The progress of making sustainability the standard practice in fashion continues. Make no mistake, there’s still a long road ahead, but with a host of certification programs cropping up companies are making sure customers know they’ve done their social studies responsibility homework. How will you know? Via a logo that tells you a garment has been certified. For those super-conscientious consumers who like to be able to come to their own conclusions, there’s sustainability indexes. And now the largest Eco-Index yet is in the works.

Do washing machines really have to be so massive? No, they do not. Do washing machines really have to sit on the floor, taking up valuable square footage? No, no, they do not! Case in point is the sweet little wall-mounter by Lichen Guo, one of the eight finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab Competition.

It was only a matter of time. This is pretty darn awesome, people. History in the making!
Unlike single-attribute eco-labels, MBDC’s certification program takes a comprehensive approach to evaluating the sustainability of a product and the practices employed in manufacturing the product. The materials and manufacturing practices of each product are assessed in five categories: Material Health, Material Reutilization, Renewable Energy Use, Water Stewardship, and Social Responsibility.
Matilda Wendelboe’s collection is the first in the world to meet the stringent criteria.

Researching the Elle bags yesterday led me to more and more awesome bags. I tried to resist, I really did – telling myself you’re probably sick of bags, but:

a. These are some darn cool bags and:

b. Accessories are totally the next frontier in sustainable fashion and you heard that from me. So bags – bags are like the gateway accessory. For the most part, they’re textile based, but you do start getting into glues, hardware – and you have to wonder – where is this awesome gold chain manufactured, how and with what?

Myoo Create is, in my opinion, one of the seven wonders of the internet. Based on the realization that businesses today are faced by more and more environmental and social challenges, Myoo Create connects these organizations and challenges to an online community full of innovation and solutions.
I’m sure by now you’ve heard of Levi’s Care to Air Challenge, one of the challenges Myoo is hosting. Pretend we’re in a documentary and the camera zooms in as I say: Let’s take a closer look.

After this week of seeing the best of Australia, I bet you’re hungry for more.

Here are some online sources that will help you really knock being sustainable out of the park – if you so choose – or at the very least might instigate an exploration into a new store or neighborhood.

There’s going green, and then there’s going Green.

Bird – of Australia, of course – goes for the gusto when it comes to green. Founded by Rachel Bending in 2006 after the success of her first eco-line Slingflings, Bird uses certified organic fabrics, then layers on original patterns that are designed and hand printed in-house using water based dyes.
Is there anything Australia can’t do, I ask. If Rachel is any indication, then the answer would be: nope.

Like the girl scout ditty from summer camp, there’s definitely a need for developing new sustainable fibers, but also equally important is recycling the old, especially if we already have the technology to do it.

So who is this miracle worker that recycles polyester?

A Japanese company called Teijin Fibers. Using a closed loop system they recycle polyester with a process that cuts energy consumption and CO2 emissions by approximately 80%.

There’s plenty of random “techno fashion” out there, so of it really awesome, most of it is…well, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, whenever there is a new movement or technology underway, the first attempts will always be prototypes – awkward first steps. But to me this phase is the most important! So here’s to the early adopters, the mad scientists, and the dreamers who also dare to do! For instance: Jeans that function as batteries? By using special e-ink…

Sustainability in fashion encompasses a lot of things. It’s not just about using the greenest materials to make your product. The product is actually a tiny fraction of the business – who cares if you’re using organic cotton if your production is sloppy and you generate a lot of unnecessary waste? Or if you pack each shirt in an individual box? Packaging is one key aspect that is often overlooked when it comes to evaluating how green a business is, but that’s where a lot of waste occurs.

Fashion can be carbon neutral! Read about Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge, carbon neutral fashion weeks, and sustainable designers who are 100% carbon neutral. And if you’re not quite sure what that even means or how it relates to you, we’ve covered that too!

I recently finished reading Braungart and McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle, which is pretty much the bible for green/sustainable product (any kind) design.

The authors outline two different types of product which are explained in more detail here: A product of service and a product of consumption.

What would this look like if we’re talking about clothing?

I’ll be the first to admit that denim has got me wrapped around its finger. I’ve given up a lot of things, but jeans? The epitome of cool? Luckily, I don’t have to! Even as we speak, clever people out there are busily trying to figure out ways to make denim “personalization” more environmentally friendly. Today we profile the past and future of jeans that want to look 50 yrs. older than they really are.

Did you know that most polyester clothing today is made from “new” polyester, made from oil? However, polyester is totally recyclable and the technology exists to do it! Furthermore, there is enough polyester clothing out there, especially if we count all the poly in landfills, that if we were to strop producing new polyester, we could recycle all the unwanted polyester and have more than enough to meet demand!

In my opinion, radiant floor heating is one of the most efficient means of heating your home. As is commonly known, heat rises; that said, radiant heating (which operates from the ground up) will heat a home more evenly, efficiently, and cost effectively than other types.

Great news for smart energy technology! Yesterday President Obama allocated $11 billion of the economic stimulus package to build a high-tech “smart grid” system for monitoring and managing the nation’s energy consumption.

Consumer electronics is the homely stepchild of industries, when it comes to the environment. Other manufacturing biggies crowd the limelight on today’s hot-button green issues — but CE deserves its place in the sun too.

We all have something that gets our goat. Something that’s just not right and needs to be fixed. For David Gottfried, owner of the greenest home in America, the property appraisal system is broken and needs overhauling now.

Of all people, we’d expect David Gottfried to max out on alternative energy and water conservation. After all, he founded the U.S. and World Green Building Councils, and his Oakland, California, home recently earned the highest-ever LEED Platinum certification and GreenPoint Rating.

When my partner and I designed and built the Nolalu Eco Centre, the largest solar-and-wind-powered straw bale facility in Ontario, we did it to accomplish something positive on behalf of the planet