Friends in Unexpected Places

By Elizabeth Archerd, Member Services Director

(Another in an occasional series about eco-ethical businesses in our community.)

At first glance, Birch Clothing, with its "Style for Conscious Living" tag line, could be mistaken for just another upscale fashion shop cashing in on trendy themes. But probe just a bit and you'll discover that at the core of this local young business is a "triple bottom line" that resonates with co-op values. The store has to survive, so financial success is one bottom line. But equally important are products that are environmentally-friendly and made in a socially responsible manner, from gathering raw materials through all stages of production.

Birch Clothing started when two friends, an attorney and a nurse/massage practitioner, started looking for clothing produced with the same care as the food they bought at their co-ops. Ellen Gavin and Marti Markus wanted to be able to wear fashionable business clothing that didn't leave them feeling like they were "walking on people's backs," as Ellen expresses it. "Conscious living," to them, means being able to meet their basic human needs with earth-friendly products that support a dignified livelihood for everyone involved in their production and distribution.

It was a challenge, at first, to find sources of clothing that met all their standards. They did their research on the net and by traveling around the country to centers of the textile and clothing trades. They also learned about products and sources by attending the Green Festival in San Francisco, the annual Co-op America Conference, and through an informal network of similar retailers. The shop opened in May 2005.

Much like the natural food movement, natural clothing has outgrown an earlier stereotype. Gone are drab, dowdy colors and textures reminiscent of burlap. There are now elegant wedding gowns that combine hemp and silk or hemp with Tencel. As the fashion industry is catching on to the demand for ethically-produced clothing, more designers are paying attention to the possibilities these fibers and fabrics offer in a wide range of business, formal and casual clothing.

Accessories are also available, including jewelry made from sustainably-mined stones by a Fair Trade Federation member company. Tessoro is a local jewelry company that uses birch bark and stones in its unique designs. Interestingly, many of the manufacturers are women-owned or family-owned companies. MoonRise of Baltimore trains and hires through battered women's shelters, offering the women dignified self-sufficiency. All the companies Birch does business with pay a fair wage within the local context.

The natural fibers include the expected, like hemp, which thrives on many soil types and is easily cultivated without agricultural chemicals, silk and organic cotton (Birch carries some conventional cotton clothing made in union shops in the U.S). But there are also newer fabrics made from a variety of recycled or waste material from other industries. Tencel is a fiber made from a wood pulp, in a process that recycles much of the production material. It feels like silk, cools like linen, warms like wool, resists wrinkles and washes easily. Relan comes from recycled billboards, and makes a great material for handbags. Vulcana material comes from recycled car tires! Bamboo is like a silk jersey knit, that is light and cool, making summer humidity a non-issue. Soy protein fiber, a higher-end textile akin to lightweight cashmere, washes easily and withstands wear, and has the advantage of being a renewable natural resource and a byproduct of food manufacturing. Organic linen, made from flax, is grown with the same standards as organic food.

Birch also practices recycle and reuse in the daily life of the business. Many fixtures are recycled, including clothing racks, shelves, benches, counters, cabinets and signs. They use reclaimed wood when possible, some bags are made from left over paper and cups are made from sugar beets and are biodegradable. All packaging materials are recycled.

Next time you need something nice, instead of heading to a mall, consider heading over to 2309 West 50th Street (50th Street and Penn Ave. South) and supporting a locally-owned shop that connects a world of ecological and ethical values with terrific styles.