Meet Fashion’s Cool New Wave of Sustainable Chic Designers Inline
Photo: Courtesy of Behno1/6Behno
Provenance: New York City by way of Gujarat, India
Mission: Spurred into action by the 2013 Rana Plaza garment factory tragedy in Bangladesh, founder Shivam Punjya set out to reinvent the model for clothing production in the developing world. The company’s factory, created in partnership with an Indian nonprofit organization, provides fair wages and comfortable conditions for the workers who create its crisp, sustainably sourced tailoring.
Photo: Courtesy of Voz2/6Voz
Provenance: Brooklyn
Mission: Jasmine Aarons seeks to empower skilled craftspeople both at home and abroad with her label, whose name means "voice" in Spanish. Her collectsions center around ceremonial textiles made of organic and vegetable-dyed materials hand-woven by indigenous Mapuche women in Chile, which are then tailored in New York City. Spring’s airy sweaters, meanwhile, were hand-knitted by women’s collectsives in Peru.
Photo: Courtesy of Osei-Duro3/6Osei-Duro
Provenance: Los Angeles and Accra, Ghana
Mission: Molly Keogh and Maryanne Mathias produce their line entirely in Ghana, providing fair employment for skilled tailors and artisans. Traditional African block-print textiles lend depth and texture to their breezy SoCal silhouettes.
Photo: Courtesy of Suzanne Rae4/6Suzanne Rae
Provenance: Brooklyn
Mission: Suzanne Rae Pelaez considers everything from carbon footprints to female empowerment in her “slow fashion” approach. Made in New York City’s Garment District, her modern, utilitarian silhouettes utilize mostly natural materials and are designed with longevity in mind. The line has partnered with various charity organizations including Girls Inc., which teaches girls how to sew; WIN, a homeless shelter for women; and the Endangered Species Coalition.
Photo: Courtesy of Base Range5/6Base Range
Provenance: Toulouse, France
Mission: Eco-wise, these streamlined wardrobe essentials and intimates created by Marie-Louise Mogensen and Blandine Legait are as good as it gets. Many of the line’s organic cotton, bamboo, and linen tees; swimwear; and signature bralettes are produced without dye to reduce water and chemical consumption; the rest gain their color from Oeko-Tex or GOTS-certified (in other words, nontoxic) formulas. And everything is produced at small, family-owned factories in Portugal and Turkey.
Photo: Courtesy of Studio One Eighty Nine6/6Studio One Eighty Nine
Provenance: New York City by way of Africa (and beyond)
Mission: Cofounded by Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, this Africa-centric online platform is part fashion brand, part e-commerce site, part online magazine, part marketing agency, and an all-around social justice powerhouse. The print-centric Africa-produced house line, Fashion Rising Collection, has already been picked up by Opening Ceremony, while collaborations sold on the site include scarves up-cycled from old sweaters created with the organization Shine On Sierra Leone and textured bags incorporating used aluminum ring pulls by Bottletop, a project that supports health education for young people worldwide.
