Grass Routes Presents: The THEKEY.TO ACADEMY

THEKEY.TO and Grass Routes proudly present the THEKEY.TO ACADEMY, offering an in-depth, six day training program in sustainable fashion during Berlin Fashion Week. Key experts and opinion leaders in sustainable fashion will share their experience and provide profound knowledge and inspiration to keep up with and contribute to the momentum of green and sustainable fashion.

The advance training for industry professionals covers the topics of sourcing, production, certifications, CSR, branding, design, retail and social business. The ACADEMY is directed specifically at designers working independently, product managers, supply chain and CSR managers, marketing and communication teams and newcomers to the green fashion business. The 6-day program will be held in English language and has a focus on facilitating discussion and exchange between expert speakers and participants in small international groups.

Running alongside of THEKEY.TO, the international event for green fashion, sustainable lifestyle and culture, the ACADEMY is an opportunity for networking and grants access to the trade fair venue and its exciting side program.

Speakers include Peter Ingwersen [Noir, Denmark], Ulrike Möslinger [Galeries Lafayette, Germany], Dr. Otto von Bush [Göteborg University, Sweden], Ulrike Wollenschläger [Textil Wirtschaft, Germany], Rolf Heimann [Hessnatur, Germany], Simone Seisl [MADE-BY, Germany], Jens Soth [Helvetas, Switzerland], Jana Kern [Kernkommunikation, Germany], Tony Tonnaer [former CEO of Kuyichi, Netherlands], Claudia Helming [Dawanda, Germany], Satish Chukkapalli [Zameen, India], Bernd Hausmann [Glore, Germany], Noel Klein-Reesink [Karmakonsum, Germany], Kirsten Brodde [Author, Germany].

Limited places available. Apply now HERE to reserve your place!

Every Leather Boot kills an Amazon Tree

Leather just a waste product? An interesting report by Greenpeace shuffles up the discussions on Leather. Even among sustainability experts, leather is often regarded as a waste product of the meat industry, and so sustainable shoe designers often work with vegetable tanned leather.

Greenpeace directly attacks the fashion industry, and makes them co-responsible for the immense destruction of Amazon forests for the meat and leather industry. Also, and especially, those that are “Made in Italy”.

In a recent blog post, shoe company Terra Plana states, that “it’s the fashion industry, rather than the meat one, that is driving an increase in cattle farming”. For Terra Plana, known to have a progressive sustainable policy, this is a reason to focus more and more on non-leather alternatives. An interesting standing point that provokes other sustainable footwear companies to take standing as well.

There are some organic leather projects, but most “sustainable leather” isn’t organic, it’s just about the tanning. So, if this is all true, what should be the alternative? Vegan shoes? Salmon leather? Barefoot? Cradle to cradle shoes? Just some less rainforest for your next fashion item?

Green Aid: Guerrilla Gardening for Everyone

You’ve just got this irresistible feeling to do some guerrilla gardening but forgot to bring your seed balls? No worries! The green aid project have started to sell them via candy machines so you can easily green up your neighbourhood with a simple grab-and-go.. The life of an gardening guerrilla have never been so easy!

Via Farmblogger

Empowering a New Spirit in Business

Karmakonsum, the german blog and agency for sustainable lifestyle and business, is organizing it’s next Karmakonsum Konferenz, a business conference and networking event in Frankfurt am Main on the 25th of June 2010.

Next to a conference, the event hosts a green camp and an exhibition of sustainable businesses. The event will also present the winners of the Karmakonsum Start-Up Award, for which one can still apply untill the 24th of April.

Topics on the conference cover social banking, social web and sustainability, eco sex, slow food, and different spiritual and sustainability visions on leadership and business.

The conference is organized by Christoph Harrach and Noel Klein Reesink (see pic), two good friends from the LOHAS szene who will definately rock a good spirit for the event.

I’ll do my very best to be there, so let’s have some new spirit in business and see us in June!

London Recap

Friday night I spent with the Latvian-Japanese crew of London Trousers (picture), a young, high end jeans brand who run their office from the rooftop bar of the Hospital Club, a membership club for the creative industries. I like the art work around London Trousers a lot, and one wouldn’t guess in the first place that their jeans are produced with organic cotton.

On Saturday I payed short visits to the boutiques Equa and Ascension and later in the day came to the opening of the Pop Up Store of the Environmental Justice Foundation, a three floor store & event space in high street. Located at 57 Carnaby street, it will be still open in the coming six weeks for shopping and a row of events. There I met with Ben from Pants to Poverty, the world leading anti-poverty underwear brand…

In the afternoon I had a walk, and accidently met a group of about fifteen community gardeners, who where just building a garden at a channel side. I joined them for a while to help, and got invited for  a lovely lunch and tea on a boat house. With all the stress and speed of the city, it felt great to meet people who where so open and spent their day building a garden in public space.

Slow sweet slow.

One Day of Ethical Fashion in London

London can surely be named one of the key cities in the world when it comes to green or – the British way – ethical fashion. I’ve just arrived last night and as the speed in London is accelerated, so has been my day…

- Starting with a nice stay at the home base of Sven, founder of the shoe brand Po Zu, one of the most innovative sustainable shoe brands on this planet. Recently, the brand is getting forward pretty well and you’ll definitely hear more of them soon..

- This morning I visited the launch of the Considerate Design Project by Professor Sandy Black, author of The Fashion Paradox and Director of the Centre for Fashion Science of the London College of Fashion. The project is aimed to create a technical breakthrough for new ways of mass customization, and combines technical and online innovations to offer new forms of customized production and in that way supporting the production of products that fit the consumer as a real alternative to the excesses of mass production.

- Lunch with Judith Condor Vidal from Trading for Development, who I’ve met a few years ago in Kenya and who’s working to promote fair trade in fashion for many years and a great linkage between small, fair trade projects in the south and the European market, and sustainable think tank thinker and blogger Sarah Ditty.

- On my way I passed on of the pop up stores of the sustainable shoe brand Terra Plana and the Junky Styling boutique. Junky Styling has been a pioneer in upscale recycling fashion and they’re selling their unique pieces all over the world now.

- For tea time I moved to the headquarters of the Ethical Fashion Forum at Rich Mix, who share a cosy stuffed office space with underwear label Pants to Poverty and the shoe brand Worn Again.

- This evening I visited the Ethical Fashion Social. A networking evening regularly organized at the showroom of the Foundation Agency, the major distribution agency for ethical fashion in the UK, with brands like Kuyichi, Komodo and Article 23 on board. Next to mingling, the evening hosted the presentation of three interesting fair trade projects, The Big Swap, a successful consumer campaign in the UK, the presentation of fair trade certified jewelry brand Cred, and the interesting story of the fair trade Panama hat company Pachacuti.

After one day of meetings, I get the feeling there’s a lot going on and the issue is still pretty vibrant. And, in London, the ethical fashion community is more and more interconnected with the mainstream fashion business.

To be continued…

- image by Po Zu -

Green Fashion Event THEKEY.TO Shows Over 50 Designers at Berlin Fashion Week

Successfully launched in July 2009 in Berlin, the new International Event for Green Fashion and Sustainable Lifestyle THEKEY.TO arises now to its second edition: THEKEY.TO SHIFT, from January 20th to 23rd 2010. As part of the Berlin Fashion Week, THEKEY.TO is the first event of its kind in Germany, entirely and exclusively focused on stylish sustainable fashion. Half a year after it’s launch, it already counts as one of the largest green fashion events worldwide.

Over 50 exhibitors representing this new generation will come from all over the world to take part in the second edition (Germany, France, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Austria, Canada, USA). THEKEY.TO will gather a wide selection of the hippest and most contemporary upscale green brands alongside casual and street wear labels and a variety of innovative bags and footwear.

The Shift Sessions will feature a press conference and forum titled The Key to Shift and a series of diverse workshops focused on an active interchange of culture, information and visions among international experts, the press and the green community around the main topic of sustainability. The full program can found here: http://thekey.to/program/

As one of the Founders, I am glad that this Grass Routes initiated project is growing strong now, and look forward to the upcoming event. In February, the Grass Routes blog will be re-launched after a period of silence. We keep you updated!

Image: Van Markoviec