Goodlifer

Carrotmobbing

Johanna Björk — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:50:27 +0000

As the old saying goes, there are two ways to make a donkey walk forward: offer a delicious carrot in front of it, or hit its behind with a stick. Bad behavior should be punished but, more importantly, good behavior should be rewarded. This is the guiding principle of carrotmobbing. It’s very simple: a group of people gather (using social media tools like Facebook and Twitter) at a retail or service establishment that has agreed to put a set percentage of the day’s proceeds toward environmental improvements and buy their wares.

There’s an old saying that there are two ways to make a donkey walk forward: Either offer a delicious carrot out in front of it, or hit its behind with a stick. Think of businesses as the donkeys. Traditional consumer activism uses a lot of sticks, such as protests, lawsuits, boycotts, and so on. We want to use the carrot instead. We believe that we can get businesses to make big positive changes by offering them profits in return. It’s a positive model where there are no enemies and everyone wins. So that’s what the Carrot means. The mob refers to the large group of consumers who come together to achieve this common goal.

A carrot is always better than a stick. A young carrotmobber in Bremen, Germany. Photo by carrotmobbremen, Creative Commons.

Neither I nor the people behind Carrotmob suggest that we should try to shop our way out of the mess we have created. However, by putting collective purchasing power behind a company that aligns with our values, we can use our dollars to vote for the kind of change we would like to see in the world. Carrotmobbers only buy stuff they would ordinarily purchase, like toothpaste and beer, just in a deliberate location.

Carrotmob at Queen Street Grocery in Charleston, SC. Photo by Charleston's TheDigitel, Creative Commons.

Carrotmob was founded by Brent Schulkin, who believes that rather than protests and boycotting, what can really make a difference is harnessing consumer buying power for good causes. “Who else besides the government is powerful enough to help save the world? Business! The problem is, corporations will do anything for money. But, what if the solution is, corporations will do ANYTHING for money? If we start organizing what we’re going to buy, then suddenly we can combine all our money and get this huge amount, that we can use to negotiate with.”

To organize the first carrotmobbing, Schulkin went to 23 liquor stores in his San Francisco neighborhood and told them that he would assemble a group of people that would come and spend a lot of money in one of these shops — the one that agreed to put the highest percentage of profits toward energy efficiency improvements. The highest bid, 22%, came from K & D Market. Experts from the San Francisco Energy Watch Program visited the store in advance to determine what improvements could be made. Then, Schulkin set a date and told people to come shop. The worries about whether anyone would show up were quickly put aside as a long line formed outside K & D Market, around the corner of the block. Hundreds of people came and together spent $9276.50 (compared to the usual daily average of $1800-3000), double the owners’ prediction. This was enough for to completely retrofit the store for optimal energy efficiency.

A large crowd formed outside K & D Market in San Francisco, for the first-ever Carrotmob. Photo by meganpru, Creative Commons.

A recent Carrotmob in New York brought supporters out to the improv comedy club The Pit, with 100% of the $1,038 revenue going toward green improvements at the popular Chelsea Club. The first UK Carrotmob took place at the Redchurch, a bar in east London that promised to put 20% of the day’s sales toward on-premise environmental upgrades. Carrotmob.org does not have any data of how much money the bar made on that night, but data for many past carrotmobbings can be found on the website.

Carrotmobbers outside Guse Hardware in Minneapolis, MN. Photo by 350.org, Creative Commons.

Because of the grassroots nature of carrotmobbing there are no written contracts, it’s all done via verbal agreements. So what about enforcement? What if a participating business wouldn’t follow through on their commitment? “They are participating because they believe that Carrotmob has the power to give [the business] a good reputation, so it should be obvious that Carrotmob has the power to hurt their reputation as well. If Carrotmob members were to discover that they had been deceived, that business’ reputation would instantly go from an A+ to an F. That sort of reputational damage would cut deep. That fact should be enough of a deterrent to make sure promises get kept.”

Schulkin envisions eventually being able to take this concept directly to manufacturers, offering huge sale volume in return for environmental improvements. Sales would pay for (all or part of) the improvements, and people get what they want. “There’s never anything negative about it. We never attack anyone — because we don’t need to — it’s positive cooperation. The best company wins, the consumer wins and the planet wins.”

As in all popular movements, it’s all about the numbers. If enough people show up in support, change is inevitable. Says Schulkin: “We are the economy, and we decide who gets rich. It’s consumer power, and we have to respect it.”

Top: Recent Carrotmob at Que Pasa Amigos in Bremen, Germany. Photo by carrotmobbremen, Creative Commons.

Massa Organics: Wholesome Rice

Stephanie Zonis — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:26:18 +0000

Time and again, I’ve heard it said that all products need a good story behind them. Here is a great story. In 1916, Manuel Fonseca planted rice near Chico, CA. In 1997, Fonseca’s great-grandson, Greg Massa, returned from Costa Rica with his wife Raquel Krach. Both had been university-based tropical biologists in central America, but they wanted to be able to engage in hands-on conservation, so they returned to the family farm.

The following year, Massa and Krach planted the first 20 acres of what would become their certified organic acreage (they now have nearly 90 certified organic acres, with plans to increase that amount). True to the family heritage, they are farming rice. But this land is valuable for other crops, too, and in 2005 their first orchard (30 acres of organic almonds) was begun. And that’s just part of the story of Massa Organics.

Greg Massa and Raquel Krach of Massa Organics in the field with their children.

Massa Organics (Massa and Krach manage the farm in partnership with Greg’s parents) now has that chance to actively engage in conservation. They have installed recirculation systems to reclaim irrigation water, they plant no GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and they don’t burn any crop residue (an all-too-common, quick-and-dirty method of ridding your farm of it). Nest boxes for indigenous birds and bats have been installed; oak trees native to the region have been planted along the borders of their fields.

Sunset over the organic wheat and rice fields, as seen from the farmhouse.

And you’ve got to go online to check out their house! Words will simply not do it justice, but I can tell you it’s built of straw bales from their own rice straw. Any “big bad wolf” who happens to drop by won’t be able to blow down this straw dwelling, however, not with bale walls two feet thick and plaster- or stucco-coated on both sides. The walls are rodent-proof and fire-proof, and the house is situated to take advantage of shade trees (this area of California can get very toasty indeed).

The family's house is built from rice straw bales.

All of these words, and I still haven’t told you about their food products. First off, there’s organic brown rice — unless you live in a commune, you’ll probably want to buy it in the two-pound bag, rather than the 20-pounder. Either way, it cooks up with a delicate, nutty flavor, and it’s wonderful as a side dish or the basis for a meal (I always cook up extra brown rice to have some on hand for the next few days). Massa Organics makes a beautiful almond butter, too; if you made almond butter at home, starting with first-rate almonds, it would taste as fresh and clean as this does (there are both smooth and crunchy versions).

Massa Organics rice, almond butter and almonds.

You’ll find organic almonds here, as well as wheat berries (not yet certified organic, as the land is still in its three-year transition phase, but farmed with organic methods). There are even a couple of gift boxes. Head over to the website to, if nothing else, read more about the Massa’s remarkable home. Online ordering is available as well.

Massa's sons, perhaps surveying the fields they will one day tend to.

Food Rules: Answering the Question “What Should I eat?”

Johanna Björk — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:47:03 +0000

Whenever I get up on my soapbox and start talking to my friends and family about the pitiful state of our food system, the one thing they always ask me is “so what should I eat then?” This is not an easy one to answer since something bad can be said about virtually anything we stick out forks into.

I often retreat and with a shrug of my shoulders mumble something about them having to use their best judgment and that eating too much of something is never good — not very convincing or helpful.

On these occasions, I would have fared much better had I carried a few copies of Michael Pollan’s new book “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual” in my bag (it’s small enough, only about 1/3″ thick and roughly the size of a large postcard, to do so). Unlike Pollan’s previous books this is not a deep-dive into the reason’s behind us being fatter and unhealthier than ever, it’s more like cliffsnotes on healthy eating. He distills what he has learned from writing his books into 64 easy-to-remember rules. Pollan writes in the Huffington Post: “The idea for this book came from a doctor–a couple of them, as a matter of fact. They had read my last book, “In Defense of Food”, which ended with a handful of tips for eating well: simple ways to navigate the treacherous landscape of modern food and the often-confusing science of nutrition.”

Pollan consulted folklorists and anthropologists, doctors, nurses and dieticians, mothers and grandmothers, and although most of the rules are written by Pollan himself, others are ancient wisdom carried down over centuries, a few are based on cultural knowledge, and some were solicited from New York Times readers. They are meant to help us make sense of and navigate our current food landscape (which we all know can be pretty confusing).

Although the book may seem overly simplified at times, what counts here is the memorability. When you are standing in the supermarket, confused as to whether the long list of ingredients on the package in your hand contains something that is not good for you, it would be helpful to remember #7: Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce or #6: Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.

There’s so much we all need to know about our food system in order to live healthy and happy lives. “Food Rules” is an easy read, and it handles (some of) these issues in a humorous and light-hearted way (I tend to get so worked up about this kind of stuff that my tirades usually end on something joyful like “we’re eating ourselves to death!”). The book is a great gift for all those people in your life who you want to educate about how to live better by eating well. Anyone can take away a bit of wisdom and perhaps apply a few of these simple rules to they way they shop and eat. The best part is that you can get off that soapbox with a clear conscience; your loved ones will get the information they need, and they’ll still want to hang out with you.

If you have any food rules you think Pollan should know about, email him at pollanfoodrules@gmail.com — he’s still collecting them.

Red Truck Bakery

Johanna Björk — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:35:18 +0000

Before Brian Noyes started baking for a living, he was the Art Director of several national magazines including Smithsonian and House & Garden. When a new job took him to Washington, D.C. Noyes and a friend bought a small farm in the Virginia village of Orlean, 50 miles west of the capital. They planted fruit trees and roamed the countryside in a red 1954 Ford farm truck that Noyes bought from fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.

Mostly for fun, Noyes started making jams at the farm on Saturdays. He designed a “Red Truck” label for the jars and started selling them at a local shop. They sold well and the store owner loved them, as did the customers. Soon, Noyes was at home making dozens of loaves of breads, pies and pastries on Friday nights to meet the demand. One Saturday as he was driving the red truck to drop off baked goods at the shop, he saw people had gathered in the parking lot — half an hour before the store opened — waiting for his bread. That sealed the deal.

Brian Noyes with his baked goods, in front of the red truck he bought from Tommy Hilfiger.

The bread that put the Red Truck Bakery on the map: a big soft loaf of our harvest wheat, full of bran, grains, golden raisins, cranberries and walnuts.

The Red Truck Bakery is located in a renovated 1921 Esso filling station in the heart of Old Town Warrenton, Virginia, close to area farmers and their organic and naturally-grown produce and dairy products. The bakery is a proud participant in the Piedmont Environmental Council’s Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign, and customers can lunch on fresh sandwiches and hearty soups made from local, seasonal ingredients. The breads, pastries, and jams are made using the freshest fruit and dairy items available from nearby farms because “we want to know where our ingredients are coming from, how they were raised and whom to thank.”

The newly opened bakery in Old Town Warrenton, Virginia.

This authentic French gruyere quiche was specifically mentioned when The New York Times included the Red Truck Bakery in their annual round-up of the best online food purveyors in the US.

Red Truck also sells honey from a local farm they found, just up the road, after searching the Piedmont far and wide for good, truly local honey. Michael and Donielle Rininger of Fern Hill Apiary in Marshall, Virginia make honey that is 100% raw and unprocessed — like the bees intended it to be.

Left: The jam that started it all. Right: local raw honey from Fern Hill Apiary in Marshall, Virginia.

Noyes has trained with renowned American chef Rick Bayless and at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, L’Academie de Cuisine outside of Washington, D.C. and King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont. His seasonal pies are all limited edition and highly coveted, and his Moonshine Double-Chocolate Cake, made with rye spirits from nearby Copper Fox Distillery in Sperryville, Virginia, is mighty popular. There’s nothing quite like the combination of booze and cake.

Left: intense Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake. Right: the famous Moonshine Double-Chocolate Cake.

Authentic French Madeleines with a hint of lemon (and lovely packaging).

Left: fruity foccacia filled with golden raisins and cranberries and topped with turbinado sugar. Right: pumpkin pie sweetened with Red Truck's own homemade caramel sauce, which gives the pie a extra dimension and lighter texture.

If you rarely pass by Warrenton, the Red Truck Bakery offers many of the goods for online ordering (with shipping nationwide via second-day delivery). Either way, make sure to check out the weekly cookie schedule. This Thursday is White Chocolate Chip Macadamia and Orange Poppyseed, mmmm.

Vaute Couture: Vegan Winterwear

Johanna Björk — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:03:49 +0000

Possibly the hardest item of clothing for devoted vegans to find is outerwear. We rarely think about the fact the most winter coats contain some form of animal product, be it leather, fur, or even wool. Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, designer of Chicago-based “activist fashion label” Vaute Couture, spent eight months doing textile research and development in order to bring us the handsome, well-tailored line presented at The GreenShows during New York Fashion Week.

Vaute Couture’s coats range from sophisticated pea coats in dark colors to fun and colorful sporty jackets (made with alternative fiber Primaloft ECO and hand quilted locally in Chicago). The women’s coats are cute and feminine, with flattering silhouettes that make them highly wearable.

Skillful tailoring and unexpected details make these cruelty-free coats fun yet highly wearable. Left image by Nicole Lenzen.

Sporty, body-conscious jackets are made with made with alternative eco-friendly fibers and hand quilted locally in Chicago.

Most notably, Vaute Couture was one of the few lines at The GreenShows that sent menswear down the runway. Much of eco-conscious fashion today is geared toward women, but we should not forget the sustainably minded men out there, and Mai-ly Hilgart does not. The men’s coats are very elegant, not “crunchy granola” in the least, perfect for any stealth vegans perhaps hiding out there in Corporate America.

Stylish vegan winterwear for conscious men and women.

The fabric Mai-ly Hilgart settled on is a new advanced textured fabric from the Polartec® Brand lined with a Teijin® Eco Circle® Windproof Ripstop Satin (100% recycled closed loop) — all quite revolutionary new technologies judging by all the ®s. It is 100% vegan, designed for weather protection, comfortable and made in the U.S.

A fun soy-yarn knit sweater and elegant mens' pea coat.

Says Mai-ly Hilgart: “My fashion vision is about collaboration, grace, and versatility, with a requisite for comfort.” To keep us warm during cold winters (living in Chicago, she should know a thing or two about those), the inventive technological fabrics are designed for weather protection, are wind and water resistant, highly breathable, and retains body heat, while staying slim and flattering. The coats are finished with buttons made from either vintage, never-used dead stock metal from shut-down factories, or tagua nut, an organic renewable resource also known as “vegetable ivory.”

Soy-yarn knit accessories like hats, scarves and gloves paired with sustainably printed tanks. The color palette pairs mellow off-whites with poppy pinks and yellows, the effect is lively and colorful yet not over-the-top.

Vaute Couture also showed soy-yarn knits made from soybean farming waste, vegan belts made with Ultrasuede EcoDesign and vegan-leather gloves made from recycled fibers. Mai-ly Hilgart also makes fun (and mildly activist) statement Tees, with messages like “No animals are harmed in the making of this boy/girl” and “I heart all things with, um, a heart.” They are made, according to Fair Trade standards, from 100% Certified Organic Cotton printed with water-based inks and Phthalate-Free Plastisol in a sustainable printing facility.

Vaute Couture designer Mai-ly Hilgart.

Haute Couture (high fashion) with a V for Vegan is a way for us to say we are here to merge ethics and aesthetics. It’s said like “VOTE” because we believe that’s what a purchase is, really, as we all support business practices with our money and time.

Also check out this post-show interview with Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, by The Discerning Brute.

Photos (except where noted) by Johanna Björk. See more from The GreenShows here.

Who wants a garden at City Hall?

Johanna Björk — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:12:52 +0000

Public Gardens seem to be on everyone’s mind since Michelle Obama planted her organic garden at The White House. The idea, however, may not have been hers. TheWhoFarm (The White House Organic Farm Project) began as a “non-partisan, petition-based initiative to respectfully request that our 44th President oversee the planting of an organic farm on the grounds of The White House, our nation’s First Home, at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC.”

Daniel Bowman Simon and Casey Gustowarow traveled the country in “TheWhoFarmMobile” aka the Topsy Turvy, a vehicle made from two school buses fused together, originally designed by Stefan Sagmeister and Ben Cohen from Ben & Jerry’s. Bowman Simon and Gustowarow ripped the roof off and put an organic edible garden (what else?) on in its place. They visited schools, farms, food pantries, farmers’ markets, and festivals in 25 states and the District of Columbia in an effort to inform the nation of TheWhoFarm and gather signatures for the petition.

First Lady Michelle Obama and White House Chef Sam Kass show students from the Bancroft Elementary how to plant a garden. Photo: The White House.

The effort proved successful, and on March 20, 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama broke ground on the White House lawn, with the help of over twenty 5th graders from a local school.

The outside of City Hall in its current state — a bleak stone landscape.

Now, Bowman Simon has his heart set on the bleak stone landscape outside City Hall in NYC. Why wouldn’t we make better use of this prime public space? There have been trees and flowers in planters outside City Hall before. However, the most recent were removed during the Giuliani administration. Bowman Simon believes we should turn this space into an organic edible garden — People’s Garden NYC.

This garden will represent New Yorkers’ commitment to education, public service, healthy eating, and environmental stewardship. This garden will be tended by NYC public school students, in collaboration with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and our region’s talented gardeners and farmers. The harvest will be donated to a nearby food pantry to feed the hungry.

This garden will represent the vision of a more sustainable, livable City for all New Yorkers, and will contribute to achieving the intents of PLANYC by 2030.

Mayor Sam Adams planting a garden outside City Hall in Portland, OR.

A temporary victory garden outside City Hall in San Francisco, CA and a permanent one outside City Hall in Baltimore, MD.

Besides The White House garden, there are organic gardens planted outside several City Halls, including Baltimore, MD, Portland, OR, Kingston, NY, as well as a temporary one in San Francisco, CA. On February 12 of this year, the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birthday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, broke ground on the first People’s Garden at USDA Headquarters. The reason for the People’s Garden, according to USDA: “When Abraham Lincoln founded USDA in 1862, he referred to it as ‘The People’s Department.’ It is a description that is as true today as it was then. USDA touches the lives of Americans every day.”

The name People’s Garden is a tribute to President Abraham Lincoln, and to the good work of the USDA, who planted the first People's Garden outside their headquarters on February 12.

Nearly eight hundred people have already signed the petition since its launch last week. Spread the word! Maybe a few lucky school children will get to enjoy City Hall tomatoes this summer. For you non-New Yorkers, why not start a petition for a public garden to be planted outside City Hall in your town?

Top rendering by Amy Seek.

Sensible Foods – Crunch Dried Snacks

Stephanie Zonis — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:56:28 +0000

Be honest, now. Do you get in enough servings of fruits and vegetables every day? I’m one of the most food-conscious people I know, and I still don’t eat as much produce as I should. And if you’re the parent of a kid or a teen, you know how tough it can be to keep the offspring on the dietary “straight and narrow.” Well, I’ve found something that makes this daily struggle just a little easier.

Sensible Foods Crunch Dried® Snacks are satisfyingly crispy morsels of dried fruit, dried corn, or roasted soy beans. They’re a snacking choice without the usual associated junk ingredients and added sugar, and they’ll help you get more produce into your diet into the bargain.

One of Sensible Foods' more unusual offerings: organic Sweet Corn. Crunch dried and surprisingly satisfying.

If you think that all dried fruits and vegetables are the same, you’re missing the point. Sensible Foods Crunch Dried Snacks have a proprietary drying process. Their products contain no genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) or gluten. These fruits and veggies are dried in such a way that their valuable natural enzymes are preserved. Each portable pouch, ideal for toting along to soccer practice or the office, is equivalent to a one-half cup serving of fruit or vegetable. And some of their offerings (though not all) are organic.

Sensible Foods organic Soy Nuts & organic Sweet Corn.

Most importantly, they’re fun to eat, and the flavors are terrific. I think I like the Organic Sweet Corn best. Drying intensifies the sweetness and “corny” flavor, of course, but the deep crunch here is very pleasing and really makes you feel as though you’ve had something substantial to eat. I enjoy the Orchard Blend, too, with its combination of apple, peach, and apricot.

Sensible Foods Orchard Blend & Tropical Blend.

Sensible Foods Crunch Dried Snacks are sold from an increasing range of venues. Natural foods stores, drug stores, hardware stores, vending machines, college and corporate campuses — they’re even offered on the Google campus. You can buy them online by the case or in 14 or 16 bag assortments.

Sensible Foods organic Cherry Berry & organic Apple Harvest.

If you want a case with different flavors, the company might be able to work with you; call or e-mail for more information. I’m told that the website should be re-done soon to offer online buyers more choices. Look for the brightly-colored pouches, and get a little more sense into your diet with maximum convenience and good taste!

NYFW: Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic

Johanna Björk — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:54:51 +0000

On the final day of The GreenShows during New York Fashion Week, Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic showed their new collections. It is technically Fall/Winter, but the House of Organic does not really depend on the seasons the way the big fashion houses do; they don’t even depend on trends. The timeless, ethereal, fair made creations are as timeless as they are beautiful.

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic is a collective of like-minded designers, all deeply dedicated to sustainability. This show featured work of founder Johanna Hofring, her huband Tor Söderin, Renata Mann, Kaori Yamazaki, Mika Machida, Jennifer Wen Ma, Meiling Chen and Eko-Lab, another design collective closely affiliated with the House of Organic.

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic, chrochet dress by Meiling Chen and angora head piece by Tor Söderin.

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic. Left: square top painted by Jennifer Wan Ma by Eko-Lab. Right: sweater painted by Jennifer Wan Ma and necklace and leggings by Eko-Lab.

I love Ekovaruhuset, not only because I share a motherland and first name with founder Johanna Hofring, but because they are one of the most conscious fashion houses out there. All the clothes are made in the most natural way, using all organic materials. This means the fibers that the fabrics are made of have been grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides and made into fabric, then dyed in facilities that are environmentally responsible. There are a few exceptions, such as zippers, some buttons, threads and ink for printing, because these are areas that have not yet been perfected. (Ekovaruhuset designers are always looking for better alternatives, please contact them if you know of any.) The wool comes from animals that have been treated well and have never had to experience chemical baths or other torturous methods. It is all organic and most of it is certified (some comes from small producers that are closely monitored to ensure they always work according to organic guidelines).

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic. Left: linen jersey wedding gown with crochet and feathers by Johanna Hofring and necklace by Renata Mann (on eco supermodel Summer Rayne Oakes). Right: cotton blouse with crochet chest and shorts by Johanna Hofring.

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic, button-up dress painted by Jennifer Wan Ma by Eko-Lab.

“I was designing and making clothes for as long as I can remember. I always enjoyed this a lot, but it was a few years ago when I first started using only organic materials and opened Ekovaruhuset in Stockholm that it got really exciting,” says Hofring. “Like most of us, I had no idea what kind of effect the textile industry has on the environment. I had heard a story or two about mistreated workers in sewing factories, but had never been able to grasp the amount of violations against human rights and our earth that are committed in the name of vanity and profit.”

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic. Left: wool dress with printed cranes by Mika Machida. Right: wool scarf with mother of pearl sequins and cut out wool belt by Eko-Lab.

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic. Left: midnight blue linen jersey dress with crochet neck by Johanna Hofring. Right: yellow dress with crochet by Eko-Lab.

Ekovaruhuset uses the term “Fair Made” which, along the lines of “Fair Trade,” means that they support producers that practice fair working conditions and ethics for their employees, as well also encourage and support smaller scale local production units, as this makes for better communication and cooperation.

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic. Left: black canvas coat with crochet and recycled glass embellishment by Eko-Lab. Right: wool coat by Meiling Chen and knit necklaces by Renata Mann.

Ekovaruhuset / House of Organic designers, from left: Jennifer Wan Ma, Renata Mann, Mika Machida, Melissa Kirgan, Johanna Hofring and Xing-Zheng Chung

Says Johanna Hofring: “Of course I want beautiful clothes… but at what price? I don’t believe many people would enjoy their clothing the same way if they got to follow its path from seed to sale. The way we choose to shop can change the impact industry has on our planet and the lives of millions of people and animals into something very positive. It’s all about having fun and looking fabulous while saving the world…”

Top photo, from left to right: linen jersey patchwork ruffle dress by Johanna Hofring and crochet angora scarf by Tor Söderin, lace structured button-up dress by Eko-Lab, linen/wool jumpsuit by Johanna Hofring with braided belt by Tor Söderin and necklace by Renata Mann, crochet dress by Kaori Yamazaki and legwarmers by Johanna Hofring.

Photos by Johanna Björk. See more from The GreenShows here.

Recycled Couture at NY Fashion Week

Johanna Björk — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:25:19 +0000

It’s the time of teetering heels again. Uncomfortable, spectacular footwear takes over the streets as the Bryant Park tents fill with fashion’s A-listers for the last time. Meanwhile The GreenShows, this year housed at 311 E 11: Village Green, turns the spotlight to sustainably inclined designers. Opening night Gary Harvey, former Creative Director of Levi Strauss, sent spectacular recycled couture creations down the runway.

Gary Harvey's denim dress: 42 pairs of Levi 501's in various shades of indigo, cut up and reconstructed to make a tiered ball gown with a corset waist.

Gary Harvey's baseball puffball dress, made from 26 nylon baseball jackets, ruched and attached to a striped rib corset, worn over a baseball jacket with socks made from the rib cuffs.

Gary Harvey's vintage silk chiffon dress.

The billowing gowns were made from old jeans in different shades of denim (Levi 501’s of course), blouses, men’s shirts, military uniforms, logo T-shirts, laundry bags, baseball jackets, cardboard packaging, trench coats and scarves. The standout piece was a dress made out of 30 copies of the Financial Times; it served as a poignant reminder of how recycling will (must) serve an important part in our new financial climate. It is beautiful and disturbing at the same time, as is the quirky laundry bag dress. At least for New Yorkers, who have seen homeless people or scrappy street vendors carrying all their worldly possessions in these distinctly patterned red-white-and-blue checkered plastic vessels — icons of the streets. Now, Louis Vuitton’s leather version was far more sinister — but that was pre-recession-era irony.

Gary Harvey's Weleda packaging dress and newspaper dress, made from 30 copies of the Financial Times.

What is a more sentimental object than the old T-shirt? We remember who gave them to us, where we bought them, when we wore them… and tend to have a hard time letting go. Harvey shows two ways they could be upcycled into something that’s way more of a statement, without loosing any of the sentimental value. (If you’re not into gowns, you can always have the old tees made into a quilt.) Harvey’s beautifully crafted recycled couture gowns are commentaries on the wastefulness of modern-day society. They encourage us to look a little deeper and think twice before discarding anything. As he so skillfully shows us, anything can be given a glorious second life.

Gary Harvey's T-shirt dresses, the white one made from tees donated by Katherine Hamnett and the black one from 37 black logo tees.

Gary Harvey's military dress, made from 21 army jackets in various shades of green and camouflage, reconstructed into a "fishtail" cocktail dress.

Gary Harvey's wedding dress, made from old wedding dresses. Maybe lots of bad luck combined make for really good luck?

Gary Harvey's Mac dress, made from 18 trench coats attached to a "Burberry" check corset, worn with a cropped "Burberry" Mac.

Glorious turned into fierce and fabulous as Joann Berman’s motley crew of models took to the runway. The feeling was very 80s NYC disco; this line from Berman’s bio offers some explanation: “She spent her nights at Club 57, danceteria and the MUDD club and played synthesizer in Patti Paladins band at CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City. In 1979, she ran away to London to become a punk rock star and sewed clothes for the Only Ones and Steve Strange and put herself through St. Martin by selling ice cream and bondage trousers.” There were no bondage trousers on this runway, but plenty of neon, feathers, shine and glitter, and a pair of gray lederhosen. These are clothes to have fun in, crazy lewd fun. It’s eco fashion as far away from hemp and muslin as can be.

Recycled couture by Joann Berman.

Berman’s creations second Gary Harvey’s notion that upcycled fashion is fun, although the two designers are at opposite ends of the fashion spectrum. Also liberating is that there is a distinct DIY-vibe to both lines, making this kind of high fashion attainable for even the poorest aspiring fashionistas — as long as you have scissors, thread, imagination, and a few bucks to spend at Goodwill.

Photos by Johanna Björk. See more photos from The GreenShows here.

Found Textiles and Biodiversity

Abigail Doan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:49:36 +0000

The threads of cultural identity seem to find us no matter how far away from home we may wander, and though it may not be particularly fashionable to wear your place of origin on your sleeve, this might be finally changing with an upsurge in recycled textile and ethnic embroidery in eco fashion collections. A new wave of resourceful designers are re-invigorating native textiles by fashioning them into wearable and culturally chic garments. Whether folkloric tablecloths, patchwork denim, or cast-off prayer mats, the message seems clear that sustainable style is very much about honoring the handicraft at the core of our existence.

The diverse textiles of global cultures are seemingly exotic at first glance, but complex stitch-work, embroidery, and narrative embellishments often create a visual vocabulary that we can all relate to. Now that I divide my time between the U.S. and Eastern Europe, I have become rather obsessed with identifying connections between urban life in NYC and my days under Mount Vitosha’s shadow in Sofia, Bulgaria. Fiber and textiles are very much a part of the fabric of both of these worlds, though at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of slow and fast design.

EcoChic Geneva runway finale at the United Nations in January 2010. Photo by Abigail Doan.

My recent trip to Switzerland for EcoChic Geneva was key in helping me to understand the role of place and biodiversity in our fashion conscience and, in turn, our partnership with the natural world. Luxury is no longer simply about cost and brand but about deep-rooted value. Economists, policy makers, designers, retailers, and even the next generation of students are waking up to the idea that fashion not only has to redefine itself, but we, as consumers, need to keep digging deep to better define what personal style constitutes.

I came away from the United Nations in Geneva hugely impressed by several eco fashion labels that are working and designing in challenging regions (certainly not fashion capitals), and are not only creating fair trade jobs, but are coming up with some of the chicest, trend defying clothes on the fashion-frontier. I know that I tend to romanticize such things, but what’s not to love about original, sustainable designs crafted in Afghanistan, Estonia, Malawi, South Africa, and my new turf, Bulgaria.

Adamah-Stein recycled prayer mat dress for EcoChic Geneva. Photo by Johann Sauty.

A phenomenon that I think has real staying power it the re-fashioning of traditional textiles from what one might call a “fringe” source. Adamah-Stein of France and Senegal crafts amazing dresses and coats from recycled waste materials, specifically rags and old prayer rugs. This fair-trade design label operates between Paris and from the city of Saint Louis in Senegal. Adamaha-Stein makes good use of what they call, “found embroidery” – old pieces unearthed at car boot sales and flea markets, or heirloom pieces which are no longer fashionable but still very beautiful. “We give these materials new life as they represent the hard work of generations of anonymous women whose voices have been silent.”

Isabell de Hillerin, Romanian textiles to be recycled.

Isabell de Hillerin eco fashion collection featuring recycled textiles/embroidery from Romania.

Embroidery and stitch work are typically “women’s work” in most cultures, so it is refreshing to see contemporary eco fashion designers finding clever ways of re-interpreting “domestic” or costume textiles as runway-ready designs. Berlin-based designer, Isabell de Hillerin, who recently exhibited at The Key/ Berlin, uses traditional Romanian fabrics and embroidery swatches to create softy draped dress and separates that give new life to what she refers to as the “melancholy of forgotten, weak, and other times.”

Reet Aus recycled patchwork textiles and organic ready-to-wear handcrafted in Estonia.

Reet Aus Estonian-made eco fashion and recycled textile ready-to-wear.

Similiarly, Estonian-made label Reet Aus sources all of their recycled textiles at home, and in turn have created a devoted following that has literally brought the fashion world to them. Each Reet Aus collection also strives to incorporate traditional designs and handicraft as means to keep these arts alive for future generations to enjoy.

Evgeni Petkov's recycled folkloric textiles and hand-knit fashion from Bulgaria. Photo by Ivomir Peshev.

My Bulgarian fashion designer friend, Evgeni Petkov, has recently began experimenting with recycled traditional textiles as well, and his hand-knit couture gown at EcoChic Geneva garnered lots of attention in its craft as a link to place and perhaps biodiversity, during the event’s runway show. It is not often that a designer dress stimulates debate about the farming of organic ‘pamuk’ (cotton) and the loss of lace making skills at a U.N. gathering.

EcoChic Geneva couture designer Ziad Ghanem (UK/Lebanon) sports biodiversity.

What formerly might have been viewed as unfashionable or waste materials to some, is thankfully finding new life and beauty in the opportunity to be given another chance. It seems simple, really, that good design might demonstrate this and then some. That fact that we have to “find” something, though, when it was not even apparent that it has been lost is the scariest factor in this equation. Like the 1.5 billion hectares worldwide that are in danger of losing their original biodiversity levels by 2050, the price seems too high to not don new attitudes about what is fashionable or views on place and how we define the riches within.