eco-chic design

eco-design in action at the LOHAS Insight Tour

Last night I returned from my very first LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) Forum and it was beyond awe-inspiring. Of course you can’t beat the setting in Boulder but I’ve never seen such an amazing bunch of entrepreneurs, scientists, and marketers trying to do the right thing. During my first day I attended the LOHAS Insight Tour that took me behind the scenes of several sustainable businesses such as Eco-Cycle, Celestial Seasonings, Gaiam, Ellie’s and the new Tesla Motors showroom. It was great to see “single-stream recycling” at Eco-Cycle up close. The visit reinforced to cut back on paper and plastic consumption to begin with or to recycle responsibly. Andy from ChicoBag was on the tour as well sporting one of his reusable messenger-style bags. His bags are the perfect example how to upcycle waste into useful everyday items that also look cool. The Sling rePETe is made of recycled PET mostly found in plastic drinking bottles and contains other recycled materials like a carabiner made of 97% recycled aluminum. Other styles within the rePETe collection are ultra-lightweight backpacks or produce bags.

My personal highlight of the LOHAS Insight Tour was a Tesla Roadster test drive that was quite exhilarating. I had always admired the sleek design of the electric car and was happy to learn that the company will release the new Tesla S in 2012. It’ll be more affordable and seat 7 people. Sustainable design is definitely more fun when shared. Stay tuned for more LOHAS updates.

yoga apparel that combines style with sustainability

Quite fittingly my favorite jacket these days is called the Nirvana Jacket by Soybu. There’s no better way to describe the state of bliss after making it through my yoga practice. I bought the eco-friendly jacket at the onset of spring at Paragon for exercising or running errands on the weekends and absolutely love it. It has a great sleek fit and never seems to wrinkle plus it contains 44% recycled polyester made from recycled PET.

Not sure why but lately I seem to be on a recycled PET kick. According to Soybu’s website PET is one of the most common consumer plastics used in packaging such as soda or detergent bottles. The Nirvana jacket also has 12% spandex to give it a contoured fit and it feels super-soft. So far I’ve it in black and I’m flirting with the thought of ordering a second one in blue glass for summer. The cute belled arm sleeves make it fun to wear. Most of Soybu’s apparel line combines style, sustainability and performance through their choice of materials. Other eco-friendly fibers include soy, organic cotton or bamboo that’s used in their inner voice tank. The Nirvana Jacket is the first product I bought but I’ve a feeling I’ll be back for more.

eco-modern bags created from recycled PET felt

Now that summer is in full swing eco-friendly bags for the park and beach come in handy. And this really great 7-Pocket Tote designed by the founders of Museum of Robots stuck in my mind since I saw it at NYIGF earlier this year. The company has many cool and innovative products but the great thing about this tote bag is that it follows the cradle-to-cradle philosophy of green design. The material is made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and the entire bag plus the fabric are made in the USA. It has no added components such as hardware so that the entire bag is recyclable at the end of its useful life. What really got me hooked at NYIGF was its softness. Most totes made of eco-friendly felt are usually coarser. I learned that its soft nature is partially due to the fact that the fabric was originally created for the display industry intended for velcro-friendly applications. Initially the eco-modern bag was designed as a diaper bag so that the softness made a lot of sense. But I’m thrilled to see that it’s now offered for all ages. It comes in blue, charcoal and red. Other bags by Museum of Robots made of recycled PET felt are made from fabric originally created for the automotive industry and look more industrial but are very durable. You can never have enough bags as long as they are reusable or in this case fully recyclable.

Swedish sustainable fashion inspired by activism

The opening of the exhibition “Eco Chic – Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion” at the Scandinavia House proved Tuesday night that sustainable fashion can look stylish. I’ve always loved the simplicity and smartness of Swedish design. It was enlightening to see the same sensitivity in sustainable fashion. All Swedish designers were carefully selected based on their eco-friendly and ethical approach. I loved watching the short film “Globalization” that raises the question if there’s such a thing as sustainable globalization. It follows Annika Axelsson, one of the founders of Dem Collective, starting her own manufacturing facility for her sustainable clothing line in Sri Lanka. All employees are paid a living wage based on actual living costs, three times higher than the national minimum wage.

The video set the tone for the rest of the exhibit by illustrating that ecology, ethics and well-designed quality can coexist. Some of my favorite eco-designs at the exhibition were by Dem Collective, Camilla Norrback and Zion Clothing. Camilla Norrback calls her ecological line Ecoluxury and skews more upscale like her modern black coat made of organic cotton. Currently 75% of her collection is made from organically certified materials. Zion’s line is inspired by street fashion and music like the dark green hooded sweater and T-shirt made of organic cotton. All dyeing and printing is water-based without the use of heavy metals. It was a fun surprise to see the hand-made wooden shoes by Swedish Hasbeens based on the original 1970s models that complement any eco-outfit.

make a fashion statement with eco-friendly eyewear

Not that I need an excuse to wear sunglasses but they still help with my seasonal allergies. Unfortunately my old glasses are not eco-friendly but it’s still greener to reuse what you have as long as it doesn’t off-gas or consume more energy. Once I’ll loose mine I’ll definitely check out ECO’s stylish and sustainable eyewear collection. The name ECO stands for Earth-Conscious Optics and is Modo's ECO Collection of eco-friendly eyewear. It includes some cool designs inspired by aviators, rectangles and my favorite retro-inspired shapes. I love the look of the sustainable frames made of 95% recycled metal and plastic. But I appreciate even more that they received an Environmental Claims Validation (ECV) from UL Environment (ULE).

I’m a big supporter of the third party certification process. It makes it easier to quickly understand a product’s eco-attributes and helps to fight off green washing. ECO plants a tree through Trees for the Future for every frame sold and makes it simple to donate the glasses at the end of their useful life through their mail-in recycling kit. Simply reuse the box and organic cotton pouch that the glasses came in and send them back to ECO. The company will donate them to charities. Of course I would rather see you reuse the glasses and just replace the lenses once in a while if scratched. Reuse is still the best way to reduce and at least you’ll look fashionable doing it.

from fire hose waste to fashion accessories

Prompted by a visit to the London Fire Brigade Kresse Wesling, the founder of Elvis & Kresse learned that a fire hose can’t be recycled. That’s how the idea to turn reclaimed waste into fun and functional life-style accessories originated. Since then Elvis & Kresse has been sourcing waste materials from brigades all over the UK. It’s only fair to give discarded fire hoses a second life after they saved the lives of so many people. The upcyled line of life-style accessories encompasses bags and wallets but the belts and iPhone cases are my favorites. The belts make great sustainable summer accessories with their colorful designs in red and yellow. The unisex ladybird belt has a solid rectangular buckle, made with 100% reclaimed pewter. Not only is the outer skin of the Elvis & Kresse iPhone case made from discarded fire hose but the inside is lined with reclaimed parachute silk. Expect irregularities on the outside shell since the hose itself is vintage. But that’s what makes them cool.

Elvis & Kresse is always on the lookout for new, or may I say old materials to upcycle them into eco-modern fashion or home accessories. The company looks at the full-life cycle of their products by ensuring that shipping materials are reclaimed or reused such as old tea sacks and end-of-line labels. Plus it donates 50% of their of profits to the Fire Fighters Charity. All this gets me thinking what else I can reuse.

colorful bags designed with Korean recycled street banners

As an art director in advertising I generate quite a bit of vinyl and nylon waste. That’s why I love Poketo’s new launch of their eco-friendly bags made from recycled materials ranging from old street banners, used leather jackets or couches to donated clothing. These eco-chic bags are a team effort between Poketo and South Korean design brand, Eco Party Mearry to give discarded materials a second and quite frankly much hipper life.

Poketo’s new line of sustainable bags encompasses recycled suit totes, recycled street banner bags and my favorite recycled bubble bags. I love that the recycled bubble bags are a youthful and modern take on existing bags made out of recycled street banners. They have a very flattering shape for any eco-conscious owner and are perfect for running errands with two interior pockets. Each product has a tag, with pictures and descriptions that tell the product’s origin to include you in a bigger sustainable movement. So next time someone will ask you where you got this super-cool bag you can actually tell them that the nylon comes from old street banners collected by volunteers all over Seoul. Plus it’s one-of-a-kind. The discarded material is first cleaned and then cut and sewed by local designers. A percentage of the proceeds will go back to the non-profit design brand, Eco Party Mearry to help fund their organization including job creation. I love products with a good story - especially if the story is a sustainable one with a mission.

sustainable fashion and jewelry with a mission

NOW Showcase in NYC last month featured some of the newest trends in sustainable fashion and accessories. The location made it easy to get around this year since it was at ICO gallery. Los Angeles based eco-fashion designer Linda Loudermilk had a great quote on a banner leading up to her collection that read “nature is the original punk.” I loved her white shirts for men and women that featured a cool illustration of a water faucet on the back and are part of her water is a human right collection. I had seen the powerful icon on t-shirts, tank tops and scarves before and it’s even available as jewelry in copper, silver or gold. Her website states that more than 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s why 17% of proceeds of her mission wear collection are donated to clean water initiatives all around the world.

Two other jewelry designers caught my eye as well. I loved Kimberlin Brown’s coral reef pendants that are handcrafted from recycled 18 karat gold. She recently joined SeaWeb’s coral conservation campaign entitled ‘Too Precious To Wear’ that’s dedicated to celebrate the ocean without harming it. And last I was really impressed by Article 22’s hand cast aluminum bracelets made from repurposed bomb metal from the Vietnam War. I guess you can tell by now that I really love design for a cause.

stylish and sustainable activewear

Eco-friendly clothing company Nau had their pop-up shop Here/Nau/NYC in Soho for the last 4-6 weeks and I finally managed to stop by. I’ve always wanted to try their eco-friendly activewear and outdoor clothes since I love the design and sustainability mission of the Portland based company. What I like about their eco-friendly apparel line for men and women is that it’s an urban take on outdoor clothing. It’s like Patagonia meets Prada since their apparel line combines sustainability with style. Some of their pieces are very sleek by design and others almost utilitarian. I was impressed by the quality and softness of their women's down shirts whose shell fabric and lining are crafted from 100% recycled polyester. Their 850-fill goose down fill is naturally renewable and the highly compressible design packs down to a grapefruit size. It’s just another example how Nau combines performance and sustainability with the goal to create long-lasting garments.

All clothes are designed for social, material and aesthetic sustainability and Nau considers the complete life-cycle not only of their products but also of their retail fixtures. Even the pop-up shop Here/Nau/NYC was decorated with reused and repurposed local waste products such as cardboard or recycled metal that were turned into cool product displays. I’ll be sad to see the store go, but I also found out that Paragon Sports is carrying their collection in Manhattan.

underwear with a social conscience

An article in the WSJ caught my eye a few weeks ago since it mentioned that more M.B.A.s are emerging nowadays with a focus towards social entrepreneurship. One of them is Jeff Denby who co-launched the very cool company PACT organic underwear with Jason Kibbey. What got my attention was that they teamed up with Yves Behar whose humanistic designs I admire. And the eco-modern designs for PACT are really fun.

PACT organic underwear has a socially and environmentally responsible supply chain that ranges from fair labor employment to the use of dyes and inks that are low-impact and free of heavy metals. All underwear is made of 95% organic cotton and 5% elastane to make sure the designs keep their shape. What I love the most is the concept that each pattern on the stylish underwear designs matches with a cause. Basically you can choose between 3 fits for men or women, 3 colors or 3 causes. For example you can pick the cause Oceana that protects oceans and marine life and match it with the bikini or the cause Forest Ethics that protects endangered forest around the world and combine it with the boxer. It’s an eco-chic way of giving 10% of your underwear purchase to your favorite charity. PACT’s motto is that “change starts with your underwear” which I can’t argue with since it’s the first thing you put on in the morning. It’s a great reminder to make a pact with yourself to make responsible and sustainable choices on a daily basis.