Guerlain #WomenforBees Project Led by Angelina Jolie in Yucatan for 2023

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Guerlain #WomenforBees Project Led by Angelina Jolie in Yucatan for 2023

The partnership between Guerlain and UNESCO launched in early 2020, with the training of beekeepers with more than 50 hives based in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Cambodia and China. The five-year project has a goal of training 88 beekeepers from 44 biospheres maintaining 4.400 beehives, after which the partnership can be renewed.

In 2023, the program expanded to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, in collaboration with the Fundación Selva Maya and Maroma, a Belmond Hotel.

To learn that the new LVMH Belmond Maroma Resort and Spa, re-opening August 3, 2023 is also a co-sponsor of the #WomenforBees project, gives Maroma a sense of purpose that has deep roots in ancient practices and traditions.

Reading Maroma’s IG description of its “place” is quite breathtaking and a tribute to LVMH’s approach to 21st century values in creating brand identity with real integrity and an embrace of ancient wisdom.

Maroma is a space of enchanting natural refinement, where ancient mysteries meet modern revelations. Our hotel is based on higher design—infinite and larger than the place itself. It was created originally by true believers of the Sacred Geometry, who aligned our white stucco buildings with the surrounding energy fields.

Understanding the respect that LVMH is giving to ancient wisdom and practices — writing about sacred geometry and the energy fields involved with the design of Maroma — had great impact on me, and I continue to process the many ways that LVMH is touching our lives in the world of luxury.

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Is SHEIN the Biggest Polluter In Fashion? Stats Are Damning and Astonishing!

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Is SHEIN the Biggest Polluter In Fashion? Stats Are Damning and Astonishing!

Almost like a fashion space rocket, China-based Shein [pronounced she-in, not shine] now owns almost a third (28 per cent) of America’s fast fashion market.

Few sustainability warriors saw it coming. And for all the convos about young people being passionate eco-conscious caretakers of our planet, at least in America, they have given a big hug to Shein.

In 2021, the Shein app became the most downloaded with over 17.5 million downloads across the Google Play and Apple stores.

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Levi Strauss & Co Partners with Pakistan's Artistic Milliners Organic Cotton Production

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Levi Strauss & Co Partners with Pakistan's Artistic Milliners Organic Cotton Production

Denim giant Levi Strauss & Co is now sourcing organic cotton directly from farmers in Pakistan as part of its membership of the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) initiative.

Levi's is sourcing the organic cotton through Pakistan-based denim mill Artistic Milliners' Organic programme which involves 2,000 cotton farmers in the Kohlu region of Baluchistan.

The vast majority of cotton farmers and pickers are women, and the focus of Artistic Milliners is female empowerment. Founded in 1949 with a small factory of 22 women, the company now has a workforce of 18,000 employeess.

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Loro Piana Spring 2023 Campaign Grand Italian Tour by Inez & Vinoodh

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Loro Piana Spring 2023 Campaign Grand Italian Tour by Inez & Vinoodh

Loro Piana is also on an Italian grand tour in the cashmere brand’s Spring/Summer 2023 campaign.

Models Amar Akway, Mika Schneider, Rianne Van Rompaey and Leon Dame present an appetizer excursion of authentic Italian experiences that are in communion with nature, land and community.

Inez and Vinoodh [IG] capture the quartet, styled by Aleksandra Woroniecka./ Makeup by Lisa Butler; hair by Eugene Souleiman

Writing about Loro Piana’s Fall 2022 collection and campaign, AOC shared highly-specific information about a decade’s worth of the brand’s processes and control over its cashmere production.

‘Transparency’ is a stake in the ground among today’s cashmere brands, including less expensive but very well-run cashmere labels. There is no “Don’t worry, be happy, I’ve got this issue under control so you don’t have to worry” in today’s cashmere business.

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Sydney Sweeney Joins Armani Beauty As Face of 'My Way' Sustainable Fragrance

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Sydney Sweeney Joins Armani Beauty As Face of 'My Way' Sustainable Fragrance

The story of Armani Beauty’s ‘My Way’ journey to market is deeply rooted in the sustainability values of the younger generation, many of their boomer grandparents and conscientious consumers of every age.

Photographer Dario Catellani [IG] photographs Sydney Sweeney in the 2023 campaign. The Italian visionary is known for his deep attachment to nature — beautifully expressed in the Etro FW 2020/21 ‘We Are All One’ Campaign.

Reading more information about Armani Beauty on the L’Oreal website — L’Oreal holds the beauty license — claims and certifications about sustainability are monitored and validated by the Sustainable Product Optimization Tool (SPOT) developed in 2013 to measure social and environmental impacts.

Based on 14 key sustainability criteria, it covers the entire process from production to the end of the life cycle, including the purchase of raw materials and the product’s use by the consumer.

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Olivia Martin in Miss Dior Fragrance by Brigitte Niedermair | Dior's Flowers Biodiversity Update

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Olivia Martin in Miss Dior Fragrance by Brigitte Niedermair | Dior's Flowers Biodiversity Update

Spanish model Olivia Martin poses in Dior Beauty shots for the house’s core Miss Dior Fragrance. Lilly Marthe Ebener styles Martin in images by key Dior photographer Brigitte Niedermair.

Dior writes: “At Dior, we are dedicated to preserve biodiversity. For our Maison, this mission particularly resonates through our never-ending love of flowers. They are not only the beating heart of our creative vision, they are also the origin, present and future of beauty. In the context of COP 15, we are reminded ambitious actions are essential to preserve flowers from extinction.”

By 2030, 100% of Dior gardens and partner gardens will be operated in organic or regenerative agriculture. Additionally, Dior Beauty is committed to reducing their carbon emissions by 46% by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to +1.5°C.

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Elsa Hosk's Launch Campaign for her Helsa Brand, Lensed by Yulia Gorbachenko

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Elsa Hosk's Launch Campaign for her Helsa Brand, Lensed by Yulia Gorbachenko

Supermodel Elsa Hosk looks like she walked out of a 1950s movie, filmed in the south of France. Elsa is wearing tailored must-haves from her new Helsa Collection — created in the mood of Katharine Hepburn and lensed here by Yulia Gorbachenko [IG]

Writing about the debut of Helsa last August, I said: “Hosk is keeping this launch like a quiet ebb. The Scandi beauty has always stressed the importance of sustainability and it would be shocking if she doesn’t create sustainable products.”

Many of the Helsa pieces are made with Recover, a recycled, heavy-duty cotton. Bravo. I love Elsa Hosk with my whole heart, but sustainability is not a strong message in Helsa so far.

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TED Talk Favorite: Janine Benyus' 3.8 Billion Years of Nature-Inspired Design

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TED Talk Favorite: Janine Benyus' 3.8 Billion Years of Nature-Inspired Design

Janine Benyus and the Biomimicry movement are gaining enormous respect in the world of product innovation and design. The biometric path is simple and described in four steps: quieting human cleverness; listening to life’s genius; echoing what we learn; and giving thanks.

Partnering with Nature is an eyebrow-raising metaphor for super-rational human minds coming to grips with understanding that human brilliance in innovation and scientific discovery may also kill planet Earth.

Men [and fewer women] should be partnering with Nature, not dominating her.

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Myriem Boukadida in Prada Eternal Gold Collection for Vogue Arabia November 2022

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Myriem Boukadida in Prada Eternal Gold Collection for Vogue Arabia November 2022

AOC returns to Prada’s Eternal Gold Collection in this fashion story ‘Now and Forever’ for Vogue Arabia’s November 2022 issue.

The new Vogue Arabia story features Tunisian model and actor Myriem Boukadida, styled by Eline Hoyois in images by Luka Booth [IG].

100 per cent of the gold used in Prada’s new Eternal Gold Collection is Certified Recycled Gold which meets the Chain of Custody’ standards set by the Responsible Jewelry Council.

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10 Things to Love About Copper Jewelry and Ancient Goddesses

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10 Things to Love About Copper Jewelry and Ancient Goddesses

The human desire for self-adornment is universal, and writing about copper jewelry trends should be a snap for most people. Not for Anne. I can make writing needlessly complicated, but in this case, the writing took me back to the continuously-revealing story of women’s history.

Only Anne of Carversville whips up a narrative around copper jewelry that takes us back to the dawn of human existence, and then out of Africa between 60,000 and 90,000 years ago into the Levant, a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia.

Background: in understanding the importance of human history and invention, jewelry was not very high on the list of primarily male researchers and scientists.

Frankly, jewelry as artifacts was considered inconsequential and frivolous in the story of human development. Copper jewelry was so frivolous that the existence of The Copper Age, dating from the mid-5th millennium BC, and ending with the beginning of the Bronze Age proper, in the late 4th to 3rd millennium BC, was barely worth mentioning in the scientific community.

You’ve heard of The Stone Age and the Bronze Age. But few of us — including me — knew about The Copper Age. The REAL history of copper jewelry starts to upset several thousands of years of assumptions around women’s lives.

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Prada Launches Fully Recycled Eternal Gold Collection with Aura Blockchain Certification

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Prada Launches Fully Recycled Eternal Gold Collection with Aura Blockchain Certification

American poet, activist, Prada ambassador and UNICEF supporter Amanda Gorman; Dutch-Korean-Canadian singer, rapper and dancer Jeon Somi; and American actor and model Maya Hawke, daughter of actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke star in Prada’s 2022 launch of Eternal Gold, representing the luxury brand’s first forray into fine jewelry.

In addition to being made from certified recycled gold, every piece of jewelry in the collection will be fully traceable, thanks to blockchain technology. Every purchase will be traceable by logging into the Aura Blockchain Consortium.

The Prada Eternal Gold collection is very modern a 100 percent recycled collection that pushes category boundaries. Amanda Gorman came to Prada’s attention, not because of her 2021 Inaugural Poem, but because of her environmental activism.

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Kezako Paris Rolls Out Real-Deal VS Angels in More or Less Magazine by Oliver Hadlee Pearch

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Kezako Paris Rolls Out Real-Deal VS Angels in More or Less Magazine by Oliver Hadlee Pearch

This fashion story ‘Earth Angels’ from More or Less Magazine [IG] adds a fabulous new twist to the VS Angels saga. If you don’t know, the magazine is devoted to sustainability and our living with less. More or Less wrote:

Hallelujah! For our final cover, we assembled an all-star cast of Earth Angels, styling nine ex-Victoria's Secret models in faux-fashion label Kezako’s upcycled underwear made from aluminium wrap, dried-out loaves of bread, old newspapers, cuddly toys and then some.

We are looking at creativity on steroids here and a brilliant way to call attention to sustainability.

Models include Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Elsa Hosk, Lais Ribeiro, Leomie Anderson, Lily Aldridge, Martha Hunt, Sara Sampaio and Stella Maxwell.

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Artemis 1 Mission Now Eyes Saturday Two-Hour Window Opening 2:17 pm ET | Bad Florida Weather Looms

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Artemis 1 Mission Now Eyes Saturday Two-Hour Window Opening 2:17 pm ET | Bad Florida Weather Looms

NASA space agency will try again to launch its Artemis 1 mission moon rocket— the most powerful ever — on Saturday pm September 3. Complications continue.

Looming weather and hydrogen-loading issues cancelled Monday’s Artemis 1 launch.

Will the new heat shield withstand a searing 5,000 degrees?

"We are stressing Orion beyond what it was actually designed for, in preparation for sending it to the moon with a crew," said Cabana, last week. "And we want to make sure that it works absolutely perfectly when we do that."

Orion is the space capsule traveling on a 32-story rocket, and NASA intends to push it beyond every possible limit. With this mindset driving the mission, the team will take chances not possible with humans on board. One assumes that the dummy data will tell scientists if they lived or died.

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Loro Piana FW 2022 Campaign by Mario Sorrenti | AOC on Sustainability at Loro Piana

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Loro Piana FW 2022 Campaign by Mario Sorrenti | AOC on Sustainability at Loro Piana

Top models Edie Campbell, Mona Tougaard and Leon Dame pose against rocky but fecund terrain of Brittany, France. LVMH brand Loro Piana unveils its Fall-Winter 2022 campaign, lensed by Mario Sorrenti [IG], with art direction by Heiko Keinath.

As always — and especially on the subject of a mostly cashmere-driven collection— AOC turned our attention to Loro Piana’s sustainability efforts. Our usual sustainability pit-stop at Good on You was operating just now.

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Gigi Hadid in 'Well Worn' Fashion Story by Theo de Gueltzl for Vogue US September 2022

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Gigi Hadid in 'Well Worn' Fashion Story by Theo de Gueltzl for Vogue US September 2022

Supermodel Gigi Hadid is styled by Camilla Nickerson in ‘Well Worn’, fashion story for American Vogue September 2022. The title suggests that Gigi’s story is part of the growing resale market or pieces made of recycled fabrics. Or the fashion story is a mix of old and new, which would at least be progress. I’m seeing that more frequently these days.

Theo de Gueltzl [IG] photographs Gigi, and while he doesn’t have her images yet, his own IG has a wonderful vibe and hits some of these AOC notes.

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ThredUp and Priah Ferguson 'Stranger Things' Star Beg Gen Z to Stop Buying Fast-Fashion

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ThredUp and Priah Ferguson 'Stranger Things' Star Beg Gen Z to Stop Buying Fast-Fashion

‘Stranger Things’ Star Priah Ferguson has a message for you. She is not going to make you feel badly about yourself. No. Priah is on your side, and so is AOC. She is not shaming you. Rather, Priah is giving you a big hug and begging you to take action not words.

The new ThredUp and Priah Ferguson “Fast Fashion Confessional Hotline” is meant to encourage Gen Z shoppers to stop shopping fast fashion and embrace more sustainable options.

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Candice Swanepoel's Tropic of C and Alo Yoga Collab with Peruvian Artisans

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Candice Swanepoel's Tropic of C and Alo Yoga Collab with Peruvian Artisans

Supermodel Candice Swanepoel and her eco-lifestyle brand Tropic of C [IG] launch a new collaboration with Alo Yoga [IG] for a swimwear capsule collection that also embraces yoga movements.

Center stage are the crochet swim pieces and accessories made by hand by Quechua and Mochica women across 3 regions of Northern Peru: Pacasmayo, Cajamarca and Huamachuco and in nine communities.

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Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2022 Campaign by Nadia Lee Cohen | 'Fourth Choice' Leathers

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Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2022 Campaign by Nadia Lee Cohen | 'Fourth Choice' Leathers

Balenciaga shared really exciting news on the sustainability front, including the brand’s shift to using ‘fourth choice’ leathers. These hides have been rejected for some imperfection, and the term ‘fourth choice’ is theirs.

“Everything we buy is made from leftover skins that would otherwise be burned. If you can make it into a skirt or a jacket, why not? You can find a lot of this, all over the place. We’ve been doing this for a while.”

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Vogue Scandinavia's 'Nordic Dystopia', Perhaps a Reference to the Rök Stone Catastrophe

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Vogue Scandinavia's 'Nordic Dystopia', Perhaps a Reference to the Rök Stone Catastrophe

AOC works hard to identify any backstories or cultural references in fashion stories and ad campaigns. We came up empty-handed all over Instagram checking the individual IGs of the cast of this Vogue Scandinavia

The Scandinavian countries are deeply admired for many reasons, but environmental awareness and a necessary austerity due to the impact of fashion-world consumption on nature are well-established in the culture.

So AOC kept looking for clues, unearthing astounding new research on an old Scandinavian artifact.

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Carolyn Murphy and Antwaun Sargent in Gucci's 'Off the Grid' Spring 2022 Collection

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Carolyn Murphy and Antwaun Sargent in Gucci's 'Off the Grid' Spring 2022 Collection AOC Fashion

Supermodel and environmental activist Carolyn Murphy and art critic, writer and Gagosan curator Antwaun Sargent are styled by Tess Herbert in Gucci’s Spring 2022 ‘Off the Grid’ collection. Photographer Daria Kobayashi Ritch [IG] shot the campaign in partnership with So It Goes magazine at the Flamingo Estate.

Home to Richard Christiansen and a brand created from Gaia’s orchard, garden and friends. AOC has written about Flamingo Estate previously, and the website is just intoxicating in its natural beauty. It’s truly a stunner, even if you are only searching for a 2 minute mental getaway.

This season’s Off the Grid collection is heavy on Gucci luggage made of regenerated ECONYL® nylon — the miracle-fabric used by many top luxury brands.

Gucci’s Demetra