Green Cotton

The Swedish clothing retailer H&M is usually raved over and blogged about for its bargain-priced, runway-inspired pieces. But recently the company came under fire for reportedly slashing unworn clothing to pieces – using a machine to cut holes in items and render them un-wearable – and tossing the clothes out with the trash.

The dumping was discovered at New York’s 34th street H&M by City University of New York graduate student Cynthia Magnus. When Magnus contacted H&M’s headquarters in Sweden, she received no response. She even offered to connect H&M with a local charity so that it would be easy of them to dispose of the clothing more effectively, but still no response.

Desperate, Magnus told her story to the New York Times. The Times did some follow-up, then published an article on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. Clearly striking a cord with many a reader, the story happened to be the second most tweeted headline of the day. After waking up to the angry national buzz over the issue, H&M finally paid attention to the issue, and released a statement reported in the Times:

“It will not happen again,” said Nicole Christie, a spokeswoman for H&M in New York. “We are committed 100 percent to make sure this practice is not happening anywhere else, as it is not our standard practice.”

The standard practice is, apparently, to donate unworn clothes and shoes to charity. Christie claimed that she did not know why this particular H&M store was destroying clothes, and that the company is investigating its other stores to make sure this wasteful practice is not happening elsewhere.

The New York Clothing Bank is one such charity that would have gladly accepted H&M’s unwanted garments (or similarly-slashed items from a New York City Wal-Mart that was also discovered demolishing clothes and dumping them on 35th street). Mary Lanning, chairwoman of the Clothing Bank, told the Times, “I would welcome H&M, Wal-Mart and every other enterprise that presently is destroying new clothing to call me immediately.”

Allegedly, H&M is also trying to go green. The Times reports that the Sweden-based company “has an executive in charge of corporate responsibility who leads the company’s sustainability efforts. On its Web site, H&M reports that to save paper, it has shrunk its shipping labels.”

This discovery of H&M’s wastefulness could not have come at a worse time— right after the launch of a new “Garden Collection,” which features clothes made from recycled textiles and PET bottles. It’s a nice attempt, but the humiliation H&M has suffered after this unfortunate incident will make it difficult for their “garden” to flourish.

Apparently, H&M is not alone in their dumping of unused, unsold apparel. Writer, researcher Erika Kawalek, a New York-based journalist, published a very interesting and informative piece on Double X following the news of H&M (http://www.doublex.com/blog/xxfactor/why-hm-destroys-unsold-clothes) on why this industry-wide practice is happens. Who would have thought that these unworn clothes often end up as airline seat cushions?  Stay tuned for more on these issues with Erika Kawalek’s forthcoming fashion chronicle, Ragpicker. She’ll offer a rare behind the scenes look at post-market clothing & textiles in the fashion industry.

Photosource top: H&M

By Erin Dale

“We are a grass roots, nonpartisan coalition, of fair trade organizations, vendors, retailers, schools, individuals and consumers”. – Fair Trade the White House

February 2009, Anti-Body (anti-poverty, beautiful body), a fair trade body-care company, initiated a bold move: to create a more just American marketplace by starting with the White House and a grassroots level campaign. Now, six months later, the campaign has gained remarkable steam with everyone from company founders, socially conscious celebrities to everyone in between, joining the movement.

Why Fair Trade the White House? We are inviting the First Lady, Michelle Obama, to declare the White House a “Fair Trade Home” because we recognize that the Whitehouse is a model home for all Americans, and that if the White House can be fair and ethical in its purchases, then its a good reason for others to follow.

So what exactly do we mean by “fair trade”? While it is true that fair wages are part of  being “fair trade”, certified fair trade products go beyond wages to include investments in community and economic development. Fair trade means building direct, long-term, and empowering relationships with economically and socially marginalized producers in developing countries. It also means supporting community development and cultural diversity. All told, fair trade companies and fair trade products support a more sustainable marketplace by directly investing in the communities from which products are made.

How do we know if something is fair trade? There are several labels to look for. First, Transfair USA is the only fair trade certifying entity in the United States at the moment. Currently they are set up to certify a handful of products including coffee, tea, cocoa, other beverages and a few other products. You have probably seen their logo (below). Transfair USA started with coffee then moved on to other food products, but they currently do not do home goods, crafts or textiles. They are piloting a certification for textiles, but that is not yet released. So if you see this logo, you know you are buying a fair trade certified product.

Transfair USA (certified Fair trade product) logo shown above.

The European based Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) www.fairtrade.net also certifies products, but it is less common to see this logo on US products.

FLO logo (above) mostly used for European products.

But what about the thousands of products in our marketplace that are not even eligible for this certification? How do we know if something is fair trade? Well, it turns about there is another organization, Fair Trade Federation www.fairtradefederation.org, which evaluates companies (and not products) for their fair trade practices and commitment to social responsibility. Members of Fair Trade Federation have a demonstrated commitment to social responsibility, fair trade and worker rights. Members of FTF are also allowed to use the FTF logo (here). In addition to FTF, companies can also be evaluated by the World Fair Trade Organization (www.wfto.org).

Fair Trade Federation (FTF) Logo featured above. FTF evaluates companies as fair trade (not products).

Back to Fair Trade the Whitehouse… There are still countless products in the American marketplace that are made under unfair, exploitative working conditions by American or other companies overseas. These entities often  make no long-term investments in these economically marginalized regions of the world from which they are extracting inexpensive labor. This model is very short-term oriented and does not address the long term health and development of these communities. By being more cognizant of where and how our products are made, and choosing to support fair, ethical and sustainable products, we can make a very powerful difference. It may sound simple, but when each of our choices add up, it can make a world of difference. That is precisely why we are asking the White House to consider this as well, since the Obama household has the power to influence so many of us.

Photosource: Whitehouse.gov

Mrs. Obama has already demonstrated a remarkable sense of public service, compassion and charisma at the Whitehouse. With her powerful voice, Michelle has the ability to lead by example (and has already done so!). From her Whitehouse “community” organic garden (involving local city kids), to her support for military families, enthusiasm for increasing national service, and prioritizing her family above all, she is the ideal role model for all. Beyond her accomplishments too is her incredible sense of style: seamless and natural, something we here at Green Cotton appreciate!

So what better person to take on the goal of creating a more fair and just marketplace in America? To help Michelle along in her decision, the campaign is furnishing her with some Fair Trade products to sample and see for her self. During the coming months, the campaign will gather as many online signatures from consumers and organizations as possible to show the First Lady the momentum and support of the fair trade movement.

So check out all the supporting companies and retail shops as well as individuals and other non profits who have already backed the movement on www.fairtradewhitehouse.com. The campaign also offers coupons to some of these great companies like Equal Exchange, Respect Fair Trade Sports and others.

Join in this important initiative by inviting the First Lady to declare the White House a “Fair Trade Home” and help promote the movement. Simply click on the website and sign your letter too! It only takes 10 seconds! Fair trade the Whitehouse has some great materials to print off and distribute, so get them today and start spreading the word! Thank you Anti-body for initiating this great cause.

Source: Fair Trade White House

Created by SUST, a sustainable eco-label, the “Sustainability Across America Tour” (SAAT) journey is to discover the roots of the movement, to meet the people who are the motor behind this lifestyle, industry experts, specialty clothing boutiques and friends along the way, which will be shared via social media like Twitter and Facebook as well as at their blog, getsust.

The “Sustainability Across America” tour is co-sponsored by a host of amazing companies from across the United States: EcoSalon, cmarchuska, Indigenous Designs, I love Ryann, Restore Clothing and Guayaki Yerba Matte tea.

The trip will serve not only to increase awareness of the SUST brand, but act as a grassroots marketing effort to create connections at the store level and garner a greater knowledge about how real Americans view words like “organic” and “sustainable.”

In an interview for the website Eco salon, Laura Jones, SUST’s brand ambassador hopes “ this journey will help promote the collaborative energy that fuels the sustainable movement. The movement itself seems like a very high-level, ethereal concept, but the reality is that it’s individual people, working to build and change the way we think and live. This trip is an effort to extend the hand, to engage our community and to build friendships so that together we can all help one another thrive and achieve in our efforts towards a common goal.”

She sees the future of sustainable design as “already going mainstream, continually making inroads into the fashion industry with something that not only feels good and has a sense of style, but is better for the environment as well”.

On Wednesday, July 22nd 2009, “Sustainability Across America” kicked off its national tour with a visit to Indigenous Designs in their beautiful solar powered office space in Santa Rosa, California.

Scott Leonard, CEO of Indigenous Designs explains that Indigenous is not simply a business, but part of a movement that is reshaping the way the world works. Scott has been immersed in the green movement for over 15 years and he gets to business setting us SAAT members on the right path, showing us the ins and outs of the industry.

The first SAAT stop was made at Northern California’s Redwoods National Park. The National Park Service is engaged in an extensive watershed restoration project to increase the longevity of this ecosystem, restoring the hillsides and stream channels to their natural condition before the construction of logging roads prior to the establishment of the park.

Then they went to Crater Lake National park (Oregon), Rogue Breweries (Newport Oregon), Toujours boutique (handmade jewelry and organic cotton hand-spun products) (Nye Beach Oregon). In Portland, they met Aysia Wright of Green Loop to talk about her history with Organic Fashion, they went to Umpqua Hot Springs outside of Diamond Lake in the Toketee Forest, they caught a windsurfing competition in the Columbia River Gorge…

It is just the beginning (Started August 6th), the tour will last 3 months. Haven’t heard any new updates yet, but stay tuned for more as the tour goes on…..maybe SAAT will stop at Green Cotton headquarters in MA?