EDUN

EDUN is a global fashion brand founded by Ali Hewson and husband Bono in 2005 to promote trade in Africa by sourcing production throughout the continent; in 2009, the brand became part of the LVMH group EDUN is building long-term, sustainable growth opportunities by supporting manufacturers, infrastructure and community building initiatives in Africa and currently manufacture 95% of the collection in Africa. The brand builds on relationships and skills that translate into beautiful quality garments made with integrity, care, and ethics.

STELLA MCCARTNEY

When it comes to sustainability, no one goes above and beyond quite like Stella McCartney does. The British fashion designer has made sure that all of her stores, offices and studios in the UK are powered by wind energy that is provided by Ecotricity, a company that invests the money its customers spend on electricity into clean forms of power like wind.  Outside the UK they use renewable energy to power stores and offices whenever possible. 45% of its operations are run on 100% renewable, green energy and 65% are run on partially green energy*. McCartney opened her first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified store in 2011 in Dallas. The store is equipped with solar panels and a new energy efficient air-conditioning unit. Her products are sustainable as well, including her range of elegant Noemi totes that are made in Nairobi, Kenya, and are produced with the International Trade Center’s Ethical Fashion Program (ITC).

AMOUR VERT

Amour Vert means ‘Green Love’ in French, but it also means American manufacturing, non-toxic dyes, sustainable fibers, innovative fabrics, a zero waste design philosophy, and enduring style. All Amour Vert garments are assembled in San Francisco, where the company works with nine factories they vet for fair treatment of workers. They use non-toxic dyes and, in their production process, have made sure to reduce the number of times each garment is washed, to save water. This eco-friendly company even has Gwyneth Paltrow’s seal of approval: the Oscar winner recently paired up with the brand to create a line of T-shirts for her website, Goop. The company is doing great things in other ways as well: for every T-shirt sold from its T(r)ee collection, they plant a tree.

REFORMATION

Downtown LA-based fashion designer Yael Aflalo is creating the cool girl’s sustainable clothing. All of her items for her fashion line, Reformation, are made from super sustainable materials like Tencel, rescued deadstock fabrics, and repurposed vintage clothing. The company, of which supermodel Karlie Kloss recently became an investor, works with fabric mills to develop fabrics made from fibers that have a much lighter environmental footprint compared with conventional cotton or polyester. About a third of its fabrics are vintage or deadstock, which means that they give fabric that may be destined for the landfill a second life.