Shopping can help save the world. Angelia Teo finds out how

You can tell a problem is dead serious when the frivolous fashion folk are concerned about something other than hem-lines and how to re-work ‘the new black’. Chalk it up to Al Gore’s hard-hitting documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, mainstream publications covering green issues and celebrities like Bono promoting ecological efforts. It seems that everyone is becoming more responsible about their eco-footprint, taking care not to leave behind a legacy of  non-recyclable shoe soles.

The green fashion and design industries have also moved beyond simply incorporating organic cotton into hippie-inspired styles. While hemp materials are still popular, they’ve been re-worked into a softer, more sophisticated and very wearable form. And at Eco-Luxe, a fringe event at this year’s Singapore Fashion Festival, there were showings of  innovative pieces from Australian organic felt artist Katelyn Aslett, Ciel from the UK, and New Zealand’s Untouched World (favoured by actress Sharon Stone). While there is no body or organisation that regulates eco-fashion, the word is taken to mean products that use fewer (if  any) chemicals, offer fair wages to workers, and champion fair or community trade. For instance, the Body Shop buys its cocoa butter direct from Ghana, and Edun and Project Red contribute a portion of  their profits to communities in need. Here in Singapore, local designers are doing their part, sewing with organic and recycled fabrics. And the pickings aren’t slim either.

Bird

Australian designer Rachel Bending has been producing her ecological products since 2002. Her first label, SlingFlings, has bags, beach and home wares, and her new fashion label, Bird, is constructed out of  cotton, linen and bengaline (a silk and cotton corded fabric) printed with water-based dyes. Even cooler, all her sewing machines in Byron Bay are solar-powered. Prices from $240 to $312. Epitome, 14C Kensington Park Rd, Serangoon Gardens (62807207, www.epitome.sg). Serangoon. Wed-Mon noon-9.30pm.

By the Sea Organic

Adin M Slette started her website, By the Sea Organic (www.bythesea-organic.com), a year ago selling children’s clothes from the UK and New York, including Skoon, Cut4Cloth and Under the Nile. The prices aren’t that much more expensive than other kids’ clothes: a soft toy goes for $28, and a kimono pants set costs $65, and the investment is priceless. As mum Slette tells it: ‘Conventional cotton production uses all sorts of  chemicals, and young children put soft toys in their mouths. I want to expose my children to as few chemicals as possible.’

Belle & Dean

Singapore-based Belle & Dean was founded by two Brits, Dean O’Sullivan and Issy Richardson, and sells a range of  T-shirts made from organic cotton and decorated with pencil drawings of  pea-cocks, pigs and other animals. ‘At first, very few people here knew about organic cotton or why it was better for our health and the environment,’ Richardson says. ‘But they are interested. It was like that in the UK a few years ago. Eco-friendly clothing was seen as for hippies and eco-warriors only. Now green clothing is chosen by celebrities and mothers alike.’ They currently sell online with prices from $25 for a ladies’ tank, $34 for a plain T-shirt and $97 for baby gift sets. (www.belleanddean.com)

Freitag

Founded by a pair of  brothers in 1993, Freitag creates cult bags made from tarpaulin. Not only is each item unique, the line is also selectively distributed: the boutique Actually is one of  just three exclusive retailers of  Freitag in Asia. The bags have inspired many copies like Demano and Kultbag (see below), but that’s a good thing – it signals that more people are recycling. A word of  warning about the burned-rubber odour. ‘It’s unlikely that you’ll ever get rid of  the smell,’ says Paul Khor, owner of  Actually. Prices from $129 to $379. Distributed at Actually, 29A Seah St (6336 7298, www.actually.com.sg).  City Hall. Mon-Sat noon-9pm, Sun 1pm-7pm.

Demano

Same, same but somewhat different is Spanish label Demano, which creates carry-alls out of  recycled billboard material and non-recyclable PVC polyester promotional materials from Barcelona’s cultural events. With more than 1,600 happenings taking place in a year and almost 300 banners produced for each, the label is hardly short on supplies. Started in 1999, Demano has established agreements with all of  the city’s major cultural venues to use their residual materials. Made by three designers, each bag is cut to showcase the most interesting aspects of  the banners’ original designs, like cutting out the fish in a ‘Lisboa em Festa’ banner to use on the front of  a bag. Prices from $19 to $297. The Lawn, 38 Ean Kiam Place (6729 9385, www.thelawn.com.sg).  Eunos or Paya Lebar. Tue-Sun noon-8pm.

Kultbag

Following in the same vein, indie boutique Epitome stocks Kultbag. The German-made totes are fashioned out of  used banners, truck tarpaulins, mail sacks, army blankets, car-tyre inner tubes and soft tops from convertibles. Predictably, no two of  the 25-plus models are alike, and there’s even a range of  exclusives made specifically for the hipsters in Japan. Prices range from $19 to $329. Epitome, 14C Kensington Park Rd, Serangoon Gardens (62807207, www.epitome.sg).

Liz Saintsing
San Francisco-based Liz Saintsing is a silkscreen-print artist who has turned her artistic hand to vintage bags and belts, and new gloves and scarves. She scours the West Coast flea markets in America for old, unwanted (but still good-looking) handbags and purses, revitalising them with bold prints of  squids, ants and ostriches. From $300. Available at Quintessential, #03-03 Mandarin Gallery, (67384811), Orchard. Mon-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 2pm-6pm.

Logo

Angelynn Tan is one of  two Nanyang Academy of  Fine Art lecturers paving the way for local eco-fashion. Tan makes tailored suits and dresses using fabric interfacing (the material that stiffens up collars) and recycled rubbish bags. She’s also created a range of  jewellery built from zipper pulls, button eyelets and industrial bolts. Prices from $20. Tan makes monthly appearances at MAAD and is also available at Curiocity, NAFA Campus 2, 38 Bencoolen St, #A1-01, (6512 4000). City Hall. Mon-Fri 9am-6pm.

Crux

Vik Lim, the other NAFA lecturer, works a different form of  eco-friendliness. For his current collection, Crux, he gathers lining material and scraps from his friends, and tailors and creates hand-made ‘body jewellery’ by combining cloth, knots and ties into neck pieces. ‘You can wear it with a T-shirt, and it’ll transform your neckline,’ he says. Available at Front Row, 5 Ann Siang Rd (6224 5501) Chinatown. Mon-Sat noon-8pm.

XS Project

American fashion designer and artist Ann Wiser turns Jakarta’s waste into bags and accessories. Although she’s since moved to Manila, her idea lives on in Indonesia’s XS Project. The foundation buys discarded detergent bags scavenged from the trash, and then hires members of  various communities to wash and sew them into new products. The resulting wastepaper baskets and pencil cases are a graphic spectacle of  repetitive patterns. All profits from the sale of  these items are ploughed back into the foundation’s work. Prices range from $10 for a pencil case to $70 for a computer bag. Curiocity, NAFA Campus 2, 38 Bencoolen St, #A1-01 (6512 4000).  City Hall. Mon-Fri 9am-6pm.