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Wide-open vistas are frequently used to advertise outdoor clothing, yet the toxins many weather-resistant fabrics contain may actually be detrimental to nature and our personal health, according to a new report from Greenpeace Germany. To determine the scope of the problem, the environmental nonprofit commissioned two independent laboratories to test 14 rain jackets and trousers for a spectrum of hazardous chemicals. Despite representation from a range of popular brands, including Patagonia, The North Face, Jack Wolfskin, and Fjällräven, the results were broadly—and dishearteningly—the same.
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Sure, we have rose gold, white gold, and well, gold gold, but what if you could have red, blue, green, or even purple gold without chemically altering the precious metal? Researchers at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom opened up a spectrum’s worth of possibilities when they discovered they could change the way gold—or just about any metal—reflects and absorbs light. The secret involves a bit of visual sleight of hand. By etching the metal’s surface with patterns of specific shape and depth, Nikolay Zheludev and his team at Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre are able to manipulate the wavelengths that are visible to the human eye.
H&M has come under fire after a Swedish broadcast claims the high-street retailer isn’t doing enough to prevent sweatshop-like conditions at a subcontractor’s factory in Cambodia. The television documentary, aired by TV4′s Kalla Fakta (“Cold Facts”) program on Wednesday night, alleges that Cambodian workers producing clothing for the company are paid so little they have to borrow money to buy food. H&M, which allowed TV4 access to the facility, has since denied the charges, insisting that its is, in fact, working to raise local salaries.
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Forever 21 is in hot water with the U.S. Department of Labor. The department’s Wage and Hour Division, which is investigating the Los Angeles-based retailer for possible wage violations, said Thursday that the company has “refused to cooperate” with a subpoena for documents concerning the labor practices of its suppliers and manufacturers. You don’t get to shrug off the federal government that easily, however. The department has since filed legal action with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to compel compliance.
Marks & Spencer has joined the ranks of brands and retailers rising up to meet Greenpeace’s “Detox” challenge. Like Nike, Puma, and H&M before it, the British department store has pledged to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from its clothing supply chain by 2020, according to the environmental nonprofit on Wednesday. “This commitment from M&S sets a new benchmark and they join H&M in showing real leadership on the issue of toxic water pollution,” says Martin Hojsik, Detox campaign coordinator at Greenpeace International. “The onus is now on other brands to step up and take ambitious action to Detox that matches the urgency of the situation.”
Will.i. am and Coca-Cola’s “Ekocycle” initiative is about to get a lot more crowded. At a private-launch event on Wednesday night, the Black Eyed Peas musician and the beverage giant announced the addition of Levi Strauss, Case-Mate, MCM, and RVCA to their environmental campaign, which seeks to educate consumers about recycling and the role of purchasing decisions within a larger social context. The four brands will join Beats by Dr. Dre and New Era, which signed up when Ekocycle was first announced in July.
If you’re fed up of finding socks without their mates, a new high-tech system promises to track—and match—rogue items across multiple piles of laundry. For $189, Switzerland-based Blacksocks will send you 10 sets of “Smarter Socks,” complete with radio-frequency ID buttons attached to each cuff. The technology is equal parts ridiculous and ingenious. To locate a sock’s partner, simply hold the included wireless reader, dubbed the “Sock Sorter,” over the first sock’s RFID button. Then, wave the device over a mound of clean yet startlingly similar socks. When a match is found, you’ll hear a beep.
Looks like Livia Firth has a thing for bad boys. For her latest “Green Carpet Challenge,” the Eco-Age creative director scored none other than Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor who goes head to head with Daniel Craig’s James Bond in Skyfall. The first man to wear Gucci for the campaign, Bardem cut a dapper form at the film’s London premiere in a three-piece 100 percent organic-wool Signoria tuxedo (trimmed with recycled satin), a 100 percent organic cotton dress shirt, and a recycled satin bow tie. “The materials were produced following GCC criteria as the great design house Gucci once again worked with us to realize a dream of ours: to get sustainable style on to the Bond red carpet,” Firth writes in her blog. Consider us shaken and stirred.
CONSCIOUS COLLECTION Beulah traces its origins to a trip to India that Rufus Isaacs and Brennan took in 2009. The experience, which included a volunteer stint at an aftercare home in…
Sure, you could splash out a wad of cash on touchscreen-compatible “texting gloves.” Or you could spend less than 10 bucks to convert a pair of mitts you already own. A…
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Need another reason to enter Suzy Amis Cameron’s “Red Carpet Green Dress” competition? The annual talent search has recruited no less than Vivienne Westwood as a…
CABBAGES AND KINGS Hales, who regularly dresses down to his knickers to promote his label, soon expanded his offerings to include formal and casual waistcoats, bow ties, fedoras,…
Dior has a limited-edition collection of temporary tattoos that’s definitely not for the kiddies. Derived from 24-karat gold leafing, the the jewelry-like “Grand Bal”…
Looking for a pair of shoes to complete your creepy Halloween costume? Fantich and Young just carved their way into our darkest nightmares with a pair of black balmorals soled with…
Photo by Veronika Matejkova/Shutterstock As one of the more visible organizers of breast-cancer rallies across the United States, Avon talks a good game about “crusading”…
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