Green has to be beautiful, not just sustainable — a bit poetic doesn’t hurt.

 

 

 

In every area of modern life and in every market, GREEN DESIGN needs to be a fundamental part of the design process. A line plan must include specific, measurable actions to be taken and goals to be reached. For instance, what can you do to reduce or redesign packaging to be more sustainable? As you add more sustainable fabrics into your mix, how can you help educate your customers on the benefits? Ethical marketing approaches, including Social Networking, engage your customers — building trust and community.

A collaborative, incremental approach to Sustainability is key. The enormity of the task ahead tends to paralyze our initiative to do our part. Each individual action does have a cumulative impact. Companies and individuals may not be able to shift to a totally green position overnight, but each action leads us towards the goal of a sustainable future.

When we think GREEN, we need to expand our thinking beyond “natural” and include Technology in our sustainability solutions. There are innovators leading the way with inspiring ideas, creative initiatives and common sense approaches. We can re-energize our Yankee Ingenuity and step-by-step design the future together.

The Climate Dress — Danish Design firm Diffus created a dress that measures the levels of carbon dioxide through 100 LED lights. Lights pulsate slowly in areas with acute amounts of CO2 and pulsate rapidly in highly dense CO2 areas…and it’s gorgeous!

Elle/Portable Light Project — Elle Magazine teamed up with architect Sheila Kennedy, director of the Portable Light Project and eight notable designers. The overall goal is to provide solar textile kits to help the world’s poorest nations have access to electricity.

Levi’s: Care To Air Design Challenge — looking for the most innovative and sustainable air-drying solution for clothing, winner receives $10,000. The overall goal is to reduce carbon footprint and educate consumers. “The most effective way to reduce the climate impact of a pair of jeans is to air dry, yet the average US household chooses a dryer.”

Neville Bean teaches SXC 100 Color Theory and Culture, SXC 110 Color Discovery Interactive Workshop, and SXF 700 Demystifying Fashion Forecasting.