Be Awear - Taking what we wear and telling a good story

Last week I had the chance to get interviewed by Kestral Jekins the curator and founder of Be Awear. The idea is that we all have the ability to be Change makers using our clothing as a conduit for that positive change.
How often are you out with a group of friends and someone says "Oh I love your (sweater, dress, scarf, earrings, shoes... you name it)"?
The statement is an invitation to tell a story.
It could be a short story - "I bought it at the GAP on sale" - or it could be a story that gets people thinking and engaged.
What if your response instead is, "I got this used from a friend of mine I have known for 10 years, or I spent months searching for the perfect organic cotton jeans and here they are, or I bought this from ABC company who is committed to sourcing everything Fair Trade and out of recycled materials."

Our clothes have the opportunity to share a story about the world we want to see, about how one lives their values through the purchases we make.  And acts as a starting place for a robust conversation toe hare stories about the people who make our clothes, what they are made out of and how we are part of a global connection to everyone along that supply chain.

Check out a video I did to share the Awear story and visit the site to see a lot of fashionable, passionate change makers that will inspire you to look at your clothes differently.

And adopt the BeAwear Principles - they are good rules of thumb when you go shopping!

Nicole's guide to the Holidays

Hello Everyone

I know you are going shopping. So I wanted to arm you with some things to think about when you purchase your gifts in the next few weeks.

We live in a time, where we have more than enough, so here is the theme...

Buy Less, Buy Better

Buy Less

Save yourself some money, giving a gift does not have to be a new THING.

• Give of gift of something homemade or something you don't use any more
• Give a gift of chores - wash your friend's floor, watch their kids for a night, rake their lawn, help them paint a room they always have wanted to do... the list is endless.
• Give the gift of appreciation - sit down for 10 minutes and write a note to someone about how much they mean to you. Think about how wonderful it feels to be appreciated.

Buy Better

• Buy used. I was in a Goodwill the other day and found some beautiful items that I know friends would appreciate, used is the new black.
• Buy organic - it can be food or clothing, but this gift is not only a nice treat for the receiver, but also for the farmers and the communities who grow organic crops.
• Buy Fair Trade. This is not charity, it is about good and fair business being done all the time. Each time you support Fair Trade you are directly helping workers at the lowest levels of the supply chain gain access to a better living.

My Favorite brands right now:

PACT - All organic and super cute T's, socks and underwear.

prAna - prAna is offering more organic and Fair Trade styles than the company ever has before. You will love the designs.

NAU - I am a huge fan and appreciate all of the work that goes into the designs of their products, and the contents are recycled, organic or TENCEL.

Metiseko - this amazing company is a French couple living in Vietnam who are focusing on all organic cotton and silk styles. I got to meet them when I was there 2 years ago. Amazing products. 

Green e-bay - e-bay has a specific site for all things green - worth checking out especially if you have kids.

The Body Shop - continues to innovate around sustainable innovation for farmers and customers around the globe. And I LOVE the smell of pink grapefruit!

Share your favorite sustainably designed products for the holidays. 

Holiday cheer

Now in full disclosure I do become a bit of a scrooge around this time of year.  I can't handle the over consumption, but at the same time I want to give gifts to my friends and family.  So I end up feeling stuck in the middle.
This is a hard year for many people who feel stuck in the middle.  There is a very visible need to conserve money and resources since the unemployment rate remains quite high in the USA, however the only solution that gets thrown around is to consum more to get our economy going.  You can see the problem here.  There are a lot of smart people trying to figure this out and what healthy economy looks like.

I come back to the idea of values and investing your hard earned dollars into quality not quantity, less equals more and dealing with our drive to consume for the sake of consumption.  This holiday, as with every holiday, we have an opportunity to do more with our money.  And while it is hard to justify spending $80 instead of $60 for a sweater, realize that buying cheap has some pretty negative impacts. (Check out this article on how Walmart has destroyed the environment and our jobs)

There is an opportunity to do more that just tick off a name from your TO DO list.

Here are some things to keep in mind when you are shopping:

• Does the company you are purchasing from have a strategy for its social and environmental impact?
• Is this product Organic, Fair Trade, Local?
• Is this cute for now, but will be first in line at the next garage sale?
• Does this gift add value to this person's life for the better?

Enjoy the season and enjoy the opportunity to help shape the world to be a little better in 2012.

Can't Afford Sustainability?

I get this comment a lot -

"Well I wish I could afford to buy Organic, Fair Trade, sustainable, etc. but it is just too expensive".

I felt I had to address this.  The reason why so many people look at the issue this way is that they are taking the old model of buying things and applying the surcharge for sustainability.  For instance, yes if you were to go to the store and buy a box of pasta for 99 cents and the organic option was $1.59 and you applied this to all of your purchases - then yes it looks more expensive.

This is a great example of how we need to look at HOW we buy and how to make better decisions.  For instance - how much do you buy and waste?  We don't value things that are cheap - I make the whole box of pasta and then throw out half because I made too much and I forget that I don't like day old pasta.  OR I make half the box of the organic, and the other half another day.
So with this example you can totally argue - well I could just be more resourceful and not buy organic and save money.  This is true, but the point of this conversation is to figure out HOW to support your values with what you buy.  So one approach is waste less of what you buy - use it up, be aware of how much you actually need before you go shopping and choose to buy products that are more sustainable when you do.

The other approach is to buy less - and spend your money in quality not quantity.  Yes that means 3 pairs of pants a year instead of 5, but if you could buy organic or recycled fibers, the impact your are making is significant.

And also I tell people - focus on the big things - like big purchases. When you go to buy a Fridge or Washing Machine, if you get the energy efficient option you actually end up saving money in the long run with your energy bills being lower.

Think about the entire cost all the way through how you use the things you buy, what you might waste and do you really need as much?