SUSTAINABLE STYLE: Del Forte Organic Denim
by Abigail Doan
After a month or more of eco fashion and design related events here in NYC, it is good to get back to basics and launch into some much needed time relaxing in the great outdoors and the city’s green spaces. What better way to kick back in eco chic style than is a super sexy pair of Del Forte Denim organic cotton jeans, sewn and finished in the U.S.A? It is no secret that some of the greenest babes out there wear Del Forte Denim, not only for the supreme fit and detailed tailoring, but also in solidarity with the company’s fashion forward attitude. Known on the street to be a stylish eco-luxe investment, the distinctive quality of Del Forte Denim makes them totally sustainable and covetable in their season-to-season appeal.
Designer Tierra Del Forte started her career in denim design in NYC more than a decade ago. Visiting domestic and international garment factories opened her eyes to the destructive impact that the fashion industry can have on both the environment and textile garment workers. She returned to California with strong aspirations to focus on eco-conscious style and sustainable practice. To accomplish this goal, Tierra started her line of premium organic denim, Del Forte Denim.
Del Forte Denim ‘Marina Skirt’ in organic cotton with custom made buttons and back kick pleats and ‘Willow’ high-rise wide leg trouser in white stretch organic cotton denim
Del Forte Denim has partnered with the Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP), which has been building bridges between farmers, manufacturers and consumers since 1994. In an effort to pioneer markets for certified organic cotton, the two forces have collectively redefined high-end eco luxury and eco friendly production. A portion of Del Forte Denim’s proceeds go to support the SCP. Another aspect of Del Forte’s green mission is their ethically operated, anti-sweatshop facility in Los-Angeles, a city that is now a leader on this front, particularly with its cutting-edge wash development facilities. Del Forte has also launched a recycled denim initiative where customers can return their used Del Forte pieces to be ‘re-jean-erated’ into new edgy designs. Somewhat similar to Patagonia’s Common Threads Capilene recycling project, Rejeaneration allows the consumer to complete the loop of supply and demand.
Our green fashion friends, Bahar Shahpar and Shannon Lorraine, of the sustainable showroom, The Four Hundred, had a fabulous assortment of Del Forte’s latest denim offerings at the D&A green room just a few weeks ago. The Four Hundred also features other standout eco designers like Lara Miller, Sublet Clothing, and Bahar Shahpar as well as accessories designers Beyond Skin, Teich, Ashley Watson, and Cri De Coeur. (Stay tuned for more coverage of The Four Hundred’s sustainable style mission and fabulous designer offerings.) We love that they have chosen Del Forte to be part of their design collective – proof that Del Forte Denim is both blue and green on the fashion forward frontier.
+ Del Forte Denim
+ The Four Hundred
+ The Sustainable Cotton Project
+ Del Forte Denim on Greenloop
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Organic demin is, to be honest, a lost idea on me. I find the idea of an organic cotton weird as it would just mean the cotton PLANT is organic, non of which, besides the buds, which are only organic by default, is used in the manufacture of the fabric. I very much doubt there is a trace of pesticides on the finished, non-organic cotton.
Now SUSTAINABLE denim, thats a better one. Less transport means less emissions, a lower carbon footprint and a lower cost for the factory-to-shop of the jeans. BUT it also takes work from the people in developing countries who rely on it in order to live, so it can be a vicious circle. For the ultimate denim, perhaps locally made and finished jeans (sustainable in terms of potential energy) made from locally-ish sourced (easier for America, granted) fairtrade cotton?? For example, cotton grown in the same continent at least!! The same could potentially apply for all cotton clothing, but thats hopelessly utopic.
On another note, I absolutely LOVE the top the model is wearing in the fishing boat picture (top of page). Is that from del Forte as well?