Bianca and Michael Alexander, founders of Vert Couture, had their work cut out for them this past Sunday hosting Chicago’s first ever green fashion show. But with an already established track record in the sustainable field, the couple pulled it off with flying shades of green.

The husband and wife team, who recently migrated from California, have made the windy city more interesting with Conscious Living TV and Soul of Green. So producing Chicago’s debut sustainable design show was just another step in their progression towards sustainable.

Michael …

Tags: eco fashion , Fashion Focus Chicago , Frei Designs , Lara Miller , Macy's , Mountains of the Moon , sustainability , Vaute Couture , Vert Couture

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Kevin Baum, CEO of Sust and Moriah Carlson of Feral Childe at the recent NOW Showcase in NYC

October marches on with another look at men in eco-fashion.

Kevin Baum, CEO of sustainable label Sust, is one of many men carrying a well-lit torch for the eco-designing movement. He’s made great strides in laying the groundwork for the Sustainability Across America Tour (of which EcoSalon is a sponsor).

I caught up with him in the midst of markets and orders recently. Here’s what he had to say:

I know …

Tags: eco fashion , Kevin Baum , Marion McKee , NOW Showcase , SUST , sustainable

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Henry Schwab of Kate Organic, Synergy Organic and son

There are lots of men thriving in some way or another in the eco-fashion world. We’ve decided to give them a plug as it’s often their female counterparts getting the buzz on EcoSalon.

In fact, we’re going to do a weekly mini-series celebrating their work. We’ll call October “Men In Eco-Fashion” month.

First up is Henry Schwab, co-president of Kate Organic (Kate’s his wife) and sister company Synergy Organic. In addition to recently becoming a dad to a second child and balancing his firstborn …

Tags: eco fashion , eco-fashion industry , Henry Schwab , kate organic , Santa Cruz

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Anna Korte of AK Vintage, me and Gretchen Jones of Mothlove meeting face to face for the first time during NYC Market Week

I just got back from selling at D&A during New York City’s Market Week and am tired. Like, I can’t get out of bed, don’t want to talk to another designer or buyer dry-heaving in the toilet tired.

It wasn’t because I spent the past week enclosed in a 10×10 space presenting clothing lines to legions of stuffy buyers or entertaining press and new friends over cocktails, it …

Tags: D&A , designers , eco fashion , hemp silk , Market Week , organic cotton , organic farmer , seamstress , Times They Are A Changin'

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Chris Brogan, President of  New Marketing Labs

Social media’s newest darling (Twitter) has become a very important platform for eco-designers and boutiques to connect with the public and each other.

Women’s Wear Daily recently featured an in-depth look at fashion brands and how social media – Twitter included – is radically changing the way fashion brands engage with their customers online, forming “relationships with a community of customers, particularly consumers for whom the Web is as important as a limb.” (WWD boasts that its own Twitter page has …

Tags: Chris Brogan , eco fashion , New marketing Labs , social media , twitter , WWD

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How do I know it’s summer? I hear bees and see flowers blooming; I’m working out because that beach vacation is looming. I watch baby birds as they learn to fly; I welcome new beginnings into my life.

And yes, I write terrible jingles that barely rhyme.

Actually, I know summer is upon us because all of a sudden I’m in the mood for dresses. All I want is to bare my legs and to wear strappy sandals. I’ve gathered some of my favorite

…

Tags: Beau Soleil , Doucette Duvall , dress , eco fashion , Eco-Ganik , EDUN , Elroy , fair trade , fashion , FIN , Lara Miller , Loyale clothing , organic , Sublet , sustainable

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It’s an uphill battle for many designers to “go green.”

Some walk the talk more than others.

I caught up with three pioneering eco-designers and asked them if the eco-fashion industry is simply lost in a waste-stream of organic textiles or if it is actually possible for the industry to slim down a bit.

Here’s what they had to say:

Sandy of EcoSkin:

As this question is so broad it is difficult for me to give a specific answer, but what I can do is hopefully provide …

Tags: eco fashion , eco-designers , ecoSkin , Lara Miller , organic cottons , Reif Haus Designs , sustainable textiles

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Kiehl’s and the Sundance Channel have partnered to present ECO TRIP, a new eight-part original series on tonight (May 12th) 6 p.m.-7 p.m. EST.

From the Sundance Channel site: “ECO TRIP: THE REAL COST OF LIVING is an eight-part original series exploring the origins and environmental impact of common everyday products. Hosted by eco-adventurer David de Rothschild, whose far-flung travels have garnered international attention, the half-hour primetime program investigates iconic items from cotton t-shirts and paper napkins to salmon and cell phones, and follows their life cycle from production to …

Tags: eco fashion , ECO TRIP , Kiehls , Lara Miller , Sundance channel , sustainable fabrics

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Do you have your email set up for Google alerts? I do. One of them is for “eco-fashion” (go figure, right?).

A few days ago I got an email talking about Oxfam Great Britain’s secondhand and ethically-produced clothing you can buy online and was flabbergasted by how great the pieces were in both sections.

I’m ashamed to say I never knew the same Oxfam has over 700 shops, including specialist shops for books, clothes and music all over the world, which sell many fair-trade items and clothing. This all started in 1948.

According to …

Tags: eco fashion , ecommerce , oxfam , retail , reuse , shopping , vintage , web

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