BGreen: Finally, Germany Gets Eco Clothing

One of the things that’s driven me crazy living in Germany is the lack of sustainable clothing. I don’t shop all that often, but when I need a new pair of shoes or a sweater to get through the cold winter, I feel like a traitor walking the shopping streets here, passing all the big-name stores that you can find in cities all over the world.

Though I’m lucky to live in a city with its own faction of designers (Cologne’s Chic Belgique), boutique shopping isn’t exactly eco friendly … local, yes, but the designers still have to import non-organic textiles from around the world. So I was happy last summer to finally stumble into a shop in Cologne that shared my ideals (as evidenced in their motto: fair. organic. charity).

BGreen carries all those brands you cross-pond Amis know well… Stewart & Brown, Loomstate, and the like. But they’ve also got supercute kids stuff from the Dutch brand imps&elfs and fairly made shoes from the French brand, Veja.

It’s also a small shop, as you can see below, but it’s a step in the right direction. As the owner Andrea Imgenberg told me, it’s a shame that Germany – with its enormous carbon-reduction goals and incredible research into renewable energy – doesn’t have more of this stuff. But the emphasis here is on technology, not textiles. Right now, anyway. I have a feeling, though, that all of that will be changing.