Standearth's First Fashion Industry Sustainability Report Card Promises Made v. Promises Kept

Image by Levi’s

Making pledges around sustainability is the easy part for businesses large and small. The question is whether or not brands are delivering on those promises, Vogue Business quotes Standearth as saying that until now, no organization holds the fashion industry accountable on sustainability promises vs deliberables.

The Canadian-American advocacy group released its first fashion industry report card last Thursday, writing that Levis and American Eagle are the only two major players on target with the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees, according to Standearth.

The report, titled “Filthy Fashion Climate Scorecard,” ranks the climate commitments of 45 top fashion companies who have joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, or the G7 Fashion Pact.

“A handful of companies, including Levi’s, Burberry, the Gap, H&M, and American Eagle are taking meaningful strides to shift their global supply chains off dirty fossil fuels. But many other companies are relying on false solutions to meet their climate commitments – easy measures that look good on paper but fail to tackle carbon pollution in the real world. While the industry’s progress is encouraging, signing onto one of these initiatives doesn’t guarantee that a company will take climate action in line with the scale of emissions reductions needed to keep the world below a dangerous level of warming,” said Liz McDowell, Filthy Fashion Campaign Director at Stand.earth.

The companies ranked in the report are: Adidas, Aldo, American Eagle, Amer Sport brands Arcteryx and Salomon, ASICS, Burberry, Columbia, C&A, Disney, Eileen Fisher, Esprit, Ganni, Gant, Gap, Guess, Hanes, H&M, Inditex (Zara), JCPenny, Kering group (Gucci, Yves St Laurent, Stella McCartney), Land’s End, Levi’s, LL Bean, Lululemon, LVMH (Dior, Fendi), Macy’s, Mammut, Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC), M&S, New Balance, Nike, Nordstrom, Otto, Patagonia, Pentland, Primark, Puma, PVH (Calvin Klein, Hilfiger), Recreational Equipment Inc (REI), SkunkFunk, Target, Under Armour, VF Corp (The North Face, Timberland), and Walmart.

17 companies have made little to no climate commitments — despite signing a sustainability pledge with fanfare — which would put the world on a path to climate catastrophe, with 3 or more degrees of warming, writes .Standearth.

Emmett Till Bullet-Proof Memorial with Surveillance Cameras Opens in Mississippi

The sordid, scarred American story of Emmett Till’s lynching in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi opened a new chapter on Saturday, with the installation of a bullet-proof memorial for the civil rights martyr. Members of Till’s family gathered at Graball Landing, the spot where the pummeled and brutalized, horrifically-disfigured body of the 14-year-old Chicago boy was pulled from the Tallahatchie River after his murder in 1955.

The staggeringly-brutal attack was the result of Till allegedly offending a white woman Carolyn Bryant in her family’s grocery store. Decades later, Bryant disclosed that she had fabricated part of the testimony regarding her interaction with Till, specifically the portion where she accused Till of grabbing her waist and uttering obscenities; "that part's not true.”

Till’s murderers led by Roy Bryant, husband to Carolyn Bryant, and J.W. Milam were absolved of all crimes by what can only be described as a kangaroo court, adding fuel to the historic event largely seen as the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

From left to right, Ole Miss students Ben LeClere, John Howe, and Howell Logan posing with guns by the bullet-ridden plaque marking the place where the body of murdered civil rights icon Emmett Till was pulled from the Tallahatchie River. The photo was posted to LeClere’s Instagram account in March.

Related Articles about Emmett Till

Art Partner Contest for Young Creatives + Climate Crisis | Submit by Nov. 8, 2019

Photo by Venus Evans on Unsplash

One of the greatest challenge for young creatives is getting their work scene and reviewed. If climate activism is your passion, Art Partner has created a significant opportunity to put a creative project in front of an all-star panel of sustainability-focused professionals.

Think you’re good? Then seek feedback from Eco-Age Founder Livia Firth, fashion designer Gabriela Hearst, photographer Harley Weir, designer and entrepreneur Francisco Costa,, artist and writer Wilson Oryema, agent Giovanni Testino, Vogue Italia Creative Director Ferdinando Verderi.

#CreateCOP25 is a contest for young creatives and climate activists to submit artistic responses to the environment and climate emergency. The six most impactful works will be publicized during the United Nation’s COP25 climate conference this December in Chile. These will serve as messages from the creative community that the time is now for governments to end their contribution to climate change.

One (1) winner will receive $10,000 and five (5) runner-ups will receive $2,000 each to fund future projects that respond to climate change. The winner will also have the opportunity to collaborate on an editorial project with Art Partner. All six (6) finalists will receive ongoing mentorship and exposure from Art Partner.

Submissions can be any medium including, but not limited to, photography projects, docu-style and experimental film, performance art, spoken word, musical compositions, fashion design, new media and social media projects. We encourage entrants to submit existing work.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Submission Process

All entrants must be between 14 and 30 years old at the time of submission. The contest is open to participants globally.

Please read the contest rules and procedures before filling in the application form.

#CreateCOP25 application pack

Closing date for applications Friday 8 November 2019, 6pm GMT. 

Questions? Please email earthpartner@artpartner.com

Melinda Gates' $1 Billion To Advance American Women | Trump Voters Want Women at Home

Philanthropist Melinda Gates is not sleeping well in Trumplandia. After a decade of watching the erosion of women’s rights and women’s progress in America, Gates has decided to do a very public reality check on the state of American women.

Reality is that 50 years after the second wave of the women’s movement ignited, only one CEO on the list of people running Fortune 500 companies is a woman of color. Gates cites the sobering fact that in 2018, there were more men names James running Fortune 500 companies than women.

Her action plan involves $1 billion spent towards expanding women’s power and influence in America. “There is no reason to believe this moment will last forever,” Gates, founder of investment and incubation company Pivotal Ventures, wrote in a Time.com opinion piece about the women’s marches, #MeToo movement, and the political activism and elections to office for American women.

“Too many people - women and men - have worked too hard to get us this far,” she wrote. “There are too many possible solutions we haven’t tried yet.”

Goals include dismantling barriers to women’s job advancement such as care-giving obligations and sexual harassment and fast-tracking women in influential job sectors such as technology, media and public office. Gates doesn’t

I, too, lie awake at night worrying about this possibility -- and have for a decade. The arrival of the Republican Tea Party in 2010 signaled an awesome erosion of women’s rights that have exploded since Trump became president.

One night I actually had a terrifying nightmare related to women’s access to contraception in America, and this was several years before the dystopian Handmaid Tale became a Hulu hit.

There is no doubt that Republicans are determined to take US women back to the 50s, eliminate all child care support, even public education in an effort to get American women having babies and even home schooling them with the Biblical good book.

I worry that America is increasingly becoming an Arab country -- and I don't mean too many Muslims. I mean too many Republicans wanting a theocracy where a Christian God runs the country, just as Allah and his men culturally and politically run the Muslim countries. The vast majority (over 70% of Trump's women voters and 58% of men) support this vision for America, as evidenced by extensive research done on Trump voters by Baylor Christian University in Waco, Texas. ~ Anne

THE SACRED VALUES OF “TRUMPISM”

Core Values

Researchers looked at how religious values, behaviors and beliefs predicted political support for Trump, finding that the majority of those who voted for him tend to:

• Say they are “very religious”

• Are members of white Evangelical Protestant churches

• View the United States as a Christian nation

• Believe in an authoritative God who is actively engaged in world affairs

• See Muslims as threats to America

• Value gender traditionalism, feeling that men are better suited for politics and should earn more than women; women should provide primary child care; and working women are deficient as mothers

• Oppose lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights (such as legal marriage)

NYC Restaurateur Camilla Marcus Partners with Vivvi for Employer Subsidized Childcare

Camilla Marcus’ Westbourne cafe in New York Soho has partnered with Vivvi, to offer flexible hours, employer-subsidized, education-based healthcare for her New York workers.

Worker-conscious restauranteur Camilla Marcus, the founder of Soho’s vegetarian cafe Westbourne, faced head-on the challenges her employees endured to find affordable and flexible hours childcare in New York. Formerly director of business development for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group and the cofounder of TechTable, Marcus clearly has a “let’s get-it-done” mentality.

At first Marcus assumed research on finding affordable, flexible healthcare for her workers was primarily a “connecting the dots” job of finding realistic alternatives to the average $16,000 annual cost of having a family in New York as a working parent. Surely the mayor’s office could point Marcus in the right direction.

Frustrated and at the end of the road in her search for a worker-friendly childcare solution, Marcus was sent to Charles Bonello and Ben Newton, entrepreneurs who also saw the problem. Their checklist included a more affordable and accessible option that includes flexible hours, a robust early education curriculum, and back-up care options for those whose existing childcare is unavailable on short notice, writes Vogue US.

Vivvi, which is now open, partners with local employers to subsidize up to 100 percent of the cost of regular full-time care and backup care for working parents of infants, toddlers, and pre-school-age children. Thanks to Camilla, Vivvi's backup childcare is equipped to meet the needs of hospitality workers, with hours ranging from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and weekends.

"There are just not that many industries left where you don't need to have a certain degree," says Marcus. "You don't need to have a certain background and you can rise to a six-figure salary. We need to keep those pathways open and this [lack of accessible childcare] is a big barrier to that being possible."

For Camilla Marcus, she's leveraging her new partnership with Vivvi, now offering backup care to all of her employees at no cost. It's the beginning of a much-needed equalizing force in an industry that has long undervalued its workers.

"It isn't just a banker or a lawyer who is able to have access to this world class program," said Bonello. "It's also hospitality workers whose entire livelihood is tied up with being able to get to work and being able to get there during the times when it makes the most sense and it's most valuable. So it's empowering for us because our entire mission is honor the potential of work and families."

Read more details about this exciting project at Vogue US.

God's Man, Donald Trump, Played Golf as Hevrin Khalaf Was Stoned to Death

After giving the go-ahead to Turkey’s assault on the Kurds in Northern Syria, disgraced US President Donald Trump played golf on Saturday. As the bullet-riddled SUV of Secretary-General of the pro-Kurdish Future Syria Party and Hevrin Khalaf herself was shot and stoned to death, along with others in her convoy, Trump had a mighty good golf game. The Republicans scream “liar, liar, pants on fire”, but this fact is the truth, the image is real. Trump has nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. The US president has totally disgraced America’s military and American values in support of the Kurds. His self-serving, Putin’s-puppet actions repulse us, and we grieve for the Kurdish people. Trump playing golf via.

God's man in America, Donald Trump, played golf on Saturday, while the bullet-riddled SUV of Secretary-General of the pro-Kurdish Future Syria Party and Hevrin Khalaf herself was shot and stoned to death, articulated Monday by MSNBC on the ground in Syria.

I couldn't second-source the method of killing her on Sunday and refused to spread a false rumor. Has Trump even mentioned her being stoned to death? Has he evoked any sense of horror over what he has unleashed in northern Syria? Not an ounce of concern. NOTHING!!!! Trump played golf through the entire Syrian violence.

Khalaf probably deserved such a horrific death in Trump's misogynist playbook, but she was a great defender of Christians.

I do not believe in revenge, but I pray that the spirit of Hevrin Khalaf emerges quickly into the universe, where she is needed. And I pray that she comes to sit on the shoulder of Donald Trump, connected to him in an inescapable constant presence of what Trump has done to her, to the Kurdish people, and to the total balance of power in the region.

Perhaps she could use her new powers in a way that doesn't harm him physically. We want Trump to live with his actions. Personally, I wouldn't mind if Trump Tower Istanbul went up in smoke.

A Prayer for Hevrin Khalaf’s Return

I want the goddess status of Hevrin Khalaf to appear to Trump, when he's chowing down his cheeseburgers in bed at the White House. I want him to see constant apparitions of her everywhere. I want Khalaf to help us rid America of this corrupt, sinful man and his corrupt posse who surround their every horrific action with God's name.

I want the last vision Donald Trump has of life to be Hevrin Khalaf being stoned to death. If I must live with her vision that is grieving me so painfully, so must Trump -- the heartless, gutless, corrupt golf-playing, sinner man who has duped an entire political party and sanctioned the death of by all accounts, one of the most important women promoting peace and positive action for the Kurdish people.

My last action around stoning was almost single-handedly saving a woman from being stoned to death in Sudan. Within 48 hrs. of my getting involved, it stopped with Khartoum saying "not her again (meaning me)." It gave me some solace in all this violence that my action stopped a horrific death. Now Trump has taken even that small memory of good action from me, because everything happened so quickly to the Kurds.

I don't know if Khalaf was traveling with a poison pill or not. Obviously, events happened so quickly, swallowing one was not an option for her, and all reports are that her death was agonizing.

May the original goddesses of the universe greet and bask in warmth and love the spirit of Hevrin Khalaf. And when her tears have stopped flowing for her beloved Kurdish people, let the goddesses send her on her way to Washington, DC where she sits on the shoulder of this decadent, despicable man.

The Republicans constantly call strong women with democratic values 'witches'. Let them understand the power of a true goddess in their presence, as they plot their ugly assassination of American greatness right under our disbelieving eyes.

As for the Kurdish women soldiers and Hevrin Khalaf, I prostrate myself on the ground and grieve for the horror that Trump and America have unleashed on you. I am so, so, so sorry for this animalistic, subhuman atrocity that EVERY SEASONED MILITARY OFFICIAL TOLD TRUMP WOULD HAPPEN.

Still, Trump powered on — because he is Putin’s Puppet and Erdogan’s, too. Trump has killed the full promise of a great experiment in democracy; you are dead, and chaos reigns in Syria. But then, Donald Trump does not believe in democracy for the Kurds or for America. ~ Anne

Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Honored With Own Typeface Greta Grotesk

As the world goes totally mad, we must turn to the creatives -- that would be me -- to keep us from losing our minds entirely. LOL and crying through my tears.

Greta Thunberg has been honored with a typeface called Greta Grotesk, inspired by and emulating the teenage activist’s handwriting.

Tal Shub, creator of the typeface, is a designer based in New York who co-founded Uno, a company with a mission to eradicate single-use plastic bottles by offering a reusable alternative.

“We’re all very moved by how this girl has inspired so many people to take action,” Tal states. “From the very first moment of seeing her sign, I was really impressed by the bold design and clarity of the message.” As Greta’s letterings clearly struck a chord with many around the world, not just Tal, he was surprised at how little discussion there was around the actual typography. “Here’s this iconic piece of visual communication, yet nobody’s really paying attention to how that design is central to this movement. It’s really the classic typographic discussion – something that’s starring you in the face, but most people don’t pay attention to it,” he adds.

Read more details about Greta Grotesk’s typeface.

Art by Congo, the Famous Painting Ape, to Go on Sale at London's Mayor Gallery

Art by Congo, the Famous Painting Ape, to Go on Sale at London's Mayor Gallery

In December, a beloved 20th-century artist will finally get his due when a lot of 55 paintings by Congo the chimpanzee goes on exhibit at the Mayor Gallery in London.

The paintings are owned by Desmond Morris, who hosted “Zoo Time,” a U.K. show broadcast from the London Zoo in the 1950s.

Morris was no ordinary television host. He was a noted abstract painter, an ethologist (someone who studies animal behavior) and zoologist. He’s also the author of many popular science books, including 1967’s The Naked Ape, which examines humans through a zoologists lens.

As Nigel Reynolds at the Telegraph reports, one day Morris offered the young chimp Congo a pencil and the rest was history. “He took it [the pencil] and I placed a piece of card in front of him,” Morris recalls. “This is how I recorded it at the time, ‘Something strange was coming out of the end of the pencil. It was Congo’s first line. It wandered a short way and then stopped. Would it happen again? Yes, it did, and again and again.’”

LVMH Luxury Ventures Invests in California's Madhappy Streetwear Lounge Around Brand

In June 2019 Architectural Digest revealed two LA retail pop-ups created to promote mental health and inclusivity as critical brand DNA into the shopping experience. In the consummate LA lifestyle shopping experience, California gave us Madhappy and an invite to the local optimist group.

Before we start swooning, what about Madhappy’s sustainability credentials? We’re still looking but in F.A.Q. Madhappy answers the question of how to care for Mh products with the reply “We recommend washing on cold. Hang dry or dry on low heat. Lower environmental footprint + perfect for your Mh.” This fact does not answer our sustainable fabrics question.

Madhappy products are currently made in LA; Classics by Madhappy are available year-round with a flow of new seasonal colors. Limited capsule collections and collabs are never restocked.

Is Pharrell Williams singing ‘Happy’ running through your brain yet? It was in ours for the last 15 minutes, prompting us to imagine the perfect Madhappy festival, as directed by a blog post. Madhappy’s four co-founders: brothers Peiman Raf and celebrity stylist Noah Raf, Joshua Sitt, and Mason Spector have a big reason to be happy.

The LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Luxury Ventures subsidiary revealed that it has taken an investment position in Madhappy and its positivity-centric message. In March 2019, the smile-worthy streetwear concept raised $1.8 million from MeUndies founder Jonathan Shokrian, College Fashionista founder Amy Levin Klein, founders from Sweetgreen, and Justin Caruso, the son of American retail real estate magnate Rick Caruso.

Business of Fashion notes that LVMH’s “bet on a tiny streetwear label is a sign of the luxury giant’s eagerness to get on board with start-up culture and emerging fashion business models, even as its parent steers some of the industry’s biggest brands.”  

“LVMH is not trying to recreate [streetwear] from a distance by copying after the fact,” Shireen Jiwan, founder of Sleuth Brand Consulting told BoF. Instead, by way of investments like this and the appointment of figures like Virgil Abloh to top spots under its main umbrella, “they’re getting in front of it by collaborating with the organic creators of this new way of living, working, wanting, shopping, being.” 

Great Apes May Use Their Own Experience to Guess What Others Will Do, Giving Them 'Theory of Mind'

A new survey of 47 chimpanzees, bonobos and organgutans suggests great apes draw on personal experience to infer others’ actions, exhibiting a skill once thought to be unique to humans.

Great Apes May Use Their Own Experience to Guess What Others Will Do, Giving Them 'Theory of Mind'

As researchers led by Fumihiro Kano of Japan’s Kyoto University report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the findings add to a growing body of evidence indicating non-human animals possess “theory of mind,” or the ability to attribute mental states—including beliefs, desires and knowledge—to oneself and others.

According to Cosmos’ Tanya Loos, the study builds on a 2016 investigation also co-authored by Kano. The previous paper, published in the journal Science, showed that great apes are capable of recognizing when others are operating under a false set of assumptions—a key component of theory of mind.

To determine primates’ capacity for understanding false belief, Kano, lead coauthor Christopher Krupenye of Duke University and their colleagues conducted a series of anticipatory looking tests. In the 2016 experiment, great apes watched videos of humans—one dressed as a gorilla—hiding an object and then guessing where it was. One video showed the gorilla-suit actor hiding an object while another human watched. The person then had to guess where the object was hidden. A second video showed the gorilla-suit actor hiding an object after the other human left the room. When the person returned, they had to guess where the object was hidden.

TheRealReal x Burberry Relationship Promotes Deeply Personal Mutual Brand Loyalty

Writing for Forbes, Pamela N. Danziger digs beyond the obvious into the details of the newly-announced partnership between Burberry and TheRealReal. Officially the union promotes increasingly critical synergies in corporate responsibility and sustainable living in the fashion industry.

“Leading the way in creating a more circular economy for fashion is a key element of our Responsibility agenda,” Pam Batty, Burberry’s VP of corporate responsibility, said in a statement. “Through this new partnership we hope to not only champion a more circular future but encourage consumers to consider all the options available to them when they are looking to refresh their wardrobes.”

Burberry claims to have been at the “forefront of sustainability in fashion” for more than 15 years, an assertion that assertion may be up for debate among environmentalists. Surely Burberry doesn’t claim to share the Stella McCartney eco-conscious spotlight.

McCartney has been on the RealReal since 2018, experiencing a 65% increase in the number of consignors of her branded merchandise and a total increase of 74% of Stella McCartney items sold on the RealReal after announcing the partnership.

The real importance of the Burberry - RealReal relationship is lifetime customer acquisition, argues Danziger. More customers who experience both brands first at resale, then at full-price in a Burberry store, then returning to the trusted halo of The RealReal to resell and recycle. Sustainable, eco-conscious action is a critical issue, but don’t underestimate the inherent result of sustainable economics that translates into brand loyalty more intimate and personal than any ad campaign.

The RealReal reports demand for Burberry has increased 64% year-over-year, with Millennial and GenZ customer searches rising fastest on its site. In addition, the ThredUp 2019 Resale Report states that Burberry is the luxury brand with the best resale value; Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès, and Prada are lower on that list.

Related: Caroline Knudssen Fronts Riccardo Tisci’s NET-A-PORTER x Burberry Fall 2019 Collection

Stella McCartney Partners with DuPont + Ecopel on KOBA® Bio-Based Faux Fur

Natalia Vodianova wearing Koba faux fur by Stella McCartney.

Planet Green team leader Stella McCartney is launching KOBA® faux fur, a joint project with the designer, DuPont Biomaterials and global faux fur textile manufacturer Ecopel. The exciting new material, made from Sorona® bio-based fibers “claims both a lower carbon footprint and more luxurious feel than existing faux fur alternatives”, writes Vogue Business.

McCartney unveiled the exciting new faux fur at her spring 2020 ready-to-wear show.

“Polyester isn’t the same quality that we want, and the modacrylic doesn’t give us the sustainability that we want,” says Claire Bergkamp, Stella McCartney’s worldwide director of sustainability and innovation. “This is kind of bridging that gap,” Bergkamp explains in listing the merits of the new faux fur, compared to other market options.

Reflecting a new mood of shared innovation among leading fashion industry brands and manufacturers, Bergkamp hopes that Koba becomes an industry standard adopted by other fashion players. Saying she is keep to advise other labels about the latest developments around Koba, Bergkamp stresses reality. “This has to be a collaborative effort. It is a moment of climate crisis — and it is a genuine crisis. We want to show what’s possible, and show that these sustainable improvements can be beautiful [and] luxurious.”

SustainableBrands.com writes: “The new Koba® Fur-Free Fur by Ecopel is made with recycled polyester and up to 100 percent DuPont™ Sorona® plant-based fibers, creating the first commercially available faux furs using bio-based ingredients Koba — the collection of which ranges from classic mink styles to plush, teddy-style fur — can be recycled at the end of its long life, helping to keep ensure it never ends up as waste and closes the fashion loop; something that McCartney is passionate about, as she pushes toward circularity. It’s 37 percent plant-based Sorona material means that it consumes up to 30 percent less energy and produces up to 63 percent less greenhouse gas than conventional synthetics.

“We’ve been working with Stella McCartney for several years and we have clearly been positively influenced by her values,” Ecopel CEO Christopher Sarfati said in a statement. “Not only are we proud to offer animal-friendly alternatives to fur, but are even more proud to take the road less traveled in designing new ways to create faux fur. From recycled to bio-based, we are supporting a transition toward more sustainable materials.”

Planet-Friendly Denim Makes a Fashion Comeback | Eva Klimkova by Andreas Ortner for Gala Magazine

Planet-Friendly Denim Makes a Fashion Comeback | Eva Klimkova by Andreas Ortner for Gala Magazine

Czech model Eva Klímková is styled by Birgit Schlotterbeck in fashion-forward s(he)-leaning, feminine mixes with plenty of denim. There’s no doubt that denim is making a comeback. Even the Duchess of Sussex wore denim jeans and a denim jacket on her recent trip to South Africa.

In this well-styled, directional, denim-rich fashion editorial, Andreas Ortner is behind the lens for Gala Magazine’s October 2019 issue./ Beauty by Peggy Kurka

Kardashian-Jenner Women Launch Kardashian Kloset Resale on Friday, October 4

Kardashian-Jenners launch Kardashian Kloset resale platform.

Friday morning, 9am PST, doors will open to Kardashian Kloset, a new luxury resale venture initially populated with items belonging to Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian West and Kylie Jenner, writes Vogue Business. Handbags, shoes, sunglasses, costume jewelery and pre-loved clothing from Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner will follow in weekly drops.

In the US, resale is booming. The country’s total secondhand market, which includes resale, thrift and donations, is forecast to increase from $24 billion in 2018 to $51 billion in 2023. According to the 2019 Fashion Resale Report by Thredup, the US resale market has grown 21 times faster than traditional retail apparel in the last three years.

Vogue Business writes that while resale is a growing segment of sustainable consumption, in America it more often allows access to luxury items unaffordable at the original price. This dynamic is poised to change, however, as more women embrace resale as a core option of responsible consumption.

According to Marc Beckman, founding partner and CEO of advertising and representation agency DMA United, the resale market will also benefit from celebrity endorsements. “Influential celebrities can instantly eliminate the stigma attached to the secondary market,” he writes via email. “The Kardashian’s participation, if executed properly, will certainly accelerate acceptance and sales of previously owned and used merchandise.”

Edie Campbell Shoots Zara 'Keep It Uptown Campaign', While Accepting Fast Fashion Complicity

Edie Campbell Shoots Zara 'Keep It Uptown Campaign', While Accepting Fast Fashion Complicity

Manly or not? Top model Edie Campbell suits up in Zara’s latest fall 2019 trend campaign, heading to Manhattan’s Upper East Side in faux fur jackets, bourgeois plaid skirts, printed dresses and pussy-cat bow blouses — with lace collars, no less. Miss Manners is on the move.

AOC has spent time recently reflecting on the hypocrisy of writing about the critical need for sustainability in fashion — while simultaneously promoting it through blog posts. I’ve concluded that silence — or stopping the posting of fast fashion — it not the answer. But we will use each fast fashion post to search for and report on any sustainability-related updates by the brand — in this case Zara.

We will also use the same post to share any new industry info or essays around fast fashion. This compromise allows us to give readers what they see in terms of fashion trends and photography, while using the post to remind us that all of us fashionistas, and the insatiable lust for something new — are part of a very serious problem for our planet. Together, we must also be part of the solution.

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Edie concludes her essay — after citing glimmers of hope around sustainability in the fashion industry — with choice words, and not ones that will always get her more work.

“I would be proud to work with brands that shoot on a Norfolk beach, rather than flying a European crew to Mexico. I would love there to be more transparency on clothing labels. I would love the fashion industry to produce less and invest in more sustainable manufacturing methods and materials. Mostly, I would love people to buy less. Even if that would put me out of a job.”

Cara Delevingne, Rebellious Brit, Fronts Dior Joaillerie's Rose des Vents Collection

Top talent, actor, model and activist Cara Delevingne is now the face of Dior Joaillerie, starting with the brand’s Rose des Vents campaign. The Brit has modeled for the Dior brand before and is currently the face of its Addict Stellar Shine lipstick, but this is her first jewelry campaign.

Cara Delevingne for Dior’s Joaillerie Rose des Vents collection.

Describing Cara as “a rebellious English rose”, the announcement continues: ““Much more than a muse, the audacious icon is an endless source of inspiration. For Dior, Cara Delevingne upends the conventional jewellery codes with her characteristic whimsy.”

The Joaillerie's Rose des Vents collection is inspired by Christian Dior’s favorite flower, the rose, and his global travels. The importance of flowers in our lives was also celebrated by Maria Grazia Chiuri’s recent spring 2020 runway show for the luxury house.

In another of Chiuri’s deep-dives into the history of Christian Dior, the creative director was deeply inspired by Christian Dior’s sister Catherine, an active member of the French resistance. The bold, audacious ‘Miss’ in Miss Dior was captured by the French resistance and sent to Ravensbrück, an all-female concentration camp in northern Germany.

Catherine Dior, imprisoned French resistance activist and lover of flowers.

Catherine survived, returning to Paris where she sold her beloved flowers at Les Halles market, where she was the ONLY woman granted a license to trade as a ‘cut flowers broker’. Miss Dior became an acclaimed gardener, botanist and house consultant on flowers.

Catherine Dior’s love for blooms and nature also supported Chiuri’s commitment to the environment at her spring 2020 show. One of her noteworthy initiatives was working with the Paris-based environmental design collective Coloco, which will replant the “show trees” in projects around the city.

Christian Dior SS20 show Paris, Sept. 2019

Reformation + New Balance Sneaker Series Has Style and Sustainable Cred

In an exciting, affordable new collab, Reformation has joined forced with New Balance, to create a sneakers series that’s both stylist and sustainable. The October 10 launch featuring three styles in five color variations retails for $80 to $110 includes the 574 and X 90 New Balance sneakers. Colorways are neutral and color-blocked with color pops.

The sustainable cred includes soy-based inks for printing, recycled polyester compromising the lining, laces, labels, and shoe inserts made using EVA foam and BLOOM algae, “two products that help shoe manufacturers reduce the use of fossil fuels”, writes Teen Vogue.

GlamTribal Jewelry Now Shipped by Amazon | PRIME Members Rejoice!

GlamTribal Jewelry Now Shipped by Amazon | PRIME Members Rejoice!

Our first 10 styles of GlamTribal Earrings are now shipped by Amazon USA. The goal is to move 90% of our GlamTribal inventory into Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). International friends can buy the jewelry from Amazon.com, with shipping across the globe.

GlamTribal Jewelry and Anne of Carversville are passionate about elephants . . . like forever . . . like since I was a little girl. It was decades later in 2010, when I learned about woolly mammoths after seeing our adored former First Lady Michelle Obama wearing woolly mammoth ivory jewelry as part of a symposium on saving elephants.

At GlamTribal, we’re only talking mammoth bones beads in our jewelry. Nada ivory. Never.

Debate ensued from day one — noted then on Tree Hugger — that promoting long-dead woolly mammoth ivory as an ecological, sustainable and ethical alternative to murdering elephants was a win-win for all parties involved in the debate. Almost a decade later, the significant supply of woolly mammoth ivory on the global market has not stopped the killing of elephants for their ivory.

AOC has tracked both sides of the debate for years now, most recently with the decision at the August 2019 CITES conference — also known as World Wildlife Conference — in Geneva to table the Israeli proposal to declare the long-extinct woolly mammoth an endangered species until the 2022 meeting.

GlamTribal Jewelry only uses woolly mammoth bone beads, and bone beads from other mammoth species.

A 3.8-Million-Year-Old Skull Puts a New Face on a Little-Known Human Ancestor

A 3.8-Million-Year-Old Skull Puts a New Face on a Little-Known Human Ancestor

Spotting the intact Australopithecus skull in the Ethiopian dirt caused paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie to literally jump for joy. “It was something that I’ve never seen before, and I’ve seen a lot of cranial fossils,” he says.

The chance discovery by Haile-Selassie and an Ethiopian shepherd has created a captivating portrait of 3.8-million-year-old face, providing an unprecedented look at a hominin species from a key stage of human evolution. Experts say the extraordinary fossil can help redefine the branches of humans’ evolutionary tree during a time when our ancestors had just evolved efficient ways to walk upright.

“This cranium looks set to become another celebrated icon of human evolution,” Fred Spoor, a human evolution researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, writes in a News & Views article that accompanied Haile-Selassie and colleagues’ new study in the journal Nature.

New York City Considers Again A Ban on Foie Gras, As Farmers Refute Animal Abuse Claims

New York City’s reputation for fine dining makes it one of the premier destinations for eating foie gras in the country. The renowned but increasingly-controversial delicacy made by force-feeding ducks and geese has been banned in states like California, overturned in a court decision, only to have a federal appeals court reinstate the ban. California bans the force-feeding of animals, a tenet also at the heart of new legislation before the New York City Council.

New York City looks increasingly likely to ban foie gras, and fowl farmers aren’t happy about it. A bill sponsored by Carlina Rivera, a city councilwoman who represents Manhattan neighborhoods, would prohibit the sale of the delicacy, and levy fines of up to $1,000 to businesses that violate the ban.

The bill, which already has the support of half of the Council in the form of co-sponsors is also supported in principle by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“It’s a purely luxury product,” said Ms. Rivera, who conceded to having tasted foie gras before she knew how it was made. (“I wasn’t a fan,” she said.)

Foie gras advocates say claims of torture are exaggerated and politically motivated. Mark Caro, author of ‘The Foie Gras Wars’, an overview of all aspects of the controversy argues that the uproar is overstated. “If you try to get people to give up their cheap chicken, you would have a problem, because it would affect their budgets,” Caro is quoted in the New York Times.

The attempts to ban foie gras are rooted in the wave of populism that has swept the country. Caro believes that attacking the lifestyles of the 1% is part of today’s political activism. There is no agreement among scientists and credentialed professionals associated with the food industry about whether foie gras is the product of torture and inhumane punishment of animals. The Times goes in-depth to educate us on all the nuances involved in this long-fought battle around foie gras.

AOC first took up the topic in 2009.