September Newsletter 2016

Vital Ones,

A couple of nights ago, I attended an Eco-fashion show.  Eco-fashion contributes to culture, while minimizing the negative human impact on ecosystems and maintaining the highest levels of social responsibility towards the people involved and affected by the production process.  That's my definition, anyway...  Vital Hemp started as an ecological company producing comfortable, affordable, stylish, high-quality (no pun intended) hemp basics for living every day. 

We’re still doing that. We’ve also ventured forward into the realm of fashion, producing timeless, perfect-fitting styles in nature-inspired colors that allow our customers the freedom and confidence to wear our clothing to work or out at night—because they look and feel so good.

At the event, I asked a question about how we can challenge the biggest, polluting companies, who dominate the world of fast fashion with devastating effects upon the world’s ecosystems to slow down and invest in more sustainable fabrics and practices.  Years ago, when asked what percentage of Quicksilver’s production was eco-friendly, the CEO said, “about 25% of two lines,” and later clarified that it was less than 2% of the company’s production.  Sitting on this panel of eco-leaders, he admitted (and I’m paraphrasing): “You’ve got to understand: This is a multi-billion dollar corporation. It’s like a huge ship; and it’s really hard to turn, because we have production relationships in place, etc…”

I immediately thought of the Titanic, heading for the iceberg, and realized that our living world will not be saved by the slow-turning Quicksilvers, Zara’s or H&M’s of the world. Not entirely surprisingly, Quicksilver filed for bankruptcy a year ago.  So if the greenwashing behemoths (and soon-to-be-dinosaurs) of fashion won’t save us, and we want to wear cool, eco-friendly stuff, where do we turn?  Rather than simply saying “Vital Hemp!” I will recommend a little research.

Just as you would research a car or a refrigerator, or possibly read the ingredients on a bottle of shampoo, please consider researching before buying the clothing you wear.  If you love hemp, search for “hemp clothing.”  Or eco-fashion, or organic clothing.  Consider clothing an investment for at least a year, and something that may have a life cycle of many more, including the possibility of being turned into something else, rather than being dumped in a massive landfill in Haiti…  You might consider buying used or vintage clothing...there’s certainly enough out there.  Above all, please shop mindfully.

Fourteen years ago, I went to my first Green Festival in San Francisco, and witnessed for the very first time the community of businesses devoted to ecological and social responsibility.  I knew I wanted to be a part of this community; and the realization catalyzed my commitment to start Vital Hemp (then vital hemptations, for those who remember...).

If you happen to be in Los Angeles this weekend, please visit the LA Green Festival at the LA Convention Center, Friday—Sunday.  You never know what or who will inspire you; and it’s a great place to find the healthiest, sanest people and products on the planet.

http://greenfestivals.org/los-angeles-2016-sep-16-18.html#!1

Oh, and when you visit, please check out our booth, where we’ll have some new scarves (that we make from the remnants of production).  We’ll also debut our ¾ sleeve hemp wrap dress, based on an original Diane Von-Furstenberg.  With over a year in development, this dress affirms our commitment to eco-fashion and to our customers, who need never sacrifice the Earth to look fantastic!

As ever, thanks for being vital,

Ron Alcalay