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Global Cool: Snowboarders Gear Up Green

The epitome of cool in snow season is of course, snowboarding. And the biggest requirement for this most righteous winter pastime is of course, snow. Well, “uh, yeh brah, no duh” you may think to yourself, but in this day and age even snow in winter isn’t a sure thing anymore. Winter resorts, from the Rockies to the Alps, have been grappling with ever shorter snow seasons for years now-some of the resorts have even re-branded themselves as “sun and fun” destinations to try and recoup some of their climate change-related financial loss. Bummer, dude. Well, it comes as no surprise (actually, strike that, I am pleasantly surprised) that one of the biggest names in snowboarding gear, Quiksilver, is unveiling their eco-friendly outerwear line next week at SIA ‘08 as well as the inaugural Quiksilver Natural Selection in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Champion rider Travis Rice collabed with Quiksilver to design a signature jacket and pant which are 55% hemp and 45% recycled PET…PET being a type of plastic in this instance, not ice cream. Sweet.

Check out Quiksilver’s take on the line’s big launch…

“Because it needs to stand up to the elements, winter outerwear has historically been among the least eco-friendly apparel on the market. The challenge of combining waterproof, breathable and comfortable technology has relied on a great deal of innovation that has, more often than not, been developed with performance, not the environment, in mind. No more. On January 29th, Quiksilver will unveil an all-new line of eco-friendly winter outerwear. Recycled PET water and soda bottles combine with sustainable Hemp fabric and non-toxic natural dyes (free of heavy metals that contaminate waterways) to create outerwear that is highly functional, environmentally conscious and supremely stylish. Designed with the world’s most advanced earth-friendly textiles and production processes, the collection represents an entirely new orientation for designing, fabricating, wearing and recycling winter outerwear.

As a company of boardriders, we’ve always challenged the power and grace of mother nature in a way that is perfectly in tune with the environment, said Dave Rosenberger, VP Sales Quiksilver Wintersports. This new outerwear line reflects this ideal, because it meets the essential performance requirements of riders, while introducing a new, earth-friendly approach to winter apparel.

Eco-friendly fabric highlights and how they benefit the environment:

Biodegradable TPU Laminate
This waterproof, breathable, solvent-free laminate is the first of its kind. Low in toxicity and biodegradable, this laminate will break down completely in only four years. Others can last hundreds of years, turning your old jacket and pants from a fashion faux pas to full-on biohazard.

Nanosphere Finish ­ by Schoeller Switzerland
Created by spacesuitmanufacturer Schoeller Switzerland, this new technology provides a natural self-cleaning effect and an extremely high level of water and dirt
repellence. It is also highly abrasion resistant. It is based on Nanotechnology which makes it possible to copy nature and use the non-stick and self-cleaning process of certain plants and insects onto textiles. In order to do this the surface of the textile is altered by using the
nanoparticles.

Organic Cotton
Organic cotton is renewable, non-toxic and biodegradable. The production of commercial cotton is destroying farmland and is poisoning the waterways around the world. It takes approximately two pounds of pesticides to grow one regular, non-organic cotton T-shirt.

Hemp
Hemp is an economical, renewable resource. It is fast growing, taking about 100 ­ 120 days from planting until it is ready. Hemp, as a rule, does not need pesticides, and requires far less water than cotton during growing.

Non-Toxic Dyes ­
Most common dyes used in our fabrics and textiles/furniture/ carpets etc, are filled with heavy metals that are very harmful to animal, our habitat and mostly humans.

Recycled PETs ­ Recylced Polyester and Soda Bottles
With eight of 10 plastic bottles ending up in landfills, finding economically viable uses for
recycling is still a mandate for environmentally sound businesses. All polyester in the new Quiksilver eco-friendly line is created from PET (recycled polyester made from plastic soda bottles.) It reduces the use of other raw materials like petroleum, and cuts down on the process of refining crude oil into synthetic polyesters and nylons, which creates some of the worst types of pollution.”

Quiksilver pits high performance fashion against global warming…Cool.

Greenloop Upgrade: Planned Down Time

Just a quick not to let everyone know that www.thegreenloop.com will be down for a few hours between the hours of 10pm and 3am 1/22/08 – 1/23/08 for a software upgrade. The site will be up and running as normal after the upgrade, and any orders placed before or after this time will not be affected. This upgrade will improve our capabilities on a number of fronts and we look forward to working with the new version of the software. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
In the mean time, shop away!

Green Your Closet 2008: Taking the First Step

Photo: Darwin Bell

For years now I’ve found myself, a diehard environmentalist, fascinated by fashion. At first I shoved this frivolous fascination to the archives of my mind, thinking of it as a superfluous pursuit that would distract me from all the “important” work that needs to be done in this ailing world. Now and again, I’d sheepishly ponder my profound interest in online eco-fashion hubs like Eco-Chick and Greenloop (who I now blog for-yay), and finally realized why fashion really matters. Fashion is our second skin. It is our most intimate possession. Let’s face it, not even our closest romantic partner has (most likely) spent twelve hours straight attached to our pelvis the way a pair of undies does. A favorite warm sweater can be our greatest comfort on a grey, frigid day. And, unlike the bodies we’re born into, clothing gives us the opportunity to choose our hue, texture, and even our shape to some extent; all these choices directly affect how our fellow humans interact with us on a daily basis.

So how can a self-proclaimed diehard environmentalist like myself still have a closet with so few sustainably-made pieces in it? Is it not enough money or not trying hard enough? I’m on the Greenloop team, I work with Aysia Wright- The Eco Fashionista herself-and my closet is barely chartreuse. I loved Aysia’s post on Closet Closet guru Barbra Horowitz and I’ve decided 2008 is the year to Green My Closet. Not only that, but I’ve decided to take the readers of Greenloop with me- for the good of the planet! (…And our wardrobes too, let’s be real.) I will be publishing a series of tips on how we can all integrate more eco-conscious behavior into our shopping lives. More clothes, less guilt. Are you with me clothes hounds? Good. Let’s get started with the fun things first…

Step #1 Beg, Barter or Bargain

Do you ever covet your most fashionable friends’ wardrobes? Make those fantastic threads your very own without spending a single dollar: host a clothing swap at your house! Gather your stylish compadres with similar body types together to trade clothes in good condition that you’ve all grown tired of…make it a cocktail party and you may find bartering for the premium picks a real breeze. It’s for the environment, right? No harm, no foul I always say.

Do your friends have completely different shapes or tastes from you? Join in a community clothing swap like Swap-o-rama-rama where you turn in a bag of clothes at the door and you get to grab as many clothes inside as you desire. As if that isn’t the greatest thing since sliced bread already, Swap-o-rama-rama has sewing and screenprinting stations to reinvent your latest acquisitions and turn your secondhand pieces into one-of-a-kind couture…and it’s all free!!! No Swap-o-rama-rama coming soon to a town near you? No problem- start a Swap-O-Rama-Rama or watch this feature of Clothing Swap Inc. on the Today Show and head to ClothingSwap.com to attend their uberfun events in 2008.

Tune back in to Greenloop’s blog for our next installment of Green Your Closet 2008…

Meet Closet Therapist, Barbra Horowitz

Not long ago, I had the good fortune of making the acquaintance a closet therapist. No, she is not someone who does not know she is a therapist and has yet to tell the world, but rather, a therapist of another sort, one who specializes in helping you make the most of yourself IN your closet….literally.

Barbra knows a thing or two about how fashion fuses with emotions. As a child, Barbra used clothing as her armor. If she was having a bad day, her mantra was, “look better!”, and looking good was what the Horowitz family knew how to do best. Little did she know that the mantra would develop in her a liberating sense of detachment from clothes which was further stoked by her mother’s inspiring zeal for experimentation. Having a bad day? Cut the sleeves off your t-shirt. Don’t like that wool coat anymore? Throw it in the dryer and see what happens.

While Barbra does dress celebrities, she would much rather be known as “The People’s Stylist.” After eight years as a top agent in the glamorous modeling industry handling models-turned-actresses Charlize Theron, Rebecca Romijn and Shannon Elizabeth, it was Barbra’s cousin that pointed her to her true life calling. Betsy came to Barbra and said, “I feel good on the inside, now I would like to match it up on the outside. Barbra, you know that thing you do in closets? Will you help me?” From that life-changing session with her cousin, Barbra took the family secrets that she had learned from her menswear-expert father and jewelry-designer mother and turn it into a wildly successful in-home styling service called Closet Therapy.

Closet Therapy was not just therapy for the client, but a chance for Barbra to look into other people’s wardrobes and their family history. What were they attached to? Generations of family jewelry or Grandma Serene’s most treasured dresses (and what a women she must have been!). It was foreign to Barbra, who grew up stripped of material attachment to clothing. Clothing was simply something to wear, cut, rework and finally sell for the next season’s bevy of wants. And Barbra’s wants were always rooted in what was next, not what had past. She utilized this ability to see clothing far out of the box to present a vision of what her clients’ wardrobes could or should be.

Great! Barbra can help me shed the emotional baggage in my closet that takes up WAY to much space, but what this have to do with sustainable fashion? Everything. Barbra likes to say “I am not hugging trees, but there are shades of green in everything I do.” Barbra’s new book, titled Closet Control, teaches three core concepts.

• Eco-Selfish. If you look at your clothing and how to recycle, reuse and re-work it for yourself, then you realize that the answer to your emotionally-driven consumptive desires may lay in your closet and not your wallet.

• Sweaters In My Head. We associate certain garments with people or times in our lives. However, attachment to people is much more valid than attachment to material possessions. You don’t need to hold onto the garment in order to hold onto the memory. Take a picture and let it go.

• Small Space/Big Dreams- The less space we have, the less we can consume. Just because you have the home of your dreams with the closet to match doesn’t mean that you need to fill it. Have a small space and just like a vacuum, watch it fill itself.

Barbra’s approach is not green to be trendy, it is a lifelong system that has helped her with her own “sweaters in her head.” Instead of shopping, why not take a scissors to your old crew-neck which has lost resale value and indulge your inner designer once in a while?

Of course, clearing out all that space and reworking your wardrobe from the inside out will leave a few gaps, but Barbara can help you fill them. Have questions? Great! Ask away right here and Barbra will get back to you with answers.

Stay tuned for regular Q&A sessions with Barbara to learn more about her methods and how you can sustainably, affordably, make the most out of your closet.

Coke and Fashion Go Hand-In-Hand In Hollywood…This Time It’s Okay

We love the eco-fabulous web tv network G Living. In this episode, hostess with the mostess Sarah Backhouse meets up with the husband and wife founders of Re:volve Apparel at their Fred Segal launch party in Hollywood. They discuss ethical fashion, children, and their new relationship with Coke. Cameos by actors Roger Cross (Mad Money) and Amy Smart (The Butterfly Effect). Enjoy Coke.

AM New York Features Greenloop Favorites

I love to see eco-conscious fashion grace the pages of mainstream rags like am New York. This article by Kristen V. Brown quotes some of Greenloop’s favorite designers like Jenny Hwa of Loyale and Nina Valenti of NaturevsFuture, as well as Lauren Caroll of low-impact designer shoe company, Charmone. One step at a time, these underground eco designers are crossing over, and they’re showing big time fashion industry players how sustainable production is done…

Eco-Friendly Fashion
By Kristen V. Brown


A dress from AuH20 made entirely of MetroCards. (Handout)

Thanks to global warming, wacky weather has brought on a whole new set of style dilemmas — like what to wear when it’s 60 degrees in the middle of winter. Luckily, a host of new, fashion-forward designers are offering up stylish solutions to ensure your closet can help combat environmental issues without looking like you took a trip back to the ’60s.

Go Green
Converting your wardrobe to green means more than just organic cotton. Today mills produce fabrics ranging from bamboo and soy silks to fleece made from plastic soda pop bottles. Many designers create their lines locally and sweatshop free. Some, like Kate Goldwater of AuH2O designs are even finding new life in materials like old T-shirts or Metrocards.

Nina Valenti, designer for NaturevsFuture, uses fabrics like organic wool and recycled Polartec fleece to make her her chic offerings. “Five years ago it was hard to find any green fabrics, but now more and more mills are including green fabrics in their productions,” she said. This spring, Valenti is taking things one step further with a line fashioned out of 100 percent sustainable fabrics.

Eco Chic
A few years ago, eco-style was pretty much restricted to yoga gear. Today even high-end designers and stores like Barney’s are putting an emphasis on saving Mother Earth.

“A lot of young designers are realizing they can design whatever they want and also take care of the environment,” says Jenny Hwa, the mind behind the enviro-friendly Loyale Clothing.

Loyale’s collection features fashion-forward designs like an empire-waisted tunic made from organic cotton twill and a cap sleeve shift crafted out of bamboo jersey.

Accessorize
Even accessories designers are hopping on the eco-bandwagon. From JaK Random Art cuffs crafted from recycled records to Charmone vegan shoes, designers are finding style potential in anything and everything.

Charmone, a sustainable shoe company, uses non-leather materials because of the toxins leather production puts into the environment. The designs, thankfully, are more Jimmy Choo than Food Not Bombs, with sleek choices like giraffe print or metallic open-toed pumps.

“Consumers are frustrated because they are concerned about the environment, but they don’t really know what to do about it,” says Lauren Caroll, of Charmone. “We’re just giving them better options.”

Read the rest of Eco-Friendly Fashion by Kristen V. Brown at am New York…

On Sale: Fresh Winter Whites For Him and Her

Feeling a little post-holiday pinch on your fashion budget? No worries, we’re going to show you some of our current clearance favorites in simple, elegant white. These easy basics can be coordinated with nearly everything in your wardrobe…that should bring you some cheer during this next few months of winter!

For Her

Stewart+Brown Longmire Jacket $90 (Original Price: $172)
This gorgeous lightweight hemp long-sleeve is the perfect layering piece for winter. Back slit & vents at wrists show pinstripe lining, and front tuxedo styling with raw edge hems adds great detail. Wear with a simple tank and our Of the Earth organic cotton jeans for a look that is effortlessly cool!

Grace & Cello Autumn Grace Top $50 (Original Price $88)
This super cute long sleeve T has little gathers on the shoulders. Made from 100% organic cotton and super soft, so you can feel as good as you look. You can wear this stylish basic with just about anything! Machine Washable.

Edun ‘Spring Phoenix’ Graphic Tee $30 (Original Price $55)
New graphic T from Edun, this fitted, amazingly soft, organic cotton t-shirt with romantically wrought “Spring Phoenix” art goes anywhere, with anything, and makes whatever else you’re wearing look better.

Anna Cohen Bamboo Tank Top $70 (Original Price $130)
Sexy, sexy! This not-so-basic tank is sure to be your next favorite thing. Made from sultry bamboo, this hot tank has a low scoop neckline and straps that cross in the back. Layer it under a deep v-neck sweater for day and dare to bare it all for a night out dancing ! Hand wash and lay flat or “Green” Dry Clean.

For Him

Edun Mens ‘Works’ Polo $60 (Original Price $105)
Ideal for golfers, tennis players and any man who loves a fresh, clean look. Ladies, get your man ready for Spring with this perfect Valentine’s Day gift.

Loomstate Point of View $30 (Original Price $55)
It’s like that old T you’ve washed a thousand times to the perfect softness, but it’s new, organic and designed by fashion superstar Rogan Gregory of Loomstate! Lightweight, super pre-washed, with a retro feel & fit. It’s a fact-men need T-shirts and this is the best sale going for a cool designer organic T.
Note: All Loomstate shirts are sewn with side seams intentionally off bias, i.e. crooked. It’s just their thing.

The Organic Cotton Market Grows… and Grows and Grows

It takes three quarters of a pound of toxic chemicals to grow enough conventional cotton to produce a single pair of jeans and a third of a pound to make a T-shirt to go with them. Luckily for all of us, organic cotton production is on the rise. According to Organic Exchange’s Organic Cotton Market Report for 2007, production and sales of organic cotton has snowballed in the last couple of years. Between 2006 and 2007, organic fiber production increased by 53%. Sales of organic cotton worldwide reached the $2 billion mark. The top five organic cotton retailers for 2007 were Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, Nike, Woolworth’s South Africa, Coop Switzerland and C&A. Large and small retailers alike increased their cotton programs over the last two years, from retail giants like Levi Strauss & Co and Nordstrom to smaller eco-fashion luminaries like Edun and Loomstate. Considering the cotton industry consumes 25% of all pesticides on the planet, the expansion of the organic cotton market means a major victory for soil and water quality, the health of people working and living near the cotton industry, and all of us who buy and wear King Cotton everyday. For a complete rundown of organic cotton factoids, check out Green Basics: Organic Cotton by Colin Dunn on Treehugger.com.

A Little ‘Green’ Black Dress

Your calendar is chock full of cocktail parties, work parties and general holiday festivities. As you stare into the depths (or shallows, for some us) of your closet staring at your fall back black dress, you soon realize that the one you have long depended on, like an old friend, is just not going to cut it anymore. Perhaps the hemline is just a tad high at this stage in the game, despite your fabulous gams, or maybe it is showing the good times you have had in it just a little too much. It’s time to retire your stand by and slip into a little black dress that’s green to boot. Here are a few of my faves:
1. Edun Fleur Spaghetti Strap Dress – This flattering, empire cut slip style dress features a subtle constellation print on the lightweight, shimmering silk. Elegant, simple, but far from boring, this little number will take you through the new year and beyond, and the cut even leaves room for a little over indulgence.
2. Habitude Double V Tie Back Dress – For those of you out there that dare to bare a little more, yet tastefully so, this elegant drawstring dress is a hemp/silk blend with substance, featuring a deep v front and back and empire waist for a little forgiveness through the midsection. If you are not quite ready to take the plunge, pair it with a complimentary camisole underneath, and even jeans to take it from soiree to shopping.
3. SameUnderneath Bamboo Cowl Neck – A perfect little black dress in a sumptuous bamboo and cotton blend this, this three-quarter length sleeve, cowled V-neck dress hugs in all the right places with a panel waist band and graceful A skirt, you can wear this anywhere, anytime, dressed up or down. Bamboo wicks moisture away from the skin too, so if things get a little steamy under the mistletoe, you’re all set (no sweat).
4. Edun Luna Shift Dress – What can I say….Edun gets double kudos here on the little black dress. A gorgeous shift dress that screams chic, with silver pin striping and velvet detail straps, and fully lined, this shift dress is the pinnacle of style for this holiday season. Easy to wear on just about any body style, and once again, forgiving when you choose to sample all 10 of those holiday desserts so temptingly arrayed before you. I think I would even take it casual and wear over a snug long sleeve with boots and leggings too.

So part with that security blanket of a frock you’ve got stowed, pass it on to another or recycle it if its just not got another life left to live, and jump into one of this season’s newest, best, little black dresses.