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Inspired by Elisa’s blog yesterday about Loyale Clothing’s new organic Costilla Coat, I have been on a web based hunt for other ethical coats and jackets. I haven’t found stylish ones so easy to uncover in the past, but the tide has turned and there is now much more on offer. The three coats I have featured are from Adili.com, People Tree and BTC elements. The rather elegant belted mac from Adili is the creation of Brazilian designer, Maria Garcia and is brought to us courtesy of Mumo (an acronym for Muda Moda). Mumo works with established fashion designers from Brazil to develop fair and ethical trading principles along with a sense of responsibility down the supply chain, choosing to focus on this aim rather than promoting fair-trade clothing as high fashion. They believe the key to fair-trade fashion is ameliorating ethical practices within the current industry to reduce poverty in southern countries.
The empire ‘Iris’ waist coat available at BTC Elements, in the centre of the image below, is crafted from a 100% recycled cotton and acrylic blend with vintage fabric trim, by Rebe, a mother daughter team, who incorporate more sustainable fabrics into their collections each season. The coat is made in southern California.
The ‘garbo’ jacket on the far right, from People Tree, is a fair trade item hand-woven in Bangladesh. People Tree, who is constantly setting the ethical fashion scene, has been registered with the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) since 1996 and is an active member of many fair trade, social justice and environmental networks.
1. Mumo Belted Mac – light khaki, £218, Adili.
2. Rebe Iris Coat - $196, BTC Elements.
3. Garbo Jacket – black or grey herringbone, People Tree.
Get in the mood for your summer holidays (if you haven’t already been and come back!) with some gorgeous hand-made, ethical, Hawaiian themed outfits from Muumuu Heaven, a family run business based in, you guessed it, Oahu, Hawaii. Muumuu Heaven began with the concept of creating beautiful, high quality products, whilst maintaining corporate and social responsibility and without creating a detrimental impact on the planet.
Muumuu Heaven contribute 1% FTP to help preserve Hawaii’s coral reefs, use vintage and recycled materials to avoid wasting fabric and the brand is a favourite with the Hollywood rich and famous. You can purchase items from the label online at BTC Elements and Shop Equita.
We all want to be a one-off and now you can be with Armour Sans Anguish (clothing without sorrow), the brainchild of two fashion forward girls called Tawny Holt and Julie Edwards, who are both passionate about one-of-a-kind, recycled and sweatshop free clothing. Deconstructed vintage style is their forte and looking through their collections (which get snapped up pretty quick), Armour Sans Anguish excel at it. Julie is a consummate pro when it comes to repurposing old items, having acquired the skill of thriftiness from a very early age. Tawny majors in Cultural Anthropology and Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz and has always loved making things. Online eco-store BTC Elements are currently selling a beautiful Armour Sans Anguish, 'Layered and Lovely' reconstructed tulle dress, created from reclaimed and secondhand fabric, for $200. If you're a fan, get purchasing now, before it sells out, like all their other beautiful creations.
Sexy and ethical are not traditionally synonymous, but times are changing and Kelly B Couture has proven that ethical fashion can be as sassy and chic as the mainstream fashion industry, without the dubious environmental and production processes. Kelly B Couture is the invention of San Francisco based designer, Kelly Barry, whose love for fashion and design stretches back to her youth, when she was permanently attached to the family sewing machine.
Kelly spent three years at CCAC (The California College of Arts and Crafts) and upon graduation she entered a career as a production manager and designer for a supplier of organic cotton garments and fabric. This experience led to her establishing the environmentally friendly and highly fashionable Kelly B Couture. Her passion is to create comfortable and unique clothing for the conscious consumer. In real terms this means utilising organic and other natural fibres and ensuring fair labour practises in the production of garments. Kelly’s first organic cotton line debuted in spring 2006 and her current spring collection is colourful, urban, sassy and sexy and all this down to a girl with moxie.
For UK shoppers, online ethical store BTC elements sell Kelly B Couture and ship to the UK.
[via Hippyshopper]
