From The Rooftops

10 Green Brands You Should Know – 2 of 2

This is the second half of my conversation about 10 Green Brands You Should Know. As with part 1, our goal is to shed some light and spark some conversation regarding some little-known brands who “get it.” The brands we’ll be discussing today range from celebrity fashion to web-based tools. As usual, I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of it: does Icebreaker lose credit because it’s from far away in New Zealand? Does the Sonic Fabric tie need to use recycled polyester as well, before we ‘sing’ its praises? What other brands deserve inclusion? Hit the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

Osborn Design Studios shoes

The process by which I came to learn about Osborn Design shoes is a classic example of trust and Word of Mouth. Celebrity and all-around good guy Jason Mraz went to the Grammy Awards in a sustainability poster boy outfit including an EcoGir suit (another great green brand, though not exactly unknown), a Sonic Fabric tie (which I’ve known about and admired for a while, and is discussed below), a Culturata organic cotton shirt and Osborn Design shoes. While I’m familiar with all of these brands except for Osborn, I had no idea that Mraz wore any of this because I don’t pay much attention to the Grammys. My friend Sara doesn’t pay much attention to the Grammys either, but she pays a lot of attention to Jason Mraz (I’d tease her about it, but … I mean… look at that sustainable cutie—can you blame her?). Because I pay attention to—and trust—her, I came to see and take note of her retweet of his blog post on the subject. Because I was familiar with—and trusted—the credentials of the other brands I came to trust Mraz’s sense of sustainability style, allowing it to carry over to the Osborn line.

Mraz writes on his blog:

“The Osborn Design Shoes were my lady-killers for sure. Hand crafted in Guatemala, these Fair-Trade shoes are one of a kind. Osborn works with the artisans directly. Each pair is signed and numbered by the cobbler.”

Now you know as much as I do—but not for long, because I think I want a pair!

Sonic Fabric

It’s hard to wear a black tie and feel very unique, ecologically-inclined or terribly creative. Sonic Fabric is changing that. In simple offerings of black, grey or dark brown, Sonic Fabric ties exude a sense of innovation and uniqueness (not to mention dashing aesthetics) with fashionably designed ties that are constructed of a remarkable 50/50 blend of polyester (yawn) and …cassette tape. That’s right, folks, Journey’s greatest hits lives on and, remarkably, is cool again! An interesting corollary to the use of magnetically-tweaked cassette tape is that, despite its new life as a garment, the fabric is still “listenable.” Sonic Fabric answers what must be a common question, “what ever inspired you to weave fabric from cassette tape in the first place?” and even explains how to repurpose your funkyfresh old Walkman in order to listen to your tie (I can assure you that I never thought I would type those words).

The best part about all this is that these innovative, fun ties are thus a great conversation starter for two reasons: they have a great sustainability/handmade crafty story and they can freakin’ play music. I know it’s an easy tagline to write, but I’m still going to say it anyway: sustainable fashion never sounded so good.

Kashless

Our next entrant is not a consumer product, but a great brand: useful, innovative, savvy and more. Kashless is another Pacific Northwest production that I think has a lot of potential to stir things up in all sorts of wonderful, sustainable ways. Why? Allow me to provide you with a simple equation: new technology + free, used items = two great tastes that taste great together.

Web 2.0 and location-based resources are all the rage. What else is all the rage? Conscientious consumption. It should be no surprise, then, that these two trends are coming together in important and useful ways. Kashless is one of several web resources coming up (such as ooffoo, among others) that are stepping into this space and really making a difference. One of the greatest impediments to buying used items in lieu of new items is the fact that, well, ‘the odds are good that the goods are odd,’ and searching high and low for a non-new solution can take time. If you want to find a particular item (a size 15.5” 34-35 dress shirt that didn’t come out of the ‘70s, for instance), you might wind up visiting several shops (and going a long way to try on one measly shirt via Craigslist) before finding something that works. A visit to a regular department store, however, will certainly yield dozens of options. Enter Kashless. Kashless is a website trying to help lower the search costs associated with connecting people who have items they’d like to give away, and people who would otherwise have to buy the product new. Win-win-win.

SoupCycle

SoupCycle delivers, by bike, wholesome, organic soup to your door. It is the sort of sustainability home run story that essentially writes itself: Organic? Yep. Local? You betcha. Seasonal? Quite. Delivered by bike? Even in the rain. SoupCycle supports local organic farms, getting healthy, delicious food to homes, and by doing so, they reduce the need for carbon-intensive delivery trucks (or the corresponding single-occupant trips to the store).

Their brand personality, like their soup, is flavorful, fun and accessible. By signing up, you become one of hundreds of “soupscribers” who receive weekly deliveries of vegan, vegetarian or meat soups that are delicious, creative and enjoyable. Depending upon your location in Portland (they call it “Souplandistan”), you receive your weekly delivery on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, in serving sizes that you specify and with accouterments (salad, breadsticks, etc.) that round out the meal. Regions (within PDX) include: Souptopia, SoupCycle Central, The People’s Republic of Soup, and Soup-Urbanites. I think I once saw Jed, one of the co-founders, wearing a SoupCycle shirt saying something along the lines of: “tasty like pizza—only wetter.”

Icebreaker

Alright, these guys actually have a bit of a name for themselves but there’s one feature in particular that I think is so neat that I felt compelled to include them anyway. Icebreaker makes svelte wool garments for the outdoors, travel and nights on the town. Their clothes have a sexier shape/look than competitor Smartwool (whom I dearly love anyway) and they have a visual identity that is provocative to match! As we’ve already established with my fawning over Nau’s product line, I love wool. Love it love it love it. It’s versatile, durable, ethical and renewable. Now, it’s true that not all wool is the same. There is ample reason to be diligent about the treatment of the sheep whose haircuts I wear, but the best brands are mindful of these things and treat their animals (and the animal owners) in a responsible, ethical manner.

As you know by now, we at From The Rooftops are huge advocates of authenticity in business messaging. You can see, then, why I’m so excited that Icebreaker has implemented a really cool product-tracking system, delightfully titled “Baacode.” Each Icebreaker garment has a tag with a unique number that, upon entry into the Baacode web page, provides you with the exact origin and history of the wool that your garment is made of. I look forward to a time when more companies do this sort of thing: it’s great from a consumer standpoint (want to know more about the garments you’re buying? Here you go!) but it’s also a fantastic tool for deep storytelling on the part of a brand. It connects the Icebreaker identity from beginning to end, providing a cohesive, authentic narrative that articulates and reinforces their presence and customer experience of—and with—the brand as a whole.

- Caleb