Sustainable Style- Performance Wear

I just returned from a hiking adventure in the Gila wilderness in southwestern New Mexico. My wardrobe consisted of some very basic performance pieces that were lightweight, breathed well, and were quick drying from Patagonia, Icebreaker and Teko-- all lines we’ve carried at Birch. These companies offer great options for outdoor comfort. I highly recommend their merino wool pieces. My hike one day included multiple icy stream crossings and my merino wool socks worked beautifully to warm up my cold feet afterwards.

If you often wear performance clothing, here is an option you may want to check out. While looking for sustainable and simple style choices for the active life, I came across a company called Beyond Clothing that custom makes outdoor performance wear apparel. They custom create outdoor clothing to your exact size specifications with a turn around time of five weeks. The clothes are all made here in the United States. You decide the colors, fabric and style and the company creates a garment that works perfectly for your needs. This should mean less clothing pieces doing more of what you need to be comfortable and satisfied during your outdoor adventures.

Custom made clothing for active living offers an inviting option to simplify your wardrobe by making it work more optimally for you. If any reader has purchased from Beyond Clothing, we’d love to hear about your experience with the company.
--Your Friends at Birch

Jonano at Birch

Jonano makes on trend apparel out of eco-fabrics that come from sustainable and renewable sources such as organically grown bamboo, cotton and hemp. The company’s nature inspired color palette is created using low impact dyes and PVC/Phalate-free graphic prints. The romantic eco-chic designs are created with a Scandinavian streamlined styling.

Birch is currently offering several pieces from Jonano’s ecoKashmere line of apparel made from viscose from organic bamboo. The attractive styling and buttery soft feel of the garments will make them wardrobe favorites. We especially love the Ecolux lace boy shorts and cami for a nice first layer for spring.

We are featuring Jonano at our web store because of the style and quality of the collections and because of Jonano’s commitment to using sustainable business practices and fair labor standards in producing its apparel. We hope you enjoy our selections from Jonano.
--Your friends at Birch

Sustainable Fashion- Less is More

Here is a fresh take on the less is more philosophy. A friend of mine told me that he is trying not to buy any new things to bring into his home because every time he does he creates “negative net worth”. My quizzical look prompted this response. Empty space has monetary value. People spend extra money to buy a big house so they will have more room – more space. When you fill that space up with things you are decreasing the value of your home and your net worth.

Sound a little crazy? If you’ve ever sold a home, you will see that the net worth theory makes total sense. The realtor tells you to get rid of much of what you have so that your home is not cluttered and looks more spacious. The spacious look gives it more value to the buyer.

The lesson here is when you choose to simplify by minimizing what you bring in to your home you create wealth at the same time. And of course you save money outright by not purchasing something.

This applies to the closet portion of your home too. So when the spring cleaning bug hits you, why not start by cleaning out your clothes closets and drawers to remove everything you don’t wear and/or does not fit. Then if you choose not to go out and replace some of the items, you can simply gaze at all that peace inducing open space around you and enjoy your newfound wealth.

--Your friends at Birch--

Alicia Silverstone Loves Birch!

Alicia Silverstone has been wearing leggings from Birch as reported in her blog at The Kind Life. She loves our organic cotton leggings from Sternlein which are, alas, sold out for the season. Sternein’s leggings and tights are the softest we’ve found and as Alicia testifies they keep you plenty warm on cold winter days.

But with spring on the way it is a perfect time to check out some lighter weight offerings in organic cotton and other sustainable fabrics. Birch has some great tees to keep you covered in style this spring.

Yvon Chouinard Tells It Like It Is

Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, said something that resonated with me on a commercial during the Academy Awards telecast. He said that it was a selfish thing to want to protect nature because we are a part of it and so are destroying ourselves when we destroy it. I’ve always instinctively understood this and been perplexed when I hear people speak of environmentalism as if it is some do-gooder sport or elitist concern. I need to drink clean water and eat uncontaminated food to stay healthy. Yep, environmentalism is all about me and you and the rest of us humanoids, along with the animaloids and of course the plantoids.

Speaking of plantoids, Patagonia, not surprisingly was one of the first companies to use organic cotton in their clothing line. You can check out some of their sustainable selections on their website. And Birch also has a good assortment of organic cotton essentials to keep you looking good as we head into spring.

GreenSmart’s Intelligent Bags

Are you looking for a computer bag or for a beverage or food container that is lightweight, attractive, durable and made from materials that have less of an environmental impact than conventional materials? If so, check out GreenSmart’s brief case, computer sleeves, lunch bags and bottle carriers.

GreenSmart makes laptop sleeves, lunch bags and wine and water holders from Neogreene. Neogreene is a substitute for neoprene. Some of Neogreene’s advantages are: no solvent adhesives, no VOCs, no chlorine, no formaldehyde and less energy used in production. NeoGreene provides non-toxic insulation for your food and drink and waterproof protection for your computer.

GreenSmart also makes a brief case and a laptop sleeve out of recycled PET polyester from plastic bottles resulting in less bottles heading for the landfill and in less energy used in production. The bags have nifty features too, including padded walls and a double zip clousure.

The company approaches success with three criteria in mind: people, product and planet. This triple bottom line philosophy has led to the creation of their innovative collection of products.

Simple Style- The End of Unrequited Love

You saw it, you loved it, you had to have it. Let’s call it “The Leopard Print Dress”. The color, the look, the style-fabulous. So, you purchased it and took it home with you. But no matter what you do or say, you just can’t make that cat dress yours. Because while you may loooove that Leopard Print Dress, the cold, hard fact is that it does not love you. It consumes your psychic energy but gives you no real fulfillment. And this is because it just does not look good on you. It does not make you feel and look your best.
There are some pieces we are strongly attracted to that are not at all meant for us. It happens to everyone. But the sooner we come to terms with this the better.
One way to ward off the scourge and cost of unrequited love in your wardrobe is to learn and decide what styles and colors look good on your body and speak to your soul; then, buy only pieces that fit your predetermined criteria. This takes some discipline but it sure pays off in dollars and closet space.
If you practice this tip, when you open your closet in the morning, true love and not regret, will await you.

Fewer Choices = More Happiness

There was an article in the New York Times last week about how too many choices can paralyze consumers and result in indecision or in poor decisions. “Too Many Choices: A Problem that Can Paralyze” by Alina Tugend.

Shopping online or shopping in stores around town gives us lots of clothing options. Yet, research shows that too many choices make us less satisfied once we have chosen because we wonder if we could have done better with one of our other options. The advice is to ask yourself when making a choice- am I happy?—and if the answer is yes, let it go at that and do not obsess about whether you could have done better somewhere else or with something else.

This seems to be sound advice for picking garments for your wardrobe. Do I love this piece? Does it make me happy to know I am wearing it? And if the answer is yes then the trick is to nix thoughts such as -can I get a better deal somewhere else, will I find an even nicer pair of pants in the next store I visit, etc.

Simplifying your wardrobe helps in this process because once you know what pieces you want your wardrobe to consist of you can ignore all the extraneous choices that paralyze other less intentional shoppers. By definition, you no longer have too many choices! It’s easier to make better decisions because you will have learned to cut through the clutter of the marketplace. And that should make you happy. It’s that simple!

Autonomie Project

Birch now carries some fun and funky men’s and women’s tee shirts and baby clothing from Autonomie Project.
Autonomie Project is a Fair Trade fashion company that offers stylish, sweatshop-free and eco-friendly clothing and accessories. Launched in 2007, Autonomie Project works exclusively with small independent cooperatives and Fair Trade certified facilities located in developing areas of the world.
Autonomie Project assists artisans with developing, design and marketing of products and ensures eco-friendly practices are used at the manufacturing level. The Company uses organic cotton and other eco-friendly and locally-sourced materials whenever possible to lessen environmental impact. The company never uses animal products in any of its merchandise and encourages cruelty-free purchases and practices. Check out their soft, comfortable organic cotton offerings. You’ll be glad you did.