Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

UN Eco Conferences

Pardon my absence the last few weeks, but this month has been an unbelievably busy one in the green arena here. Bonn, Germany’s former capital city and the current seat of many NGOs and UN divisions has seen back-to-back conferences and I’ve been inundated trying to keep up with the conference happenings.

First, we had the UN Conference on Biodiversity – something that seemed really exciting at the time, with delegates from nearly 200 countries gathering to decide on ways to conserve habitats, develop across-the-board rules on GMO food, and find ways to prevent the extinction of endangered species.
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Cooperation between Big Business and Environmental Groups

What do DuPont, National Resource Defense Council, and Lehmen Brothers have in common? Normally not too much…but now they make up 3 of the 14 member strong US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), launched in January of this year. The Partnership was formed to address global warming and emissions where the Feds are not.

The US produces an estimated one quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases, but has failed to sign the Kyoto protocol, and has done little in the last 6 years, at the Federal level, to further regulate emissions.

The Partnership has produced a report “A Call for Action” that proposes an economically based plan to address emissions, especially carbon emissions. They have some comprehensive goals for emission reduction that include mandatory caps on emission, an aggressive approach not echoed in the White House.

The launch of this group is another encouraging step in a series of moves Big Business is making nation-wide to take climate change and global warming seriously, and propose to do something about it. Whether moves such as these are stunts to benefit some economic scheme or are legitimately concern for, and action to improve, the environment, is a question, but the results have the potential to benefit the planet.

Ms. Green Jeans

Check out this interview (from Grist) of Tierra del Forte, the designer behind Del Forte Denim. The questions after the jump are a little more ‘fun’ than the first few shown here, so read on!

24 Jul 2006

 What work do you do?

 I’m a designer and the founder of Del Forte Denim.

 How does it relate to the environment?

We design and manufacture a line of premium organic denim for women. We also strive to educate consumers about the dangers of conventional cotton agriculture and the restorative effect of organic farming. Non-organic cotton can cause permanent damage to the soil, the water, the air, and to farm workers. Our jeans are made entirely in the U.S., and we’ve chosen to use 100 percent organic cotton.
 
 What are you working on at the moment? Any major projects?

 I’m working on shipping our first round of production (very exciting!); on launching Project Rejeaneration, which will allow customers to return their used Del Forte jeans to us for inspired reuse; and on creating our website.

I’m also still buzzing from the excitement of two recent fashion events: Walk the Talk and Eco-Petal (Eco Chick Note: See Summer’s coverage of the event below). Walk the Talk, in June, was an eco-fashion gala in San Francisco that brought together social entrepreneurs, visionaries, and celebrities to encourage global leadership and a sustainable future for our planet. Eco-Petal, which just wrapped up, was a 10-day fashion show and boutique event in Los Angeles for a small group of eco-fashion designers like me. The main purpose of the event was to draw attention to the world of eco-fashion and to show people that caring about the environment doesn’t mean compromising your sense of style.

 How do you get to work?

 Most days, I work out of the studio in my home, so I have a very green commute! For meetings, I do have to drive because I carry around a huge suitcase full of samples of my jeans, jackets, and skirts. I can’t wait for the Saab hybrid convertible to make it to market (and to be able to afford a new car!).

 What long and winding road led you to your current position?

 I’ve been working in denim design since I graduated design school in 1999. After six years, the excitement was gone and all that was left was a lot of stress and the realization that I wasn’t contributing to the world in any way that I could feel good about. Fashion is glamorous and lighthearted, but there is definitely a dark side. Most of our clothing is made in overseas factories by people who are not protected by the kind of labor laws we have here. It is also produced with no regard for environmental impact. Although I never stopped enjoying the design process, I didn’t want to be involved in such an exploitative industry.

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