity. And did we mention they are totally fitted and cute?

The benefiting charity at hand is Kids Saving the Rain Forest (KSTR), a Costa Rican nonprofit founded by a 9-year-old in 1999. In the 10 years since, KSTR has supported programs that focus on education, preservation of tropical rain forests, and maintaining property in the rainforest where it operates a wildlife refuge and has planted more than 6,000 trees.

Andira Logo Rain Tee, $37.99 at MyEarth360.com.

Amy from Too Precious to Wear wrote us with a follow-up to last week’s post about the designer campaign to conserve coral reefs. Lilly Pulitzer is getting involved by inviting all conservationists to attend a cocktail hour to raise money for the initiative through the sale of her gorgeous new necklace:

The cocktail reception will be held on Thursday, October 29 to celebrate the launch of Lilly’s coral-inspired Resort 2009 collection and marks the commencement of a year-long Lilly Goes Green campaign for the brand.

Open to the public, guests are invited to sip Pink Lilly’s while they shop the collection including the feel-good piece of the season, the Coral Me Crazy medallion necklace, with 10 percent of the necklace’s proceeds benefiting SeaWeb and their coral-conservation efforts.

Interested? The party will be held at Lilly Pulitzer’s Manhattan flagship store (1020 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y.). RSVP by calling (212) 744-4620.

Gap is partnering with the International Center for Research on Women on the Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement (PACE) initiative to train more women to take on leadership roles at overseas factories.

The American megaretailer says since women ages 18 to 30 account for more than 80 percent of the brand’s factory workforce worldwide, it’s important for them to gain responsibility in the supply chain:

“Men definitely occupy more management positions,” says Bobbi Silten, Gap’s chief foundation officer. “This gives women the opportunity to compete.”

The PACE program is also making headway in India and Cambodia, and is set to expand to Bangladesh soon.

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) has issued a call to action against the world’s biggest low-cost clothing retailers for relying on cheap foreign labor.

Called “It’s Time for a Better Bargain,” the campaign urges shoppers to contact international corporations like Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour, and others to demand change in how they treat and pay their factory workers.

From CCC’s website:

Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Aldi, and Lidl – with huge market shares and enormous buying power these are truly giants in the field of retail. But their performance when it comes to labour rights is anything but impressive. Garment workers in the workplaces that supply these and other retailers face poverty wages, forced overtime, and repression when they organise to improve conditions. The CCC believes these workers deserve a better bargain.

Discount retailers like Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Carrefour, and Walmart try to lure consumers into their shops with low, low prices. A man’s suit for £25 at Tesco, a woman’s dress for $9 at Walmart, or jeans for €8 at Carrefour. How do they do it?

If you’re a worker in the workshops or factories that supply these stores, you’ll have some of the answers – poverty wages, forced or unpaid overtime, no work contract, harsh repression of any attempts to organise to improve working conditions.

Granted, some of these companies have taken pains to commit themselves to corporate social responsibility. Wal-Mart, for example, should be commended for recent efforts to green their operations (see here and here).

Like with Stella McCartney earlier this week, in-fighting among activists that are dedicated to ethical standards in fashion may do more harm than good in the movement. You’d be hard-pressed to find a brand that does absolutely everything right, as the fashion community is notoriously difficult to please. But the CCC is right in that there is always room for improvement in labor standards at major conglomerates.

Brad from Commerce With A Conscience alerted us to a nifty initiative by some big-name designers to protect coral reefs from destruction for fashion.

The program, called Too Precious to Wear, aims to raise awareness of how often diminishing coral reefs are ravaged for aesthetic purposes. From the SeaWeb press release:

Since precious corals used in fashion, home décor and jewelry are deep-sea species that are long-lived and slow-growing, designers have been asked to sign the Fashion and Design Industry Pledge to Save Coral; which simply acknowledges the significant threats corals are facing, and the actions needed to secure their future. SeaWeb believes designers in the fashion and design industry can have a unique and influential role in the preservation of these precious ecosystems.

Among those who have signed the pledge and spotlighted the campaign during their New York Fashion Week shows include Nicole Miller, Vena Cava, Yigal Azrouël, Lela Rose, and Hayden-Harnett. (The fan that Lela Rose included in her swag bags is pictured above.)

Following in the very big footsteps of TOMS, Canadian designer Tal Dehtiar wrote us yesterday about his newly launched shoe line Oliberté. We’re delighted to feature these cool high-minded sneakers!

Made in Africa with locally sourced rubber and leather, the shoes are every bit as chic as your favorite pair of Pumas but with a socially responsible mission to back up their style. Says Dehtiar:

“All the attention on Africa is focused on alleviating poverty, but the only real way to alleviate poverty on this beautiful continent is to build a middle class that includes fair paying jobs. The more shoes sold, the more fair jobs will be created at local factories where Oliberté works which ultimately changes lives for the better. …

“If we wanted to make cheap shoes, we’d simple go to Asia, but this is NOT about cheap shoes or labour. This is about premium quality and fashionable footwear that creates fair paying jobs in the poorest countries of the world.”

Check out all the styles for men and women here.

Elika Ladies Shoe in Light Blue, $103 CAD at Oliberte.com.

Correction: Oliberté is not fair-trade certified (yet), but Dehtiar informs us that the line’s “sourcing, materials, suppliers, who we work with and how is based on fair trade principles and we hope to continue to improve and influence in the countries where we work.”