Ohhh, eco-designers. I am your worst nightmare.

I am that bitchy customer who wants to wear things that are socially conscious and ethically made… But I really have to like it, aka design comes first. Here are the reasons why I am the worst eco-fashion lover ever:

• I don’t wear jewelry, really. (I hate earrings.) This eliminates what seems to be 80% of the eco-friendly fashion industry.
• I despise things that look “crafty.” I don’t DIY. I’m not a fan of cleverly attributed materials. I like my clothes to look somewhat luxurious and clean and smooth around the edges.
• I am broke. I can’t afford your fancy, ethically-treated, beautiful fabrics. I want to pay you what your time and talent is worth, but my budget won’t allow it.

Source: GirlDir | Portland’s All Green Fashion Week
aka My Kind of Eco-Fashion

Here is my hypothesis: We are in a transition. The eco-fashion industry was only created a few years ago, max. Before that – there were designers who happened to engage in fair trade and/or sustainable fabrics… Now, there is an industry surrounding these designers.

Here is my fear: There will be some kind of fast-eco-fashion movement. Why would that be bad? It sounds like a good thing, right? Well consider this:

Bamboo Rayon – it is bamboo, yes. Yay for that. Bamboo Rayon – people read that and think “HURR, ECO! I AM HELPING!” Bamboo Rayon…

In chemical processing, the same bamboo is “cooked” in acid (among other things).  The result isn’t an organic bamboo yarn, or even a remotely eco-friendly fabric.  Instead, it’s called “regenerated cellulose fiber” or, more commonly, bamboo rayon.

Oh. Right. The whole cooked in acid thing. Not to mention…

Breathing in low levels of carbon disulfide [a substance used in chemical processing] can cause headaches, tiredness, and even nerve damage.

In animal testing, it also caused brain, liver, heart and fetal defects, which means a spill could destroy any wildlife and, potentially, human health and safety.

Carbon disulfide has also been shown to cause neural disorders in those working in rayon manufacturing plants.  (No studies are out in bamboo manufacturing plants specifically.)

Even a low level exposure to sodium hydroxide (lye) can cause the skin and eyes to become irritated, making it difficult and likely more dangerous for workers to do their jobs.

At higher levels, those exposed to sodium hydroxide have difficulty breathing, burns on the skin, necrosis, and severe burning in the eyes, ears, nose and throat.

Yaaay, bamboo rayon. Because the chemical processing of bamboo is likely more inexpensive and quick (efficient, barf), I fear that the “fast fashion eco-movement” will be largely harmful for the environment (and the eco-fashion industry) while uneducating people by telling them that these chemically processed plant-based fabrics are eco-friendly.

Source: American Progress | An Eco-Fashion Show in Mexico City, 2008

So how do I survive in a fast-fashion-directed, real-eco-fashion-is-really-expensive, must-not-be-DIY-crafty world?

Here are my options:

• Save up for amazing pieces.
• Wait for the tiny portion of ethical, socially conscious designers to develop magical lower prices for their exceedingly high-quality goods.
• …?

So what’s your approach? I know I’m not the only budget-conscious, informed, eco-fashion elitist out there…

How do you approach the eco-fashion industry’s high prices while remaining on a budget? Are you tempted by the fast-eco-fashion movement? Where do you draw the line?

While waiting for a table at Wild Mountain Cafe, I heard an interesting conversation between two (also waiting) customers.

“I was thinking about buying a Prius.”
“Noooooo!  Don’t buy a Prius!”
“Why?  Have you read something?”
“I just can’t stand the idea.  No more tree huggers in Seattle!”
“Oh, you’re not a…tree hugger?”
“No.  I’m sick of them.  I like my German cars.”

First of all: can’t I like German cars AND be a tree hugger?

Secondly, tree hugger?! Is this 1969?  Can’t I be called something more up-to-date, like an electricity-eater or a solar-energy-cuddler?

Whatever.  My biggest gripe with Anti-Trees Pro-German Cars Girl isn’t that she’s behind the times (in so many ways); it’s that she had such a negative impression of the sustainable movement in Seattle.

My first instinct was to blow her off – she’s just a priss who is more interested in whether people can tell her bag is made by Coach than whether we’ll all be able to breath in a hundred years – but that just perpetuates stereotypes, doesn’t it?  She keeps thinking I’m high-minded and pretentious; I keep thinking she’s superficial and snobbish.  Lose-lose.

Instead, I’ve decided to take a step back and remind myself that my cause is just that: my cause.  I’m passionate about it.  I’m incensed when it’s ignored by our elected officials, by corporations.  I’m saddened when it’s given a mere thirty-second spot on the news before a fifteen-minute cuddle fest about that cute puppy whose owner taught it to say “I love you” and turn off the stove when she forgets.

It’s my cause…and it’s my decision to do something about it.

You may be new to eco-friendly choices, or you may be an eco-superhero that eats locally, buys everything organic and rides a bike to work.  You may be somewhere in between.  Wherever you are, though, I’d like you to know that I’m not judging you.

We can’t do it all, and we shouldn’t be judged for doing only what we can.  For trying a little harder.  For taking that next step.

Ethical living is a process.  Nothing more.

I’ve been doing a lot of “what I want” lately.  I hope you all don’t mind the quiet too terribly much.

One of the things I’ve been doing is making food appear out of nowhere by carefully watering and (naturally) fertilizing my garden.  I now have my first self-made food: a radish.

I almost have enough greens for a salad, and when I do, it’s ON.  Success!

In other news, sitting on my doorstep yesterday afternoon was a pile o’ nail polish – well, a box, to be more accurate.

Using Zoya’s Earth Day Polish Exchange, which is going on through the end of this month, I traded nine of my old, toxic nail polishes for brand new, non-toxic ones.  (From left to right: Penny, Sam, Loredana, Robyn, Ginger, Goldie, Nicole, Posh, and Jo.)  But what’s that over there…

…a second Penny!

Zoya told me not to mind the mix-up – it’s not worth the shipping cost to return one bottle – so it looks like I have something else to give away in the next month or so…yay!

This has been an awfully scatterbrained post, but it does have a purpose:  I’ve realized, over the past few weeks, that I can do so much more to open my eyes without losing my aesthetic. Gardening hasn’t ruined my nails (see today’s post at The Demoiselles for proof) and avoiding chain stores whose policies and practices I disagree with doesn’t keep me from buying great clothing – it means I pay better attention to what I choose to buy…and don’t regret a trendy, fall-apart purchase two days later.

The truth is, “going green,” when done without guilt or stress, is not nearly as hard as people pretend it is.

Which stories have you been told about being socially responsible that turned out to be myths?

During a long bath last night, I got to thinking:

Where the hell did this bath bomb come from?

Of course, I knew where it had just come from – the top drawer, in a red paper gift wrap that stained my hands something fierce – but I had no idea where had it been purchased.  It was a holiday present, and when someone gives you a present you don’t respond by saying, “Thanks…and while you’re here: did you buy this from an ethical company?”

It got me thinking, as most things do, about how to be ethical about unethical things.  How can we be environmentally conscious, and socially conscious, and just plain conscious, without punishing ourselves for it?

For example, lets say you have this awesome bamboo top you bought last year, but after you read about how bamboo has been a victim of greenwashing, you realized it’s chemically processed bamboo rayon top.  Now what?  Do you throw the evil shirt in the trash?  Do you give it away and order a new shirt online?  Do you have a giant bonfire condemning the shirt to a fiery chemical hell?

Trashing a shirt adds more waste to the dump, more crap to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  And though giving the shirt away is commendable in a recycling sense, giving a shirt away that you’d otherwise wear in favor of having a new shirt shipped to you (which involves manufacturing pollutants, gasoline usage, and waste of both natural and chemical resources) cancels out the affect.

And though the giant bonfire is cool, it’s based in negativity when you get right down to it.  Where’s the love?

Instead, I am giving you permission to use what you’ve got. I have no issue with occasionally wearing chemical nail polish or tossing on an old, gifted tee from Urban Outfitters, and you shouldn’t either.

One of the main goals of the green movement is to remind us to stop wasting the bounty of things we have, just so we can get more.  The idea is to make less waste, and help other people make less waste by buying products that support the same sustainable ideals you do.

Which means that we don’t get a free pass to buy more chemical nail polish and Urban Outfitters t-shirts (or American Apparel, for some of you).  Instead, we use what we have, then make a new choice to search out great companies to buy from.  (We can’t live by the moniker that “every company has something wrong with it.”  That excuse is just apathy, kids, and that’s cowardly.  There are better companies, better choices, if you look for them.  Hell, that’s what I do all day long.)

At the same time, don’t guilt yourself into throwing away every toxic cleaning product and unethical brand you own.  Just know – know - that you’re not going to buy those products again.  And stick to it.

If you do that, then you can use all those other products guilt-free…and still be making a difference.

Images via TryingIsLying.Tumbler.com and IRockedYou.Blogspot.com.

Yes, your computer screen is working correctly.  Pamela Anderson has teamed up with Richie Rich (half of Heatherette) to create A*Muse, an “eco friendly and animal friendly” clothing line that debuted at the end of September at Air New Zealand Fashion Week.

Along with Pam’s no fur policy, the line uses organic and otherwise conscious materials.  Pam explains:

“We’ve got organic cottons and the boots we’re going to be doing are made out of recycled bottles.  A company called Ultrasuede has this great fabric they make out of recycled bottles which we are going to use.”

Good for you, Pam!  So, they’re eco, they’re pro-animal…but how do these clothes look?

Upon viewing photos of the show in New Zealand, I was less than impressed.  Anderson and Richie seem to be stuck on two notes – extreme sizing (tight or drapy) and bright colors – yet there isn’t anything that’s really new about the direction they’ve gone…except the eco-friendliness, of course.  I can’t fault them for that, but I can say that the plasticized look of the Ultrasuede material doesn’t really do anything for me.  (Sorry, hardcore eco fiends.)

In all, the only options I was drawn to were the pink bra and panty set (good lines, comfort fit) and the short, playful black and white dress. However, they weren’t surprising choices coming from half of Heatherette and the skimpy-loving Anderson.  I’d love to see both of them branch out for their next collection, and show us something unexpected.

Overall, as a new line, I think that A*Muse faultered.  Do you?

[Photos c/o Ecorazzi; you can find the rest here.]

Chanel handbags! Victoria’s Secret bras!  Guess and Joe’s and Diesel jeans!…and if you can’t swing the price, knockoffs!

Over the years, I’ve noticed a trend among fashionistas: they care way too much about what everyone else is wearing.  Not only do women put too much stock in the size of their jeans (who sees that number anyway?) but they also focus on that other, more prominent label: the brand name.  In fact, sometimes they’re so focused on what others will think of that brand name that they don’t even stop to consider whether the item they’re buying actually looks good on them…because if it’s Gucci, who cares?

This behavior smacks of conspicuous consumption, which is described by Wikipedia as as ”the lavish spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth…as a means of attaining or maintaining  social status.”  It isn’t new – the term was introduced by economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in his 1899 book The Theory of the Leisure Class – but it is something that the green movement has been inadvertently caught up in.  People are dying to get their hands on the latest boyfriend blazers (cute!) and torn tights (ahem, ridiculous) but now they’re vying for those blazers and tights that call themselves “organic,” without actually doing the research to find out whether that label is true.  (Oftentimes, it’s not, and even if it is, that doesn’t mean it’s better for the planet - check out this EcoGeek article on why plastic bags are “greener” than recycled paper – but that’s a whole other story.)

The excuse many people use is that whatever it is they covet was just “recommended” by a friend, colleague, or envied fashion-forward enemy.  However, there’s a difference between a recommendation and conspicuous consumption.  The former is all about the usefulness, comfort or pleasure being taken in the object itself – “These new Madden Girl platforms are so comfortable and easy to walk in!” – while the latter focuses on social status and outside perceptions: “All of my blogger friends love my new Madden Girl platforms, and two are buying them in different colors!”  While the first statement makes me consider buying the shoes for their comfort and versatility, the latter just implies that those same shoes are popular, and that having them will make me popular.  Though it’s nice to feel included, doesn’t it make me a bit of a copy cat?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t follow trends and enjoy fashion as a whole – otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this blog at all – but I do think we should focus more on buying what makes us look and feel good, as well as products that are socially conscious and earth-friendly, instead of whichever designers are on sale at Macy’s.  Besides, shouldn’t we be more excited at compliments based on individual, unique style than on the same old menswear and torn jeans everyone’s wearing?