They use natural (and often certified organic) ingredients, create packaging from post-consumer waste, buy wind energy to power their company, and even remake their box comps into folders. And now, reports WWD, Aveda, the Minnesota-based Estée Lauder subsidiary, has gone where no beauty company has gone – to Hamburg, where the Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency bestowed Cradle to Cradle certification upon seven of its products as well as its packaging. The designation, bestowed on only two other companies so far, means that Aveda has considered the entire life cycle of the prod
News flash: Green really might be the new black.
What if sustainable, ethical clothing becomes the norm instead of the exception? As apparel companies focus in on value rather than price in sourcing, that very scenario was floated at the WWD Sourcing & Supply Chain Leadership Forum earlier this month, by no less an industry player than Rick Darling, president of sourcing giant Li & Fung USA.“I actually think [corporate social responsibility] is becoming very much an assumed trait,” said Darling. “The debates about whether it costs money or doesn’t cost money are no longer valid… I think sustainability will probably be, along with q
The Gap (San Francisco)
The economic downturn has been punishing for many apparel companies and designers, but it could prove to be a new beginning for the Gap. After all, while the economy grew in recent years, the 40-year-old basics chain floundered; but with fashion-world darling Patrick Robinson at the helm, and shoppers increasingly seeking value for their limited budgets, the Gap may just be poised to reclaim its
T by Alexander Wang (New York)
New York's It Boy hardly qualifies as up-and-coming these days, having added accessories and now a T-shirt line to his wildly popular collection of hard-edged, '80s-inspired womenswear. With a CFDA/Vogue award under his belt along with a mentorship under Diane von Furstenburg; his photo in all the party pages; legions of "Wangsters" around the globe replicating, if not always purchasing, his slou
News flash: Menswear sales are up!
Yes, you read that right – UP. In this market. Tom Ford and Lanvin menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver declare in Saturday's Financial Times that this is because men shop for necessary things, whereas women shop for recreation. This from the purveyors of extremely necessary $10,000 fur boots and T-shirts "decorated with a bib of wooden beads", respectively…Still, one can't entirely fault their logic. Let's face it, men have (for the most part) been keeping their closets pared to the essentials, which means that if something wears out, they have to buy a new one, no matter how gloomy the
News flash: Openings and closings
The tab for Topshop's opening bonanza last week, rife with celebrities, cocktail parties in-store and at The Box, and two nights of dinners at Balthazar, is estimated at a hefty $1.8 million (and please, did they count the cost of construction -- including moving stairways around -- on that huge space, not to mention renting it for over a year without selling anything?). A much-needed infusion in
News flash: Michelle, notre belle
If you thought Michelle Obama's sartorial choices were being microscopically scrutinized since her husband took office, that coverage doesn't even begin to compare to the breathless adoration that followed her jaunt through Europe. Each time she changed clothes (sometimes en route), all the blogs lit up with the latest designer names: Alaïa! Etro! Junya! Spurned designers morphed into pundits, wi
News flash: Opening Ceremony goes trans-Pacific
We've been saying for months that Opening Ceremony is the new Barneys, and darned if they haven't gone and proved our point by announcing their first international shop opening -- in that edgiest of fashion meccas, Tokyo. Since opening up shop on a dingy New York block in 2002, they've expanded their original boutique from a single floor featuring a dozen meticulously selected designers, to,
