It would appear green is the new black and I am not talking about the color. If you Goggle eco fashion, you will come up with hundreds of companies who have jumped on the green bandwagon. Stores such as Banana Republic are riding the eco-friendly wave by launching a 50- piece green collection. However, while the packaging and tags are made from sustainable materials, it is unclear whether the actual clothing is. Besides, the apparel is still manufactured overseas where the labor is extremely cheap. So, the question is how “green” are they?

Salvationware in Seattle, WA not only talks the green talk, they walk it. Designer/owner Jme is dedicated to, not only using strictly organic materials, but also to manufacturing in an ethical way.

The Seattle designer was first bit by the fashion bug at a very early age, “When I was about 5, my mom was making ice skating and roller skating outfits for people. I would use the scraps for my dolls and then for myself. She taught me to use the machine and let me sew whenever I wanted. she was self-taught, and taught me what she knew about sewing and fabrics,” said Jme. “By 5th grade, I had a notebook where I would take orders of what I made, collect money and produce the orders for my friends. my mom taught me how to do this too. From there I knew I would have a store one day, where I would make and sell my designs, and then also market other artists’ talents too.”

At age 21, Jme opened a small boutique, but after about 3 years she was so busy running the store, she didn’t have time to design and make her own designs. She sold it and moved to Seattle to start school at the New York Fashion Academy in Ballard to focus on designing, and get the technical experience she lacked. Jme worked as a sample sewer for a few start-ups, but found the experience unrewarding.

Salvationware has been a serious venture for 5 years, “I knew I would no longer be working for other people, and that the only value my skills would really provide me, would be in focusing on my own work and designs…working toward making my own line successful rather than trying to “get a job”,” said Jme. “It has always been my goal to have a clothing line that would focus more on what happens behind the label, than how it appears on the surface. I considered the success of such a line to be the vehicle for change - a way for me to progressively impact some causes I find important: ethics, ecology and philanthropy.”

The vision of the company is to turn vanity into philanthropy; to get people to think and care more about the impact they make in the world, than what they look like. “Sure, looking good is important - and my clothes do - but I also want people to question who made this? Where did it come from? Were people, animals or ecology exploited so that I could have this? How can I change that?” said Jme. “One person does make an impact. I think there is a shift in consciousness lately, mainly forced, based on the poor economic climate, but the resounding affect will be longer lasting and more significant, than just saving some money.” Jme believes people already know that isn’t enough and when they demand that their products be green and ethical as a norm then the marketplace must supply accordingly. The designer longs for the day when “green” isn’t a catch phrase, gimmick or luxury, but when it is just the way we do business.

Jme has a goal to shed light on the dirty little secret of the apparel industry and believes this can be done without sacrificing fair labor and environmentally friendly materials, “I mean how green is it to exploit the workers, even if your fabric is sustainable? The workers certainly cannot sustain with little or no pay.” said Jme, “So basically my mission with this line is one of a message; to think about where your clothes come from.”

Jme did not start Salvationware for the money, but hopes to make an impact in other ways, “The line would be ethically made and ecologically produced, to the most utopian extent possible and the proceeds would go towards impacting charity, in a significant way. In a sense, my line is entirely focused around charity - a real first for fashion.”

Using all sustainable fabrics, Jme is truly a green fashion designer, however, it is not an easy task, “It is currently very costly and pretty inconvenient to stay green. I have had to focus on this as a goal, rather than a rule. If you look at my collection of samples, most of them are not made in eco friendly fabrics but I won’t be selling or manufacturing them until they are,” said Jme. “I forgo selling my designs for the sake of my standards, but you can see the intrinsic issues there - if I don’t sell, how can I afford what I need?”. At this point she will not sell out her ideals for a product. It is slow going for now. She uses eco-friendly fabrics when and where she can apply them; otherwise her line is mostly a sample of her vision for the entirely ecologically and ethically sound packages.

Salvationware designs are mostly inspired by uniforms, “I think from my dad’s years in the navy I always liked the striking appearance of someone dressed in uniform, and so I use a lot of military type details in my clothes,” said Jme. “I am also influenced by comfort and utilitarian facets, so each of my designs is fitted very specifically, and each little thing has a function - sometimes dual use.” For example, Jme dislikes purses and handbags, so she eliminates the need for one by making cargo pockets that detach into a small satchel. While military influenced looks were predominant in her last collection, she added some truly glamorous pieces to break up the uniform themed grouping including black and white striped dresses and pants jewel tone one shoulder evening gowns and striking black mini dresses.

Jme is a true pioneer and if more designers follow the example she has set, maybe we can change the world one thread at a time.

Currently, Salvationware is only available via the website Salvationware.com.

>Written by d/visible contributor Tony Engelhart.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Fashion, Culture, Interview, Art & Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.