Carrie's periwinkle dress and Rhonda's pink dress are from Carilyn Vailes Green Label Line and are made of bamboo. (carilynvaile.com). Rhonda's orange dress is by Juul, it is also bamboo ($325). Daphne is wearing an organic cotton/hemp blend dress by Deborah Lindquist. $210 (greenrohini.com).
GREEN MEANS GO!
It's Up to All of Us Whether the Eco Movement
is Here to Stay or Just a Passing Trend
Photos by Steven James May
I just read that Gisele Bündchen has a green blog. She's following in the footsteps of green supermodel Cindy Crawford. Supermodel Angela Lindvall, meanwhile, shares co-hosting duties with Entourage's Adrian Grenier on Planet Green's new "Alter-Eco" series... Josie Maran has an organic cosmetics line. And the original eco-model, Summer Rayne Oaks, shares her views in the "Ask Summer Rayne" column on Planet Green's website.
Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio... Beautiful green people are the hot new trend. And as far as I am concerned, it's fantastic. The more people getting the word out, the better!
My concern, though, is that we glamour pusses are only reaching a very small portion of the population: the disposable-income Vanity Fair readers who shop at Barneys as a hobby and go organic wine-tasting in Silver Lake between takes.
People might think I'm covering the same green celeb territory with Envi-Image. But the difference is: I shopped at Ross today, not Barneys. Yes, I had the misfortune of having to go to Home Depot, and there happened to be a Ross next door. So I popped in to see if they had any shorts for my son to play sports in.
Kids grow like weeds, and destroy their clothes (that's just for starters). Regular people living real lives, myself included, can't afford to buy expensive eco-clothes for their kids all the time. Neither can most anyone, considering that approximately 40 percent of American children live in low-income families.
Try shopping at such discount clothing stores. I was there for hours reading one label after another that said "100% Polyester/Made in Bangladesh" (or China), clothing possibly from sweatshops. The energy it takes just to transport these items halfway around the globe could probably light up Manhattan for a year. Polyester is the world's most popular polymer, even though many experts say that it is the worst fabric you can buy, synthetic and processed with toxic chemicals, manufactured using antimony, which is not only carcinogenic but also toxic to the heart, lungs, liver, and skin.
This particular polyester-infested Ross store was in Van Nuys, CA. For those who don't know Ross, it's comparable to a Marshall's or TJ Max. You can get 3 pairs of shorts and a shirt for $13. So, how are we going to convince 37 million working-class Americans to give up such bargains for more eco-friendly, planet-saving, health-preserving, costlier choices?
That's right. We're not. The only solution will come when eco-friendly options are available to all classes of people. And that change will come only if those who can afford to vote with their dollars today start buying sustainable fabrics and supporting green issues.
But lately I've been seeing some rays of hope. There is an abundance of eco-luxury prêt-à-porte on the runways; and some of my favorite designers, like Carilyn Vaile, have launched green-label lines to supplement their collections. Target, Wal-Mart, Levi's, and JCPenney have come out with affordable green lines for women, babies and home décor. And Victor-innovatex.com has even developed an eco-polyester for interiors and furniture.
It seems that there is a race to go green. And although some may think that this trend will last about as long as a Chia Pet, is the green movement's lifespan is really up to us. As long as consumers demand eco products with our dollars, their prices will go down and so many good things will be here to stay.
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