Eco Chick’s Heroines for the Planet: Aysia Wright

The lovely and fabulous Aysia Wright

She founded one of America’s first dedicated eco-fashion online shops (and an Eco Chick fave!), The Greenloop, and led the search for the new green “it” girl. Now, we’re turning the spotlight on trailblazer Aysia Wright herself to learn more about what’s next for The Greenloop and Project Green Search, and her must-have wardrobe staples.

Stephanie Rogers: What are your top 3 must-have fashion staples, and why?

Aysia Wright: I’m a super casual person, so for me, whatever those staples are have to be comfortable, practical and nearly seasonless. You won’t see me glammed up very often, so this is truly going to be about staples. As most who know me know, I live in my ‘pre-loved’ Frye boots, so for 1, I’d say a great pair of boots that work with a variety of outfits…or at least you can pretend they do.

Number 2 – a great pair of jeans that fit you well in all the right places, lend length to your legs, make your butt look great and can go from casual to dressed up, meaning a good dark wash, not weathered.

Number 3 – a racer back tank. Wear it alone to show off sexy shoulders, or double duty over a long sleeve fitted tee for definition, color, contrast. See. So very basic, no frills for me.

SR: How many designers are included on Greenloop?

AW: Right now about 60, but as we are getting ready to make some big changes, all the way around, the number represented will grow significantly.

Ed Note: I’m soooooooo excited!

SR: Who are your latest adds?

AW: Quite frankly, given how hard the last year or so has been, I have not added a ton of new lines. With that said, we are in transition at the moment, and while I’m behind, waiting in the wings are lines like Reif Clothing, Kristinit, and a.d.o., as well as casual lines like Brand of the Free and Reco Jeans, and athletic lines like Atayne, and more. Greenloop will soon represent every genre of eco-responsible apparel, from casual to couture and everything in between.

SR: What parameters do you use to decide which designers to include on your site?

AW: Each brand completes a pretty long questionnaire that runs through all aspects of their business: mission, materials, production, distribution, environmental / humanitarian initiatives, and business practices like water and energy conservation, recycling, buying recycled, carbon offsets and the like. I also like to see what their inspiration was for creating the brand and where they want to go with it. I often learn something new from each line, adding to the list of criteria I like to consider in adding them to the lines represented on the site.

SR: Tell us about Project Green Search. What is in store for this coming year’s search?

AW: Right now, we are finalizing the panel of judges, and I am honored to have the Eco Chick herself, Starre Vartan, joining us again this year. We’ll be officially opening the 2010 search on June 12th, hosting an in person entry event to kick things off in Los Angeles that day. Final dates, prizes, challenges and events will soon be listed on the site, so stay tuned. It’s sure to be a great year with exciting developments for the competition itself once the finalists are chosen, and I look forward to seeing the amazing women out there who put themselves forward for the opportunity. Yes, the future will bring a men’s competition, but for now, we’re stickin’ with ‘eco chicks’, so to speak – the one phrase in which the word “chick” is a compliment 😉

Thanks so much, Aysia! It sounds like there will be a lot of exciting things going on at Greenloop this year – all the more reason to check it out as often as possible!