Oakes is as appealing as the products she represents. In addition to her creative input, she has put her stamp of ap- proval on both Portico Home + Spa linens and bath products and Payless ShoeSource’s zoe&zac line of shoes and hand- bags. Oakes also is working with Modo on a collection of recycled eyewear under its Eco brand, which she notes will be tied in with some of her personal reforestation and sus- tainable design projects worldwide. Her work with Aveeno on its Be An Active Natural Campaign supports the message that small changes can add up to a big difference. She sometimes blogs about her experiences at


SummerRayne.net; a recent post explained how she chooses which Earth-friendly companies she’ll support. “An engaging partnership is a critical component for me to [be] a spokes- person,” she writes. “On countless occasions, I have had to turn down offers if the partnership didn’t seem suitable. But how exciting it is to find brands that are ready to step up to the challenge and have the spirit, resources and energy to make meaningful change happen from the inside out.”


Eco-Fashion Trends


Oakes’ timing in applying her passions and skills to the green and clean marketplace is apt. Global retail sales of organic cotton apparel and home textile products reached an estimated $4.3 billion in 2009, up 35 percent over the year before, according to the latest research from Organic Exchange’s Organic Cotton Market Report, and the market is expected to continue to grow. Organic Exchange projected a 20 to 40 percent jump in both 2010 and 2011, which could result in a $6 billion market this year. Oakes supports the industry via Source4Style.com, a


forum she recently co-founded to connect designers with sustainable material suppliers from around the world. A fi- nalist for the prestigious Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, it already has been frequented by the likes of fashion de- signer Christian Siriano. Oakes is not alone—other celebri- ties and designers like Bono, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood have added their voices in raising awareness of the importance of socially and environmentally conscious fashion.


Oakes has modeled for such industry giants as Levi


Strauss, Payless, Replay Jeans and others, but her activism and modeling have also allowed her to branch out into other industries. She says that her bestselling book, Style, Natu- rally: The Savvy Shopping Guide to Sustainable Fashion and Beauty, is aimed at, “... women that love style, but may not have ‘environment’ in their lexicon,” and serves as, “an irreverent, witty guide for green virgins.” “Sustainable design will continue to evolve,” she says.


“Ten years ago, there were only a handful of designers oper- ating in the industry. Now, most companies are asking how it can be authentically built into the core of their business.” How will that happen? “First, they have to believe and embody it.”


Kristin J. Bender is a freelance writer based in the San Francisco Bay area.


Green Chic


Earth-Friendly, Feel-Good Fabrics by S. Alison Chabonais


I


nnovation is shaping every facet of the eco-fashion industry—from organic crop standards, energy-efficient production, local sourcing, community reinvesting and


fair trade, to the recycling of excess fabric and other materi- als and repurposing used garments. Yet, half of all textile fibers still come from conven- tional cotton, which soaks up a quarter of all agrochemi- cals and insecticides sprayed on the planet, reports Paul Hawken in Natural Capitalism – Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. Cotton also requires 2,600 gallons of water for every pound grown. Other natural fabric plant fibers are much less resource- intensive. Here are some clues about what to look for.


BAMBOO: This versatile and self-replenishing grass yields a luxuriously soft fabric.


HEMP: A somewhat coarser plant, hemp is best when blended with other fibers, like cotton and silk.


JUSI and PIÑA: Jusi comes from banana silk. Piña is made from pineapple leaves. Both textiles originated in the Philippines.


KENAF: From hibiscus grown in Asia and Africa, kenaf blends well with other fibers. It feels similar to hemp or jute.


LINEN: A classic material derived from the flax plant, linen won’t stick to skin and dries quickly.


LYOCELL: Includes a range of soft fabrics comprised of cellulose fibers, but is still subjected to chemical process- ing such as bleaching. It has cotton-like characteristics. Also known as Tencel, seacell (using seaweed) or modal (from beechwood pulp).


ORGANIC COTTON: U.S. organic cotton planting was up 12 percent in 2010 over 2009, from 10,521 to 11,827 acres, according to the Organic Trade Association. Farm- ers project an increase of 1,513 acres over the next five years, depending on demand.


RAMIE: Made from a flowering, woody plant in the nettle family, the fibrous texture feels softest when blended with organic cotton or wool. It has linen-like characteristics, such as durability.


RECYCLED POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET): Gives new purpose to used plastic bottles or old poly- ester clothing. Appears in fleece-like fabrics and is also reincarnated in the soles of shoes.


SILK: Silk delivers elegant effects when used alone or combined with other fibers. This durable protein fiber is obtained from the cocoons of silkworms, harvested before the caterpillar metamorphoses into a moth. Wild silk, or peace silk, waits for the silkworm to emerge alive.


Primary source: Style, Naturally, by Summer Rayne Oakes natural awakenings September 2011 21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40