Green Options

I do love recycled clothing. Because I am semi-crafty I can even make my own. For those who just don’t have the time (or the desire) to repurpose clothing, RE-DEWIN has the answer.

“Redewin garments are made from vintage recycled garments. REstore individuality. REvive character. REnew expression.”

All of Redewin’s clothing is made from previously loved (Ah-hem, VINTAGE) clothing which is pieced together to make something new. Our favorite is the patchwork dress pictured here. My three year old is jumping up and down saying, “I need that dress”.

In addition to the adorable children’s clothing, Redewin also carries many fashionable women’s items. Each item is unique and has only one size available, so you are sure to have a one of a kind! The prices are reasonable (of course, shopping second hand is always the lowest cost). Children’s items range from $18.99-$34.99, Women’s items are a bit pricier but look to be well worth the cost.

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

SanMar, one of the largest shirt manufacturers in the US, just got into the eco-friendly apparel game in a big way.

The SanMar green site at http://www.sanmar.com/Green.html boasts 27 items, many that are eco-friendly versions of their very popular Port Authority band.

Port Authority is normally ranked #1 or #2 in the promotional market industry for sales. It is the shirt most Proforma offices recommend to clients.

SanMar also is offering bamboo shirts but as yet does not seem to have a product to go up against the e.c.o. Fleece items from AshCity, however I suspect they will come out with something to compete in this area.

AshCity offers in-house embroidery services. SanMar does not (of course Proforma Green can embroider any item from any supplier).

What does all this mean for the Ecopreneurist?

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

A funny thing happened on the way to this blog.

I wanted to write about the new line of e.c.o fleece items from Ash City - they use a fabric that is 75% recycled polyester/25% polyester.

These items are great for any eco-tourism or resort operating in a cold weather area, for eco-friendly landscaping work crews, maybe even as a resell item for a farmers market come the holiday season.

This is a guest post by Kelly Duneavy, a reporter for MarinScopes newspapers.

Though Jenny McCarthy may have hit it big originally for her bad girl image, now she wants to go good. Too Good.

McCarthy signed with Brand Sense Partners to launch a children’s lifestyle line, Too Good by Jenny, next Spring. The line will be focused on providing children with safe, non-toxic surroundings.

Ever since McCarthy’s son, Evan, was diagnosed with [...]

This is a follow-up post to one I did a couple of weeks ago about an innovative sustainable outdoor clothing company in New Zealand - Icebreaker- and their clever Baacode, which helps owners of their garments to track down where the fibers from the garment came from. It is a little ‘meet your sheep’ thing.

I was so excited to get my ‘Quantum Hood’ midweight outer layer from New Zealand. No. That is not a picture of me in the coveted hoodie. I’m not quite as intense (or young) as this svelte model here.

I couldn’t wait to meet my little merino friends who endured shearing and I suppose quite a breeze for a little while for the sake of this amazing hoodie. It was remarkably ‘high-tech’ and smooth - not what you would expect when you see the farm and pictures of the family who runs it and of course the woolly beasts themselves.

Meet my sheep!

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

The Verve line of organic cotton promotional t-shirts from Vantage Apparel seems to be going for the title of most green t-shirt available.

Like many other organic shirts in the promotional items industry Vantage starts with a non-bleached t-shirt made from organic cotton (i.e. no pesticides or petroleum fertilizers used to grow the cotton). At this point the shirt is similar to other organic shirts, like the AnvilOrganic line from Anvil Knit Wear (which by the way does come in different colors than just “natural”).

Jennifer wrote about Kee Ka yesterday here on Eco Child’s Play, and I thought I would add a few more kids clothing ideas to the mix.  The monkey ensemble she highlighted was actually one of our favorite outfits we received as a gift for our son when he was born last fall.  It was a true breath of fresh air.  You see, here in Texas, we like our boys dressed in clothes that reflect real manly values.  Tools, trucks, sports logos, and cowboy gear abound on clothes for our sons, and that’s as it should be…

…unless you’re a parent that hates looking at tools, trucks, sports logos, and cowboy gear, in which case you’re up a creek.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for all of the hand-me-downs we’ve received since our son was born last fall.  Passing clothing down from kid to kid is an American tradition that’s thrifty and environmentally responsible at the same time.  I’ve also had a great time going through resale shops and thrift stores and I’ve found some good stuff.  Blue jean shorts for $1?  Sold!

However,  since kiddo isn’t old enough to care about his own clothes yet, we are actually the primary viewers of his wardrobe and we are starting to get a bit tired of all the “All Boy All The Time” look - and it is darn difficult to find anything else unless you buy new.  I know it isn’t any easier on the other side. Announcing “it’s a girl!” seems to trigger a pink clothing avalanche.  (Also see Amy’s post on GirlMogul for some alternatives.)

So if you’re on the hunt for something to break the mold and liven up your babe’s couture, here’s a list of 20 eco-friendly shirts that don’t scream boy or girl (or cowboy).  Use the money you saved on the jean shorts to splurge a little, or drop a few hints to the grandparents.

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

I now understand that my attempt at blogging from our convention was a little bit of a pipe dream. There were simply so many green products and conversations going on that I was nearly overwhelmed.

Two big take-aways:

1) The industry is certain that green is going to stick this time around. A few vendors placed green (by their use of the word at the time) at 8-12% of the business and with a growth to 20% in the next few years seeming very likely. Ash City is looking for 50% by 2010.

2) This is the interesting point for Ecopreneurs: suppliers are having trouble keeping up with demand in the marketplace, even at the low levels of current business. Problems are at every level of the supply chain, so if you have a green idea, GET IT OUT THERE.

“Baa-ram-ewe, baa-ram-ewe.
To your breed, your fleece, your clan be true.
Sheep be true. Baa-ram-ewe”
-Sheep, Babe (1995)

This quote from one of our family-cult-classics sprang to mind as soon as I read the press release about this very clever company in New Zealand. Icrebreaker is an innovative sustainable clothing company that is serious about maintaining ethical manufacturing and environmental standards.  

Icebreaker CEO Jeremy Moon says sustainability has been a non-negotiable part of the company’s core philosophy since it was founded in 1994. Since then, Icebreaker has emerged as an innovator in merino-based outdoor layering systems, claiming to be the first apparel company in the world to source merino direct from growers.

Find out more about the Baacode . . .

This past weekend, I went to Virgin Fest. A two day, two stage, music festival deal. It was a blast to see so many bands rock out to a very enthusiastic crowd.

The neat thing about Virgin Fest, is that they are committed to being as green as possible. They had a whole exhibit based on their efforts, called the Green Spot. At the exhibit you learned that all of the paper products, t-shirts and other “merch” were sourced from organic cotton, recycled content and corn based plastics. Generators used biofuels and composting bins were placed next to recycle bins.

It was wonderful to know that even though music festivals are large events, small changes can make a big difference. But what really got me going was an awesome bandanna skirt that I spotted in the crowd.

Clothing swaps are becoming ever more popular as we all look for ways to save money, and stay stylish. Add in the possibilities for DIY modifications, and you can whip yourself up an entirely new wardrobe for practically nothing. It’s one thing to trade among friends, or your local community, but what if people from all over the planet could participate in a 24-7 swap party from the comfort of their homes?

DigNSwap.com aims to be a catalyst for online clothing, shoe, and accessory trading. You simply upload photos of stuff you want to swap, and indicate a few attributes such as size, color, brand and condition. Then, you “dig” through what others have to offer using convenient category and tag based searching. When you find something you like, you can bid on it with items in your stash. If your bid is accepted, then you ship the items to each other. Pretty neat, right?

This site recently launched its beta release, and tapped CAGW to help get the ball rolling with participation. That means YOU can be among the first people to help build an online community that facilitates revamping fashion rather than trashing it. For those not familiar, “Beta” websites are, for the most part, fully functioning, but may have some bugs that need working out. Most site administrators encourage visitors to disclose glitches or issues with functionality during this period with hopes that tweaking will culminate an ideal end-user experience.