Green Options

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Since its inception in the autumn of 2005, Passenger Pigeon has become a green fashion favorite among women of all ages and financial means. Heather Schibli and Wendy Trass have created a company appreciated for its intelligent and passionate designs.

The Canadian media mavens at GreenLivingOnline.com have allowed me to share my interview with Heather and Wendy, which was first published on GLO a few weeks ago. Keep reading for all the juicy details about the past, present and future of Passenger Pigeon - and eco-fashion as a whole!

The label was previously named Calledyourbluff and was changed to Passenger Pigeon when the brand began using sustainable textiles. Why did the collection change to eco-fabrics? Do you find working with sustainable fibers to be more limiting when coming up with designs?

Wendy: Do we feel limited? Yes and no. In the past we’ve dyed fabric because it only came in beige, and the very reason we use prints so much is because much of the available fabric is quite basic. Working within these limitations means that we have to get pretty creative sometimes, but I think that’s where the charm of our line comes from.

There’s actually a good range of eco-friendly textiles, especially for more casual fabrics like knits and twill. The one thing that we would like to see more of is affordable organic wool and other heavier fabrics for winter. However, it seems every week we get new, exciting swatches from different suppliers. There seems to be a lot happening in the textile industry to develop beautiful, new, sustainable fabrics.

Similar to Hope Spinnery in Maine that I featured a few weeks ago, Green Mountain Spinnery in Vermont creates their own yarn from United States-grown fibers (specifically alpaca, mohair, wool and organic cotton).

“Our mission is to produce and sell high quality yarns from natural fibers and design classic Vermont patterns. Transforming the many types of raw fibers into luxurious and long lasting yarn. The Green Mountain Spinnery helps to sustain regional sheep farming, and to develop environmentally sound ways to process natural fibers,” says their website.

Using vintage equipment, Green Mountain Spinnery creates yarns that take any project from plain to prodigious. Also similar to Hope Spinnery, GMS will spin yarns from fibers that you provide as well. The company has also released its own book of patterns, called The Green Mountain Spinnery Knitting Book, featuring “30 of their best loved contemporary and classic patterns.”

The media has a new indie jewelry favorite - Ashley Hilton. Featured in press outlets around the world in just the past 6 months, Ashley’s creations embody a seamless mix of eco-appreciation and modern style.

“I try to reflect both the human and natural environment in my work by using symbols and materials that have meaning to me and represent where I come from. From street signs to native trees, my jewelery has always been a pretty literal representation of my surroundings,” he says.

Along with the natural theme of his creations, Ashley uses small scale mined metals from his home base in New Zealand. “I found that most of the gold from my suppliers in New Zealand is mined or recycled here and in Australia. Both these countries have a relatively good track record with regards to mining practices but the idea of using a local resource and streamlining the path of the metal from the ground to the customer really appealed to me,” he says.

It was my pleasure to chat with Ashley recently about his education of the art of make jewelry, sustainable metal mining, creative inspirations and more. Read on for our full conversation and all its “hand made” details.

What first got you interested in making jewelry? When did you decide to turn it into a career?

I was at a loose end really. I’d spent a few years traveling and working overseas as a chef and knew that that lifestyle wasn’t for me anymore. I did a weekend jewelery course and loved it, It just made perfect sense to me so I bought some tools and started experimenting. Originally I never thought it would be a career. It was never really a conscious decision, it just grew and grew until in about 3 years It was all I did.

Have you even gotten flack for being a straight guy in the jewelry biz?

Ever wonder what fashion bloggers are really like? We have! While it would be difficult to try and analyze ourselves, we jump at the chance to chat with other eco-minded online writers to get their perspective on sustainable fashion and its place in the entire green movement.

Launched a month and a half ago as part of the new EcoGeek blogging network, Wearing the Future is all about “straight talk as much as style, so you won’t have to worry about fluffy, PR-soaked, greenwashing nonsense.”

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the blog’s chief editor and head writer, Kyeann Sayer (pronounced like “cayenne” pepper). As a long-time writer for Treehugger.com, Kyeann has an impressive media resume - she has been featured on CNN, MSN, I.D. Magazine, Domino, Spin, Outside, and Women’s Wear Daily … just to name a few.

In our lively conversation, Kyeann and I talk about the beginning of Wearing the Future, her favorite eco-fashion brands, personal style’s place in the world of green living and more - read on for all the juicy details!

Victoria Everman: How did you get connected with Hank Green of EcoGeek? Did the two of you come up with the idea for Wearing the Future together or was he on the look-out for an editor and writer already? 

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that to live a greener, healthier life, you have to completely reinvent your ways. But more often than not, lasting change comes by making things simpler, not harder. Instead of thinking about all you should do, try a gentler approach - one that goes back to basics. Reusable shopping bags. Manual can openers. A walk to the corner store. Handmade gifts. A sustainable future doesn’t grow out of a to-do list, but from a desire for the kind of lifestyle that brings us back to ourselves. - Terri Trespicio

Here-here to that, sister! Though it is tough to get away from cleaning the bathroom and doing laundry, most “modern” inventions and products end up making our lives more cluttered and complicated instead of relieving us of senseless stress. Keeping things simple (or at least progressing them towards that end of the spectrum) is the overall theme of Body+Soul Magazine’s April 2008 issue - right in time for Earth Day, of course.

Learning how to kick back and take things in stride is the theme of this issue’s Reader to Reader column (page 20) . In celebration of the premiere of Sundance Channel The Green’s second season on April 1st, Body+Soul is giving away a luxury goody bag (worth over $2,500!) to one lucky reader.

Bright colors and unnaturally stretchy fibers are nice, but there are times when you just want to go back to the “classics.” Sourced from Wiltshire, Devon, Somerset and surrounding counties in Britain, Farm Yarns spins some of the most exceptional alpaca and organic wool yarn available anywhere.

“The yarn was developed with the idea to offer a yarn that comes in colours as you find it on the animal on the farm,” says the Farm Yarn website.

What’s so great about alpaca? If you’ve ever used it, you wouldn’t be asking that question. Unspeakably comfortable and versatile, Farm Yarns uses baby alpaca wool - “it is warmer than wool, but has a soft feel like silk,” they say. Naturally available in over 20 shades, baby alpaca wool is not actually from baby alpacas. “It is not a description of the age of the alpaca itself, rather a term that describes the finess of the alpaca wool.”

Crafter extraordinaire and co-host of DIY Network’s Creative Juice TV show - Cathie Filian - also has her own production company. With her fellow executive producers Greg Byers and Steve Piacenza, Cathie is on the hunt for teen/young adult crafters to show off their skills on a new craft show she is working on. Think you got what it takes (CAGW is sure you do)? Then check out the details below from Cathie herself on how to enter!

Casting Notice – Untitled Teen Craft Show

Our production company, Two Bees and a Pea, is casting young adult & teen crafters for a new “untitled” craft show. This show will be guest based - so you could be the star of the show. We produce Creative Juice on DIY and HGTV and this will be a brand new show.

We are seeking crafty guests from all over the USA and will begin the process with DVD submissions. The DVD’s are not for air on TV they are for casting purposes. Fear not if you don’t have access to a video camera. Just send a photo of yourself (big smile) holding or showing off your handmade items.

Here are a few guidelines:

Nestled in the peaceful beach bordering countryside of southern Maine, you’ll find one of the most sustainable yarn companies on the planet. Unexpected, no?

Hope Spinnery has prided itself on being as eco-friendly as possible: the fiber processing mill is run completely on wind power captured on-site; all fibers are purchased locally from sustainably-dedicated Maine farms; only Earth-friendly soaps and natural dyes are used on the yarns; by-products from the spinning process are reused elsewhere at the mini-factory.

The company’s yarn, made from mostly wool and alpaca, are available by skein and in 6 different patterns kits (5 hats and 1 mitten pattern to choose from). Hope Spinnery recently launched their online store, so you can see the stock they have right away and choose the color and fiber that would be perfect for your next project.

Often the second banana to the world of knitting, crochet is steadily gaining more followers thanks to just how easy it is to pick up the hobby. Instead of using two needles, all you need is a ball of yarn and a crochet hook to create everything from toys and toaster covers to sweaters and stylish accessories.

For the first book on our Top 5 Must-Have DIY Crochet Tomes list, most knitters will recognize Debbie Stoller as the editor-in-chief of Bust Magazine and the writer of all three Stitch ‘N Bitch books. Crafters were both surprised and delighted when she released Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker in 2006.

Similar to her first Stitch ‘N Bitch book about knitting, The Happy Hooker is an introduction to the history and process of crochet as well as a kick-ass pattern book. Whether you are an experienced knitter or new to fiber crafts all together, The Happy Hooker is the perfect first crochet book for everyone.

Crochet shares some similarities with knitting. One major likeness is that the more you know, the more likely you are to make a mistake. No crocheters’ bookshelf would be complete without The Crochet Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You’ll Ever Face; Answers to Every Question You’ll Ever Ask by Edie Eckman.

With line illustration, charts, details on tools, specific techniques, standard crochet abbreviations, common crochet terms and phrases, standard body measurements and sizing, suggested sizes for accessories and household items, and yarn care symbols; this is the only book you will need when your loops and hooks don’t look right.

Answers to detailed questions about all aspects of crochet is the feature element of the book, with chapters on gauge, circles, edges, and finishing. Thanks to Edie’s support, you will feel more confident to progress into more detailed crochet patterns and projects.

Internationally known for their knitting books, seasonal pattern magazines and luxurious wool yarns, England’s Rowan Yarns has finally ventured into the world of sustainable fibers. Available in DK/light worsted weight, Rowan’s 100% organic cotton PureLife yarn is already winning over crafters.

“Our organically grown naturally dyed yarn is colored with plant dyes and due to their organic nature some shade variation will simply add to the yarn’s unique inherent beauty,” says the Rowan website.

Along with the release of the eight-shade color palate, Rowan has released a pattern brochure with 18 designs just for their PureLife yarn (10 for women, 4 for men, 4 for girls).