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February 2, 2010

Eco-Over: Springtime Flat Sandals Edition

It may not look much like spring outside, but in all of our catalogs and email inboxes, the fashion is warming up fast. So for the February edition of E.S. Eco-Over — where we take a hot trend and find a stylish equivalent from an ethical source — we tackle the hot flat-sandals trend.

In its weekly “Lust-Have Low Down” email, Neiman Marcus spoiled us with its top contenders for spring; from top to bottom, they are by Sigerson Morrison, Valentino, Emilio Pucci, and Antik Batik. While undeniably gorgeous, these selections range in price from $215 to $695 and use conventionally tanned leather.

Enter Matt Bernson to the rescue. His flat sandals for spring have every bit of the style and quality construction that these high-end competitors offer, but with vegetable-dyed leather stitched together in his fair-trade factory in Brazil. (Not to mention the comfort level is unreal.) Top to bottom, the styles here are imaginatively named BarracudaNouer III, and The Wanderer.

And given that his sandals range in price from $125 to $174, the choice is a bit of a no-brainer, isn’t it?

No Comments | Filed under: In the shop | Tags: , , , , , | M.J. Prest @ 2:11 pm

December 15, 2009

Gifts That Give Back on the Today Show

andean-collection-tagua-necklaceCongratulations to the Andean Collection for being featured on this morning’s Today Show segment on “Holiday Gifts That Give Back”!

The Andean Collection’s founder Amanda Judge wrote a thoughtful essay on the importance of fair trade for E.S. this summer, following a trip she took to meet with the Ecuadorian artisans who make her jewelry by hand using polished seeds and wood and other natural materials.

You can watch this morning’s entire segment here. Who knows, you might just find the perfect gift! (Or expand your wish list, as seems to always happen to us.)

Accented Tagua Necklaces, $34 at TheAndeanCollection.com.

No Comments | Filed under: In the shop | Tags: , , , , | M.J. Prest @ 12:56 pm

December 10, 2009

30 Percent Off Eco-Gifts at AmenityHome.com

amenity-home-menorah

AmenityHome.com is offering 30 percent off everything in its inventory, courtesy of DailyCandy.com.

You’ll find green gifts galore like printed organic cotton duvet covers, hand-woven Peruvian alpaca throw blankets, soy pillar candles with FSC-certified wooden candle blocks, and paraben-free bath supplies suitable even for newborns. (Why don’t they make hooded towels for adults? Just sayin’….)

Enter coupon code CANDY30 during checkout to get the discount. And free shipping on all orders over $100!

Arroyo Modern Hanukah Menorah, $314 at AmenityHome.com.

No Comments | Filed under: In the shop | Tags: , , , , | M.J. Prest @ 3:12 pm

December 2, 2009

Get Hot Holiday Hair With Weleda’s Rosemary Hair Oil

weleda-rosemary-hair-oil

When I get excited about a new beauty product, I tell everyone I know about it. And when that product just happens to be organic, E.S. readers are the beneficiaries of my enthusiasm.

Weleda’s Rosemary Hair Oil is a rich concoction of organic rosemary leaf to smooth hair cuticles and burdock root extract to nourish dry scalps. I pour out a quarter-size amount from this tinted glass bottle and massage it into my scalp, rubbing the excess on my ends — usually before going to the gym so the sweat session helps the oil penetrate. Then I wash it out with John Masters Organics Lavender Rosemary shampoo (the scent is a good complement to the Weleda) and poof: shiny, healthy, happy hair.

After a month of weekly treatments, I don’t think my hair has ever looked so healthy. I can’t find a single split end and it’s been weeks since my last hair cut. Truly, a must-have product for all hair types!

Beyond its use of organic ingredients, Weleda doesn’t test on animals and maintains a commitment to sustainable product development, fair trade, and corporate social responsibility.

This little bottle goes a long way. Interested in trying it? I got mine at Target, but Weleda.com is offering free shipping on all orders through December 24.

Rosemary Hair Oil, $14 at Weleda.com.

No Comments | Filed under: In the shop | Tags: , , , , | M.J. Prest @ 1:43 pm

November 25, 2009

Shop Nimli on Black Friday for 25 Percent Off Eco-Gifts

nimli-black-fridayStressed out about doorbusters and early-bird sales on Friday? Give your Thanksgiving food baby a well-deserved nap and shop Nimli.com’s Black Friday sale from the comfort of your couch.

Nimli is loaded with great green gifts for everyone on your list. We can personally vouch for the supersoft cashmere-blend pashminas that happen to be fair trade, but also be sure to check out vegan shoes by Olsen Haus, a sustainable mahogany spice block for your design-obsessed best friend, plush soy bathrobes for the man in your life, and recycled leather jewelry that is certain to delight a picky teenager.

Take 25 percent off everything on the site this Friday by using coupon code BLACKFRIDAY09. That’s something to be thankful for!

No Comments | Filed under: In the shop | Tags: , , , , , | M.J. Prest @ 11:05 am

October 29, 2009

Andira Rain Tees: The Eco-Fashion Trifecta

andira-rain-teeAndira 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.

September 28, 2009

‘Ridding the World of Bad Pants’

pants-to-poverty

Last week, Jessica from Pants to Poverty (awesome tagline: “Ridding the World of Bad Pants”) wrote us about the brand’s autumn/winter collection of, yes, underpants made from fair-trade and organic cotton.

She says:

We use transitional cotton, and are Fair Trade certified in Europe. We intend to become fair trade certified in the US as soon as Transfair USA launches their textile certification program. We are also have begun to individually package our pants in recycled, fair trade paper, which makes for a great holiday or Valentine’s day gift. …

Not only are we ethically sourced and eco-friendly produced but we also donate £1 for each pair sold to the garment worker and farmer communities.

We are happy to spread the word! And really, any excuse to use the word “underpants” in a blog post is great.

No Comments | Filed under: In the shop | Tags: , , , | M.J. Prest @ 12:05 pm

September 24, 2009

No Shame in Label Whoring in E.S. Issue 23

We might get in trouble for calling ethical fashionistas “label whores” — but we kid, we kid. Is there a better term for those of us who obsessively check for organic seals of approval, avoid anything labeled “dry clean only,” and want to know where our clothes are being made?

Here are some of Issue 23’s offerings:

Certifiable

This year is the International Year of Natural Fibers, according to the United Nations. This means 2009 is a good year for organics.

The Organic Exchange (OE), a business-supported certifier of organic fiber agriculture (most often cotton), is using the occasion to host the 2009 Sustainable Textiles Conference in Seattle next month, which will focus on the key issues related to sustainable textiles in the 21st century. This very week, Organic Exchange’s Helvetas (The Swiss Association for International Cooperation) and other international partners are holding the World Congress on Organic Cotton in Interlaken, Switzerland, entitled “From Fashion to Sustainability.”

organics-versus-synthetics

Left: Gypsy 05's organic cotton maxi dress. Right: Fitness model Diana Chaloux in synthetic workout clothes.

Thanks to all these initiatives, consumers are seeing more organic, green, and sustainability labels popping up on clothing than ever before. But how does an item of clothing get labeled as such?

The international regulatory framework for certifying organic materials is not centralized and comprises a number of organizations that oversee setting the standards. The International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) published the Organic Textile Standards in 1998 in an effort to bring together all the disparate directives, but they remain disjointed around the globe. The International Organic Accreditation Service is responsible for certifying groups that, in turn, certify many of the companies.

In the United States, cotton fibers can be labeled USDA organic if they contain 95% organic fiber grown without conventional pesticides and using environmentally friendly agricultural practices. No matter where it is produced, in order to be certified, it must be inspected by the USDA. The label does not indicate anything about the dyes or chemicals in the fabric.

Among the non-governmental regulatory bodies, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the main certifier in the United States, and they use different labels: “Organic,” “100% Organic,” “Made with organic (specified fiber products),” and “Less than 70% organically produced constituents.” It has yet to be determined what would be labeled with “Less than 70% organically produced constituents.”  Their labels, beyond the USDA’s labels do include standards created to regulate chemicals, dyes, detergents, “green”-ness, non-organic elements like zippers and elastic.  However, they do not evaluate fair trade practices.

As is evident in the OTA’s regulations, beyond the straight forward “X leads to Y” certification by the U.S. federal government, the reality is that companies often incorporate other mores into their own certification and labeling processes. Depending on the company or organization, organic might say something about fair-trade practices, low-impact dyes, sustainable or biodegradable fabrics, and fewer chemicals in the final product—practices that go beyond the simple “organic” label.

In fact, defining “sustainable textiles,” a phrase that incorporates and analyzes much more than agricultural practices, is the next big thing. It seeks to marry the organic, fair-trade, and green concepts, with a holistic assessment of the long-term impact of the item — that is, access the total impact of the creation, use, and disposal of an item, and every person that the item affects along the way. It is a high-minded goal with, as of yet, no single certifying body to label items that fit into this category.

A word about synthetics: I prefer a silk blouse over a polyester blouse any day. And I want cotton dresses just like everyone, but I want my running clothes to be synthetic and high-tech. Synthetics serve a purpose. Rayon, a hybrid cellulose semi-synthetic fabric, has been found to biodegrade faster than even cotton. And thank goodness for nylon for giving us stockings without seams down the back.

In a world with no synthetics, there would be no elastic. Even strict certifiers allow elements (notions, as we seamstresses call them) that have no “natural” alternative: buttons, zippers, elastic. We forget that synthetic items can be also fair trade, like organics. I would argue that the role of synthetics in the future of sustainable, ethical fashion is has yet to be defined sufficiently. As we, the consumers, define “sustainable fashion,” it is my hope that synthetics will have a roll.

It remains up to consumers to be vigilant in their purchases and do their background research if clothes that fit into this category are important to them. In truth, that level of vigilance is always important on the part of consumers, and transparency is so important on the part of companies.  Companies who open up their sourcing, production, and labeling methods create confidence with their customers. Regardless of the fact that there are a dozen or so labeling systems granted oversight, companies can take the lead on defining their own products.

At the end of the day, labels are a shorthand way of telling us what we are getting. They don’t—nor can they—tell us the whole story. We should know that all around the world they mean different things. But it is certainly a comfort to discover, upon researching a line of clothing, that their labels mean exactly what they say.

No Comments | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Kara Cook @ 2:04 pm

September 23, 2009

Harry Potter’s Emma Watson Designs Fair-Trade Line

emma-watson-people-treeActress Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter movie franchise, is launching a fair-trade clothing collection for youths through U.K. retailer People Tree.

The line, due out in February, will be all organic and fair trade. Of the collection, she said:

“I wanted to help People Tree produce a younger range because I was excited by the idea of using fashion as a tool to alleviate poverty and knew it was something I could help make a difference with. It has been the most incredible gap year project.”

The girl’s got undeniable style, and we’re excited to see what she has come up with! We bet she has a talent for design as well as acting.

(via The Frisky)

2 Comments | Filed under: In the shop | Tags: , , , , | M.J. Prest @ 2:08 pm
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