The Dharma Door

The Dharma Door is a leading source for contemporary fair trade and sustainable homewares and gifts offering high-quality handcrafted products made by talented artisans in developing countries.

While the business is lead with integrity, it focusses on two main aspects of production, those being fair trade through researching the background of their artisans, and earth friendliness through committing to traditional skills and local materials of their production partners.

"We research the background of our artisans carefully to ensure they are paid fairly to meet their daily needs, including food, housing, clothing, education for their children and health care. Other benefits for artisans include access to micro credit, bonuses and retirement funds. Often however, it’s the social benefits of Fair Trade that can have the greatest impact such as respect within the community and personal dignity."

"Our environmental commitment is equally as important as our Fair Trade promise. During the design process, we give careful consideration to the traditional skills and the local materials available to our producer partners. We aim to source products that are made with sustainable materials such as bamboo, jute, hemp and recycled glass. Additionally, we actively seek out natural dyes, organic materials and non-toxicproduction methods."

Killer Jeans

PHOTO - Munir Uz Zaman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

"Distressed Denim" has become one of fashions favourite looks over the past few years, with companies all over the globe sending their denim designs to sandblasting factories to obtain that faded or worn out look.

What most of us don't know, is that sandblasting is a deadly practice, and has caused over 1000 reported cases of the lung condition, Silicosis, in Turkey alone. 

Workers "blast" sand under high pressure at finished denim jeans, and this sand breaks down into fine Silica Sand particles in which workers inhale, causing the fatel lung disease. Doctors suspect that around 5000 factory workers may be suffering from Silicosis in Turkey at the present moment, and when estimated world-wide, this statistic could inflate enormously.

There is an over-whelming demand to ban the commercial practice, eradicating danger to the factory workers currently in positions of vulnerability. Companies which are currently using these factories also need to realise their responsibility to give medical checks, and if so compensation to those employees that have been effected by this terrible practice. 

You can find out more at http://www.killerjeans.org/. 

We urge you to make a conscious decision regarding the origins of the next pair of jeans you wish to purchase.

ECO SWIM by AQUA GREEN

ECO SWIM by AQUA GREEN is a U.S. based company leading the charge for a better and more sustainable tomorrow. They are taking "green" into the mainstream. As a fourth generation family-owned company, they believe their family has a responsibility to your family to reduce our environmental impact. They currently design, fit, source, cut and sew in their home state of Pennsylvania. 

As important as it is to reduce, reuse and recycle, they also believe that those looking to 'reduce their carbon footprint in the sand' should look and feel great while doing so.  Comfort, quality and style are not sacrificed in their mission to help our planet.  These suits are for real women who want to look and feel fabulous.

From bottle to beach and plastic to poolside, they have pioneered ecological initiatives to keep our beaches and planet beautiful for generations to come. They are not doing this because it's trendy to be green, but because they know it's the right thing to do.

They have also put their money where their mouth is by funding clean-up projects. Their first clean up removed 615 pounds of trash from the Delaware River.  They are planning and funding additional clean-up efforts in the near future. 

MONOLOG

Monolog is a Melbourne based design project that has evolved steadily for the past year from a humble side-project to a fashion/textile label. In developing its products, Monolog makes the best attempt to be environmentally and ethically conscious – from using sustainable materials and processes to producing locally. 

So far the range consists of casual pieces that are very much graphic driven with a twist on their forms. Each is designed not only to compliment basic pieces in your wardrobe – eg. your pair of jeans – but also to be a statement on its own right or even more by having multiple wearability. Consequently people will be on their way to consume responsibly by buying less but not necessarily less fun or variety of good fun designs.