| 用户名： | ||
| 密 码： | ||
News & Blogs
‘Ecopreneurs’ see green in green(2)
‘Ecopreneurs’ see green in green
By Starre Vartan
KATE GOLDWATER, AUH2O
Kate Goldwater credits the success of her 2 1/2-year-old boutique, where she sells her own creations, to "connections, connections, connections." Fashion design and boutiquery are notoriously cutthroat industries, and Kate says she has survived and flourished by getting a little help from her friends.
"I asked friends who were in business school for assistance with my business plan, law student friends for legal advice, I got journalism student friends to write about my store and handy friends to help me build and drill," she says. "My designer friends knew where to get cheap mannequins, and a friend that worked in retail sold me a second-hand cash register. People are pretty excited to help someone fulfill their dreams."
AuH2O -- chemistry-class shorthand for Kate’s last name -- is a small space on the Lower East Side of Manhattan packed with upcycled clothing made by Kate on site (so no worries about sweatshop labor). She uses existing material, usually old clothes, to create new designs, including dresses, skirts and tops for girls and shirts and ties (some made from recycled credit cards) for men.
But why not follow the traditional fashion designer route? A combination of creativity and passion for social justice led her to forge her own path.
"By about middle school I decided that i wanted to express my creativity with my appearance," Kate says. "I pierced my thumb nails, drew magic marker tattoos all over my body, and wrapped my hair in yarn and rubber bands. When I got a bit older I was a part of my school’s ’global action’ and ’students against social apathy’ clubs. I wrote a piece for our high school paper about how we should avoid buying new clothes altogether and only shop at thrift stores to take a stand against sweatshop labor. Making recycled clothing was my passion at a pretty young age."
While she was actively involved in a number of causes in college, including NARAL pro-choice NY and the Jewish Woman’s Archive in Boston, Kate says she found working at a desk job "capital B Boring" as much as she supported the causes.
"I needed to be doing something creative," Kate says.
Most recently she combined her political zeal with her creative and business sides during the Obama campaign, raising hundreds of dollars with a series of one-off T shirts and dresses emblazoned with Obama designs and three fashion shows.
"I design clothes for others like me: people who are unique, want to express their creativity, have strong political convictions and want to wear clothing that gives that first impression," Kate says.
ADAM NEIMAN, NO SWEAT APPAREL
Adam Nieman, CEO and co-founder of NoSweat Apparel, believes there is an intrinsic, natural connection between businesses who treat their workers well and solving environmental problems, which are rampant in the clothing industry. Water pollution from chemical dyes, energy-sucking production facilities and textile waste are issues that are only starting to be addressed by the industry, but Adam is working to keep his factories green and worker friendly.
“There’s an intimate connection between the exploitation of humans and the exploitation of nature," Adam says. "It’s simple: If humans are being exploited, are starving, they’re not going to worry about the spotted owl or global warming.”
Adam says he’s always been a political person, especially interested in labor issues, and that directly translates into the way he does business. No Sweat Apparel sells children’s, men’s and women’s casual clothing and outerwear that are all union-made, many from organic fabrics.
So why is his clothing company keeping its head above water while other retailers are collapsing in the current economy?
“I realized an entire generation that’s coming up now has been learning about sweatshop labor because teachers realize that they can teach the kids about geography, history, ethics and business in the context of what kids were already thinking about -- namely their own clothes," Adam says. "The new generation is going to want to see changes to the traditional ways of doing business.”
The interest in rightly made clothing is growing and will continue to do so, he says.
No Sweat Apparel’s newest product is the “Organic Bethlehem World of Love” T shirt, which is made from organic cotton and is produced at a sweatshop-free Palestinian-owned factory in the
Adam’s viewpoint on good stewardship of planet and fair treatment of people is hardly a new idea.
"Loving your neighbor as yourself is one of the cornerstones of the Torah, and that absolutely extends to how you would treat your workers and also how you treat the environment," Adam says. "The first labor laws recorded in history are in the Torah.”
A Chinese professional casual clothing/wear manufacturer and supplier, Tongli specializes in producing men’s and women’s casual wear,fashion clothing,sportswear,children’s clothes,suit jackets,shirts,trousers,etc. Welcom to : http://casualwear.bokee.net
More related articles:
Ecopreneurs’ see green in green
China: Smart casual may be answer to tough times
Ninth China’s Casual Wear Fair shall be Held
A winning suit trumps job market
What not to wear to an IT job interview
SHAXI: Enhance the Latitude of China Casual Dress Industry
China: Smart casual may be answer to tough times
Uniqlo Launches Casual Clothes Shop At Selfridges In February 2009