Summer Rayne Oakes · Eco-Chick

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Eco Fashion News of the Week: August 28, 2009

Treehugger’s reporting that Hanes is going to start making their inexpensive undies from hemp? Awesome! But Why now? It’s ECOnomics at work:

Because Crailar (the hemp-derived fabric) shrinks far less during production than cotton, its final cost is closer to regular cotton than organic cotton, which is 60 percent more expensive than its conventional counterpart.
If Crailar could be commercialized, says Matt Hall, vice president of external communications at Hanes, it would mean being able to produce organic fibers for everyday products at competitive prices. And considering that hemp grows faster and requires less water than cotton, the plusses keep adding up.

AuH2O, Hanes, News, Summer Rayne Oakes

Do YOU Want to Be the Next Green Model?

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by Starre Vartan · 08/09/09

If you do, check out Project Green Search. It’s the model competition for women who want to use their natural beauty to give back to the planet, and proves that brains, compassion and community involvement can definitely go along with fabulous looks.

I’m excited for this competition, because not only is this the first green model competition of it’s kind, but because I’m a judge, along with Darren Moore, eco model Summer Rayne Oakes, green cosmetics guru and model Josie Maran, eco fashion designer Deborah Lindquist and Michael Kalinski, CEO of Omniquest Media.

Winners Receive:

* If not yet represented, a contract with Option Model Management, an international model management agency for print, runway and television.
* A professional photography session complete with make-up, wardrobe and portfolio images.
* A 20 piece Eco-Fashion wardrobe.
* A natural and organic beauty shopping spree at Future Natural.
* A feature in Organic Spa Magazine.
* A cover feature on Electrifying Times Magazine.
* A spread in Coco Eco Magazine.
* A story in Route 66 Pulse.
* A one year stint as the face of Project Green Search.
* Guidance and introductions by LOHAS to sustainable beauty, fashion and other companies.
* More prizes to be announced in the coming days.

Project Green Search Rules and Entry Info

Good Luck! Competition closes on September 16th and is open to those 17 and older.

The competition finals will be held during Portland Fashion Week, the most sustainable fashion week in the U.S featuring only independent and eco designers, Oct 7-11, 2009.

Many thanks to Aysia Wright, owner of the superfabulous online ecofashion boutique, The Greenloop for putting this together, and Remy Chevalier, for all the behind-the-scenes work.

Eco-Chick, Josie Maran, model, Summer Rayne Oakes

HessNatur and PlanetGreen Eco Tee Design Challenge!

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by Starre Vartan · 07/21/09

Get your design printed on a beautiful organic cotton t-shirt like this one, original design by Eco chick fave, Miguel Adrover.

Are you an aspiring designer? Just love creating fun t-shirts for your friends and family? If so, then check out Hessnatur and Planet Green’s Eco-Tee Design Challenge which has just gone live on PlanetGreen’s site.

The public will vote for the design they feel is most creative and original. After the pool is whittled down to five finalists, the esteemed panel of judges will choose a winner. The winner’s tee will be made at Dr. Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Knitwear project, with 50% of the proceeds going back to the foundation. In addition, the winner’s tee will be sold internationally at Hessnatur’s website

Judges include Hessnatur designer Miguel Adrover, Toms shoes CEO, Blake Mycoskie and Eco-model Summer Rayne Oakes, as well as Miranda Purves, lifestyle editor at ELLE.

The official date to enter designs is from August 1st to September 1st, but all necessary tools are available to get started, so check out all the details here and get designing!

Wolf Luedge and Dr. Mohammend Yunus, founder of the Grameen Foundation

contest, design, PlanetGreen, Summer Rayne Oakes, t-shirt

A.D. Schwarz's African-Inspired Jewelry Debuts at Linhardt Studio in NYC

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by Starre Vartan · 07/20/09

Bracelets from the A.D. Schwarz collection; made from sustainably-harvested wood from Mozambique.

Clearly, the perfect Summer bracelet is elusive; tennis bracelets are pretty but boring (and where DO those diamonds come from?). Bangles after a few hours always manage to become awfully….bangly. Charm bracelets are only for days when you’re feeling charming, really. (And in the heat of the season, that is less and less likely.) But what about when you want some serious sleek, some sublime simplicity, something singular that nobody else is rocking?

The debut collection by A.D. Schwarz makes a great case for the revival of modern urban safari chic that has stayed with us the past few seasons (for good reason; styles and fabrics that work on the plains and in the forests of Africa also tough it out beautifully in the urban jungle).

The collection is not only eminently wearable (see eco model Summer Rayne Oakes below, who sported the bracelet at the top of the page, unforch just outside the image) it has that always-cool intensity which works as well with a crisp white short-sleeve shirt as it does with a hippie-print maxi-dress.

The line is almost as guilt-free as a green tea Pinkberry as it is made in Mozambique by a local worker’s cooperative from sustainably harvested wood. Now available at the Linhardt Studio in NYC. Lindhardt specializes in ethically-made jewelry and A.D. Schwarz is the latest addition to the creative and conscious jewelery there.

Summer Rayne Oakes at the A.D. Schwarz party; Summer helped bring the line to NYC.

Outside the Linhardt Design Studio, opening night for A.D. Schwarz’s line

Close-up of the gorgeous wooden cuff from the A.D. Schwarz collection at Linhardt Studio

Handmade decorative wooden plates are also part of the A.D. Schwarz collection

Africa, Mozambique, plates, Summer Rayne Oakes, wood

Style, Naturally: Summer Rayne Oakes' Guide to Green Fashion and Beauty for Every Woman (Not Just Greenies!)

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by Starre Vartan · 02/16/09

Summer Rayne Oakes (in Stella McCartney) at the launch of Style, Naturally

Summer Rayne Oakes’ own life is a study in how to make ethical choices work in the real world. She’s a model (for ecofriendly fashion labels), environmental activist, and resident expert on Discovery Channel’s Planet Green- jobs which challenge both body and mind, so she knows what busy women want (to look great while doing no harm). She delivers the goods in her first book, Style, Naturally.

Jill Danyelle, a featured ‘girl on the street’ in the book (in one of her own upcycled creations), Jill Fehrenbacher, editor of green design blog Inhabitat (with baby Petey in tow) and Bahar Shahpar, ecofashion designer (in one of her own designs), at the Style, Naturally launch party

The totally friendly (open it anywhere and start reading!) and colorful book is packed to its chubby gills (it clocks in at over 500 pages) with photos and descriptions of ecofriendly and sustainable party dresses, pants, purses and every thing else one would want to wear (so you can see exactly how un-hemp-sack-like these togs really are), and includes “where to find it” info, magazine-style so you don’t have to be an expert google searcher to track down a designer you love. Jewelry, shoes and accessories each have their own sections and a story behind why to choose ethical versions like those included.

Starre Vartan (in vintage) author of The Eco Chick Guide to Life, and Summer Rayne Oakes at the Style, Naturally book party.

Beauty products, from shampoos to sunscreen to makeup take up the second half of the book, and Summer said she tried hundreds of products before deciding what would make the cut. “I looked at overall brand practices and specific product ingredients and I only highlighted the ones that I really liked,” she says. There is also tons of information on labels, certifications, events, stores and sites for further exploration.

Michael Schwarz, writer and animal advocate, and Dan Shapely, editor at The Daily Green.

Besides being a veritable compendium of great clothes from designers known and loved (and worn!) by ecofashionistas (like Bahar Shahpar, Doie, Lara Miller, Loomstate and Alabama Chanin) there are profiles of “girls on the street” which details how savvy ladies incorporate planet-respecting choices into their wardrobes. This was my favorite part of the book, as I go for vintage, and prefer old-fashioned silhouettes and funky prints in silks, bamboos and organic wools. But it’s so fun to see how other girls work the green in, from organic- and fair-trade cotton dance-wear for conscious urban chicks to more classic cuts in super-modern (but still sustainable) silhouettes.

Sara Brancato of The Four Hundred Ecofashion showroom (right) and friend Ashley Watson (left).

All this variety is the point. As anyone who knows a thing about style can tell you, fashion is not about following trends, it’s about creating your own personal look. That’s what was on Summer ‘s mind when she dreamed up Style, Naturally: “I wrote this for any woman who cares about what she wears and how that connects to the larger world. It’s not necessarily a green guide, it’s a style guide.”

And the book itself? As green as can be. “It’s on recycled paper, [printed with] vegetable-based ink and it is 1% for the Planet to Energy Action, which is a group near and dear to me,” says Summer.

And for anyone who decries thinking about fashion and beauty in the current economic climate, Summer says the truth is that dedicating time and energy to define your own look- and doing it responsibly- will end up saving you money. “Take a look at your closet, and figure out how to make what you already have look new. Be considerate about what you buy and make the more responsible purchase.” Thinking about what we buy, assessing its impact and making long-term choices that have a smaller footprint (and actually work for our own bodies and lifestyles) will go further to mitigate the clothing and beauty industries’ wasteful ways than business as (cheaper) than usual.

ecofashion, Events, parties, Summer Rayne Oakes