A pack with “modular” features

July 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Designed to be easy to disassemble and reassemble, the “Pack” System by Alei Verspoor is one smart eco-friendly item, one which challenges the finite lifespan of a given fabric-based bag.

Just as how Lego building blocks are used in creating various shapes and structures, the Pack is basically a travel carryall that comes with “modular” features, allowing users to easily and readily swap individual Pack components in having a bag that is suitable for whatever needs are.


Apart from boasting the container utility of bags, the Pack’s components can double as a form of portable cushioning for comfortable seating, and is also a space saver, with its built-for-storage convention.

“Each of the Pack components is made of one material and has one function, which makes it easy to replace, repair, and recycle components when they are worn out or when you want a different look,” shares Verspoor, referring to the modular dynamic ascribed by the “Pack” System.

“[Patterns are creating] through the construction of the product,” he further shares.

With the Pack, a frequent traveler won’t ever need to constantly buy carryalls or bags, since the Pack is versatile and dynamic in itself. Need a bigger bag? The Pack can be assembled to be bigger. Need a smaller pack? The Pack could be configured to be small too.

By being a multi-utility travel carryall, the “Pack” is pretty much sustainable in itself, a bag that stands to be the only one a traveler would ever have need of. Matched with its extended functionality highlights, the “Pack” also gives its users an edge, beyond the requirements often required from bags and backpacks.

In its simple ingenuity, the “Pack” is one product which leads many to think, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Filed Under: Bags, Buying Organic Accessories Tagged With: , , , , ,

PowerCloth’s Power

July 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Developed by Exotic Solar, the PowerCloth 1G is an interesting innovation, designed as a “wearable solar-power generator” which users or wearers can utilize as a portable power source for charging portable smart devices.

Made with flexible and ultra-light variants of the board-like photovoltaic solar panels, the PowerCloth G1 can yield a power output close to 700 milliamperes, and can easily charge a standard mobile phone or portable device in three hours time.


A complementary accessory for the PowerCloth G1 comes in a 1,800 milliampere/hour battery pack (lithium-ion), which allows users to use the device to power gadgets and LED lamps at night.

Exotic Solar worked with nanotechnology researchers based in the University of Utah in developing the PowerCloth G1’s flexible solar panels. High-efficiency solar cells were embedded into polymer matrixes, then reinforced with grapheme and fibergralls, making the panels pliable yet sturdy.

Weighing less than 3 ounces, the PowerCloth G1 is truly lightweight, and can be effectively worn over shirts or backpacks. The cloth element of PowerCloth G1 can be separated from its solar cell element, allowing users to easily wash the product without risking any water damage to its electric components.

“Sun gives us tremendous amount of energy every day,” shares Surabhi Pandey, CEO, Exotic Solar.

“If we can convert even a tiny part of that into useful electricity, it will fulfill all our electricity needs. This is the promise, riding on which photovoltaic industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing industry in the world.”

As an eco-friendly apparel accessory, the PowerCloth G1 by Exotic Solar takes on a different approach in the ideals of eco-friendly and sustainable fashion and apparel products.

Filed Under: Buying Organic Clothes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Fashioning Change’s “Green Shopping Intervention”

July 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Launched last fall, Fashioning Change has done solid initiatives and programs primed by its “green shopping intervention” advocacies and focus areas.

With its “Wear This, Not That” platform, Fashioning Change continues to do what it can in helping fashionistas and everyday clothing and apparel consumers in making better choices when it comes to deciding which fashion product to buy.

Basically, “Wear This, Not That” is a web-based application portal, one which is positioned to compare two different products which sport similar cuts and styles.


Not only comparing products in terms of price, it also jots down details pertaining to a given item’s eco-friendly status, keen on defining what sustainable materials were used in its making, as well as accurate in noting the “downsides” a non-eco-friendly product is known to come with.

Also, “Wear This, Not That” looks into a given brand’s environmental and social initiatives, programs and campaigns, and also identifies its certifications roster, to better help its users make solid decisions over which fashion item to opt for.

With an estimated 140 million subscribed online shoppers, Fashioning Change puts fashion-forward brands in the limelight, not only doing its part in advocating the best practice of sustainable product development, but also helping on-the-rise brands reach broader followers.

Given the now significance and relevance of online shopping practices, Fashioning Change, via “Wear This, Not That”, maximizes the interactive information awareness capacities of the internet, in pushing its advocacies for new standards in the creation of eco-friendly fashion and apparel products.

If you feel you’re missing out on what is truly eco-friendly or not, Fashioning Change’s “Wear This, Not That” is one place you’ve got to drop by.

Filed Under: Buying Organic Clothes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Orgava – Made in Cleveland

July 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Positioned as an eco-friendly children’s clothing line, Orgava recently celebrated its launch, spearheaded by Cleveland-area based women who took it upon themselves to do something for the environment and children’s fashion industry.

Headed by Foroozan Alaeddini, Orgava is a play of the words “organic” and “Ava”, the name of Alaeddini’s daughter, and is positioned as a brand which resolves parental woes pertaining to poor construction and bad cuts/fits when it comes to clothing options for girls.


Featuring a line of kids’ wear sporting timeless sophisticated designs, Orgava is intent on churning out functional yet chic children’s wear items which are built under eco-friendly standards and conventions. Locally produced, Orgava’s products are made to withstand the rigors of rough wear and regular washing, with seams and worn-out fabric areas NOT readily breaking apart after short periods of time.

“We wanted to create a high-end look for girls that’s super comfortable and easy for them to wear,” shares Alaeddini, who maintains Orgava with Kent State University Fashion School graduate, Amanda Cowsert.

Utilizing renewable resources like tagua nuts as buttons, Orgava opts for the use of sustainable fabrics and natural dyes or pigments, and sources materials locally, thereby not only coming up with quality eco-friendly children’s fashion wear items, but also contributes to the continued economic growth of local suppliers of eco-friendly and sustainable materials.

Though currently specializing on the creation of children’s wear items for girls, Orgava is well in the position to cater to other eco-fashion markets, and isn’t closed to the idea of extending its product line to include women’s and men’s wear.

For now, parents in search for quality organic fashion items for their girls can find great finds in Orgava.

Filed Under: Buying Organic Clothes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Ecotece’s Endeavors

July 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As an organization, Ecotece is one which addresses the issues and concerns of eco-fashion and eco-fashion standards, delving into the important aspect in any organized endeavor – information and awareness dissemination.

Established by Brazilian journalist Ana Candida Zanesco, Ecotece’s primary operational directive is to inform people how to dress consciously, working with other organizations and partners in announcing the environmental benefits of opting for eco-safe fabrics and eco-safe lifestyle products.


Its logo, made of a tree with leaves shaped like a butterfly, ascribes the “everything is interconnected” system, which is essentially the primary “moral lesson” which Ecotece is trying to impart. What we choose to wear affects the quantity on which they are made, which in turn affects the ecology’s balance, one way or another.

Developing projects and programs geared in endorsing and promoting eco-fashion, Ecotece is also at the forefront of campaigning for better eco-friendly fabric and textile construction initiatives, along with advocating the eco-sustainable causes initiated by other equally eco-sensible organizations.

To date, the organization has successfully translated the PAN UK video touching up on the benefits of organic cotton, and has also authored and compiled a glossary of information covering principles and concepts related to “green living”.

With Brazil’s 170 million population mark, Ecotece has done well in spreading awareness related to eco-fashion, and also offers apparel products (like shirts and jewelry) in furthering the organization’s aims and goals.

As an organization, Ecotece helps Brazil better understand the value in going eco-sensible, in an effort to greatly reduce the toxins and chemicals introduced into the atmosphere via non-organic clothing production norms.

Filed Under: Buying Organic Clothes Tagged With: , , , , ,

The EFF’s Source Awards 2012

July 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The final application deadline for the Ethical Fashion Forum-organized Source Awards 2012 is slated to happen on July 31, 2012.

Brands boasting eco-friendly standards in the creation of fashion and apparel products are encouraged to take part in this year’s Source Awards, which remains to be one of the world’s most respected awards for ethical fashion.

Free to enter and not limited to business organizations, the Source Awards also calls for individuals who are engaged in the design, development and release of eco-friendly products.


Steered by the Ethical Fashion Forum, this year’s Source Awards highlights includes categories touching up on brand leadership over men’s/women’s/children’s wear, design innovation, individual contribution, manufacturing and retail processes/operations.

As an award, the Source Awards recognizes the most inspirational and most innovative individuals, business organizations and/or initiatives which are inclined to further propel the eco-sensible and eco-sustainable standards in the fashion industry.

Not just an award positioned to merit brands with aesthetic medals, the Source Awards represents the growing concern and active involvement of various players in the fashion and apparel industry, focusing on the overall impact and future implications linked with the ecologically unstable and unsafe production sites and manufacturing standards.

Given the fact that sustainable standards in the development of fashion items are relevant and important in keeping Mother Earth’s ecologic balance in check, the Source Awards recognizes and gives due merit to those who are constantly innovating and finding environmentally safer and better ways of producing fashion products.

With the increasing demand for clothing and accessories items, going eco-friendly stands to be a choice which fashion industry players have to think about, given the potential damage it could cause if left unchecked.

More than just an award, the Source Award is a bastion that stands up for Mother Earth.

Filed Under: Buying Organic Clothes, Kids, Men, Women Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Fjäll Raven’s Novel Award Winning Jacket

July 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Winning the Novel Award during the Outdoor Trade Show, a membrane jacket developed by outdoor wear specialist Fjäll Raven recently bagged a number of accolades, defining the award as one which isn’t just in honor of the said jacket’s impressive features and eco-friendly construction standards, but also honors the new standards of waterproofing clothing items with fluorine-free finishes.

Developed by Rudolf Chemie, the Bionic-Finish Eco standard was ascribed as a winning point in the jacket’s awarding, which works with hyper-branched polymers in effectively waterproofing certain fabrics and textiles without the utilization of fluorine.


Simply put, Rudolf Chemie’s Bionic-Finish Eco replicates a “branched system” or structure found in plants, utilizing wax-like residues in effectively waterproofing certain fibers. Working on a system that is similar to who lotus leaves are structured, the technology is rapidly gaining a lot of attention, given its eco-friendly upsides over the older ascribed norms of making fabrics and textiles water repellent.

With waterproofing being an often looked for feature-factor in outdoor wear products, the utilization of flurosurfactants has been an old standard, one which is known to potentially yield PFOS and PFOA by-products.

A fluorine-free solution comes as great news for brands or products which require waterproofing technologies, sans the environmental implications associated with their construction.

Known to have negative impact in the accumulation of bio-toxics in aquatic ecosystems and in the overall environment, the concern of PFOS and PFOA getting into the environment is greatly reduced with fluorine-free standards, practically bringing up a “win-win” scenario, where products which should be waterproof remain to be waterproof, as the environment remains to be free from damaging pollutants and toxins.

Filed Under: Buying Organic Clothes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Lenzing’s MicroModal Edelweiss Review

July 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Implementing an environmentally sound and safe production process, Arula Textile Solutions and Hermann Bühler AG are the first manufacturers to come up with production-grade samples of Lenzing’s MicroModal Edelweiss, a type of fabric/fiber which features impressive softness and color brilliance without any eco downsides.

Similarly performing with Lenzing’s conventional Modal fibers, the MicroModal Edelweiss is produced under chemical process terms which don’t require the involvement of oxygen, which translates to better environmental implications. With more brilliant colors and with softer end results, the fiber is pegged to be the material of choice which suits best with the special ecological requirements of certain brand names and their followers.


“Throughout the entire production process, attention can be paid to environmental protection,” shares Andreas Dorner of Lenzing.

“This technology combined with environmental advantages, such as carbon-neutrality, a low need for land and a replenishable raw material of natural origins, makes Lenzing Modal Edelweiss truly an ecological fibre,” Dorner further shares.

With the popularity of Lenzing’s products, the release and production standards of the MicroModal Edelweiss is one which comes as great news for the eco-friendly fashion and clothing industries.

Lenzing’s Tencel and Modal, among its cellulosic-type fibers, have been phenomenal successes, with their demand figures having tripled since year 2000, found being utilized in the creation of various roducts, from home textiles, sportswear products (blended variations) and children’s clothing.

With the rising demand for Lenzing’s Modal fiber, the new MicroModal Edelweiss promises to make a difference in the fiber production industry, with eco-sensibility being at the core of its production’s operational flow and dynamic.

Filed Under: Buying Organic Clothes, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Wiltshire by Kempton & Co. – Best Green Handbag of 2012

July 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Wiltshire by Kempton & Co had recently made waves in eco-friendly handbag and accessories arena, bagging the “Best Green Handbag” award during the successful course of the 6th Annually held Independent Handbag Designer Awards.

Designed by Fiona Kempton, the Wiltshire is essentially a carryall tote for women, with design sensibilities inspired by Europe’s equestrian fields. Made to be rugged yet chic at the same time, the Wiltshire is made utilizing reclaimed fabrics and materials, with reused leather straps and recycled flour sacks being the bag’s primary materials.


Handbag “hardware” elements were taken from Salvation Army purses in completing the handbag’s complete from, which pretty much bears an over all similarity with the saddle bags of old, sans the drabby designs and hard-rough textiles often used in their making.

A perfect combination of femininity and ruggedness, the Wiltshire does indeed stand out from the rest, with cuts, trims and an overall form which makes one think the item was made with brand new materials.

Timberland, being co-sponsor to the prize category of the event, will be featuring a limited number of Kempton’s products in a number of its stores in the upcoming months. Also, Timberland will be highlighting Timberland products (through the Earthkeepers brand) designed by Kempton, primarily highlighting handbags in a capsule collection.

As an eco-friendly handbag, the Wiltshire is one which remains to be a stellar example of art and eco-sensibility put into one. With its simple multi-purpose construction and its integration and utilization of Earth tones, it is a handbag which can be used in various occasions, from family gatherings to company outings to the beach.

As an eco-friendly handbag, the Wiltshire inspires the eco-friendly industry in the creation of quality products that are superior inside and out.

Filed Under: Bags, Buying Organic Accessories Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Fabrics as Power Sources for Electronics

July 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Though not exactly something which can be described as made with organic materials, Xiaodong Li and post-doctoral associate Lihong Bao of the University of South Carolina are exploring the potential of fabrics as power sources for low-power devices such as mobile phones.

“We wear fabric everyday. One day, our cotton t-shirts could have more functions: for example, a flexible energy device that could charge your cell phone or your iPad,” shares Li, pertaining to the work he is developing with Bao.


Li, Bao and the rest of the team have invested studies and research pertaining to the extended functional aspects of clothing items, delving into its potential as a power source for charging the batteries of mobile consumer electronics.

With one study utilizing a regular t-shirt purchased from a discount venue, the researchers had immersed the shirt in a fluoride solution, followed by drying and baking it at high temperature degrees, ensuring that oxygen wasn’t present in the baking process to prevent the fabric from burning up.

The result, as viewed through an infrared spectroscopy, leaves behind a fabric with activated carbon, yet maintains its inherent material flexibility. With activated carbon on textiles acting like double-layer capacitors or supercapacitors, the fabrics are promising as energy storage mediums, given the fact that such capacitors can accumulate and store high energy densities.

Though far from being done, Li and Bao’s research promises a lot of upsides in the utility of fabrics, making them more than just items for protection against the elements, but also items of utility which wearers will find truly handy.

All in all, what Li and Bao are looking into is developing a shirt that can be used to charge a mobile phone.

How convenient is that?

Filed Under: Buying Organic Clothes, News Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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