Interview with Anna Griffin, publisher of Coco Eco magazine.
(Launching October 18th.)

You’re a popular commentator on the LA greenscene. You’ve filmed videos for Ecorazzi. We met on MySpace where you host some really terrific interviews with Hollywood celebrities and green business leaders. In a few days you’re launching your own new green fashion magazine online… Coco Eco…  It’s a labor of love, isn’t? How did the name come about? Coco Chanel? Who is involved?

Coco Eco Magazine is much more than a love.  It’s a privilege.  I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to do this, and be surrounded by very talented and visionary individuals who’ve made this a reality. 

The name came accidentally.  We were building under another name until we ran into trademarking issues, and to be honest, I don’t remember when I thought of Coco Eco.  It just came to me, and when I thought about it, it stuck.  Everyone loved it, and that was that.  And of course it doesn’t hurt paying accidental hommage to the world’s greatest fashion icon! 

As to my team, I have the best and brightest people in the eco-scene working with me.  They really are mavericks!  My Beauty Director is Emma Pezzack, CEO of Futurenatural.com, our Photo Director is Courtney Dailey who is one of the hottest new photographers in LA, and our Senior Stylist is Robin Garvick who is THE eco-celeb fashion stylist in town.  We also have Contributors like the legendary Barbara Kramer of Designers & Agents, Stefanie La Rue, breast cancer survivor and Founder of SLAM.

This isn’t going to be easy for me, because I know little or nothing about fashion, let alone sustainable fashion down under, so bare with me… You’ll have to do most of the typing. I know Australia for a few things, it used to be a prison planet… it gave birth to Mad Max and a whole new fetish fashion set… there’s weird tales of magic in the vastness… all of this must inspire a new green fashion magazine to reconnect with the elements… am I far from the mark?

Ha! Well funnily enough the screenwriter of Mad Max has said that the script was based on “the thesis that people would do almost anything to keep vehicles moving and the assumption that nations would not consider the huge costs of providing infrastructure for alternative energy until it was too late”. Sounds eerily spot on! I wish I could say it wasn’t the case here in Australia, but I think living in the city is the same anywhere – we have all lost touch with our surroundings and the magic of the land. I grew up in New Zealand so probably had more of a connection with nature while growing up, but it tends to get lost in the everyday living of city life. Then I had a baby… having a young child tends to make you look at things differently, you want everything to be clean, green and chemical-free. So I started looking into organics and other aspects of fashion and the environmental and social cost. The more I researched, the more I realised I couldn’t turn a blind eye anymore, so I dove in head first, and Peppermint was born! 

Launch Date: Fall 2006
Location of Headquarters: Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
Location of Manufacturing: Halifax, NS and Vancouver, BC
Number of Staff: 1

Deep on the Canadian peninsula of Nova Scotia, Anna Gilkerson designs, cuts and sews deux fm (pronounced deux femmes).  Her mission is clear: Inspire ethical and environmental awareness by implementing sustainable action through innovative design. Well, luckily for all of us eco style fanatics, Anna’s “innovative design” does not sacrifice an ounce of sophistication in her pursuit of ecological responsibility. deux fm exudes a 1940′s-era romantic elegance, while serving you modern women’s business attire in recycled and sustainably harvested fibers. Ces deux femmes sont très chic et très vert!

I source from local used clothing outlets and store/factory close-outs. I also know a few vintage clothing dealers and I can get (in bulk sometimes) great vintage fabrics or home textiles.
I use my production scraps as well…Our recycled fabrics are often broken down from other garments that are not relevant to modernity. I love the fabrics I can get from some of the most hideous garments. I shop in the plus size section a lot so we can get more of the good stuff!

We source all of our products, fabrics, accessories, etc. in Canada- maybe about 2% in the US. We produce all of clothing in Canada. I support Canadian fabric suppliers because I want to cut down on fuel for travel and I like to support as local as possible. It is not possible that Canada manufactures fabric unfortunately. Our bamboo fabrics come either from South Korea or China but they are sourced from Canadian suppliers.

Deux fm is about sustainable trends. I know that sounds like an oxymoron but it really isn’t. I am very much inspired from vintage fashions (I grew up working in a vintage clothing store) and the days of the past. All of our collections are based on classic styles that never go out of fashion…Fall 2008 was really about the working woman. Almost every woman needs a great suit. I wanted the collection to be sexy and celebrate the woman’s body while still having a sort-of polite and ladylike feel. I called the collection “Pretty Rebel” as I was seeing structured black coming back in a big way, balanced with pale and muted feminine tones and textures.

Describe the piece of clothing in your own collection that you wear more than anything else?

Personally I am all about comfort. I live in my soft wool tees for fall, I will get a lot of wear out of the pants too. I live in the countryside so dressing up generally means a t-shirt and jeans.

I think it is happening!…Companies I would never have dreamed of joining the green movement are joining in droves. I think even the topmost executives at large clothing companies are realizing that this is really happening and if they want to stay current and on the cutting edge they must adapt.

What’s next for deux fm?

We are introducing an eco swimwear line for Spring 09 and we will be coming out with our new Resort 08/09 collection of recycled bikinis…We will also be attending either Pool or Project for the first time this winter so watch out for us there!

In 2005, Jenny Hwa and loyale clothing received the OSSA Award from the Sustainable Style Foundation and the Youth Award from the Collage Foundation. loyale contributes 3% of annual profits to Green Corps, a non-profit which has to date trained over 400 young people as our next generation of environmental leaders. Jenny has garnered quite a lot of great press over the years, most recently in Plenty magazine. Victoria E once quoted Jenny as a fan of Francoise Hardy. loyale clothing is carried by 45 retailers around the country. On the eve of another fashion week in New York, Jenny and I talk green shop for a little bit.

We keep looking for ways to make the anti-nuclear movement as cool as green is now. Maybe a line of anti-nuke yoga clothes? (says I half jokingly…) You pioneered organic cotton in yoga wear… Probably planted seeds for the Green Yoga Association. How is it that sustainable fashion has become a political statement, in the way we spend our dollar? Are we witnessing a re-organization of human culture around green ideals, one that may possibly alter the global world economy? Is the result of our green buying decisions being felt by cotton producing nations? Is the eco-fashion movement making a difference?
 
The eco-fashion movement is making a significant difference because it is creating a dialogue.  This dialogue begins to get people thinking and then acting.  People want to make a positive impact in their lifetime, but feel overwhelmed or don’t know where to begin.  With green clothing, for example, people know they need to buy clothing and get dressed in the morning, suddenly they hear about all this buzz about organic cotton t-shirts and say hmmmm…why do I care or need this?  Then perhaps do a bit of internet research and see that conventional cotton farming is using 25% of the world’s insecticides and that 14 million people a year in the USA alone are drinking pesticide contaminated water – that is the epiphany moment, when they realize why it is important to support organic cotton farming and then they tell their friends about it.  This is how green fashion is going to make a difference – each person taking a small step that creates a chain reaction.  This is my motivation behind loyale…It is not just about clothing, but the message and setting off a positive chain reaction.

Launch Date: Fall 2007
Location of Headquarters: Encinitas, CA
Location of Manufacturing: San Diego and LA
Number of Staff: 2
Design Heroes: Rogan Gregory, Issey Miyake, John Varvatos, the team at Trovata

Chad Alasantro (formerly a designer with Reef and Aaron Chang) and Joe Kudla (formerly a model for D&G, Versace, BCBG) have successfully created some of the most exciting eco graphic tees we’ve seen in quite some time, here in eco fashion land. The 100% organic cotton designs are colorful, classic and extremely intriguing. It’s not the typical, obtuse green messaging that we’ve seen in 2008, that seemed sooo au current in ’07. Vuori instead captures images of flora and fauna integrating with the human and the spiritual realm in a way that is artful and edgy. Vuori miraculously grows most of their cotton in the US, and their cut and sew production in Southern California. Each of their designs pays tribute to an environmental hero, like Simran Sethi, Nathalie Fobes, and Graham Hill.

What was your inspiration behind Vuori?
Both Chad and I drew inspiration for Vuori from our experiences traveling extensively to various remote parts of the world and seeing first hand deteriorating eco-systems and the effects of global warming…Along with being avid surfers and adventurous people where the natural environment has played a big part in our lives, these travel experiences have opened our eyes to just a few of the environmental issues facing our generation and has resulted in a strong appreciation for the natural world.

Where is your organic cotton grown?
We try to source our cotton domestically as much as possible in which case the cotton is actually picked in Texas, but at times we are forced to use textile company’s that source their yarn from overseas. We are approximately 75% domestic, 25% overseas.

What are some of the influences that come together in your graphics?
Chad: I think I derive influences from all types of artists. Influences may be from a film like “Into the Wild” or the sounds that Eddie Vedder makes. It may come from the whimsical techniques/paintings of Thomas Campell and Herbert Baglione from Brazil. The surrealistic works of Robert Williams. Dan Eldon is so inspiring, the journals he kept before his death as a young photojournalist motivate my love for photography. Just to name few inspiring individuals.

When it comes to men’s eco fashion, what labels if any do you feel are really bringing it?
From a contemporary design standpoint, I have to give props to Loomstate and Edun, both of which are designed by Rogan Gregory. However, in terms of having amazing vision and really showing the rest of us what is possible, the company that continues to inspire us is Patagonia. They were the first to play in this space, and they continue to set the standard in term of what it means to be an eco-friendly company.

How did you choose the “environmentalists, activists, and humanitarians whose visions inspire us to live with more awareness,” that are featured on the inside of your shirts?
…We consider anyone and everyone from famous musicians to grassroots activists….we look for people whose efforts speak to us. They range from musicians that fuel their tour buses using bio-diesel to journalists that are raising the issues by writing amazing pieces on the environment, to grassroots activists lobbying to protect our rainforests in Washington.

What’s next?
…In terms of the collection we would love to see Vuori grow into a full collection including wovens, fleece, and denim, but we are enjoying the ride so not in a huge rush. We’re letting things happen organically.

What other way would they?

Having been an environmentalist most of my life, brought up in the halls of fashion as the chouchou d’ELLE in the 50′s and 60′s, it never really dawned on me the importance of beauty products and cosmetics had in the grand scheme of things. Then I read that a hair dresser in the UK by the name of Maurice Ward had mixed a few things from his salon together and miraculously came up with a substance more resistant to heat that the NASA space shuttle tiles. He named it Starlite after Bakelite, the first plastic, its jewelery still prized today.

In recent years, the work of architect Bill McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart at MBDC, implementing their cradle-to-cradle product development philosophy, led to the creation of green chemistry departments at Universities all over the world, most notably at Yale, now working on safer formulas for the beauty industry. Interesting how again, architecture and fashion cross path to share missions.

Emma Pezzack’s Futurenatural came online last year and quickly established itself as one of the most successful all natural and organic supply house for enlightened consumers as well as professional make-up artists wishing to green their kits. Emma joined forces with Anna Griffin, Courtney Dailey and Stacy Malkan at GreenMUA to lead the way in Hollywood.