Weekly Eco-Fashion Wrap-Up – Aug 21st
Hi all! Happy weekend!
It's time for the weekly eco-fashion wrap-up!
c. marchuska: We've been featured! TreeHugger has listed c. marchuska as one of the top 5 green fashion designers favored by the 'Great American Apparel Diet' Founder 
hooray!
Also, we've been featured over on CasterineCouture! Go read it to find out about what it's like Inside the House of CMar.
Lastly - our favorite celeb blogger, Tia Walker, wore the monika dress to the Quintessentially and the Couture Council's annual Summer Party. Thanks Tia! you look awesome!
Blogosphere: There was a great article in the NYTimes this week about zero-waste design and how it's the new trend. Apparel industry professionals say that about 15-20 % of the fabric used to produce clothing winds up in the nation's landfills because it's cheaper to dump the scraps than to recycle them. But now there's a small but impassioned group of designers who are taking the scraps and creating garment patterns with gussets, pockets, collars and trim that fit together like a puzzle. It's not easy, but Parsons the New School for Design will offer the world's first fashion courses in zero waste. Pretty cool!
Great things are happening in NYC! This past monday, Mayor Bloomberg signed into law a new program that will try to reduce the amount of clothes dumped into landfills by posting clothing-recycling bins around the city in an effort to re-route the clothes from the trash to thrift stores. An initial 50 bins will be placed in public places, but the eventual goal is to have the majority of bins located in the basement and/or laundry rooms of apartment buildings. Personally, I've always wished that there was an easy way to recycle my clothes! I have been lugging bags of clothes up to Goodwill every year, but it sure would be awesome if I could just recycle it in my very own apartment building!
Fashion week is coming up in a couple of weeks! This means that we'll also be looking forward to the third season of the GreenShows! As the only premiere fashion event exclusively committed to eco-friendly, ethically sound, fair-trade fashion, this 3-day event will showcase some of our favorite designers, including Joann Berman and Samantha Pleet!
joann berman
joann berman
This week's reading also included an article about a great eco-fashion business supporting women of domestic violence. The Annie O. Boutique accessory collection was founded by Annie O. Waterman, who was inspired by vibrant Peruvian textiles and the desire to bring work to female cooperatives in South America. The boutique works with 80 women who are victims of domestic violence and/or living in impoverishment to help them attain financial independence by applying their skills in handcrafts to create beautiful hand-embroidered handbags, belts, scarves and more.
ok all - have a great rest of your weekend! make sure to go check out our c. marchuska store - we have some awesome stuff for the upcoming fall!
Weekly Eco-Fashion Wrap-Up July 9th
It's that time of the week!
Retail: Bahar Shahpar has recently teamed up with vegan shoe designer Cri de Coeur to create 100% recyclable synthetic neon pink and yellow heels that will add a blast of color to your feet.
Events/Programs: Starting in September, New York City will launch one of the largest textile recycling initiatives in the nation, aiming to increase the convenience of donations so that it is "almost as easy as throwing it away." The city is taking bids for a 10- to 15-year contract with a nonprofit company (e.g. companies like Goodwill) to maintain and manage the bins. Officials say that if the bins are successful in NYC, then it could be launched nationwide.
Yesterday's News (eco-friendly cat litter made from recycled paper) is challenging five leading green designers, including the Lara Miller, Samantha Pleet, and Bahar Shahpar, to create fashion-forward designs using recycled newspaper. The winning pieces will be displayed at the first ever Yesterday's News Green Catwalk Event. Read more about how YOU can compete too!
Have you been using your recyclable grocery bags over and over? It's great to use the eco-friendly solution to replace the regular ol' paper or plastic...but make sure you wash them after every use! American Chemical Society conducted a study and 84 out of 100 bags tested positive for E. Coli and that bacteria can transfer onto your groceries!
Blogosphere: The New York Project sought out Teen Vogue and Style.com's PR Director Eleanor Banco to give us an eco-fashion makeover and she chose her 10 most influential eco-designers, including Stella McCartney, Study by Tara St. James, Doucette Duvall and more.
Ever concerned about the authenticity of the eco-friendly products you buy? How do you know for sure these products are sustainable? A ton of the organic claims made by designers and brands is just confusing consumers, and it would be super helpful if there was some sort of standardization. L.E.A.F. (Labeling Ecologically Approved Fabrics) does just that! WellWire sat down with Elinor Averyt, L.E.A.F. founder and executive director to discuss what will be included in the comprehensive and unifying eco-labeling program. Go read it here!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Interview with DLC – eco-friendly jewelry
Hi all! It's time to start a new week and that means...a new interview with an awesome designer! This week, we have Susan Domelsmith of DLC Brooklyn, a jewelry brand that prides itself in creating collections out of vintage chains that have been deconstructed and reconfigured through draping, knotting and tangling into new designs.
CMar: When did you first begin your company?
DLC: In the summer of 2004.
CMar: What is your background in fashion?
DLC: I have always been making jewelry and clothing since I was a little girl, but I never received formal training. I worked in vintage boutiques and at Factory People in Austin as an assistant buyer and manager right after college. My favorite hobby - jewelry-making - gradually turned into a full-time job, and I couldn't be happier!
CMar: What inspires you to design?
DLC: I receive a lot of inspiration from my materials actually. All of the vintage pieces that I come across have such unique histories, and I love imagining where they came from. I am also inspired by shapes in nature and scientific theories.
CMar: What are your views on eco-fashion?
DLC: There has really been a transition in the fashion world over the last few years and I feel that it is gradually starting to make a difference. There are plenty of eco-sources now, so designing with the environment in mind is not as difficult as it used to be. There really is no excuse not to use sustainable design.
CMar: What are your views on sustainability?
DLC: We, as humans, have been really selfish about taking the earth for granted. There is a growing movement to live more responsibly, and I hope that this continues to grow. If everyone took the time to make sure that they left the smallest impact possible, the world would be so different. I hope to help in a small way with my jewelry company, and using what is already available in the world rather than creating new materials, as well as the waste that goes along with manufacturing.
CMar: Who are some other designers you admire?
DLC: H. Fredriksson, Bodkin, Study, and Samantha Pleet are all working to make fashion more sustainable. I love their work, and think they all have big hearts.
CMar: What are your future design goals?
DLC: To continue learning and having fun with it...and to inspire others to work sustainably.
CMar: What is special about your design goals?
DLC: Each piece is unique because the materials I use vary slightly, even though they follow the same pattern. Each piece has a combination of unique histories of the chains that I find fascinating. All of the chains are hand-selected, sorted, and cleaned with a detergent that is biodegradable, so more work goes into each piece, but it is completely worth it to me.
CMar: Where can customers buy your products?
DLC: Everything is available at dlcbrooklyn.com!
Thanks Susan! We love your stuff - keep up the awesome work!
Greenshows EcoLux Pop-Up Shop – April 19-24 @ Grand Central
We are super excited to be showing our products next week at the EcoLux pop-up shop!
From runway to retail, the Greenshows Eco Fashion Week is launching the EcoLux Pop-Up Boutique in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It will be an exclusive boutique featuring sustainable designs from fashion and accessories designers around the world. The boutique will be located at Grand Central Station's Vanderbilt Hall, on 42nd street and Park Avenue, during the week of April 19-24.
Along with other great designers such as Samantha Pleet and deux fm, we at c. marchuska will be showing off such products as the monika and leslie dresses. To celebrate Earth Day and to honor our presence at the EcoLux Pop-up shop, we will be using our blog to show y'all how our sustainable products can be worn over and over and over! Now that's eco-friendly
Leslie Dress