Columbia Business School Presents: Sustainable Fashion

As I discussed this in my previous post “Be Cool But Conscious? – H&M’s Success with the Conscious Collection“, I always wonder how to be cool but conscious.  I am an eco-conscious consumer but find it hard to be the same when it comes to fashion.  A post on the blog Fashionista-at-Law from December 2009 asked: “Is Fashionista acting sustainably if she buys organic or fair trade clothes and what exactly are ‘ethical’ clothes? Fashionista would love to see those terms on labels so that she no longer has to spend her time researching a brand that claims to be ethical, green, organic, before facing the tricky question as to whether it is more ‘green’ to order the item of desire online or to check for its availability in a shop close by.”

Is it that hard to be cool but conscious?   Not any more – there’s a new movement in vogue.  Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York is organizing the wonderful event for eco-Fashionista next week!

The illustrious panel of eco fashion innovators will discuss fashion’s negative environmental impact and new sustainable approaches to materials, production, recycling and toxic waste.

Gain insight into the challenges of designing eco- fashion and promoting it to mainstream fashionistas. How do you convince designers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers that eco-friendly fashion can also be chic and trendy?

Date: Thursday, January 17, 2013

Time: 6:00 – 6:30 Doors Open and Early Networking

6:30 – 8:00 Program

8:00 – 9:00 Reception and Fashion Alley

Location: Chadbourne and Parke LLP, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 23rd Floor

Cost: $25 for CBSAC/NY, NYBSC, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Members, and students, $40 for non-members   $60 for all walk-ins if space is available.

Click here to buy tickets! [Photo ID is needed to enter the building.]

Advance registration for all CBSAC/NY events closes at 12:00 noon on the day of the event. You may  purchase a ticket online until then. If you don’t register in advance and there is still space, you may get a ticket at the door, at the higher walk-in rate. Photo ID is needed to enter the building.

MODERATOR

• Christa Dowling, Global Cultural Advisor and Journalist, Author, Former Editor-in -Chief, Conde Nast/Vogue, Germany

PANELISTS

• Yael Aflalo, Founder and CEO, Reformation (designs from repurposed fabrics) www.thereformation.com   • Sass Brown, Acting Assistant Dean School of Art and Design, FIT, Author   www.ecofashiontalk.com   • Raz Godelnik, Adjunct Professor at CUNY, the New School, and University of Delaware;  Founder, Hemper Jeans, an eco-fashion jeans company using hemp www.hemperjeans.com   • Gretchen Jones, Eco-Fashion Designer; Project Runway Season 8 Winner  www.gretchenjonesnyc.com   • Catherine Tyc, Filmmaker  (working on sustainable fashion documentary)  http://swapthemovie.wordpress.com/

EXCLUSIVE RECEPTION EXTRA:

Fashion Alley: an exciting showcase of up and coming sustainable brands

MAKING GREEN FROM GREEN Season 4 Certificate Program on Sustainable Business

First event of a five-part series on sustainable business. Attend four out of five events January through June 2013 and earn a Certificate. Future topics include Real Estate, Food, a Sustainability Site Tour (TBD), and Energy.

For more information: www.cbsacny.org or sustainablebusiness@cbsacny.org. Follow us and the MAKING GREEN FROM GREEN series on Twitter @CBSACNY_SBC, #MGFG and the club on Facebook.   NON-MEMBERS and WALK-INS WELCOME (photo ID required)

Our thanks to  Chadbourne and Parke LLP for hosting this event.

This event was organized by Sarah King, Jennifer Lee, Melissa Young, and the Sustainable Business Committee. It is co-sponsored by the Fashion and Retail Committee, Maurice Triquet, Chair.