Photos by Emily Sandifer
This spring and summer, celebrate the warm weather with sustainable, lightweight knitwear from Myrrhia Fine Knitwear. Created from sustainable merino wool, cotton, and tencel by Oakland, California designer Myrrhia Resneck, each piece uses only fibers grown and spun in the USA. Self-admittedly obsessed with efficiency and carbon footprint, Resneck believes in the notions of nationalism and protectionism by establishing a domestic supply chain.
Photo by Shutterstock
Your running shoes may be leaving a heavier footprint on the planet than you imagined, according to a study published in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production. A life-cycle assessment by MIT’s Materials Systems Laboratory found that an average set of trainers generates 30 pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to leaving a 100-watt light bulb burning for a week. What surprised researchers wasn’t the volume of the shoes’ emissions, however, but rather the bulk of their origin. Led by Randolph Kirchain and Elsa Olivetti, the team of scientists discovered that more than two-thirds of a running shoe’s carbon impact can come from manufacturing processes—more than the acquisition of raw materials or its actual use combined.
Photo by Khurshed Rinku for Associated Press
On Friday, it’ll be a month since a devastating building collapse claimed the lives of 1,127 garment workers outside the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka. The Rana Plaza disaster will go down in history as a watershed moment for labor rights. In its aftermath, more than 40 of the world’s leading apparel companies—including Benetton, H&M, Topshop, and Zara—have agreed to hold themselves legally accountable for the safety and wellbeing of the people who make their products. Still, a number of retailers have declined to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which trade unions and labor-rights groups have dubbed superior to non-binding, corporate-controlled codes of conduct. Two naysayers in particular stand out: Walmart and Gap, both significant producers in the beleaguered South Asian nation.
Photos by Amanda Coen for Ecouterre
Socially-driven accessories company, Thread & Loom introduces itself to the world with a line of handbags that make for the perfect spring and summer carry-all item. The resort-meets-urban collection is defined by classic shapes that draw the eye with neon accents. Founder Gargi Agrawal personally oversees production in India to ensure that artisans are paid a fair wage and that materials are sourced responsibly. A strong supporter of women’s educational initiatives, Agrawal donates all profits to Kranti, an organization that rescues and empowers girls of the red-light district of Mumbai.
Photo by Northfoto/Shutterstock
As dozens of anti-sweatshop protestors faced arrest outside Gap’s annual shareholder meeting in San Francisco on Tuesday, the retail giant defended its decision not to sign the legally binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. Although more than 40 Western brands and retailers, including Gap competitors such as H&M, Mango, and Zara, have agreed to hold themselves legally accountable for safety and labor conditions in the factories they employ in the South Asian nation, Gap has held back. But don’t mistake the company’s reticence for callousness, according to Angela Leung Wasmer, the company’s director of global public affairs. “Gap takes our commitments very seriously,” Wasmer says in a video on We Are Committed, a website Gap launched on Sunday to address the issue. “We see all of our commitments as things we will do each and every day.”
Patagonia wants to play fairy godmother. The outdoor-apparel giant has announced plans to invest more than $20 million in like-minded, socially responsible startups through a new in-house venture fund. Known as “$20 Million & Change”—the name is a nod to both the initial capital and its potential to “change” the way people do business—the fund will fall under the auspices of a new holding company that will serve as an umbrella for Patagonia’s apparel arm and the company’s various subsidiaries. Patagonia Works, which succeeds the Lost Arrow Corporation, will not only cover present Patagonia holdings, but it will also incubate new companies or investments that use business to “inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis,” according to Yvon Chouinard, the rock-climber-turned-entrepreneur who founded Patagonia 40 years ago.
Photo by Shutterstock
Do you care about connecting with your clothing or would you rather wear it without a second thought? Most people would say the latter. In fact, when it comes to most modern day shoppers, the idea of bonding with a shirt seems about as comfortable as slipping into a power crystal room to clean one’s chakras. Yet with all the knowledge we continue to accrue of garment factory disasters from fast fashion, deforestation from luxury houses and worldwide water pollution, getting closer to one’s clothing might be the exact prescription for bettering the planet.
Come in contact with toxic substances while working in a lab and you’ll literally be caught red handed (or blue in this case). New gloves are being developed now at the Fraunhofer Research Institution that will alert wearers that they’ve been exposed to chemicals or other poisons. The gloves are equipped with a custom senor material that when exposed to hazardous substances, turns it blue. This immediate and real-time feedback will help researchers, lab techs and scientists avoid overexposure and encourage safer lab habits.
From Oscar-winning director to…shoe designer? Ben Affleck has teamed up with the do-gooders at TOMS to create series of African-textile-inspired kicks that benefit the Eastern Congo Initiative. Founded by the actor-filmmaker in 2010, the organization is the first U.S.-based advocacy and grant-making initiative “wholly focused” on working with and for the people of that region. The designs are available in three styles: two for men and one for women. And besides TOMS’ usual “one for one” policy, $5 from the purchase of each limited-edition pair will help fund ECI’s programs for youth and families in eastern Congo. “Getting involved in something, helping others, improving the fabric of the universe,” Affleck says in a statement. “I believe if you do that, even just a little bit, I think you’ll find your life gets better, too.”
This year’s red carpet for the Cannes Film Festival might as well turn green. In a collaboration with the Alliance for Responsible Mining, the sculptor of Cannes’ iconic and…
SMART HANGER Japanese retailers are hoping that the hanger will promote consumer spending in a notoriously depressed market. “The hanger is being introduced by apparel makers who want…
Photos by Heng Sinith for Associated Press The ceiling of a small shoe factory outside the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh collapsed early Thursday, killing at least two workers and…
If you thought Abercrombie & Fitch couldn’t get more offensive, you’d be wrong, oh so wrong. After CEO Mike Jeffries drew fire last week for deliberating excluding…
Researchers at Duke University have used a consumer-grade 3D printer to make something out of a Sci-Fi movie- an invisibility cloak. Yaroslav Urzhumov and his crew of engineers have…
Holy domino effect! Following examples set by H&M, Inditex, Primark, and C&A on Monday, a number of North American and European clothing brands have agreed to sign a legally…
Illustration by Stop the Cyborgs Now that the Google Glass has hit the mainstream, we’re just waiting for the slew of usage bans that are anticipated to ensue. With texting and cell…
Photo by Andrew Biraj for Reuters Bangladesh’s government agreed on Monday to allow the South Asian nation’s 4 million garment workers to form trade unions without seeking…
Photo by Shutterstock I wrote this poem for my mom [Ecouterre writer Amy DuFault] on Mother’s Day hoping to impress her with my knowledge of what she does for a living. Knowing…
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