Eco Fashion World

ELVIS & KRESSE

If eco fashion should abide by trends is a much debated question, but no doubt there are trends that could accelerate the work of the many talented designers and beautiful brands we know. Have a look at these and be inspired.

Selling your designs is often a difficult task and many brands are looking into new ways to reach their consumers, aside from the by now 'obligatory' webshop. Over the past few years, we have seen nearly every major brand setting up pop-stores but for a young ethical fashion venture, this exercise might be too ambitious. A great alternative could be to create temporary outlets in cool places like art galleries. Munich based brand Clemens & August sustains exclusivity while cutting on retail costs through selling off-line only three days at a time. While it also sells through its webshop, the company maintains a sense of scarcity through opening the 'third floor' of their online store only to customers who have visited their most recent 'tour'.

ROSA LOVE

Recycling keeps on being a theme, but new brands are surprising us with the materials they reclaim nowadays, like fire hose! Feuerwear is the German company that started in 2006 with creating sturdy red and white bags from used fire hoses. With back to school time approaching, any child that obsesses over fire trucks will no doubt be very happy to treasure a bag like this. Much like Feurwear, Elvis & Kresse does the same thing in the UK but with a charity twist to it. The company donates fifty percent of its profits to the Fire Fighters Charity in addition to supporting small scale coffee grower initiatives in Central America. Aside from fire hose, Elvis & Kresse reclaims various types of other industrial waste such as coffee sacks, sail cloth, air traffic control flight strips, optician's boxes and office furniture textiles. Fabrics including parachute silk are used to line Elvis & Kresse's wallets and bags; many of the other materials are used in its packaging. The great thing about this company is that it moves way beyond the recycling look and really innovates the reclaimed materials into products sported by the likes of Cameron Diaz and Dutch actress Rifka Lodeizen. Their collaboration with artists resulted in products like this Beelze Bag that we might call eco-iconic!

CLEMENS & AUGUST

More upcycling takes place in Sydney where the Ted Noffs Foundation has launched a program that breathes new life into cast-off clothing which is then sold for charity. One Noffs offers local aspiring fashion designers the opportunity to rework donated garments into one-of-a-kind designs that are sold in the foundation's retail outlets. Each designer receives 20 percent of the sale price and their bio is added to the item's hang tag. Connecting young design to a social cause is not a new thing like we have seen with Rosa Loves and 50/50 , but there is still a lot more space for these kinds of entrepreneurial models that create products we all want.

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