As you no doubt know, three weeks ago on April 24, an eight-story factory building collapsed. Early reports counted a death toll of a few hundred, and especially at first, the event felt more like a far-away bullet point in the news than something that might actually affect you or me. But soon, we heard [...]
My sources tell me that less than 500 out of 1500 Genet scarves are still available, and after that, this design will be gone for good! Following the scarf design contest I won at Alt Summit in January, the scarves went on sale last month, and mine just arrived on Saturday. I haven’t taken it [...]
Several days ago Refinery29 published a piece comparing the ethics of eight popular brands. It opened with a few great quotes from the director of a social good nonprofit in Kenya. “The clothing we wear reflects the choices we make: thousands of economic votes that have the power to shift the clothing industry,” explains Zane [...]
Enjoy the earth today! Matching stripes optional. (See more matching parents and babies on my incognito Tumblr, Mini Moi!)
In doing my best to make ethical purchasing choices on day-to-day things, the most important thing I consider is supply and demand. Without demand, there would be no supply. So I create demand for things like… Independently owned businesses. Local, organic produce. Quality craftsmanship. Non-GMO grocery items. Natural diapers. Beautiful design. Art. Ethical production. Vintage. Etc. Two things [...]
A Cup of Jo: “Researchers from the Netherlands discovered that the largest boost in happiness from a vacation doesn’t come during or after the vacation, but instead from the simple act of planning a vacation. According to the 2010 study, ‘vacation anticipation’ generally boosts happiness for eight weeks, whereas after the vacation ‘there is hardly an effect.’” [...]
Consignment and clothing swap apps have been getting so good lately! Threadflip just launched today, and it’s the best-looking web app I’ve seen yet for shopping people’s closets. (Poshmark still wins for mobile!) It makes it easy to buy and sell clothes and accessories you’re not using anymore. A few highlights… End-to-end shipping solution: As soon as [...]
Zara is in the business of fast fashion — and I think we can all agree that fast fashion sucks, fueling a culture of constant consumption that latches onto low price points rather than quality craftsmanship, classic style or supporting independent business. But… every once in a while, fast fashion can have its place. As I’ve [...]
Earlier this week I clicked on this article, devoured it, retweeted it — and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. Lecturer and former fashion editor Charty Durrant writes about the impact the fashion industry has had on not only the ecology and economy of countless developing countries, but also — even more [...]
We all love hearing about a new for-benefit company, where a business has built its concept around benefitting a social cause. Most for-benefits are based in Africa or other impoverished countries, which is completely awesome — but there’s something especially impactful about hearing about one in my own country. It hits closer to home, literally. [...]
First, a contest! From now through Earth Day, this Friday, Levi’s is running a contest that I thought some of you might be interested in. To enter, just tweet about how YOU combine style and sustainability, whether you’re wearing vintage or building a sustainable wardrobe or reviving old furniture, and include the hashtag #SWTC (as [...]
A couple weeks ago I published my latest piece on for-benefit companies at Commerce with a Conscience, With Benefits: Nau. For it, I got to learn a lot about the labor landscape from talking with Nau‘s product and textile guru: I get a little bit giddy every time I talk to someone like Jamie Bainbridge, [...]
Before Gretchen Jones was on Project Runway, she was a sustainable fashion designer in Portland, merchandising her slow-fashion line MothLove. But to take her work to the next level, for the sake of both finances and fame, she knew she needed some kind of jumpstart — so Season 8 it was. I got to chat [...]
Look – the inner-workings of a traditional clog factory in Sweden! I love seeing the craftspeople in action. (Especially the rivets guy.) I’ve always thought the price point of Swedish clogs were a bit high (No 6, Swedish Hasbeens), but now I get it — plus, Epaulet’s exclusive designs start significantly lower, at $185. Very nice! Via [...]
We love our indie brands, but oftentimes shopping at chains can be unavoidable. Last month Newsweek released its Green Rankings 2010, ranking hundreds of the world’s most environmentally sound companies, and I went through and grabbed just the Fashion & Beauty companies from their Top 500 US Companies list — so that when we do find ourselves at [...]
This shot from The Sartorialist is fantastic in the first place. But I also love the context in which Scott Schuman posted it: In the midst of New York fashion week, he snapped this and then asked the question, “So what is more important, fashion or style?” Referring to “fashion” as following the trends, and [...]
Lovely to see my new friends Jennine, founder of The Coveted and IFB, and Joslin, owner of EcoCitizen, featured in FASHIONmeGREEN’s San Francisco Project! In the video, Jennine mentions the influence that style bloggers can have in sharing great eco fashion with their audiences, and local designers (The Podolls, Feral Childe, Kayu and Juleselin) weigh in on the benefits of eco fashion. This video has [...]
If you have a minute right now, I would really appreciate your help. Please sign in and vote for my panel at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin next year! » Empowering Conscientious Consumers: Take the Power Back I’ll discuss case studies of brands/concepts that educate and empower responsible consumers through the web, along with: [...]
Did you miss me? About a week ago Jon and I took a short vacation to Disneyland! But it’s taken me a while to get the wind back in my sails since we got back. It’s just that time of year, I guess, for vacations and transitions and the like. Last week was my first time [...]
How crazy is it that current FDA laws concerning personal care products haven’t changed since 1938? Apparently cosmetics companies aren’t required to meet any standards or regulations with their products. Crazy. But there’s good news! Annie Leonard from The Story of Stuff has narrated this excellent video to educate us about what the heck we’re [...]
