Fashionably Neutral Carbon Program™ to be released at WWDMAGIC

As "Carbon Neutral" gains popularity with savvy green consumers, fashion designers take the reigns.

Clothing production is more than skin deep. Aside from the resources it takes to manufacture the textiles and garments alone, it often involves shipping - of materials to the manufacturer, and of the finished product to the consumer. All of this leads to the release of greenhouse gases. How can you find out what impact your clothing has had on the environment?

René Geneva Design (aka Faernyn's Grove) has a new program to show the customer the footprint of each item of clothing. It's called the Fashionably Neutral Carbon Program™, and its design is simple and clear:

Each item is assigned a carbon value or 'CV'. This number is calculated by combining various factors, including the textile's origin and ingredients, the country of manufacture and the final destination; it indicates the approximate amount of CO2 invested in each design. In order to reduce their impact on the environment, they are working with programs who help the client and consumer understand the carbon footprint that each effort is making. For each Carbon Value, there is a corresponding dollar amount that is donated to organizations that offset greenhouse gases.

"Sustainability is our number one priority," says Geneva, who has been working exclusively with organic textiles and fair trade labor since the decade old company's enlightenment to the green textile movement in 2004. "We feel it is worth while to work with fair trade sewing cooperatives overseas - but we have to be mindful of the impact that has on the environment, as well."

This month alone, Geneva replaced the company car with a bio-diesel version, and replaced their web-hosting with "green web hosting". Her four year old even attends an eco-minded pre-school. "Enough isn't enough for us," says René. "I want our customers to fully realize and trust that we are doing every thing in our power to be as responsible as possible."

Many of René Geneva's designs are made in the USA, and the company is a proud, certified member of Co-op America. Garments manufactured elsewhere are produced as close to the source as possible; hemp from China is made into beautiful clothes with China's ethical labor initiatives, organic cotton jersey items are made in Nicaragua with certified fair trade labor, and silk from India will soon be manufactured in India. With ethical labor standards, of corse.

Geneva's original designs, as well as the Fashionably Neutral Carbon Program ™, will be featured at the WWDMagic event in Las Vegas, August 27-30. More information is readily available at info @ mycorset.com.

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