Eco Fashion World

It was a sunny afternoon and M.A.'s birthday. We took the train to the Bodensee, a 20 minute ride from where we live. From there a smaller train took us up the hill, climbing slowly towards Appenzell. The view was postcard inspired: green hills with traditional houses scattered as single stars on a clear night, the lake a shining mirror reflecting the snow topped Alps. 'Are you going to the castle?' a kind lady asked as she walked us to the entrance gate. A small church on the left, a vegetable garden on the right and a path that led us through spring green. Then the contours of a white building and we found ourselves in front of a dream.

He plays his guitar
while I sing along.
Salsa lifts us higher up than Säntis.

He is happy in his new eco jeans.
I adore the coral ring he gave me.
We dream of a honeymoon to Bali.

Last week I received an email from my friend Sharlene in Johannesburg. She found an amazing eco fashion company and I would love to share her story with you!

It was on a hot Sunday, while visiting a little gallery called Spaza Art Gallery in Troyeville, Johannesburg, that a friend of mine discovered a striking purse. It was made out of woven strips of paper which seemed laminated, made by Ollymolly Designs and sold for just R40 (about 6 dollars). I was taken by both the price and quality of the product and copied the website address off the inside of the purse. While checking the brand online I was seriously impressed by the range of Ollymolly products, their affordability and production philosophy. Getting in touch with them was easy and Gemma Coll graciously answered my questions about their products.

Yesterday was a special day for me and my colleagues @ Tigerbergstrasse. In the afternoon, the vice-president of our institute inaugurated his 'Chair for Management of Renewable Energies'. This sounds a bit posh, but his name his Rolf Wüstenhagen and he is a great person to work with. Over the last ten years he has been researching and publishing a lot on the topics of policy decisions, investment behavior and consumer attitudes when it comes to renewable energies. His work has contributed both to the academic debate as well as to managerial practice, reason enough to have a large investment company funding his Chair at the university.

'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.