A: Amsterdam Fashion Week

The average catwalk might not be the greenest place on the planet. But there’s definitely a shade of green to be seen at the catwalks of Amsterdam Fashion Week.

In the past few years, The Green Fashion Competition served as the most prominent sustainable event on the Amsterdam Fashion Week agenda. Started in 2010 as a challenge for international designers to find a balance between the economic, ecological and social impacts of their collection, the competition enabled labels such as OAT Shoes, Elsien Gringhuis and Carrie Perry to present at Amsterdam Fashion Week.

In 2012 the government’s financial support to The Green Fashion Competition has ended, which has led the Amsterdam Fashion Week to look for new ways to incorporate sustainable fashion in its programme. Since 2013, that spot has been found predominantly in Amsterdam Fashion Week’s business programme. European not-for-profit organisation Made-By regularly hosts workshops, for instance to inform fashion brand about ways to make wet processing in their supply chain more sustainable.

Perhaps surprisingly, Amsterdam Fashion Week, which refused a ban on fur in 2012, has also hosted aworkshop by Bont voor Dieren (Fur for Animals, Dutch campaigners against fur). In a much-debated talk show in January 2013, Honest By designer Bruno Pieters and textiles manufacturer Ecological Textiles shared their experiences with sustainable collections and materials. And talked about the pros and cons of furfree fashion.

Meanwhile, sustainable collections that can often be seen on the Amsterdam catwalks include Studio Jux (a slow fashion label that produces its collections in their own factory in Nepal), MLY (a locally producing, artisanal green fashion designer based in Eindhoven), and Winde Rienstra (a finalist of The Green Fashion Competition in 2010). Brands with a green touch include Marga Weimans (who creates her own fabrics), Elise Kim (who embraces craftsmanship in her collections), Tessa Wagenvoort (who designs handprinted textiles), FREDFARROWBRITTAVELONTAN (a designer duo that celebrate handmade knits and artisanal embroideries) and Sophie #1234567+ (a designer collective whose approach to seasonal collections could be called slow).

And there’s a small consolation for eco fashion lovers that are unable to attend the invitation only press events at Amsterdam Fashion Week. The downtown programme, which is open to the public, often includes collection presentations by sustainable fashion brands, such as Shekila Eco Fashion and O My Bag.

S: Sustainable shoes in all shapes and sizes

The growing popularity of sustainable fashion has not left the world of shoes untouched. And that means there is now a vast array of eco & fair shoes available in stores worldwide. But be aware of greenwashing. Not every shoe advertised as green is as environmentally friendly as it may appear at first sight. Plus: according to a 2012 SOMO report, child labor is not uncommon in leather production in low wage countries. And in a study of 70 international shoe brands, the Dutch ranking website Rankabrand.nl found that more than half were insufficiently transparent about their sustainability policies.

Check out Tomorrow’s Wardrobe list of favourites & forerunners in people & planet friendly shoes.

The greenest choice for animal lovers
Collections that have been produced by fair trade communities and small producers using organic and animal-friendly materials, including natural rubber and organic cotton. This is what British shoe brands Bourgeois Boheme and Beyond Skin have in common. And they are not the only shoe labels that aim to reconcile environmental concerns, fair production, a love for animals, and style. Cri de Coeur, OlsenHaus, Vegetarian shoes, Neuaura, Love Is Mighty, Mink and Novacas also embrace earth friendly materials such as hemp, organic cotton, natural rubber, recycled fake suede and fake leather. And let’s not forget Stella McCartney, who has created a true luxury collection of leather free shoes.

Heroes in recycling
In September 2012, Spanish shoe brand Snipe launched the Snipe 100, claiming it to be the first completely compostable shoe. In fact it was the Dutch label OAT Shoes who made the first. The first collection of these ‘shoes that bloom’, as they are advertised, won an award at the 2010 Green Fashion Competition. Included in each pair of OAT Shoes is a small dose of flower seeds, which means that the shoes will transform into flowers once they have been thrown away.
Snipe may not have been the first to produce a fully biodegradable shoes, the brand nevertheless makes serious efforts to greenify its supply chain. For instance, its plastics are made from recycled PET-bottles and all metal parts on shoes are nickel-free.

Not as green as it may seem
Chrome-free tanned leather is often presented as an ecological alternative to conventional leather. Leather is usually tanned with chrome, toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment and make leather non-biodegradable. But according to committed environmentalists, naturally tanned leather is only marginally better for our planet. Leather is often produced in low wage countries under dubious circumstances – not only for the animals, but also for the workers. For example, in its 2012 field study, SOMO found that 12, 13 and 14 year old children play a central role in the leather and shoe industry in India, Brazil, China and Vietnam, which produce for all major European brands. And Greenpeace has repeatedly reported on illegal leather production in Brazil, which involves deforestation in the Amazon, labor exploitation and land grabbing.
Because they still use leather, shoe brands such as Think!, Swedish Hasbeens and Camilla Norrback are probably not as green as they may wish to have us believe. The Belgium shoe brand Brako honestly admits: chrome free leather, water based glues and production within the European Union can only be regarded as the first steps towards minimizing the environmental impacts of our shoes. From this perspective, it’s hopeful that in June 2012, CEO Jochen Zeits announced that Puma should stop using leather in its collections. (He also said we should all stop eating meat, by the way).

Shoes for a better life
The idea behind shoe brand Toms is as simple as it is heartwarming. For every pair of shoes we buy, Toms gives away a pair to a child in need. The brand was launched in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie after he visited Argentina and noticed many children didn’t wear shoes. Within five years, Toms had grown into a company designing 175 styles of men’s, women’s and children’s shoes, selling these in 30 countries and helping children in 26 countries worldwide. Today, the one for one principle has been expanded to include Toms eyewear, and has been copied by Warby Parker amongst others.
In the Netherlands, flip-flops brands Plakkies achieved some success with its do good shoe collections. The unisex sandals, which were launched in 2008, were made in South Africa using recycled car tyre. Part of the proceeds were donated to KidsRights, which supports children in developing countries. The brand was re-launched in 2011 as Kadangas. While its mission to promote recycling and fair trade in South Africa has remained unchanged, the sandals collection has developed into more versatile collections for both women and men.

Slow shoe design
As the slow fashion movement gains momentum, even shoe brands are thinking of ways to make their designs transseasonal. For example, as part of the brand’s sustainability agenda, Snipe’s designer team aim to make each collection worth looking at and wearing for a long time. And dedicated fans of Simple Shoes tended to applaud the versatility and strength of these sustainable casuals.