Eco Fashion World

During the third edition of the Arnhem Mode Biënnale extra emphasize is on fair fashion during the Awearness Fair Fashion Event. Last Sunday, June 28 you could visit the Awearness Fair Fashion Show, organized by the charming ladies Wilma Mulder & Jeannette Ooink.

We often tell you about fantastic workshops for sustainable designers and those aspiring to that career…in case you can’t make it to those a new guide has just come out with lots of useful info on going green. The Toronto Fashion Incubator, an excellent resource for aspiring designers, has just published “Fashioning Sustainability: TFI's Guide to Going Green” in order to assist new and emerging fashion entrepreneurs to understand and adopt green technologies and practices that can help increase sales and market opportunities. We loved the review of the 4 types of green consumers and what makes them tick!

This week, July 1st to 5th, Berlin will be the meeting place of International fashionistas during Berlin Fashion Week. Aside from the appeal of edgy design that characterizes the German capital, one particular event is bringing ethics to the event this year: The Key will be presenting a strong selection of about 60 visionary and future minded brands that stand out for their green approach, innovation and style. The brands, labels and designers are all pioneers in creating sustainability in their production chain. Their innovative concepts and social business approaches are explorations in the ways in which future fashion and design can develop.

The economy may be hurting world wide, but those that love Hermes are still buying. In fact, Hermes has resorted to breeding its own crocodiles on farms in Australia to meet the demand for its exotic bags. It is reported that Hermes makes around 3,000 crocodile bags every year and demand continues to grow while the crocodiles are not readily available to fill orders. It can take three to four crocodiles to make one Hermes bag, so the move to use their own farms makes sense.

While politicians in The Netherlands and other countries are pondering upon laws that will prohibit breeding animals for their fur (yes, this is the good eco news we wanted to share with you!), Hermes seems to wander off completely from any sustainable exercise. And some people don't mind at all, look at Victoria Beckham wearing her Hermes Birkin croc bag with pride. We know that croc bags can last for decades so one could argue about the ethics of buying them. But still, with the great offer in eco handbags nowadays, we wonder when Vic will pick up on the real trend.

SpringWise.com recently covered a program at Oakland Mall that offers startups low-cost and short-term leasing to help them to set up shop. This summer, KiosKiosk will bring a similar idea to the streets of London by offering a small kiosk space to startups selling ceramics, art, fashion and other creative products. At no cost to its temporary tenants.

If you´re in London, don´t miss out on the Eco Design Fair starting this Saturday 20th from 11am - 5pm at Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill. Fashion-conscience.com will be there showing some of their latest collections and teaming up with Elysambre beauty line.

It's always great to soothe your eco fashion conscience with a consumer buy that benefits charity. You can go ahead with the funky second collection of 'Designers against AIDS' tees available at H&M stores around the world since the beginning of this month.