West Hollywood, CA, Approves Fur Ban

It's the first fur ban in the United States.

Yay! Here's hoping there are many more to come!

Fur Free Fashion Show Winners Announced

Received this press release yesterday....

Make Room Project Runway:

Winners of 2nd Annual Fur Free Fashion Competition Announced by Born Free USA and Celebrity Judges

August 9, 2010, Washington DC - - To shine a spotlight on talented emerging fashion designers who believe in the ethical and environmental benefits of shunning fur fashion, Born Free USA (BFUSA), the nationally recognized leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation, created the Fur Free Fashion (fffashion) Competition, now in its second successful year. Winners were announced today by Born Free CEO Will Travers, after a celebrity judging panel made their final choices.

Travers said, “We created this competition to boost fashion careers and honor independent designers who have compassion for animals and for the ethical and green fashion movement. This has become an extraordinary opportunity for emerging fashion stars to showcase their talent and contribute to a critical global issue. Our hope is that these talented participants will help pave the way for a more ethical fashion industry in the future.”

This years’ judges for the competition were: Sophie Uliano, author of New York Times bestseller Gorgeously Green; Summer Rayne Oaks, model, spokesperson, and expert for Discovery Network's Planet Green; Brita Belli, editor of E/The Environmental Magazine; and Josh Dorfman, author and host of The Lazy Environmentalist on Sundance Channel's The Green.

Winners

First Place: Tammy Apostol, an independent designer in Miami, FL, for her “Green Organic Cotton Gown,” a strapless mermaid silhouette gown with a back train. Apostol said “It is the responsibility of us, the designers and manufacturers, to bring environmental awareness to the consumer by providing more and better sustainable products and style.”

Second Place: Valerie Mayen, an independent designer in Cleveland, Ohio, for her “Cherry Snap,” a two-tiered skirt with a textured high waistband, adjustable to size with varied snaps, designed to accessorize any basic ensemble in a unique way. Mayen said "I have always been very persistent when it comes to integrating sustainability into my work.”

Third Place (The Student Award): Kyle Ramirez, a design student at The Art Institute of Dallas, for his “Cotton Candy Dress” that creates the illusion of something “soft and weightless like fur and cotton candy” but uses cascading ruffles, antiqued satin fabric, artificial flowers and beads, to achieve that illusion. Ramirez said “Change in fashion represents our world’s change. It does not have to be harmful to our planet. I am eco-conscious about my designs.”

The Green Award (for the most environmentally friendly design): Moe Donnelly, an independent designer in Ashville NC, for her “Traveling Soiree Dress and Bolero Jacket,” an aesthetic of “Edwardian Era elegance” transformed into something practical. Donnelly made the bodice from an unfinished blouse she found at a thrift store and paired it with cotton blend fabrics from a local NC fabric store and lined it with recycled fleece. She made the jacket from a reassembled men’s suit and the arm-warmers were recycled from a velvet blazer which she then lined with material from a thrift shop sweater. “I try to use antique, vintage and thrifted fabrics to create one-of-a-kind pieces.”

“Compassion for animals is part of the planet’s social and environmental equation. Fashion designers, retailers, and consumers must realize that fur has no place in ethical consumerism. Simply put, fur is not in style, is not cool, and is not fashionable in any sense of the word,” Travers explains.

Born Free USA (BFUSA) is a nationally recognized leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation. Through litigation, legislation, and public education, BFUSA leads vital campaigns against animals in entertainment, exotic “pets”, trapping and fur, and destructive international wildlife trade. BFUSA’s Primate Sanctuary in Texas is home to more than 500 primates rescued from laboratories, roadside zoos, and private possession. BFUSA brings to America the message of “compassionate conservation”, the vision of the U.K.-based Born Free Foundation. Born Free Foundation was established in 1984 by Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, stars of the iconic film Born Free, along with their son Will, now CEO of both organizations. BFUSA’s mission is to end suffering of wild animals in captivity, conserve threatened and endangered species, and encourage compassionate conservation globally.

Natalie Portman's Vegan Shoes Not Sustainable?

This is an interesting post from Econista, a "guerilla environmentalist and fashionista" blog that, sadly, is not often updated. It's too bad because I like the content and commentary.

For example, here's Econista's take on Natalie Portman's vegan shoe line.

Recently Natalie Portman appeared on Bravo's Project Runway hocking her vegan shoe line Te Cesan. While her shoes are adorable, I personally don't think certain vegan shoes are sustainable. Pleather isn't sustainable, in fact it's the opposite. With the exception of recycled plastic pleathers, these materials are made from petroleum products.

The desire to end the suffering of animals is noble and necessary. But plastic is not the answer. Leather is a byproduct of the food industry and using all of the animal does more justice to their sacrifice than letting things go to waste.

Truly sustainable shoes are ones that use recycled materials and use responsibly tanned leathers and sustainable production practices (that's more than just recycled packaging...a message to some of the vegan footwear makers).

Tibetan Antelope Threatened by Shawl-Making

Fashion may yet claim another victim. This time it's the chiru, the Tibetan antelope, whose wool is used for the high fashion shahtoosh shawl.

Alarmed conservationists in India have launched a massive campaign to encourage weavers of shahtoosh to organize themselves to promote an alternative fashion brand: the pashma, a handcrafted, traditional Kashmiri pashmina made from the wool of non-endangered, domesticated Himalayan goats.

"Many traditional craftsmen still feel that weaving shahtoosh is their birthright," wildlife activist Aniruddha Mookerjee said. "No government would be able to enforce a total ban unless you provide alternatives."
Jammu and Kashmir, in the Himalayas, borders Tibet, where an estimated 100,000 chiru are fighting a losing battle for survival. In the upper reaches of the Tibetan plateau, these animals face intensive poaching for their under-fleece, which yields the finest of wool used for making shahtoosh shawls.

Jammu and Kashmir's chief wildlife warden, A.K. Srivastava, said that 7,000 to 8,000 chiru were killed in Tibet every year.

"At this rate, the animal would be extinct in another eight years," he warned.

Conservationists blame the dire predicament of the chiru on the popularity of shahtoosh among wealthy consumers in Asia, the U.S. and Europe from the 1990s onward. Seizures of shahtoosh shawls, each weighing less than 6 ounces and hyped for their warmth and snob value, have been made in the fashion capitals of London, Rome and New Delhi, as well as in China, Japan, France, Dubai and Switzerland.

Photo by keong-zai.

Do Naked People Save Animals?

Last week, some activists in Paris protested animal skin designs by taking off all their clothes and painting their bodies like animals.

This is a common technique for animal activists. Is this effective? I don't know. Sounds entertaining though!