The Garden of Edun: The Necessity of Style and Voice in Sustainable Fashion

U2's Bono and his wife Ali Hewson have launched a new collection for their eco-fashion line, Edun, which they founded in 2005. A percentage of proceeds from the new T-shirt collaboration with British lifestyle publication Dazed and Confused will benefit the charity War Child International, a global network of independent organizations helping children affected by war. The network uses creative methodologies for psycho-social trauma recovery and assistance based on musical, creative, and sports activities, coupled with counseling. Hewson's contribution aims to enable the charity's projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Most of Edun's manufacturing is done in sub-Saharan Africa with the aims of driving sustainable employment there. It's a great model: raise consumer awareness with style, and engine that with localized, sustainable production.

Another manufacturer that outfits leading apparel and style makers, LITE leather, champions these aims; its tannery, newly opened in Vietnam, is the first ecologically low impact kind of its size and output. LITE Leather has reduced its carbon emissions by 35% compared to conventional tanneries, which can often be awful for the environment and its many global workers by proximity.

TakePart recently took the opportunity to speak with their Vice President of the Germany-based company, John Graebin, who helped with the opening of the factory in Saigon following the enthusiastic reception of their first effort in Guangzhou, China. The new $12.1 million factory, which opened in October, is employing 300 employees to produce twenty million square feet of leather each year, much of which is outfitting major footwear companies including Hush Puppies, New Balance, Keen, and Timberland.

"As part of the Leather Working Group (LWG), we have the privilege of having our data compared to the audit findings of other tanneries with a similar profile," Graebin says. "This not only compliments our achievements, it sets the bar at a higher level and proves these standards are not within an impossible reach."

Some of these standards include using solar-heated hot water for the tanning process, bamboo enclosures for aide in waste-water treatment, and new technology in tanning vessels. Graebin continues, "Our new plant in Vietnam is designed to take advantage of available natural resources, like abundance of sunlight and rainwater, creating an environmental equilibrium. This can set the precedent for the development that's come to Vietnam and will no doubt increase in the future."

Through sustainable enterprise, companies like LITE leather not only combat environmental waste, but create infrastructure. As these industries grow, the communities of children like those that War Child seeks to assist can support their growth as citizens.

Graebin believes this growing intent is not just a passing trend. "As the economy shows signs of recovery and confidence levels are high, sustainability in many niche consumer groups will become one of the most important factors in competitive advantage."

This week's inaugural fashion week in Karachi, Pakistan, suggests he may be right. The shows prove globalization's trend-setting seeds are still at work despite their stalled migration this year, and that opportunities to produce, show, and distribute ethically to newer and diversifying markets are riper than ever.

As these markets develop, so, too, does the voice of both consumer and creator. Karachi kicked off the shows, which began Wednesday, with runway models exposing shoulders, navels, and a lot of skin, a direct defiance of Islamic and Taliban preferences for the burqa.