The mere mention of sustainable menswear is enough to conjure images of ropy hemp bags and unbleached-cotton tees that deliver all the refinement of a potato sack. But while green clothing options for men still lag behind offerings for their wives and kids, a handful of designers are producing organic threads that are environmentally friendly without making trade-offs in looks. In the year and a half since it launched, London's Bamford & Sons has developed a sharp collection for men featuring organic cotton and leather tanned with vegetable dyes, bringing polish to the earthy movement.
By comparison, dozens of labels like Kate Quinn Organics and Sage Baby have sprung up in recent years to outfit the youngest of ecology-minded clients. "The early adopters for a lot of green things are parents," explains Christopher Gavigan, the author of Healthy Child Healthy World. "Clothing, and cotton in general, has a lot of formaldehyde and pesticides in it," adds Gavigan. "Sixty percent of what touches our body can be absorbed through our skin." And young children are particularly vulnerable to chemical agents.
If course, few grown men would knowingly expose themselves to toxins (besides those that are imbibed and inhaled). So why the comparatively meager pickings? "Women ask for things in the market," says Rogan Gregory, who launched the organic denim and streetwear company Loomstate with Scott Hahn in 2004. "There are men who want these organic options, but they just aren't screaming for it." Yet.
John Patrick Organic may change the dynamic, with its first full line of handsome shirts, pullovers, trousers, and jackets that look more at home on city streets than in fireside drumming circles. The outdoor apparel company Nau came up with no fewer than 28 new high-performance fabrics for its first collection last year, including humanely produced wool and polyester recycled from soda bottles and other waste. Earnest Sewn has entered the fray with Greencaste for Barneys New York. The company sought to green the entire production process — revolutionizing its Kentucky laundry facility, using river water for processing (the water is cleaned and returned to the earth), swapping resins and chemical detergents with all-natural starches and cleaners, and eschewing drying machines in favor of old-school hanging. "If we were to turn our entire business over to Greencaste now, we'd be out of business in about six months," says Earnest Sewn president Scott Morrison. "Or, we'd be making $600 jeans."
Despite the stumbling blocks, many labels are now trying to find leaner, greener means of production, like New York's Theory, which has an environmental capsule line in the works. According to Gavigan, it's all good news, because there's nothing better than wrapping yourself in green clothes: "It's an artistic expression. It's a social expression." And fortunately it's no longer a crunchy expression.
