Eviana Hartman, Bodkin

Bodkin is a women’s collection that functions as an ongoing exploration of the sustainability question—not only in materials and production methods, but also in aesthetic terms. Bodkin brings to clothing the mission of architectural modernism: good, smart design. Each piece is manufactured in the United States and mindfully sourced with such materials as organic cotton, organic wool, artisanal dyes, recycled polyester, closed-loop cellulosic fibers, and deadstock fabric. Bodkin was named the inaugural recipient of the Ecco Domani Sustainable Design Award in 2009.

Designer Eviana Hartman is also a writer; she was the fashion features editor at NYLON, fashion writer at Vogue and Teen Vogue, and the founding columnist of EcoWise in The Washington Post. She collaborated with designer Wendy Mullin on the Sew U series of books for Little, Brown and Potter Craft, and has written about music, style, architecture, and design for such publications as Dwell, I.D., Purple Fashion, VMan, Domino, and Wired.

Eviana Hartman, the designer behind Brooklyn-based eco-fashion label Bodkin

Why does sustainable clothing cost more than big-box brands? For the same reason that an heirloom tomato costs more than a box of McNuggets: a combination of economies of scale and economies of globalization. Unfortunately and perversely, the things that are best for you and the rest of the world are often more expensive than whatever’s fast, cheap, and easy. Clothing prices are, in many cases, artificially low because we’ve been trained to buy quantity over quality. With food, more people are willing to pay the premium because it goes into our mouths and is reflected on our waistlines. With clothing, too few shoppers make the connection.