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Green gorgeousness

Home » Blog » Sarah Heeringa » Green gorgeousness

Dressing in an eco friendly manner doesn’t mean you have to dress in a shapeless hemp sack or limit yourself to only wearing lima bean jewellery—though you can if it works for you!

There are all sorts of ways to put together an eco-friendly look that is as gorgeous as it is green. It’s all about making better choices, and often that means looking no futher that at some of New Zealand's many talented designers.

When the Goodies stepped out at last night’s 2010 Magazine Publishing Awards they did so with a far bit of eco glamour.

Sarah enjoyed a bit of yesteryear style in a stunning velvet and silk swing coat from Tamsin Cooper. As an extra treat she'd had her hair styled by the lovely Tricia Mathews at the eco salon Stephen Marr

Tamsin's Winter 2010 range  includes nipped-in waisted styles dress coats, swing, opera, evening and fitted—each one embellished with details such as soft velvet roses, delicate beading, hand-stitched sequins and divine vintage-style embroidery. Tamsin's aim is to create garments with qualities that made them worth keeping for a long time, not just following passing fashions. 

Tamsin's designs combine western aesthetics with traditional Vietnamese workmanship—much of which is done by artisans using techniques that have been passed down for generations. An important aspect of Tamsin’s business is keeping these traditional crafts alive. When she last visited Vietnam, she was told that her business is now providing enough work that the women in the village have a choice.  They can stay and work in villages as opposed to travelling four hours to work in factories in the city.

Trading with a conscience is also important and the company donates a percentage of  profits to the New Zealand Viet Nam Health Trust.    

Annabel was dressed in a fabulous black 'Glide on the Wind' dress from Starfish’s 2010 Winter collection. “The dress was wonderful to dance in,” says Annabel. “The little frills lifted and fluttered made me want to spin around like a kid.” Even her high heels were super-sustainable in vegetable-dyed leather and recycled materials, from Terra Plana (also available at Starfish shops).

Look out for Starfish’s winter sales, on now.

Cherie was dressed in a coral coloured Kimono Dress from Miranda Brown’s Winter 2010 range. A piece of timeless elegance, this beautiful New Zealand-made hand dyed shibori silk can be worn in many ways; over tights, with leggings pants and layered over tops or throw a shawl over your shoulders in the winter. Draw the waist tie forward or to the back to create your fit.

Called ‘Planting the Seed’, the collection features Miranda Brown’s artwork representing the connection all humans have to nature. A donation from this collection will be directed to Enviroschools.

"I really loved wearing the dress and enjoyed plenty of compliments on the night!" says Cherie.

Eco-glamour gals: Sarah in Tamsin Cooper velvet, Annabel's in Starfish frills; and Good subs manager Cherie wears Miranda Brown


Quick tips for an eco wardrobe:

  • Aim to buy fewer, better pieces and look for quality, classically-styled clothes that have been designed to last
  • Look for anything made with fair trade or organic fabric
  • Avoid short-lived fads and fashions or cheap clothes that are likely to have been made in sweatshops and with toxic chemicals and dyes
  • Support local labels with ethical lines of supply and those that donate a portion of their profits to charity
  • Mix new with old; combining new pieces with a few vintage or paper bag princess finds
  • Complete the look with ethically-sourced or vintage jewellery
  • Read more here

 

Comments

Sarah Tennant
 
Sat June 26, 2010 @ 10:44 AM
Where could I find a list of companies that don't use sweatshop labour? After reading a few eco-fashion books I don't trust anywhere any more, other than a few online shops who I've contacted to specifically ask. I've seen plenty of lists of companies in the USA that are good, bad or ugly... but no comparable list for NZ.

I did realise a year or so back that Pumpkin Patch uses MIC goods now. That doesn't necessarily mean sweatshops of course, but it's a shame - their goods used to be all made in NZ and made of cotton rather than synthetics, according to Mum!

Right now I'm pretty much avoiding new clothes altogether (shoes being the exception, as I can't make them or realistically find second-hand ones). I'm using op shops or making my own, preferably out of second-hand fabric; but it's consuming a lot of time and sometimes I do yearn to just walk into a shop and buy something, without worrying if my sewing skills will ruin the fabric or if that op shop smell will ever come out! It'd be nice to know which shops are ethical for those odd occasions...
Annabel McAleer
good.net.nz
 
Mon June 28, 2010 @ 09:47 AM
Hi Sarah

I feel your pain! It's impossible to tell in-store whether clothes are ethically manufactured (unless they have a fair trade or made-in-NZ label). For brands that just say 'made in China' (which of course doesn't automatically mean sweatshop, but we do know that labour laws in China don't do a great job of protecting workers), the only thing anyone can do is contact the brand's head office to question them about their manufacturing. The three questions that are usually recommended to ask are:
  1. How much are the people who make your clothes
    paid?
  2. What hours do they work?
  3. How often does the company visit the
    factory?
If you can get an answer out of them then you basically have to take them on their word -- but the more detailed the answers the more the company has clearly thought about these issues. (That's why third-party endorsements like Fairtrade and GOTS are so great!)

I have had a lot of trouble getting answers out of some major NZ brands -- emails are ignored and phone calls not returned -- which is a pretty clear indication that the head office doesn't know the answers. And if they don't know they answers I'd assume they're not asking those questions of their factories because they don't want to face the answers themselves.

Having said that, I haven't been in touch with any of the high street shops for over a year and these issues are much more mainstream now, so I will give it another go! If I get some positive responses then we'll publish a list in a future issue of the mag.

Thanks for your interest and for caring!
Annabel
Sarah Heeringa
 
Mon June 28, 2010 @ 03:18 PM
All helpful advice Annabel, and the good thing is once you've found a
local, ethical clothing label that you can support, it makes the whole
shopping experience much less fraught!

Another suggestion: The Good shopping Handbook is a
guide to green healthy and ethical products, including a number of
fashion and beauty products. Look out for the expanded second edition
with the December issue of Good.  
Holly Jean Brooker
www.urbanmac.co.nz
 
Tue June 29, 2010 @ 09:22 PM
Great to see ideas and options for eco clothing in NZ....on a completely shallow level you girls look absolutely fab in your eco gears!! well done!
Sarah Heeringa
 
Wed June 30, 2010 @ 10:55 AM

Happy to receive the compliment ... shallow or otherwise!

Jo Blundell
 
Tue July 13, 2010 @ 05:10 PM
Hi everyone,

If you're looking to shop for a range of labels by designers who demonstrate a social, ethical and environmental conscience, my website The Thread Loop features Starfish and Miranda Brown as well as a bunch of other cool labels which you can buy online.

We've marked each product with 'eco-icons' so you can see why we think it's a better environmental choice - we're hoping to be as transparent as poss!

We have more labels being added over the coming months so please do visit us and we really do welcome your feedback.

Kind regards,

Jo Blundell
Founder/Director
The Thread Loop

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