Ecouterre

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.

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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 38 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.”

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: More Brands, Retailers Commit to Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety

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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.

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Patagonia Launches eBay Storefront to Buy, Sell Pre-Owned Gear

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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.

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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.

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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.”

+ TOMS x Eastern Congo Initiative $59-$79

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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 prestigious Golden Palm trophy, Chopard, will present a line of sustainable and ethical gold jewelry. Celebutantes all dolled up for the festival can have piece of mind sporting Chopard’s jewels, which sources gold from small, environmentally sound mines in Colombia and Ecuador.

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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 injuring seven as a result of the falling concrete. The latest accident, which comes less than a month the deadliest industrial disaster in Bangladesh killed more than 1,120 people, underscores the deadly safety conditions many garment workers face in the developing world. About 50 workers were inside a workroom of the factory when the cave in occurred. Ken Loo, the secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, told the New York Times that steel beams holding up a concrete-floored storage area on a mezzanine above appeared to have been responsible.

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