Romi Hoodie by Edun
Edun was launched in spring 2005 by Ali Hewson and Bono. Their aim was to create a not-for-profit socially conscious clothing company operating under the premise of trade, not aid as a means to helping communities. This means they are helping to build sustainable communities rather than just continually handing out aid money etc. They help work with factories in a number of countries including India, Peru, Tunisia, Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho, Mauritius and Madagascar.
The item pictured is their Romi Hoodie and is made from 100% organic cotton and made in Peru. These are high fashion items worn around the world with ranges for women, men and kids. Simple t-shirts through to jeans and dresses for women and jeans, shorts and collared shirts for men.
They have an online store or the clothes are available at many retail outlets around the world. Buying these clothes helps support the sustainability of local economies where they are able to learn to provide for themselves once they are given the world stage to show their products. Edun helps facilitate this.
More information available at Edun
Reef Loom Belt
Reef make more than just cool clothing and footwear, they have some great accessories. These types of products often get produced for very little cost and are view more as marketing tools and extra sales items. Fortunately some companies take their responsibilities seriously and look at the construction of these with as uch importance as their regular lines. The Loom belt from Reef is an example.The main part of the belt is made from 100% woven burlap and held together with 100% hemp webbing. Not much else to say about this one as belts are a pretty basic product that perform a very important task. It’s difficult to be active when your jeans are around your ankles, unless you’re talking about…Further details about the Loom belt at the Reef website.
Aaron Chang Swimwear
It makes sense that photographer and surfer Aaron Chang wants to look after the environment because he makes his living from it and with surfing, also spends his downtime enjoying it. The apparel company he co-founded makes a range of eco-friendly swimwear and clothing.The products are made from recycled polyester yarns that were originally items like the plastic bottles you recycled after enjoying your favourite drink. More products are now being made from recycled PET as the technology makes it more efficient to utilise them. No more throwing them in the rubbish can and ending up as landfill or floating around in our river systems. Organic cotton is another raw material used throughout the range. Traditional cotton, whilst it may be ‘natural’ is harmful in the way it is grown when organic principles are not followed. In addition to damaging the environment the processes can also be harmful to the people living near the cotton growing areas. Following organic processes means less harm to the soil and the end result being the ground is in the same condition as before the cotton was grown.Having a look through the range you can see a surf inspired theme to the swimwear and coverups. Functional, appealing and easy on the environment make it a good choice.More of the range at the Aaron Chang website.
Rip Curl Planet
Rip Curl’s foray into the eco-friendly market is more a case of dipping their toe in the water rather than a fully fledged effort. Hopefully this will change as they improve their sourcing and manufacturing processes. As they say on their website, organic materials are more expensive and their isn’t the variety of fabrics. That said, they are making an effort through their Planet range which consists of products made with more than 50% eco-friendly materials.
Most of the t-shirts are 100% organic and goes down to 55% organic for the mountainwear technical multi-layer products. The Planet label also covers products in their boardshorts, pants, hoodies, jackets, footwear and accessories lines. These products aren’t separated as a separate line, just incorporated into the other lines and labelled accordingy. So look out for the Planet label when buying your Rip Curl stuff.
The Planet idea also extends to other parts of the Rip Curl business. For example, they actively recycle old wetsuits and event banners turning them into beanbags and they try to make the events they sponsor greener by using recycled paper, reducing the use of disposable plastic and limiting or partially offsetting Carbon Dioxide emissions for their riders and event organisers.
The European Rip Curl website has heaps more information.
RE:VOLVE Apparel
RE:VOLVE Apparel wants to leave a better and more peaceful world for future generations. Part of the way they do this is by donating a portion of their revenues to projects such as the Waterkeeper Alliance and Peace Alliance. The other way they do it is by using only sustainable materials and production processes in the manufacture of their apparel.
What is even better with RE:VOLVE is that they have some really great looking clothes. Many of them have an in your face message on them such as the Start Global Cooling t-shirt and there are less obvious with the Distressed Dove. Thier products are made from 100% organic cotton adhering to the fair trade principles meaning they are caring for the current generation as well as the future ones.
Check out all the apparel for men and women the RE:VOLVE website.
Planet Earth Green Label
Planet Earth Green Label is a collection of apparel including jeans, t-shirts, wovens/knits, shorts hats and other accessories. Products are made from materials such as organic cottons, hemp and in the case of their trunks, there’s even some old recycled plastic (PET) bottles. So next time you down a bottle of your favourite drink think about recycling the container as you might just end up wearing it later.Check out the entire range of clothing at the Planet Earth Green Label website.
