Eco Fashion World

Attending trade shows throughout the year gives you some hints as to where we should be looking at when it comes to a more sensible fashion scene in the future. If I had to pick one personal highlight from the last edition of Texworld – held in Paris just last week, I’d say meeting Lena Swiadek, editor-in-chief of GoodLife Poland, a fresh eco lifestyle magazine from Poland. Lena browsed the fair looking for insights on new and eco fabrics with a big smile and a remarkably bright look in her eyes.

This is how your next season organic cotton garments look like right now. Click the "Read more" link to see more pictures.

It is the second time I have the opportunity to sit and chat with Aurelien Conty, founder of Mision Misericordia a cool brand (very popular amongst fashionistas) made in Peru with strong social and environmental principles at its core.

Four things I learned today from Indian organic cotton farmers:

‘Bhramasthiram’ literally means ‘missile’ in Tamil, but is also the name of one of the most effective bio-pesticides used by Indian farmers under ‘cow centric farming’, also known as ‘zero budget farming’ -it is actually also zero waste farming, let’s talk to William McDonough about that.

My good friend -and excellent photographer, Pablo Wünsch Blanco www.auslandia.com and myself, came across Baruc Corazón timeless cotton shirts about this time of the year, just two years ago. We were wandering the streets of the Chueca district, downtown Madrid, when the entrance of a brand new cozy store called 3 Góngoras caught our eyes. Curious and hungry for beauty as we are, we went in to discover Baruc’s permanent collection: a set of shirts, kurtas and kaftans which has recently expanded to relaxed jackets and pants, and elegant polo-shirts and blazers. Since then, Baruc’s name has been in and out my professional life as one of Spain’s most visionary designers and certainly one of the most meaning driven. His garments stand out for their exquisite natural fabrics, smart, durable and unisex cuts, and the feeling you are purchasing something for the rest of your life. A true contender for both slow fashion and aesthetics. Just yesterday, I entered Baruc’s showroom and store in Madrid for the first time and I could experience all of those qualities exuding from each and every piece, the warmth in the atmosphere, rounded up by the interior design and the attentive and joyful service of his assistant – who happened to be an old student of mine from IED. Pure joy.

Kim and I met on our way to Izmir, Turkey, one warm September afternoon, just about three years ago. We embarked for our first Organic Exchange Global Conference. She was part of one of the most exciting projects on sustainable fashion that was taking place in The Netherlands, and I had just dropped into the organic textile world. The image of those intense days together, amidst so many special and inspiring people, thought provoking speeches from leading international companies and fun evenings by the sea, come back to me today as I get the confirmation from the Organic Exchange (OE) itself: I will start working as its business development manager in Europe in a few days. I can’t help the excitement! OE is an international organization committed to expanding organic agriculture, with a specific focus on increasing the production and use of organically grown fibers such as cotton. Its long term goal is to grow the amount of certified organic land farmed for fiber production by 50% per year. To support these efforts, the OE brings together brands and retailers with their business partners, farmers and key stakeholders to learn about the social and environmental benefits of organic agriculture, and to develop new business models and tools that support greater use of organic inputs. Consumer awareness is also one of its aims. So it seems we closed the first part of the loop…back together through EFW, let’s see what comes next!

They are all over the place now…I’ve seen them on store windows together with ethical shoes Veja in Bilbao and also side by side with Levi’s at a new shop behind our fashion school in Madrid. It seems that, at last, mainstream agents do see the opportunity in spreading the availability of cool conscious brands. Ethics are mushrooming… it’s up to us to make them hit the bottom-line as well.