Ecouterre

Swedish Scientists Create "Eco-Safe" Antibacterial Fiber

by Bridgette Meinhold , 02/19/13 filed under: Eco-Textiles, Wearable Technology

Bacteria is a problem, but antibiotic resistant bacteria is an even bigger problem. Now researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have created a more eco-friendly antibacterial fabric that can control bacteria but won’t leach into the environment and create resistant strains of bacteria. A simple fabric of cellulose is laced with antibacterial polymers that attract and then kill bacteria on contact. The material would be especially helpful in hospitals or for water treatment and with a few more modifications, it can be disposed in a safe way just by burning.

DIY Nation

Join Kollabora, Awamaki on a "Collaborative Crafting" Workshop in Peru

by Amanda Coen , 02/18/13 filed under: DIY Eco-Fashion

U.K. University Launches First Sustainability-Focused Fashion Degree

by Jasmin Malik Chua , 02/18/13 filed under: Eco-Fashion News

Buckinghamshire New University has developed the United Kingdom’s first undergraduate fashion degree with an “eye on sustainability and ethics.” Now accepting applications for enrollment in September, the three-year bachelor’s of arts program will teach the next generation of designers to consider the way garments and materials are produced for fashion, as well as the environmental impact these processes have. Students will also explore the inner workings of the trend and forecasting industry, learn how to make sense of global supply chains, and develop skills in visual communication, pattern-cutting, and manufacturing.

Green Designer Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood to Duchess Kate: Buy Less

by Jasmin Malik Chua , 02/18/13 filed under: Eco-Celebrities, Vivienne Westwood

Dame Vivienne Westwood has only one piece of counsel for the erstwhile Kate Middleton: Buy less. “I don’t have any advice to her, except I think it would be great if she wore the same clothes over and again, because that’s very good for the environment and it would send out a very nice message,” the legendary British designer told reporters before the showing of the Fall/Winter 2013 Red Label collection at London Fashion Week on Sunday. The longtime environmental activist also distributed a “climate revolution charter” that urged people to “buy less, choose well, make it last.”

PREVIOUSLY ON ECOUTERRE: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge…Secret Thrift-Store Shopper?

Wearable Technology

Brian Garret's Modular 3D-Printed Rings Make Changing Looks a Snap

by Jasmin Malik Chua , 02/15/13 filed under: Eco-Friendly Jewelry, Wearable Technology

Wish you could change your look as easily as you change your mind? Brian Garret’s three-dimensionally printed rings are the accessory you need. Each themed edition—choose from “Evil,” “Posh,” or “Shrunk”—consists of a single band that snaps to one of three included “icons” using gold-plated, rare-earth magnets. “Jewelry is often so dull and static,” Garret told MocoLoco in September. “I wanted to change that.” Mission accomplished.

+ Icon Snap Rings $49.99 at Cubify

+ Brian Garret

[Via Freedom of Creation]

Site Seeing

The Good Wardrobe: An Online Community That "Sews It Foward"

by Amy DuFault , 02/15/13 filed under: Online Tools, Site Seeing

New York Fashion Week

Holmes & Yang Plunders From the 1940s at Fall 2013 NY Fashion Week

by Jasmin Malik Chua , 02/15/13 filed under: Fall/Winter 2013, Features, New York Fashion Week, Women's Eco-Fashion

Contests

LAST CHANCE: Win a $147 Eco-Friendly Scarf-and-Glove Combo From Indigenous

by Alyssa Alimurung , 02/15/13 filed under: Contests

Punxsutawney Phil can prognosticate an early spring all he wants. Jack Frost isn’t about to cede his throne without a fight. To help our readers through the last leg of winter, we talked our friends at Indigenous into giving away not one but two eco-friendly scarf-and-glove sets. Fairly hand-knit in Peru from 100 percent organic cotton and colored with low-impact dyes, the “Novelty Loop” scarf (in emerald, Pantone’s 2013 Color of the Year) and silver button cuff gloves will not only keep you cozy through the frigid weather but also guarantee women artisans a living wage. Enter now to win!

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY

1. SIGN UP FOR THE ECOUTERRE NEWSLETTER. (This is important because we’ll be announcing our winners there.)

2. LIKE INDIGENOUS’S FACEBOOK PAGE.

3. LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW BY FEBRUARY 15 telling us which pieces on Indigenous’s website are your favorites. Although it doesn’t hurt to get fancy, we’ll be picking two winners at random.

Note: This contest is open only to residents of the United States.

Could "Wooden" Jeans Reduce the Denim Industry's Carbon Footprint?

by Jasmin Malik Chua , 02/14/13 filed under: Eco-Textiles, Organic Denim

Denim made from sustainable wood pulp, rather than cotton, could be the key to reducing the jeans industry’s sizable environmental footprint, according to a fashion student at Heriot-Watt University. Dawn Ellams, a Ph.D researcher at the School of Textiles and Design in Scotland, developed her “no-cotton” jeans using eucalyptus-tree pulp, which is spun into a cotton-like yarn marketed under the trade name of Tencel. She also used digital-printing technology to replicate the stone-washed effect denim aficionados crave. Despite their physical similarities, Ellams says her “wooden” jean uses only a fifth of the water, energy, and chemicals required by its conventional counterpart.