The development and production process of the Loomstate zero-waste anorak is well under way. Throughout the past few weeks,  I have been sourcing trims, determining fabrics and going through several pattern alterations with the Loomstate team. Due to the nature of zero-waste, some issues have come up along the way, which is making it a learning experience for all of us. Can't wait to see the first sample!

---A

via flickr by halhappen  --- Neesha Meusch

This Saturday and Sunday only, Fashion Girls For Japan, a group of fashion executives formed in response to the recent disaster, is holding a sample sale with Loomstate and more than 60 other designers. A $5 donation at the door will let you into the beautiful terrace at the Bowery Hotel where you can shop to your heart's content, dangerously knowing that the more you buy, the more will go to Japan relief. 

100% of the proceeds from sales will benefit The Red Cross, Japan Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, and NYC's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Funds.

This Sat 4/2 & Sun 4/3

Sat: 11-7PM // Sun: 11-5PM

Bowery Terrace at The Bowery Hotel

335 Bowery at 3rd St. NYC

See you there!

After months of hard work and anticipation, Barbara de Vries's Plastic Is Forever tees have shipped to Barneys and are hitting the sales floor this week! Barbara has created an insightful and informative blog just for the 750 tees she and a group of local artisans created from beach plastic and Loomstate tees.  

Read about the story from Barbara finding a plastic-covered beach to packing up the tees, and her findings throughout her experience with beach plastic. If you get a tee, you can find it in the database, categorized by color, then number.

Images of each tee are accompanied by descriptions, and, for some, quite interesting stories. To own a Plastic Is Forever tee, as Barbara says, is to reinvent the beach plastic's destiny. Not to mention that part of the proceeds will go towards the Bahamian Island of Eleuthera through several education programs.

Each one is different, so go to Barneys Co-Op and take a look. You'll be surprised by how many different variations there are!

Images taken from 750 Tees.

Yesterday, a group of college Seniors from Mount Ida College's Chamberlayne School of Design in Boston visited our showroom and office. As a part of the school's new Interdisciplinary Sustainable Design initiative, students of all different design majors came in to listen to Loomstate co-founder speak about sustainable design, not just in fashion but across the board. We hope the rest of the trip went well!

Vogue.com features the Plastic Is Forever x Loomstate for Barneys tees! Read the article here.

I'm Andria Crescioni - Parsons student, Loomstate's zero-waste contest winner, and newest guest blogger on Act Natural.



I like cats, campfires, and tacos.

I'll be posting updates on the development process of my zero-waste anorak that Loomstate is producing for Fall '11.




-A

WWD featured a Loomstate FW11 dress for the Fall 2011 Trend - Southwest Stunner!

This tragic event needs no introduction. Below is a list of suggestions for charities with links where we can make a donation specifically to the Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Relief.

GlobalGiving Japan Relief Fund
Why: They're working with Save The Children and International Medical Corps. among other organizations to provide on the ground emergency relief and long-term support to survivors and victims of the Japan disaster.

Quick donate: Text JAPAN to 50555 to give $10
- Save The Children's own donation page
- International Medical Corps' own donation page

The Salvation Army
Why: They've been operating in Japan since 1850 and has over 80 centers there. They immediately sent teams to the worst affected areas and continue to send members to access damage and how to most effectively spend donations.


Quick donate: Text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to give $10 (respond YES to confirm).

American Red Cross
Why: They're donating to and working directly with Japanese Red Cross Society whose local volunteers have immediately been dispersed to help with relief item and food distribution, clearing debris, and providing medical transportation. Read here for more info.


Quick donate: Test REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 

The NY Times, Huffington Post, and TIME have their own list of suggestions and other useful applications.

Not just another street artist looking to make his mark, JR aims to bring light to social and political issues, and challenge public perception on unquestioned standards through posting enormous photographs taken with his 28mm camera. The world is his "gallery" and he chooses locations strategically. To put a face to the anonymity of the often stereotyped and written-off "thugs" from French ghettos, JR posted a series of portraits in bourgeois areas in Paris (pictured above).

For the project Face2Face, he and his team traveled to the Middle East and juxtaposed photographs of Palestinians and Israelis on the walls of 8 Palestinian and Israeli cities. In his most recent project, Women are Heroes, they took pictures of women, many of whom fell victim to war crimes, making loud expressions with silly faces or laughing, strikingly different from the often expressionless portraits. Pasted on roofs, walls, stairs, and even moving trains, the result was enormous, surprising, humorous and more depending on the viewer. He's now inviting everyone to participate in his new project Inside Out.

Check out his site, a short video about his work below, and his talk at the TED conference as the 2011 prize winner!


TED Prize Winner JR & INSIDE OUT from TED Prize on Vimeo.

All images taken from JR's site. Thanks Barbara for posting this on our wall!

If you look closely at the Fiji Footprints Cardigan, the all over pattern is an abstraction of footprints, inspired by the footprints left in the sand after an active day on the beach!