Eco Fashion World

'Beep', a skype message from a friend in Berlin. 'Uv time 2 chat bout Green Fashion Fair we organize here?' 'Ploink', new scribbles on my Facebook profile. From Clemens in Austria who connects me to the director of a fashion company he met during a conference. From Sharon in Chili who convinces me to write about her friend that makes jewellery from native Indian straw. From Rob in LA who invites me for a vintage gallery expo. 'Aarghh', I open my inbox and have 80 new emails. Of people requesting to connect to me through LinkedIn and Xing, of students that found me on the university website, of organizations that like to collaborate. I guess the advantage of working with passion is that people start connecting to you.

'Wie een wijf trouwt om 't schoon lijf, verliest het lijf en houdt het wijf'. ('The one who marries a bitch for her beautiful body, looses the body and keeps the bitch')

The ideal woman, does she exist? This was the name of an exhibition I visited in my hometown when in Holland during the semester break. The multi-media installation was built around the six female qualities that have been stressed most in classical mythology and history: loyalty, motherhood, homeliness, piety, thoroughness and beauty. While reading the stories of role models from The Bible to modern media, I thought about the 'Book of Etiquettes' that my mum had thrown away decades ago. Her generation decided that it was time to create their own ideal image of a woman as opposed to the one dictated by men.

Upon arrival in Switzerland, I was impressed by the amount of bio products in the supermarket. Here you don't only find organic labelling, but Swiss people are proud of their local farmers too. Eggs carry the Swiss flag and many vegetables come 'Aus der region' (out of the region). Banners with pictures of healthy smiling families state: we support our farmers! A sustainable mindset seems to be intrinsic to the Swiss, although it doesn't always extend beyond the supermarket. That's why Swiss NGO Helvetas has now launched a campaign to grow the awareness. From far away the billboards seem to show simple crops of salad and bananas. But giving them a closer look, you suddenly see they've been created out of T-shirts. At the university, we've sent out a Facebook survey to measure what the effects of the campaign are. Within a few months we'll know if the group of Swiss LOHAS has grown. If you're interested in the results, join the international congress 'From Fashion to Sustainability' in September. A great reason to visit this beautiful country and its sympathetic people!

Three and a half years ago I attended an Organic Exchange Conference in Turkey to give a workshop on YOI. It was the first time I met people from all over the planet working on a more sustainable textile supply chain. There was Olga from Paraguay, a country I had never heard of before. There was Jens, the crazy German guy that sat next to me in the bus as we travelled to an organic cotton field. There was Sandra, who just quit her job with Triodos bank in Madrid and wanted to get into ethical fashion. There was Rebecca, the dynamic founder of the Exchange and a visionary spirit. There were Benny and Tong, the young brothers from Hong Kong who were ready to take over the family business. And there were many other inspiring people who all felt like family within 24 hours.

I feel very lucky being surrounded by people who encourage me to keep on flowing! In other words, encourage me to go on (eco) shopping. Today I received this lovely pink ecobag by post. A present from my sweet mother and her best friend Erna.

This cute Rosette Ecosilk bag is a stylish alternative to plastic bags. Made from endlessly recyclable 100% (parachute silk) nylon, these bags fit perfectly in your handbag. Very useful for your juicy groceries or handy to carry your new eco pumps. Check their website for other shinny happy colors.

'Vision, material, concept and construction are the elements needed to achieve form' A nice starting point for the third edition of the Arnhem Mode Biënnale. SHAPE will be the theme and is the connecting thread of the greatest cultural fashion event in the world. This year more than 80 fashion labels are participating, including Raf Simons, Hussein Chalayan, Martin Margiela and Viktor & Rolf.

It was a ton of fun working on this event and learning more about eco-fashion. I came into this project knowing very little about this industry, but this was a great way to learn. I am looking forward to a summer wardrobe full of Stewart+Brown, Loyale, and Kelly B. Their lines all just scream "summer!" to me.

'There are 180 people in my year and 95% is nerd. They're glued to their laptops and are programming with all kinds of numbers all day long. It's sooooo boring! And I'm a girl you know, I love fashion. I need to do something else then this Banking & Finance Masters'. Selina is ready to write her final thesis and sits across me in her trendy outfit and with a paper full of questions about researching eco fashion. 'I'm not sure yet what I want to do in half a year, but I don't want to work for a bank. This climate is so depressing and I want to be hopeful and do something more fun. Do you think they need me with this background?'