Green and Gorgeous: Introducing The Eco Fashionista!
I love fashion. I’m incredibly passionate about the environment. So in 2004, I undertook a little exercise in market-based environmental activism and opened the doors to my own eco fashion retail store in Portland, Oregon. Shortly thereafter, in early 2005, I launched our online branch TheGreenloop.com. We carry the latest green fashion statements, from handbags made of recycled candy wrappers and hats of reclaimed cashmere, to chic vegan boots and sustainably sexy cocktail dresses. Who says you can’t combine sophisticated style with a high level of sustainability?
Whether it’s well known eco-line Edun by Ali Hewson and Bono, or an up-and-coming Portland local like Emily Katz, we diligently screen each designer’s manufacturing practices and materials before placing their lines at Greenloop. We feature only sweatshop-free and fairly traded garments made from eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, hemp, wool, and reclaimed vintage garments, as well as the most cutting edge renewable fabrics like soy, modal, and seacell (a blend of wood pulp and seaweed.) These fabrics weave their way into affordable, stylish basics by Perfectly Imperfect and Of The Earth to high-end pieces from ethical fashion superstars like Linda Loudermilk and Stewart+Brown. The store’s green ethos doesn’t stop with the designers we stock; Greenloop offsets the carbon emissions from the shipping for TheGreenloop.com with renewable energy certificates called Green Tags. We also donates a portion of sales to ecologically focused organizations like 1% for the Planet, Global Green USA, and the Oregon Environmental Council, among others.
I really think fashion is influential and, as such, it’s a powerful vehicle for education and change. It’s an easy way to spread a message without getting people on the defensive. Overall, it’s not about being perfectly green or perfectly fashionable-I am certainly neither…It’s just about taking steps in the right direction to live a more sustainable life.
The team at Greenloop and I will be bringing some exciting features to The Tastemaker Diaries in the coming months…from what’s hot on America’s eco fashion runways to behind-the-scenes stories on the designers who adorn them. We’ll keep you up-to-date on the greatest green fashion deals, as well as keeping Tastemaker readers in the know on the materials and practices that make eco fashion the feel good shopping phenomenon that it is… Enjoy staying in the (green)loop!
Comments (4)
4 Comments
what are your thoughts about h&m’s organic cotton line? i’ve seen the clothing in a few different stores, but i’m always wary of spending extra money for eco-friendly goods from chain stores (like h&m) because it’s hard to know if they aren’t just using a loophole to push a trendy product. i’d want to buy true eco-friendly clothes, not something that’s 70% organic, etc.
Hi Jackie - Thanks for the question. In general, even when it is a “big box” company selling organic, or promoting some other “green” aspect of a collection, I am all for it, as long as there is some truth to their assertions. With H&M, they actually have a good CSR report, in which they are pretty clear about their auditing process, standards and the like. They are not perfect, but their use and promotion of organic cotton will only serve to grow the market and make sustainable apparel more available to the masses who can not necessarily afford the higher end eco-fashion.
That said, I also think it is important to support those smaller designers that are doing more, on a business-wide scale, from the ground up, to be as environmentally responsible as possible. Perhaps you can compromise with a few lower priced basics from companies like H&M, a few gently used pieces from a resale store, and then fill in each season with stand-out, unique pieces from the higher end lines. With any line, be it H&M or a small boutique designer, I do not think we should turn away from companies that are not 100% green, but rather, support them to help them move toward their goal of greater sustainability in their product and business operations. I like to lead with a carrot, not a stick, so to speak. And don’t be afraid to share your thoughts with them about you would like to see.
Happy Green Shopping!
[...] it? Is it money or not trying hard enough? I’m on the Greenloop team, I work with Aysia Wright, The Eco Fashionista herself, and my closet is barely chartreuse. Well, I’ve decided 2008 is the year to Green My [...]
I love the greenloop store!