You may have noticed of late that rather than remaining mired in the granola-crunching realm of the nerd, green has become downright cool- chic, even. We can all thank the good efforts of folks like California woman Nikolette Orlandou for that. "Green is the new black," proclaims her website. Her high-end gear serves a purpose while making a statement. MGB spoke to Ms. Orlandou about how it's done.
What inspired the formation of i'm eco friendly™, and why did you choose bags as a product?
I deeply value preserving resources, detest excessive wastefulness and believe in the conservation, reusability and recycling of goods and energy. It’s just a matter of principal.
Unfortunately, for the longest time, our society seemed to encourage and value the “disposability” of goods shaping people’s thinking in seeking it out and making it the objective…Luckily, my mother brought me up not valuing excess; associating luxury with selectiveness-- not bulk-- or easy replaceability. As a result, and for a while now, I wanted to combine my passion for conservation with my childhood passion for fashion…However, things were either too busy with my primary career or I hadn’t figured out how I’d best do that.
This past year, the pieces of the puzzle just came together. For one, I saw that the consciousness of the American population was changing; people started to be more receptive—so I knew that a “green” company need no longer be niche or corky and was ready to truly enter the mainstream. The combination of that and my increasing displeasure with the overabundance of cheap, distasteful or “un-eco” “pretending-to-be-eco” products, propelled me to act.
The brand’s name just came to me. By now, almost everyone has been given or has access to some sort of reusable bag…Whether it’s a tradeshow giveaway or the .99 cent bag at the local supermarket, the choices are there. I also felt that sooner of later, people would start to “discriminate” and not just carry any bag, made of any material, with any logo, any message. i’m eco friendly seemed an appropriate name. I wanted the brand products to be making a statement about their nature. As a result, the consumer who carries them does the same—not to mention helping to starting a dialogue between people… “I’m eco friendly…Are you?”
Reusable bags therefore, were the natural first item that came to mind. From personal experience, I knew that I was able to convince my boyfriend to put certain items in the recycling bin—or make small changes around the house. But I REALLY had to work hard to change his thinking in terms of bringing his own bag and refusing bags if he forgot his own…Plus, I really wanted to take reusable bag use to the next level, expanding it beyond the grocery store. Furthermore, I wanted to make bags tasteful and fun as well as available as “sets” so one could carry multiples in different sizes and designs without “clashing.”
Finally, bags and purses are the type of accessory that “represent” and say a lot about their owner, his/her taste, personality and unique outlook. So it was a good challenge.
How are these bags different from other reusable bags? How does i'm eco friendly™ assert its individuality and stand out?
The majority of reusable bags out there claim to be eco-friendly simply because they are reusable!! Often they are made of what is euphemistically referred to as “natural” cotton, which really means conventional cotton farmed with lots and lots of toxic pesticides that harm the environment…. many of those “eco bags” are even made of plastic. Some times, that plastic may be from recycled bottles, billboards or other petroleum byproducts, … I suppose this practice is better than nothing…but that did not really work for me. I think we need to focus on truly natural, non-toxic eco-friendly fibers & material. Plastic to me is an “ugly” word—period. Especially knowing that when that “eco friendly” bag is tossed, the same ugly cycle continues.
In your mission statement, you refer to the vision of your company being "vertically green." What does that mean to you and how do you make that happen? Has it proven to be difficult to get all the necessary components aligned?
I realize this is a very peculiar way of describing the thinking…but “vertical” was the type of adjective that seemed to come up whenever I tried to convey my belief and process…
Simply said, being “vertically green” denotes constantly making environmentally friendly choices and supporting businesses and products that do the same, thus magnifying one’s “green” positive impact on our ecosystem and the planet. It’s stretching one’s green reach by “voting” with one’s behavior and wallet.
When buying a service or product for example, I ask myself: 1) Is it made locally, or at least in the US? 2) Is it made of natural, non-synthetic, or sustainable fibers (hemp, bamboo, etc)? 3) Does it contain any petroleum byproducts? 4) Is it non-toxic or low impact? 5) Is it organically grown without pesticides, chemicals or antibiotics? 6) Does it contain nontoxic or less toxic ingredients? 7) Does it use minimal packaging-- ideally not plastic-- but recycled, high post-consumer waste, non-chlorine bleached carton or paper? 8) Does the company mind its carbon footprint? Does it follow sustainable practices, power its operations using renewable energy or through the purchase of Renewable Energy Credit (REC’s)? And so on!
The more of these “checkmarks” a product or service fulfills, the higher the likelihood I’ll go for it.
The way we make it happen is by seeking the “greenest” vendors we can to fulfill out business needs. If I personally get excited about a company or product as a consumer as well as an “activist” of sorts, then I know that this is the kind of company I want to support and help keep in business. If we all did that consciously, we’d be amazed about how much “say” we would actually end up having in our surroundings and the world. In fact, ever since I discovered “Greenopia: The Urban Dweller's Guide to Green Living, my life became much easier! The editors of the guide have spent a lot of time researching & rating companies in different sectors so one can very easily determine which companies are “greener” than others and make informed decisions.
Being that i’m eco friendly™ is still pretty small, with a select number of products, being “picky” is not hard to do. As we grow bigger, we hope to have built enough relationships with the right vendors and to have had enough of a hand in their growth as to influence their choices in merchandize as well as process. I also don’t rule out expanding ourselves into other parts of the chain if that means we can have an even better way in shaping the space.
Has green become truly chic? What are some signs of this trend?
I guess one could say that green is now chic... At least the majority of the new crop of “green” products and services tend to be. That, coupled with the fact that most major haute couture designers are starting to introduce eco-lines or items in their “mainstream” collections, allows people to see eco as luxurious and not in that old-fashioned way when green meant boring, bland, almost frumpy. That is exactly why from the get-go I looked for organic cotton and hemp canvas in color! I felt I had had enough with the “natural” tint. “I mean, I get it, the fabric has not been dyed…” But these days there are low impact pigments that can be used…One cannot expect to live life in a monochromatic, dull world!
What's next- any plans for expanding your product line?
Besides introducing 100% certified organic cotton canvas bags in a couple of exciting new colors and “sustainable transportation” themed designs, or creating messenger and yoga bag styles, we are working at finding an elegant solution to food carryout bags (where cloth ones are often impractical and paper is simply not the answer).
We will also slowly introduce other accessories besides carryalls. I am a huge fan of the therapeutic, even medicinal, properties of essential oils…Who knows? Maybe soy or beeswax candles...
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