People, Planet, Profit: Organic Jeans Made in Italy

Last week I was in Florence to visit the fifth edition of Terra Futura, the national meeting-exhibition of the “good practices” of sustainability. The goal of that event is to bring the whole society towards a process of global sensitization. 500 expositive areas and more than 4000 companies showed visitors a lot of products and services, which have been made according to the sustainability’s principles. A free exhibition with a calendar of cultural events including conferences, seminars, workshops and laboratories focused on many themes: energy, water, pollution, recycling, architecture, and economics.

Among others, interior design and fashion departments were on show in Terra Futura.
Where better than in Florence? Fashion and clothing have been representing a must for centuries here and the city hosts the world`s biggest men`s fashion event: Pitti Immagine Uomo. Every year in January and June, many Italian and foreign designers reach in Florence to participate to that cool show, calling a very big attention on the city.

Walking along the expositive stands I was really surprised to see old bags and dresses remade into a completely new garment. The emerging eco-clothing market is very exciting and public seem willing to pay for sustainable design. More and more small-scale designers choose to create their collections from things already in existence following these principles:

- Responsible innovation
- Ethical commerce
- Fair trade
- Recycling
- Bio-degradable organic and synthetic fabrics

The reference point for eco-business in Italy is a pioneer company named Lifegate. Starting out with the Radio Station Lifegate Radio, that project nowadays includes plus a holistic clinic, the organic restaurant Lifegate Café, an Web portal with music shop, a monthly magazine and projects in

eco-engineering. In recent years the company has expanded its presence on the Italian market additionally into Eco Fashion.

Lifegate Jeans is their latest project. The Jeans are entirely made in Italy and the cotton comes from Europe, is organic and cultivated without the use of pesticides, chemical products or OGM. The fabric is dyed with pure indigo and it’s washed with water and pumice stone. The same ecological criteria are plus applied to the production of the buttons, zippers, stitching and labels.

The jeans are available in seven styles (3 for women, 3 for men and one unisex) that are named for various Eastern philosophic traditions (Kundalini, Tantra, Moon, Om, Siddhi, Jagger and Mantra) and look totally hot on the models. Available online, they cost from 80 to 100 euro. A 5% of their profits is committed to projects to raise the awareness of sustainability. Lifegate Jeans is a great example that shows Eco Fashion has nothing to do with Hippie look but it’s trendy, chic and avant-garde not only as a philosophy.

“Organic clothes are those for which no chemical synthetic substance is used in the productive cycle” says Giuditta Blandini, owner of the Stile Biologico (”Biological Style”) store in Florence. “The advantages to the environment are huge. In order to cultivate the organic fabrics pesticides are not used, and therefore huge advantages are created for manufacturers and for the whole system.”

Are you allergic to chemical coloring used to dye the fabrics? Eco friendly clothing is a good GREEN OPTION for you!

Source: Greenplanet

Look additionally:
Organic Clothing For the Masses

Image from: stuff@night

[Source] Eva Pratesi

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