This week’s round up from some of the ECW ladies.

Enjoy!

Alternative Consumer
Sustainable designer Denise Rowcroft and her one-woman company, Lost & Found Art, takes reclaimed and salvaged items and transforms them into finely crafted pieces of art jewelry.
Read: Upcycled items become art jewellery

Green Cotton
Be Sweet and Eco-Chic for Valentine’s Day
Read: The Perfect Green Gift Guide for Your Sweetheart

Victoria Everman
An exclusive, in-depth interview with fashion design and Mountains of the Moon founder, Melissa Baswell.
Read: Interview with Melissa Baswell

Green Girls Global (That’s us!)
Learn some dress-making skills for the planet
Read: Self-sufficiency in your wardrobe

Grand Designs LIVE

The Grand Designs LIVE event in Birmingham (UK) this year will be featuring several seminars focusing on environmentally friendly building and design.

Running from 10th to 12th October these seminars will include talks on reducing the negative environmental impact on self-builds, the eco credentials of prefabricated houses and furnishing your home with eco interiors.

In fact friend of Green Girls Global and Treehugger editor Leonora Oppenheim will be speaking in the ‘Best Eco Footprint Forward’ debate.

For more details visit the Grand Designs LIVE website

The Big Debate Birmingham

Another eco event in Birmingham this Autumn is The Big Debate organised by Birmingham City University.

The debate on 15th September ‘Young leaders or green saviours?‘ considers the issues faced by up and coming managers in implementing green strategies in the workplace.

Visit The Big Debate Birmingham website for more details.

Green Girls Global will be taking a break this weekend ready for our re-launch on Monday 1st September.

Our new website will have a brand new look, features and opportunities for contributors. If you’d like to contribute to GGG or find out more then do get in touch.

So although you won’t be able to read any of our articles for a few days we’ll be back soon re-freshed and raring to go.

Green Guys Global is having the same treatment so do stop by and check out their site too!

Thank you for visiting and supporting us x

WARNING: This photo of regenerated cellulose can alter your mind.

A funny thing happened on my way to make the “greenest” tee on the planet. It is said that artists are like scientists, and in my case, it is fairly true. I am a process artist and love to learn how things are made, I like to start a project without a plan, study along the way and allow it to unfold “naturally.” I have an interest in methods and materials. I don’t ever claim to be an expert, as I run through the assorted worlds of chemistry, agriculture, and manufacturing.

When studying bamboo, and simultaneously worshipping it, finding facts was arduous. I desperately wanted to understand this “new” clothing fiber. Perhaps I put too much expectation on bamboo. I wanted bamboo to solve the world’s environmental problems. I wanted it to be the new genius invention that shows how smart we humans can be. And, because it a legal “cousin” to hemp, and grows in many regions, I viewed it as a new solution (for the USA at least.) I was committed to helping usher in bamboo fabric.

One day, I received a microscopic photo of bamboo fabric from a lab test that I initiated. Bamboo fabric is a regenerated cellulose, from the same process used to create rayon or viscose. The plant is broken down into a paste in order to push it through a spinneret to make thread. What I learned that day is that once a natural cellulose fiber is put through the regeneration process the very origin of the cellulose source is lost. To the chemist’s eye it is cellulose, which is abundant on the earth and found in trees, plants like hemp, cotton, jute and some grasses like bamboo. Where the regenerated cellulose came from cannot be known. Under the microscope, all regenerated cellulose has the same chemical and physical characteristics. At this point, it would only be logical to determine that any natural characteristics associated with a particular cellulose resource would also be lost. What I learned that day is that regenerated cellulose fabric can easily be made from bamboo, birch, beech, oak or pine! What?!

I ran into my husband’s wood shop and waved to him to stop cutting wood. I pointed to the bags of sawdust that tend to stack up at the door. “Honey, cellulose is cellulose! My tees could easily be made from your waste!” The thread in my tees could have easily been made from his sawdust. (What a great green idea for our future!)

Suddenly, in my eyes, my beloved bamboo fabric went from extraordinary to ordinary. Too sad for words. I had some personal decisions to make concerning my tee shirt company and my aim to be as green as possible. Yes, bamboo remains a great renewable cellulose resource and I still support it for some uses. The green question for me is, if I am to use regenerated cellulose, why use cellulose grown on the other side of the planet? I have cellulose sources all around me. Could I manage to take my decision to switch fabric publicly without confusion? I knew in my heart that with this new information the answer was not only apparent, but my integrity was tied to it. Needless to say, I immediately looked back into a local cellulose source, USA organic cotton (a soft fiber that doesn’t need to be regenerated.) I am happy to report that there is progress being made in styles, colors and the whole production from field to tee. I am now settling into a new place with my pursuit of a green tee.

This experience really gave me a jolt. I had been trying to get my art, my thoughts, on my tees and finally I was so moved that the “artist block” disappeared and words poured out. I have much to say and now can see my USA organic cotton tee as a blank canvas in need of some expression. I am just starting to make some strong points!

Nearly all of us have an object at home whose sentimental value far outweighs its worth in cold hard cash. And despite what some may say, savouring your precious object doesn’t make you a ‘Gollum’, and I think it is a really valuable characteristic; one that will help us all to make the most of what we have, and keep it that way for the future.

Most of us are already questioning how our lifestyle impacts on the planet; in particular our consumption of resources such as fossil fuels, food, clothing and household goods. I propose that one of the best ways to reduce our rate of consumption (particularly of personal and household goods) is to invest in objects of quality that last, that we can keep, and that we can share with others.

Having worked in the craft sector for 4 years now, opening Pure Design, an eco-design gallery earlier this year, I regularly visit craft fairs to scout for new eco-design talent. This week I met Amy, a maker who has set up an alternative luxury knitwear brand called ‘Keep & Share’. Her mission is to create a sustainable ‘slow fashion’ label, which seeks to reverse the effects of throwaway fashion by creating ‘best friend’ pieces that will transcend short-lived trends and age gracefully. I thought this was right on the money.

And the great news is, there are many more makers and designers who have a very similar outlook to Amy. Susiemaroon, a Scottish eco-designer takes leather otherwise destined for landfill and creates chic floor hides and cushions. An Alleweireldt from Oxx uses old floppy disks, vinyl records and lollipops she has hoarded over the years to create cutting edge jewellery. What many describe as a labour of love (41% of UK earned less than £10,000 in 2002) drives these artists to create unique and beautiful pieces of design that we can buy and admire every day. Craft also satiates our desire to collect, with individual pieces acting as souvenirs or memories of a person, place or time.

AND as craft is small scale production, designers are able to keep tabs on exactly what goes into their ‘product’. They can source greener, sustainable materials, often using locally sourced, found or reclaimed materials. They can control production techniques, using non-toxic dyes and chemicals. And with so many artists working from home – they can keep their own carbon footprint right down. Weaver, Angela Morley talks about her passion for nature and natural materials in BBC’s Made in England

With these positive eco aspects to craft, and not forgetting the fact that craft can suit all budgets, shouldn’t we all need to take a little more time to measure the true worth of products before we pay out? And with all the economists telling us we need to watch our spending, I think craft for keeps could be a very sound investment…

Elaine set up Pure Design, a social enterprise and online eco-design gallery in October 2007. Its mission is to promote sustainable design and designers in the UK. Pure Design does this largely by providing a platform from which designers can show and sell their work, and encourages exchange of eco-design knowledge between established and emerging eco-design talent. To find out more visit our Pure Design website. www.puredesigncompany.co.uk

I wanted to wear a real beet red tee! I dreamt of real saffron yellow fabric on my skin! Yes I did! Carrots, coffee, cranberries, and conch…
I imagined not only the beauty of it, but also the heightened sense of being grounded. It didn’t work. Vinegar, salt, soda ash…. it did not work. The color washed out quickly and often turned to puce. I have a list of places to buy natural dyes and something called mordent; chemicals to make the color stay. Can I do this in my studio? Once I learned the quantity of materials needed to dye one tee (lbs. of bugs or bark), the cost (omg), and the nature of the chemicals, I got a bit leery. The amount of scientific work made my mind swirl.

I am an art school honor student, well versed in the color theory of Itten and Albers. Color is the greatest playground. In chemistry class I learned about the compositions of pigments (minerals) but never thought about dyes. I looked further and opted to use “traditional” (1950′s) reactive dyes.

In all my studying I never came across a bit of information that startled me to silence. Most dyes in the textile industry are synthetic. 100% of these dyes originate from petrochemicals. Yuck! Why did I ever have to read that! Take it back! A rainbow on an oil slick is now stuck in my head!

My colorful world went grey (and it was winter in Chicago and this didn’t help.) How, when I rest on my green sofa, can I stop thinking that I am laying on oil! How can we wean ourselves off oil if our very world is brightened up by it? What can I do? I wallowed for some time. Mum was the word on what I had found.

So I now wonder, if you take an organic garment, and add any type of chemical to it, does that organic fabric stay organic? Is it better to say “grown organically” so that consumer understands that it has been altered? Is true green color-free? And, what about babies? A baby’s skin is under developed, so new and fresh, thin and open, shouldn’t all baby clothes be dye-free? Wouldn’t that be the wisest choice for infants and the earth?

In the green journey there are wind surges of information that inspire new direction — “Crew, I changed my mind, tact the sails we are now heading north!”

I take change seriously, but as far as color dyes are concerned I will take small gradual steps. No “speed of lightening” action here; my tee shirt collection will stay colorful. I will, however, move to a more knowledgeable palette with time. I had heard, and believed, that being “Green” doesn’t need to require much sacrifice. I now believe that it does. It is my vision of “Green” that is a process requiring time. I am up to the task because I aim to find beauty on the journey to create the ideal “Green” tee.

Currently, I am hand-dyeing tees in my studio and examining all the details to better understand and control each color’s impact. I am admiring all the color I have in reach. My tees tell a story; a new medium for “Green” exploration, not business as usual, as some may think.

This is a fantastic way to re-use your Christmas cards and in fact any greetings cards.

I know that there are places where you can take your cards to be recycled but if you like crafts or know someone who does then here’s a genius idea. Turn your Christmas cards into gift boxes with the power of origami!

The boxes can then be used to put gifts in next year, especially those small, special items like jewellery. Alternatively you could ask your local craft group if they would like to use them for anything.

If you think that all origami is complicated and difficult then think again. Here is a video that shows you how to make these boxes – it’s very simple I promise.

I’m so impressed that I’m going to make them for our wedding favours. Admittedly I won’t be using Christmas cards, they might look a bit out of place in April!

Give it a try!