New York based womenswear label Mara Hoffman wasn’t founded on the principles of sustainability. Mara Hoffman founded her eponymous label in the year 2000, directly after graduating from Parsons School of Design.
But now, something is happening. This is from blog post from last month:

“We’ve been slowly changing how we’re doing things. We’re working with better fibers, improved manufacturing processes, and an evolved style. Our Resort Swim ’17 collection marks the best results of two years of very intense, behind-the-scenes work, and we’re extremely excited to share these fine fruits of our labor with you. We’ll keep the conversation rolling from here on out and share the why’s and how’s behind our brand shift.”

Is this not one of the most inspiring blog posts you’ve ever read? Read more about the brand’s shift here. And – it’s looking so good. Starting with the spring 2017 collection, online retailer of sustainable luxury Rêve En Vert will carry the brand – an acknowledgement that the shift is one to count on.

Check out the full spring 2017 lookbook here.

If you haven’t heard of Fonnesbech, it’s a recently relaunched Danish brand with a heritage from 1847. Their ambition – now as well as then – is to produce high-quality products for the curated wardrobe, with an innovative approach to materials and design. The spring 2017 lookbook, “Downtown desert”, has us urgently longing for brighter days. Here are some of our favorite looks to spark some summer dreaming:

Visit Fonnesbech here.

Discarded clothes: trash or resource? Might sound like a simple question, but it’s at the very heart of the latest and a crucial debate regarding fashion and sustainability in Sweden right now. Why? Well, a report has concluded that all the producers’ recent garment collecting initiatives (aimed, at best, to avoid textile waste ending up at landfill) are in fact illegal because it’s the municipalities’ responsibility to take care of household waste. So, H&M are illegal; Gina Tricot too.

If discarded textile instead would be considered a resource – to be used for climate positive purposes or a second life – it would be a different story all together. This small question, then, signifies so much; a need for a change in attitude, if we are ever to shift from a linear to a circular fashion system. Even if the comment I read somewhere about whether it’s actually reasonable for the municipalities to have to handle 8 kilograms of textile waste per person and year; a huge amount that the fast fashion brands play a big part in creating.

One of the reasons I love my partner in Make it last Emma is that she would answer “resource” without hesitating for a split of a second. She’s currently preparing to move houses and saves everything that could be used for packaging purposes, and she will be sure to save it for something else further on. She probably says no thanks to about five plastic bags or take-away coffee mugs a day and instead brings her own.

I’m disgusted by all the waste I create.

Anyways, I wanted to tell you about a project that I’ve been working on for the past months. Filippa K Circle is hub where experts in the interface between innovation and sustainability share their visions of a better fashion future. We collect Letters from inspiring thinkers who share their vision about how to achieve circularity in fashion, bit by bit. Please pay it a visit and let us know what you think!

The fashion industry is changing, some even talk about a crashing system. It seems we’ve reached a point where neither producers nor consumers can keep up with the pace of six seasons a year and all that it implies. All involved parties tremble to find ways of catching up with contemporaneity; brands updating their offers; consumers changing their consumption patterns. Will we remember these years in time as the beginning of a new era? Which are the major players on the future industry? 
Make it last travels to Paris to visit the Vestiaire Community headquarters–and chat with co-founder Fanny Moizant about the role of luxury consignment in this new fashion scenery.

Fashion media are talking about a system collapse, an industry moving so fast it has lost control. During the past seasons, some major brands have reconsidered their hectic show schedules, drops of six or so collections a year and habits of previewing collections long before they actually hit the stores, instead opting for “see now buy now” models. Some prominent creative directors have quit their jobs at the luxury houses as a result of having too many commitments and too little time to be creative. Some independent labels leave traditional ideas of fashion structures entirely, testing out new ways to reach new consumers.

What boils underneath is much bigger than a few power players making small adjustments (that are sometimes just ways of adjusting their business models to boost the bottom line).
It has a lot to do with the power of the new consumer–aware, awake and demanding real value for their commitment. It is about brands trying to broaden their offer from merely selling new clothes to establishing a set of social, environmental, emotional values that the consumers not only consider legit but also want to make their own. There’s no more hiding under a blanket–instead there’s an increased transparency, more dialogue and added values. Consumers are more savvy than ever and they won’t just buy anything because it’s cheap or chic. We want to feel it, believe it.

Vestiaire Collective launched in Paris in 2009 and is already Europe’s leading social site for trusted resale of designer fashion. The community of people reselling buying premium fashion via Vestiaire is one of 5 million based in 47 countries, and the expansion is far from over.
The Vestiaire team meticulously curates everything that’s added to their catalogue and offers a middleman-ship between the private individuals doing the selling and buying: all items go through their quality control before they are sent off to the buyers. This brings quality guarantees and trust to the re-sell community and enables Vestiaire to play in the same league as Net-a-Porter.

What is the role of luxury consignment in the context of a changing fashion system?

– We exist because of this situation. If you think of how our mothers and grandmothers used to consume fashion, it was with a completely different take. I remember my mother buying a coat if not for a lifetime at least 10 years. It was just completely opposite, about buying only a few items every season. Now we’re no longer looking for possession, we’re looking for usage, and then we get rid of things as soon as they are out of our minds. That’s why we need a solution like Vestiaire, to be able to re-sell but also to create opportunities to buy very desirable items for lower prices.

– So yes, we’re in the middle of this change. At the same time, whereas there is an overall tendency in this industry towards “see now buy now”, our own research shows that what the consumer really wants is rather “need now buy now”. The consumer is willing to buy summer stuff in May or June, but not at all in December or January. So there are two things: what the consumer wants and where the industry moves towards. And we’re somewhere in the middle.

Do you think the consumer’s view of buying second-hand is changing?
– Completely. I think that we’ve disrupted the second-hand market by bringing two things: First, inspiration. I don’t know about Sweden, but in France six or seven years ago you would find second-hand in these dusty shops and it didn’t feel cool–and at the opposite side was Ebay where you had to spend hours and deal with counterfeiting issues. With Vestiaire we wanted to bring luxury codes to second-hand, quite literally. An inspirational site with a cool look and feel, showing you can be on-trend and have nice looks buying second-hand. It’s in the details, like we were the first ones to crop pictures, showing them like say Net-a-Porter or Matches would do. It is a tiny thing but an example of taking codes of one sector and applying them to another.

And now you’re playing in the same league as say Net-a-Porter. That’s something new.
– Yes. That was the first disruption of the second-hand market, bringing that luxury touch. The second was trust. When you’re trying to appeal to a customer instead of a brand you have to make sure, especially if you’re buying luxury goods, that the product is authentic and in the condition that the seller says it is. That’s why we’ve developed a two step-process: the curation comes first; as a part of the inspirational process, you want only interesting products to go through; and it is followed by the quality control. We authentify and control every single product before repackaging them and send them off to the buyers. It’s that extra physical check that gives confidence to both buyers and sellers, because you know no-one is going to mess up with your product or your payment. Too we’ve moved from a C2C (consumer-to-cosnsumer) business to a C2B2C (consumer-to-business-to-consumer) operation, and that middlemen-ship brings confidence.

Vestiaire is a lot about technology, offering a modern e-commerce service. But at the same time, your business is a lot about manpower and administration. Is this a balancing act?
– Every single product is unique. In the quality and curation side of things we need to be dedicated to each one of them. At the same time we need to scale–we’re selling to 40 something countries right now and need to speak to a community of almost 5 million people. So we need to look to the very individual focus on every product and the global reach at the same time.

Is it hard to combine? I think it’s interesting that such a lot of the innovative tech startups these days still require a lot of manpower. It says something that a person (or thousands) is still needed in the process.
– We’re lucky enough to have started our business with six people as founders. Each of us own one department, one territory, so we have very different focuses. Someone deals with business development only and someone focuses on the product, the craftsmanship and the quality control and so on. We’ve been able to give attention to all these departments simultaneously and push them all at the same time.

Now when you’ve really entered a global market, do you see a lot of differences in what is popular in different regions? What are the Scandinavians interested in comparison to say the French?
– There is visible global and local behaviour. Global ones are interest in say Hermès and Chanel.

Are those two always the most popular? 

– Pretty much. With some local nuances. France is all about Hermès, Scandinavians are all about Chanel. I have the ranking for each region actually. Acne Studios is obviously strong for you guys. But Rick Owens is also in the top 10. Then there is Louis Vuitton, Céline, Gucci, Louboutin for shoes, Comme des Garçons, Isabel Marant… Chanel is strong in the jewellery section as well.

What about expanding beyond clothes and accessories? Are you going to venture into new categories like interior?
– Well, the story behind it is that we always try to follow what the community needs. It’s not like one day we’ll wake up and say “now we’re going to move into furniture”. We’ve been quite organic since day one, even with the launch of the regional offices. We were a French company from the beginning, then we saw growth in the UK and then Germany. And so on. With every move we think about how we can follow the consumers and update our offer. Same thing with the category we call lifestyle. Our community introduced small accessories little by little, like a candle or the Hermès plates or a book. We started adding these little things to the catalogue. Eventually we decided to properly address this and launched a lifestyle category, and it’s performing very well. It is not the heart of our business but we’re enabling for people to do it without pushing it massively.

– It’s the same with the men’s section—we noticed an increase in demand and now have a team dedicated to men.


Where do you want to be in the long-term perspective?
– We want to be the global leader within the re-sell market. We moved towards a global shift in the early days of Vestiaire and we’re already the biggest player in Europe. We want to grow in the US and then tackle other regions, like the Middle east, Asia and eventually Russia.

Is second-hand luxury goods an untapped market? Your community submit some 4,000 products every day.
– I think it’s pretty unlimited. I always compare it with the car industry. When you buy a car you know that you have two options—you can buy a new one or you can buy second-hand. And it’s just normal and you know what to expect from each thing. For me it’s going to be a very normal way of buying fashion.

Where is Vestiaire in terms of sustainability?
– The business model is sustainable by essence. Buying second-hand is normal behaviour already in our generation, and so we try to step away from sustainability as a marketing argument. We see it more as a normal way of dealing with your fashion behaviour. In the same way you deal with your food waste, you take care of your clothes. Some things make sense to re-sell, some things make sense to give away, some things make sense to buy new. The more savvy you become, the more you understand the value of things.
– A few months ago we did a survey among second-hand buyers. Almost five percent of the girls said that already when they buy something new they have the re-sell value in mind. So when they invest in something they know they can recoup part of it. It’s already in their system.

And people go to stores to decide what they want and then go online to see if it’s available second-hand.
– In the UK we have a two famous chefs, the Hemsley sisters, they are fans of Vestiaire and buy and re-sell here. Last year they were telling me how that instead of saying what brand they are wearing they’re saying “it’s Vestiaire Collective”. What they mean to say is kind of like “I’m a smart shopper, I have super cool pieces and they’re second-hand, who cares”. They say “I had a good deal instead of buying at full price”. Who wants to buy at full prices anymore? This is what the shift is about: being a smart shopper.

Visit Vestiaire Collective here.

Lisa’s own pictures from the visit to the Vestiaire Collective offices in Paris:

The Vestiaire headquarters in Paris is more than an office, it’s a factory. There are people everywhere, working on everything from marketing to cropping every picture that is added to the catalogue. On the right is one of the more expensive Hermès bags at the premises right now, kept in a vault with other treasures. Hermès is one of the most popular brands at Vestiaire, no matter the season. Lesson: you can actually invest in a Kelly and get your money back!

All items that are sold by a private seller are sent to Vestiaire for authenticity and quality control. Experts check all the items with experienced eyes, spotting even the sophisticated counterfeits. The Hermès bag to the left is authentic. the Louboutin heels, Chanel flats and Louis Vuitton bags to the right and below are part of a workshop: half of them are real whilst half are fake. Can you spot the real ones? 

Yesterday was it finally time for spring edition of Make it lasts fashion flea market. Some 25 fashion insiders with exciting wardrobes sold designer clothes at bargain prices, while Make it last teamed up with brands Filippa K, Stylein, GANT, Rodebjer, ATP, House of Dagmar, Boomerang and Hope to sell clothes for the benefit of Welcome app, which makes it easier for locals and newly arrived to meet. We also had RMS Beauty and Nailz Did / Priti NYC guest appearing in our organic beauty bar, offering natural make up and eco-manicure to our wonderful guests. Thanks so much for coming out, and a special thanks to Tradera for co-hosting with us! Shop our clothes online all year around on Tradera.com.

As you know, Make it last loves fashion that realises that the new luxury is to consider the world that we live in alongside making beautiful clothes. We aim to inspire and show our readers that there are so many ways to approach a more sustainable style, by buying less, choosing well and making it last. We also want to highlight all the brands that get this whole idea, to not only inspire but also guide you to those perfect basics made of organic cotton or party dresses with transparent production processes.

That’s why we’ve launched our Sustainable Brand Index. Here, we list brands within different fields of fashion that all have two things in common: they belieive in style and sustainability.

The index is a work in process and is constantly being updated with the best and latest of sustainable style. If you have suggestions of brands to feature, please comment below! Enjoy.

We’ve conducted a study on sustainable consumption with pr agency Juno (who, like us, try to consider sustainability in everything they do). The motivation was to be able to refer to real and updated facts when readers, clients and others ask us: but to people really care about sustainability?

The results are in and as it seems, almost everyone cares about sustainability and whether companies consider sustainability aspects of their businesses. 

The study was conducted by YouGov, see more of it here.

Here are some of the things we learned:

• 79 percent believe that companies have a responsibility to talk about their products’ environmental impact. Only 12 percent think businesses communicate enough about their products’ environmental impact.
• 69 percent believe that companies have a responsibility to talk about their producers’ working climate. Only 12 percent think businesses communicate enough about their producers’ social footprints.
• 43 percent have at some occasion paid more for a product for knowing about the company’s sustainability commitments. At the ages 18-34, that number is 53 percent.
• 50 percent think producers and consumers have a joint responsibility of making sure a product is recycled.
• Only 2 percent think renting clothes is a good option to buying new.
• The longevity of the material is the most important factor when buying something new. That the product is considered “trendy” is the least important factor.
  
  

Welcome to the new Make it last. We hope you feel at home. Our updated site aims to surprise and inspire, with bi-weekly fashion edits, news and features on style and the arts, Emma Elwin’s popular blog and more video content–all with a special focus on sustainability. And oh also a sustainable brand directory to turn to whenever you wonder where to get those stylish and sustainable clothes!

I have a friend on Facebook, Sébastien Kopp, one of the founders of sustainable sneaker brand Veja, who thinks it’s cynical for H&M to arrange a World Recycle Week (starting 18 April) to coincide with the Rana Plaza disaster anniversary.

During World Recycle Week, H&M aims to collect 1,000 tons of clothes for recycling. Lucy Siegle points out in The Guardian that 1,000 tons roughly equals the clothes a brand of that size pumps out in 48 hours, and that the voucher schemes associated with the collecting schemes often fuel more purchasing.
Siegle’s main objection is however also that of timing–World Recycle Week clashes with grassroots campaign Fashion Revolution Week. Fashion Revolution Week is a non-profit that aims to raise awareness of the true costs of fashion around 24 April every year since that day in 2013, when 1,134 people were killed as the Rana Plaza complex collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Orsola de Castro, one of the initiators of Fashion Revolution, calls the timing “disrespectful”. “We’re remembering the carnage, not staging a carnival where people go around dressed in fashion waste.”
And although H&M claims the clashing dates is a coincidence, that’s some heavy criticism to tackle from a heavyweight like Orsola de Castro.

But that is of course what H&M needs to do. Tackle it. Keep having the conversations–and not only the conversations they’ve initiated themselves. That’s hopefully what will get us somewhere.

Because different initiatives can co-exist. I believe “pop” events such as recycling initiatives, commercial or not, are needed alongside the independent ones, to get people talking, to challenge other brands to consider the triple bottom line, to encourage consumers as well as producers of fashion to consider consequences of fashion. On some level.
And events such as Global Change Award and hopefully also World Recycle Week provide with opportunities for actors within different parts of the supply chain to get together and discuss. (I will myself participate in one of the group discussions on Fashion Transformation Day on 23 April in Stockholm, which is a part of World Recycle Week.)

Having that said, it is vital for H&M not to hijack Fashion Revolution’s message. While H&M engages a consumer, Fashion Revolution engages a citizen. And yes we’re all both sometimes, but not all the time. If we’re reduced to being consumers only, we might as well just use the discount vouchers handed to us when recycling our old stuff to buy more, more, more and more.
I too can feel tired of initiatives, including some of our own, that focus only on parts of the problem (and that often implies focus on what consumers can do versus what the producers have to do). Being “part of the solution”, something everyone engaged in sustainability and fashion aims to, means not shying away from the very dark sides of fashion. We cannot only talk about “cool” ways of being sustainable. It’s not all “cool” and tackling only the “cool” is a possibility only for the ones of us in the value chain who don’t work on low wages in dangerous factories.
But, however cynical it may seem and however hard I think it is to accept sometimes, there has to be space for all parties to progress, whatever the starting point. As M.I.A tells Vogue: “If all [H&M] do is go and inspire another high-street brand to get in on caring and being conscious, or if H&M gets criticized for any of their factory processes, these are all good things. We should discuss them in public and we should have this back and forth. At least they’re even stepping into the [environmentally conscious] arena. Any of those things is progressive, and I think you have to give it a chance.”

From left: Céline fall 2016, Balenciaga fall 2016, Vetements fall 2016

There’s a lot of talk about pace in fashion these days.

I thought about pace when I say Phoebe Philo’s interpretation of Céline for fall, and the grace in which she allows it to be a peaceful, utilitarian, seasonless stop on the way towards something else.
Backstage, Philo talked about approaching stillness, allowing for the process to take center stage. It felt like another way of saying that there is really no hurry. She’s beyond hurry.

And we should of course all be.

There’s of course a huge issue of class built into this; something inherently privileged in the notion of being beyond hurry. Just as it often is to buy organic food or organic clothes. A woman dressed from top to toe in Céline is in fact rich, i.e not the average woman, and affording that wardrobe has little to do with how many high street knits one has resisted in buying and much to do with being more or less financially independent. And thus embracing Céline’s stillness as an approach to long-lasting fashion; something I myself would love to; is not a viable option for most of us.

It’s a little like people drowned in their own mindfulness. Nothing makes me more stressed out.

Yet Philo’s non-stress echoes two current tendencies in fashion that are both lucky from a sustainability perspective: that of slowing things down and that of promoting utilitarianism. The current poster boy for these trends, Demna Gvasalia, skips pre-collections at Vetements entirely (for a slower pace as well as less clothes) and at his debut as artistic director for Balenciaga, he elegantly intertwined the house’s tailoring heritage in pieces that were also wearable. The Balenciaga debut, to use Phoebe Philo’s words for her own fall collection, felt like it was about “finding the possibilities in wardrobes, fabrics, life in general”.

Investing in 1. less clothes that are 2. well made and 3. wearable are three cornerstones of a more sustainable wardrobe. It’s a start, and after that, we can progress. I too think the banality of this is overwhelming at times, but I also know that it needs to be repeated, time and time again. To myself, to everyone else. And I think this is what Phoebe Philo is saying. If she didn’t have to, she probably wouldn’t have done a fall collection, but instead taken some more time off. (But she had to and she did, opting for wearability.) What if she hadn’t? That would have been a real shake up of the fashion system. Keeping my fingers crossed for no resort. <3

The feeling of cause-sumption is more present than ever here in Los Angeles. If it’s not plant based food at Gracias Madre or Gratitude, it’s keeping oneself trendy in organic Bassike dresses or oversized Fanmail t-shirts. Like a friend said yesterday; we take the car to buy another do-good experience.

I’m very much a part of all of this.

What was perhaps something for the progressive few, the philanthropic nature of brands are today mandatory. Brands without a manifest about sustainability? What’s up Creatures of Comfort? Us millennials except corporate do-good from the brands we associate ourselves with, and we use our spending power to load our identities. We want corporate brands not to sell things to us, but to partner with us in building our own personal brands.

Nothing exceptionally new, and this behavior makes me feel depressed at least a few times a day. Especially so, when informed choices are in fact just a cause of laziness or, at its very best, poor research skills. When buying a pair of TOMS sneakers, as a reader pointed out, is not actually doing any good, where are we then? Well we’re back at the core question of making informed choices.

And keeping oneself informed is hard, even for the ones who try. Staying with the TOMS example, some quick further research suggests that it’s not that simple. Not entirely bad or entirely good. While Bruce Wydick, who was commissioned by TOMS to make an impact study of their program, found that it had no life-changing impact on the recipients’ lives (with “recipients” being the first problem–”us” knowing what “they” need better than “they” do) he still thought of TOMS as “an organization that truly cares about what it is doing, seeks evidence-based results on its program, and is committed to re-orienting the nature of its intervention in order to maximize results”.

Is having good intentions better than having no intentions? Perhaps it contributes to sense of caring that in the end actually affects the status quo of caring?

Probably, the only goods that are entirely good are the ones you can trace yourself. The rest is just a scale of insecurities and you have to set your own boundaries. I had a discussion about alpaca the other day with a sustainability expert, in relation to Industry of all Nations. And although the brand’s alpaca project seems good in itself, the alpaca may become endangered due to climate changes, as glaciers melt and temperatures rise, which also means that the local communities producing the goods may be threatened. There are many stages to consider; the raw material, the climate, the production, the consumption, the after-life…

Did you know our name, Make it last, is just the last bit of a quote by Vivienne Westwood. The whole sentence? Buy less, choose well, make it last. And I guess that’s the point I’m making. It’s not only about choosing well, it’s also about, simply, buying less. That’s, I guess, the only simple thing in this equation.

Pictured: lovely pieces from the Bassike resort 2015 collection

Working from TOMS in Venice today. Do you know about TOMS? It actually started out here in Venice, with the idea of giving shoes to children in need. Now TOMS work on a global level with a one to one koncept, meaning that for every purchase of TOMS products–shoes, coffee, eyewear, bags–TOMS helps provide shoes, sight, water, safe birth or bullying prevention to a person in need.

TOMS has signs on the walls saying “we’re in business to help improve lives”. And they are, actually, not the only ones. It’s all around us. Just across the street, Industry of all nations has opened a concept store. Growing organically since 2010, IOAN is “a design and development office founded with a commitment to rethink methods of production for consumer goods”. IOAN works with local communities and manufacture products in the regions where the materials originate, and then bring the local businesses to an international market. I bought a sweater from their Alpaca project, it’s made in La Paz, Bolivia with only virgin fibers, no dyes.

I spoke to my dear Space Matters colleague Aziza Azim the other day. She’s a fashion consultant focusing on new businesses, and she’s spent the last weeks in Venice too, meeting brands and others from the fashion industry. Her overall feeling being here? People don’t really care about fashion anymore. Not in itself. They want things to matter; something more holistic; something that makes sense. I think she’s right.

People want things that matter – and they want to travel. According to a new report, 87 percent new affluent consumers here in the US rather put money on traveling than on material goods. I find this uplifting; travels expand the mind. But like a fashion photographer friend told me the other day: “all this traveling, it just doesn’t make sense anymore”. We can’t keep being on that next plane all the time. 

From a readable NY Times feature the other week:

“…the biggest single thing individuals can do on their own is to take fewer airplane trips; just one or two fewer plane rides per year can save as much in emissions as all the other actions combined.”

And here I am, in car-bound Los Angeles, 15 flight hours from my home.
I travel less and for longer than before, but I still take those long flights.
I how I love it. The distance gives me perspective. Yet… it’s not really a sign of perspective. (I keep thinking about my sister feeling so bad about having to go to Helsinki by air the other year.)
Life isn’t easy.

I wanted to finish off by linking to two comments on COP21 that I think are worth while:

Vice’s video reports, meeting everyone from Brandalism, Naomi Klein and different young activists with important views on the protest ban and the resistance to change. There’s obviously an irony in the encouragement from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for people to engage themselves and demand change – while civil society are not allowed to protest.

A view on COP21 as most of all a diplomatic triumph. “The only way to ensure the participation of the United States and China was to make the agreement nonbinding.” The New Yorker piece also points out, the agreement doesn’t include a tax on carbon, “which would change the financial incentives facing individual decision-makers, such as power suppliers and motorists”. I really don’t get that. More mandatory carbon taxes please.

Have a good week, take care of each other. <3

Pictured: Industry Of All Nation’s store on Abbot Kinney in Venice, Los Angeles, a pair of TOMS sunglasses, an Alpaca sweater by IOAN, a flight somewhere by Stefano Galli.

After three all-night sessions, a global climate agreement was finalized on Saturday. Some call it historic, some remain skeptical as the countries’ commitments still add up to almost 3C of warming. What would you say? 

Some of the key points of the agreement include (also read this):

• To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century.

• To keep global temperature increase “well below” 2C (3.6F) and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C.

• To review progress every five years.

• $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future.

Further reading:

“No country would get all it wanted, but no country would lose all. It appeared to be the world moving in roughly the same direction.” (The Observer Sunday 13 December)

“Only elements of the Paris pact will be legally binding.” (BBC Saturday 12 December)

“What Does a Climate Deal Mean for the World?” (NY Times Sunday 13 December)

“Climate Agreement’s Success Hinges on Countries Making Painful Decisions” (The Wall Street Journal, Sunday 13 December)

Feeling hopeful these days?
Didn’t think so.
The asylum regime reverted to EU minimum in Sweden makes me cry.
“We simply can’t do it anymore”, says our prime minister. We simply cannot unite ourselves to be human? Share small parts of our extremely privileged little lives in the name of people having equal rights to life?
Another thing that almost makes me almost-cry is reading about the upcoming climate summit in Paris. The parts where experts say that the conference will do nothing to actually change global heating. The assumptions and percentages and promises are, according to a whole bunch, all pretty much whatever. Emissions are still too high and just kind of exported elsewhere than the EU (read this) and carbon prices are still too low (read this). There’s still not enough focus on reducing renewable energy prices (read this).
Also troubling is the fact that even though I try to grasp the specifics of COP21 and the surrounding climate debate, I really don’t. I’m afraid to even write about it here, it feels like I might get it wrong. It’s an economists’ matter–not easy for any other person to understand. Which means–very easy for any other person to ignore.
Can some public relation genius please tap into this huge problem? Make the climate crisis understandable: yes it is very urgent indeed.

Other things on my mind:

Transparency brand Everlane is diverting Black Friday profits to its workers. <3
Resee might be the best online second-hand store this year. The Prada boots above are from there.
“Companies must consider the herding communities in their supply chains, and make it worth their while to farm less, but better.” Solving the cashmere crisis, read here.

Like my dear ex-colleague Johan Wirfält said at his introduction at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern earlier this week, it really was a big event taking place that night–two of the world’s leading thinkers on climate change shared the stage for the first time: Johan Rockström, professor in environmental science and Naomi Klein, author and social/environmental activist known for books like No Logo, The Shock Doctrine and the latest This changes everything.

Johan Rockström started by pointing out he’s one of Naomi’s biggest fans. He also said her books aligns with science, which Naomi appreciated.

The two agree on putting climate on the top of the agenda, but they approach the goal of achieving a “decarbonized safe future for humanity” differently. In these dark times, when, as Naomi said on stage, we haven’t recovered from the attacks in Paris yet; the ground moving beneath our feet; I want to take a moment to focus on what they actually agree on.

A week ago, Paris meant climate summit.
Now, Paris is disaster and terrorism.
But stil, we cannot change the subject.
Social and ecological change causes turbulence. (The historic drought in Syria, for example, is one of the factors that lead to the acceleration of conflict.)
You can’t disconnect terror from climate change.
Climate change destabilizes regions.

So, as Johan Rockström said:
“We must go to Paris, we must talk about a rapid transformation to a climate future as a venture of peace.”
Naomi Klein agreed:
“Let’s see the climate summit as a peace summit. We can’t be afraid to have confidence in what we know in a time of crisis.”

Take an hour and listen to the conversation between Johan Rockström and Naomi Klein here. And stay safe and confident in what you know. <3

There’s a lot of corporate hashtag activism going on lately.

What do you think of hashtag activism in general? Is it positive in the sense that it introduces an issue to people otherwise not engaged at all? Or, does it lower the bar to really engage in an issue and hence lower the impact? Is there enough connection between online activism and real-world results, are there long-term goals involved with launching a hashtag, and can marketing money be better spent?

Awareness–which is usually the ambition of a hashtag–is indeed hard to measure (the best example I know of a hashtag that has really brought awareness is #BringBackOurGirls). But despite this “first kiss” potential of a hashtag, I think there are other positive aspects in the togetherness of a #.

Like when it offers opportunities for participants to join a conversation.
#BlackLivesMatter

And when it manages to create a sense of unity for people in devastating times.
#JeSuisCharlie

No doubt, the hashtag has recently been taken hostage by the creatives at marketing and pr agencies. In the fashion industry, an increasing number of brands choose to launch hashtag campaigns encouraging the consumer to give their best sustainability tips. Sometimes fun and functional, and sometimes a very easy way out of not focusing on one’s own production processes. (And yes, Make it last is also sometimes to blame and shame here.)

I’m trying to figure out when I follow a hashtag. It’s either when there’s a specific event going on and the best real-life way to follow it is via a hashtag. Or, when there’s a real conversation going on and getting richer by the hashtag.
I’m also thinking about when I think a hashtag campaign is a good one. Mostly, it is when the hashtag is a part of a bigger initiative, possibly like a gathering tool.

One good example from my little window of the world is the #whomademyclothes campaign, launched by Fashion Revolution. It’s activated yearly on the day of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, 24 April, and it encourages participants to take selfies showing the label on their clothes and ask the brand #whomademyclothes. It’s had some major impact when it comes to Google hits. Then, some brands answer, most don’t. But either way, the campaign, initiated by senior fashion professionals, has led to collaborations with e.g. the European Union and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office in Brussels. It’s team also work across different industries to make their voice heard–only this month, they will travel across five UK universities to galvanise student support over pressing issues regarding sustainable practices in the fashion industry. (Read more about the campaign here.)

One of the founders of Fashion Revolution is Orsola de Castro and she’s become one of my role models since I started learning more about sustainable fashion. Look her up!

Emma and I joined another hashtag campaign this week. By signing/hashtagging #EarthStatement, we support a call from scientists to world leaders to act on eight essential elements to be included in the global climate change agreement. This agreement will be on the agenda at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December (“COP21”), which is an event that we’ll write more about here on Make it last.

And oh, there’s one more use of the hashtag that I really like… It’s whenever Jimmy Fallon says it. Yes I’m indeed that old. Good night.

Lisa in Parc Belleville today and Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and some random folks (ehehe) during the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in 2009. 

After two work-heavy days here in Paris, I decided to take a walk. I started by Jim Morrison’s grave in Père Lachaise via Parc Belleville, close to where I’m staying, walked on to Parc Belleville to get a peek of the Eiffel Tower without having to visit it, got a perfect coffee at Cream, kept on to Parc de Buttes-Chaumont and finally settled at Cafe Lomi in 18th, where I’m sitting right now (with another cup of perfect coffee).

It was a chilly walk. I lingered in Parc Belleville under the trees, green, red, yellow.

And I thought about the UN climate summit taking place here in Paris in a little more than a month. It’s on everyone’s lips, at least the lips of people working with questions of sustainability. From 30 November to 11 December, governments of more than 190 nations will meet here to discuss a possible new agreement on global change. The old agreements are reaching their end date. It’s also a fact that the global climate conferences of late have a very messy history. From the convention in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro (where all countries agreed on ”taking action to avoid dangerous climate change” but did not specify how), the 1997 Kyoto protocol (which put the negotiations to a near-halt), the 2007 Bali drama (pushing the US to sign a deal) and the 2009 Copenhagen agreement (where most countries agreed for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but no legally-binded, UN adopted treaty was signed, and everyone was angry with China).

It’s an urgent matter: all countries have to agree on a plan to keep global warming below 2°C. If we don’t, we may very well ”pass the threshold beyond which global warming becomes catastrophic and irreversible” (source). 

Agreeing on an all-binding treaty is considered a huge achievement, even, a miracle. One of the issues are, surprise!, that of finance. Poorer countries want richer countries to help them invest in technology that allows them to cut emissions. The richer countries don’t want that. Also, it’s generally believed that to achieve the below 2°C, actors outside the UN (non-state actors such as business) must be engaged.

It sure is messy and complicated. But more important than… anything.
I strongly suggest reading this rundown by The Guardian, about what’s happening at Paris 2015 and why it’s important.

Today is a big day for us – we’re picking up the keys to our new office. It is, above all, full of light. Emma’s face is like a kid’s on Christmas Day when she’s in there. As you know, we do most things ourselves, and it seems in the future, Emma will do even more photographing, which makes this space perfect – it’s is much like a photo studio.

We have some really exciting projects coming up this fall, including creating a visual identity for a brand offering high-quality cashmere sweaters and producing content for Instagram accounts that aren’t our own (but keep following us on @wemakeitlast). We’re also launching a new section of the site, and oh yes, before that there’s our forth fashion flea-market. (Welcome on 3 October!)

Men are calling us for advice (like duh) and we don’t have time to eat our lunches away from the computer. In other words, Make it last is growing up. In a week from now, we will have been up and running for a year, and OH MY has a lot happened since then. We’re actually nominated for a prize here in Sweden – the Swedish Publishing Prize. Fingers crossed ok?

Starting up Make it last with Emma is already among my most rewarding experiences. We both longed for a more relevant way of approaching fashion, to learn new things again, and update our weary views. This year has been a study of innovation, ambition, devastation, fear…. There’s no such thing as one solution to making fashion more sustainable (yes, I have to add “more” prior to “sustainable” as fashion will never “be sustainable), but one thing is for sure: the solutions offered are numerous and yes, they will have a real breakthrough.

I read Malin Ullgren in Dagens Nyheter the other day, and a couple of her well-formulated sentences stayed with me. They read, in Swedish, something like:

“Usually I’m utterly uninterested in private individuals’ environmental responsibility, I don’t believe in it, it shifts focus from nations’ and companies’ acute responsibility and possibilities to influence. It is as if the rich part of the world is washing Tetra Paks while the earth collapses.”

These sentences are everything to me. I don’t disagree with Malin Ullgren, which pains me to my core. The Tetra Paks, please, stop. When I read these sentences hastily, I have to close my eyes and take deep breaths, my inner voices telling me that Make it last is an impossible, ridiculous, insane project by the very definition: “Make it last.” Bah. But then I return to the words and I think about them… And no, it’s not as simple as that.

As smart as she is, Malin Ullgren is taking the easy way out. Actions matter; they make revolutions. If we stop believing in that, there’s really not much more to do (than perhaps to watch those companies do whatever they feel like without consequences larger than, well, destroying the planet). So however hard it is – yes, it is indeed a struggle every single day – I have to believe that it somehow matters what I do. What I could and can do. Trying to make it matter – and trying to make the ones who are indeed really responsible – nations, companies – to change.

Photography by Damon Winter for New York Times

“You’ve had a landscaper and a house keeper since you were born
The starshine always kept you warm
So why see the world, when you got the beach
Don’t know why see the world, when you got the beach
The sweet life”

The hook of Frank Ocean’s song Sweet life

On my mind is California.
Still, the land of my dreams.
But the land suffers; the drought is severe, devastating. The limits of nature tells us California can’t keep being the seventh economy of the world on current terms. On its fourth year, the drought tells the state’s 38 million inhabitants (owning 32 million vehicles) that they indeed have to change their way of living. Even Governor Brown is forced to listen, and he recently ordered a 25 percent cut in water consumption.
The 25 percent cut doesn’t apply to farms, which consumes some 80 percent of the state’s water, and the issue of agricultural water spend needs to be more urgently addressed. But the Californian definition of beauty; a lush lawn and a golf course; is still a very real problem. The domestication of natural resources is as tricky as retouching the diversity of human beauty.

“Domesticated paradise, palm trees and pools…”
The Sweet life sounds like a Sweet lie.

I’m about the last one to say this, but there’s something about this paradox that defines California. Natural beauty versus external threat. Sunsets and foggy skies, cars and surfboards, extreme wealth and homelessness. A dream isn’t always a good one.
California has faced many a crisis; temporary droughts, crashing state budgets, massive energy issues, earthquakes; but has always, so far, found its way forward. It seems even this time around, most experts are saying ”no, it’s not the end of the California dream – but we have to adjust, we have to learn how to do things differently”.
And I choose to be hopeful. As Dr Starr tells NY Times: ”It’s not over… But it will change itself.”
Reinventing oneself; reinventing a state. It sounds like a shimmering cliche, but if any state can do it, it’s California. It will change.

Please take a look at Damon Winter’s photos of a dry California here, and while you’re there, read the feature as well. And have a good weekend.

Generation Z. Digital by default. Constantly connected. With upheaval as norm.

I’ve always been obsessed with youth, perhaps more for every year that takes me further from it. (Yes, I’ve feared non-youth since the day I turned 13.) Right now, I read as much as I can about changing consumer behavior and how Gen Z (the digitally savvy ones who do not know life without a smartphone) is changing the market. We’re heading towards a new value economy and to me it seems this will bring a lot of positive changes. ”Generation Z is the most engaged generation to date and if they don’t like it, they will do something about it. They’re quite activist in their mentality”, says Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia (ok so he’s 76 years old but he’s still on my yes list). 

My favorite read right now, the LA Briefing, states a fact: luxury brands have been slow in adopting their businesses to what Gen Z wants. While the luxury segment has largely leaned back on ”the security of heritage” and relied on ”introspection rather than innovation”, the younger audiences are ”less motivated by external signifiers of wealth and more by intangible ideas of value”.

This disconnect got i-D Magazine to start new lifestyle title Amuse, launched to attract this ever-growing group of luxury consumers who are ”driven by experiences more than transactions”. This disconnect is probably also a reason why Kering has put sustainability and innovation at the core of their development. This disconnect is probably why Natalie Massenet made a huge deal out of launching The Net Set earlier this year (an app offering editorially curated content instead of a traditional e-commerce). S-commerce is predicted to be the future, and I’m very curious about Semaine launching next week with the tagline Forget the look. Shop the life. (And by the way, even more curious to know what Natalie Massenet is lending her genius to after leaving Net a Porter post-merge with Yoox. (Is she the next Anna Wintour?! Etc). 

This week GANT did a major relaunch, simultaneously communicated in some 70 countries. The campaign feeds off GANT’s Ivy League heritage – not so appealing to Gen Z according to LA Briefing logic. But its message – real people (former Ivy Leagues students) who changed the world, not the shirt – may be one that Gen Z appreciates. I myself think the campaign is ambivalent in its message. After all, Nick D’Aloisio didn’t need Ivy League to teach him code at the age of 12, and GANT, as any other similar brand, needs change that is more than symbolic. 

But: Perhaps this feeling of conflict between something rich and privileged (like the Ivy League heritage) and something standing for social change is in my system because I’m not part of Gen Z. Maybe I’m more traditional; my parents met while protesting against nuclear power on the streets of Stockholm in the late 70s; they work with kids and books in the public sector and not with fashion and tech in the private one. But then again, as with most parent-child-relationships, maybe my values stem from what they are and also whey they are not. I am after all an entrepreneurial leftie; accepting the market economy and still wanting to work with things that matters to me.

Discussing this new value economy, Marcie Merriman writes in WWD: ”The entrepreneurial community has the advantage in this new world (…) Large companies need to act more like start-ups and provide alternative innovations, not incremental improvements.” Now, although I am a huge fan of the podcast Startup and love to work for myself, I value a public sector and a welfare system a million times higher than private profit, i.e, I’m not disillusioned enough to think private startups is some overall solution. But if the message here reads that huge companies need to be more receptive to their customers? Then that’s music to my ears. I believe in consumer power – but also, that the consumer isn’t responsible for changes to happen. Changes are needed on policy level; initiated by the companies selling the clothes; agreed upon by politicians directly influential in decisions on how many refugees to welcome to a country. (Amen, Naomi Klein.)

Yes, it’s all part of the same system and it needs radical change, now more than ever.

Heavy-hearted. Like a friend wrote on Facebook the other day – everything is secondary to the crisis playing out on Europe’s doorsteps; fellow humans being denied the rights to live; a baby boy’s body washed up on the Turkish coast. It’s devastating and a shame; but even more shameful is the sense of hopelessness. The one that makes you numb. Andre Walden, Emanuel Karlsten and what seems to be a number of others popping up in my social media feeds, sense winds of change, at least here in Sweden, and I pray they’re right. After some months of the anti-immigrant party Swedish Democrats’ description of reality seeming to gain more and more ground for every attempt to question them, as Andrev writes, there’s a rebound in the debate. Outbursts of humanity, triggered by images of reality, are dominating the social media, and most importantly – people are acting up and creating real change. A former colleague of mine, Maria Soxbo, co-started a private initiative aiming to help the Syrian refugees reaching the Greek island Lesbos by boat. (Read an account for the situation on Lesbos today here.) As of yesterday night, they had collected 5 million SEK. UN’s refugee agency UNHCR’s fundraising foundation in Sweden, Sweden for UNHCR, has received 8.1 million SEK since they started their campaign nine days ago.

People are helping people. Now it’s time for governments across Europe to act with the same visionary leadership as Merkel. Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven is meeting with her today. Hoping for real decisions, real collaboration and real change.

I’ve gathered some links to organisations to which you can contribute.

Vi gör vad vi kan
Swish: 0702-093 303

Sverige för UNHCR

Rädda Barnen
PG: 90 2003-3
BG: 902-0033

Läkare Utan Gränser
PG: 900603-2
BG: 900-6032
swisch: 9006032

Unicef
PG: 90 20 01-7
BG: 902-0017

Volunteering in Stockholm
Volontärer för ensamkommande flyktingungdomar
Voluntärbyrån

Sign these petitions
Upprop för att omedelbart öka den svenska flyktingkvoten
Upprop inget barn ska dö på Medelhavet

The week is coming to an end, and it’s been a busy one. It hasn’t only been fashion week here in Stockholm; decision-makers, innovators, experts and representatives from businesses from around the globe have also gathered to exchange ideas within the frames of World Water Week. The theme of the year was water for development, and myself and Emma got the opportunity to listen to some key players when attending the award ceremony for GLASA, which is The Global Leadership Award for Sustainable Apparel. GLASA launched only two years ago to pay attention to bold and courageous leadership in the apparel sector. Two doctors attended to panel discussion and they are my most recent role models. Read more about them and our thoughts on GLASA here.

Attending GLASA gave us some well-needed energy; fashion week (a three-day affair that kept us busy the first three days of the week) is fun but also draining. Peaks – I mean mind-blowing, thought-provoking experiences – are rather rare, and the growth within the mainstream fashion industry doesn’t feel massive. To me, it seems there’s an ever-increasing gap between a flourishing (yay!) scene for conceptual fashion, showcased for example at Amaze, and the mainstream side of fashion (ie the “industry”). Yes, Giorgi Rostishvili seems to be a rare talent, but his referencing (mostly to Louis Vuitton and Prada) is a little hard to put aside, yet. Mentioning his obvious referencing to anyone in the fashion crowd is almost impossible; it’s a total mood wrecker. We want him to be the new miracle. We thirst for it. Until he reaches that point (which I’m sure he will), I will attend the Water Week’s a little more frequently.

We joked about doing some guerrilla marketing during fashion week, like throwing paint on whichever fur coats we would see on the runway (the attention it would’ve brought huh?), but we opted for something a little less provocative (even if we do in fact have readers who want us to be more aggressive, something I might address later). Emma used fashion week to show how to wear the same shirt in three different ways, whilst I wore some pieces I admire for their sustainable qualities: The dress I wore for day one is from Reformation, the shirt I wore for day two is carefully embroidered by hand by our talented colleague Camilla, and the Filippa K outfit that I put on for day three is available to lease.

Have a great weekend lovers! x

Today Filippa K launches a new step of their Lease concept, as part of the brand’s sustainability efforts. Selected garments from both the women’s and men’s collections showcased in Stockholm yesterday are available for rent directly on the campaign site. The purpose of Lease to Look is to invite customers to more conscious consumption patterns, and the concept is the latest action in Filippa K’s business strategy – to adapt to a circular business model.

Lease the Look will be offered through Filippa K’s online stores in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Renting a garment for four days will cost 400 SEK, a price that includes transportation and laundry.

Do like Make it last editor Lisa Corneliusson – rent a runway look here!

#leasethelook #filippakss16

Hi lovelies! It’s the third and last day of fashion week here in Stockholm. I’m just about to run to the Hunkydory showcase, followed by Ida Klamborn, Altewaisaome and Lamija, amongst others. In other words, it might be a good day! The other day I wore my favorite linen dress by The Reformation. If you haven’t discovered this brand yet, you might be in for a treat. Check it out. Photo by The Locals for Style.com.

Stylein spring 2016

Today marks the start of the three day long fashion week in Stockholm. We’ll be covering it with Make it last glasses on; looking for the more sustainable aspects of the collections on display (that will reach stores in fall 2016). In these circumstances, what you find in terms of sustainability is collections or garments that have a classic, timeless, long-lasting feel; things that you want to keep for longer than a season. But who knows, maybe, hopefully!, there’ll be some innovation when it comes to materials, working conditions, casting or other conscious aspects. Time will tell! We’re excited to see what newcomer Giorgi Rostiashvili has to offer, as well as how innovative this years’ class from The Swedish School of Textile manages to be. We’ll also be on the lookout for modern classic by Filippa K, Whyred, Stylein and Altewai Saome, as well as the unexpected turn of events that Ann-Sofie Back and Cheap Monday spoil us with every season.

On the first day’s schedule are: Ida Sjöstedt, Stylein, Minimarket, Morris Heritage, J Lindeberg Woman, Woodwood, Whyred, Swedish Fashion Talents, Maria Nilsdotter and Björn Borg. On Tuesday, By the No, By Malina, Filippa K, Carin Wester, Cheap Monday, House of Dagmar and Giorgi Rostiashvili will showcase. And then the last day, Wednsday, will give us Hunkydory, Back, Stand, Ida Klamborn, The Swedish School of Textiles, Edwin Trieu, Altewaisaome, Mayla and Lamija. Stay with us!

Clockwise from left: Top by Baserange, Coat from The Autonomous Collections/LN-CC Conscious, linen dress from ӦHLIN/D/LN-CC Conscious, t-shirt by Fanmail, skirt by Baserange, perfect long-sleeve by Everlane.

Preparing for a workshop last week gave me a reason to update my list of favorite online stores for conscious style. When talking about sustainable fashion and good examples, there are a few brands and stores that are a given: Patagonia for generally pushing boundaries and really lobbying for change in production as well as consumption patterns; Nudie for their transparency, The Reformation for their tone of voice; talking to their target audience in relevant ways and producing contemporary styles with short time spans.

Then there’s Bruno Pieters’ online store for his namesake brand as well as other conscious brands – Honest By. This was among the first online stores to offer products filed in categories such as ”All organic”, ”Vegan” and ”Recycled” and it’s still innovative – a recent example is a collection that can be downloaded and printed out on a 3D home printer (although I have to say, it’s too complicated!). 

Progressive fashion e-commerce LN-CC relaunched this spring, a year after being bought out of bankruptcy. LN-CC has a strong identity built on creativity and risk-taking, and the new owners seem to applaud buyer John Skelton’s eye, and emphasize the market’s urge for strong identity and niche today. So they’ve introduced a Conscious section, with brands that ”in some way incorporate sustainable practices into their work” (BoF). 

I want to quite John Skelton here:

“This movement is not really about fashion. It’s more a movement of the world. I believe that that is the future of this industry. I think it will infiltrate itself into the bigger brands.” (BoF)

Check it out!

Three favorites right now

And oh, here are three other favorites this week, filed under the category ”basics with impressive levels of transparency”. Have a good one!

Fanmail A line of sustainable basics produced in Brooklyn

Baserange A line of sustainable under and easy wear.

Everlane Basics for less with a simple motto: ”Know your factories. Know your costs. Always ask why.”

Patagonia’s denim campaign (genius, watch it here), Weekday Jeans campaign (more of that below), and me in front of the amazing doors that we used as a backdrop for our Granit shoot earlier this week. 

I imagined some kind of slow start at work after the summer break, but LORD is there no time for that! And to be honest, I love it, I’m not very good with slow starts. There is just too many things to do. To learn about.

I jumpstarted this week with a Monday including an inspiring workshop with Filippa K and shooting something with Granit that we’ll share with you very soon. Both inspiring brands to work with; with long-lasting simplicity and sustainable ambitions in common. I’m really so happy to get to work with the people who run these initiatives; always learning more about how to turn the textile business into a nicer place to be.

Well anyways, want my best movie tip?

River Blue follows Mark Angelo, a passionate adventurer who has paddled over the world for the past 40 years, on a journey down some of the worlds most pristine rivers in China, India, Africa, Australia, the UK – as well as the most destroyed. Mark discovers and reveals the prime reason for the declining health of the rivers of the world: the fashion industry in general and the pollution of making blue jeans in particular.

The sights and the smells are devastating.

Denim is a dirty business, but there’s also hope. Because yes, there really are options to traditional ways of making denim – working with lazer, ozone and various new technologies. We just have to get engaged.

So, where to turn?

Well, it comes as no surprise that Patagonia is out to change the industry, starting with a new collection of sustainable jeans composed of 100 percent organic cotton. The Patagonia Denim collection took years of research to develop, has environmentally sensitive dyes that bond more easily with the fiber, employing 84 percent less water and 30 percent less energy than conventional means. Also, the six styles are constructed using Fairtrade-sewing processes.

I’m currently reading up on Fairtrade and what it really means. You should too!

Back here in Sweden, there’s denim progress being made to. 100 percent organic and soon-to-be 100 percent transparent Nudie seems to always be two steps ahead, but there are other noteworthy developments. This week, H&M owned chain Weekday’s Jeans collection for fall is out, and from February 2015 onward, all five-pocket jeans in the collection are made from more sustainable materials.

The campaign is beautiful, by the way, shot by Johan Sandberg and styled by James Valeri.

We are looking for a curious and organizationally skilled individual to join our team, part-time for two-three months starting as soon as possible. Duties will include assisting the editors in different ways; mainly in researching, planning and producing editorial content, maintaining and updating our WordPress platform and working with specific temporary projects, such as flea markets and other events.

Strong research and writing skills are necessary, as well as an interest in and understanding of the fashion industry in general and sustainable initiatives in particular. Basic understanding of WordPress and Adobe Photoshop is a plus, an if you’re a good photographer, there will definitely be opportunities to expand your photo portfolio (alongside your writing portfolio). This is an unpaid internship for a minimum of two months. Academic credit possible – and we will teach you everything we know. And hey, we’re based in Stockholm!

Interested? Please email Lisa Corneliusson, lisa@makeitlast.se with “Intern Make it last” as subject.

After a month of not scanning Tradera for favorite picks, there’s of course quite a lot of goodies to discover… And I’m so excited! (To tell you the truth, I never really stop looking for treasures, but this summer I’ve been on the look out for more for furniture for our summer house than clothes and accessories, which is our main focus on Tradera TREND.)

For those of you who don’t know – Tradera TREND is our page dedicated to the best finds on Tradera.com, which is the Swedish division of Ebay. We also sell our own things there; pieces who we want to pass on to new owners.

Clockwise from left: Sandals Prada, sandals Chloé, sandals Chloé, boots Miu Miu, vase Rolf Palm, scarf Dolce & Gabbana, pillow case Svenskt Tenn, trio bag by Celine.

We’re back from the holidays. I’ve been hiding out on the west coast of Sweden for a few weeks, whilst Emma has been on a castle in France doing yoga and then surfed her way from Biarritz to Galicia. I’ve had long conversations with my dog and fervidly read a book called I love Dick. I highly recommend both – but am also excited about sharing thoughts with a few others. That is: working! I love working, did you know? Have a very hard time not doing so. 

Yesterday we reunited at the office and within an hour, we had about a trillion thoughts, small and huge, about how to develop Make it last this fall. Not written down on a neat list; something we could systematically go through and put check marks on. HAHA. We’re both a little bit too eager for that. Instead, after some ten sketches of circle diagrams looking more like wobbly eggs, I think it’s fair to say WE’RE PRETTY PSYCHED ABOUT FALL! We have great plans and we’ll share them all with you as we go.

I’ve also, as you may have noticed reading this very far, decided to make a comeback when it comes to contributing with some editorial content myself. I’ll write editor’s letters with thoughts about the world of sustainable fashion and what’s happening at the Make it last office from week to week. 

Today’s topic

I have this little thing that I do, making sure to learn something new every day when it comes to the highly complex issues that we’re trying to relate to on Make it last. There are some great sources for this, Ecouterre being one of them.

Today, I started my day reading up on one of those topics that makes it heavy to breath; that of child labour. Did you know, the cotton industry is the most likely to use child labour in the world? Some 168 millon children’s worlds are exploited through child labour, in conditions that we often cannot even begin to imagine (Ecouterre). A new law in Bolivia allows children as young as 10 to work; in Uzbekistan, up to two million children from age seven are forced by their governments to toil for ten hours a day, two to three months a year. The worst forms of child labour occur in India, where ”low-caste girls are lured into bonded servitude with the promise of better dowries” (Ecouterre). 

So, what to do?

Brands have to work together. For example, nine retailers including H&M, ASOS and Tesco, have signed a statement denouncing the Sumangali scheme and other labor-rights abuses.
Designers have to make conscious decisions when it comes to sourcing fabrics and designing styles that last. This is the topic of this week’s Ask the expert here on Make it last – read it here.
Us consumers have to educate ourselves and make informed choices. There’s a certification mark currently being developed called Child Labour Free, to which brands apply. The CEO of Child Labour Free, Michelle Pratt, says their approach is about enabling conscious consumerism.

Shopping whatever whenever is not a universal right. We have to start smarten up and no, it’s not a sacrifice. 

By smartening up, I mean to make active choices. Choosing what’s important for you. Maybe you’ll find some inspiration in our Edits series, where we give you our top choices of styles that are somehow smarter choices. 

Six favorites right now

An embroidered shirt that I bought in Brooklyn at the Flea Market earlier this year. I can’t seem to want to wear anything else.

The Make it last Edits’ swimwear edition. Our house photographer Pauline Suzor and contributing stylist Mikaela Hållén are such stars. Tomorrow a new edition of the Edits is up!

Design on demand. I want to see so much more of this. Make it last’s sustainability expert Anna Brismar mentions it in this week’s Ask the expert.

… and more specifically Make it last contributor Camilla Engström’s embroidered shirts. Order one!

Kit-X, a new brand initiated by Kit Willow Podgornik, the founder of Sydney-based Willow. I think it looks amazing!

Emma’s vintage bag bought from Filippa at our last flea market. Keep it in the family! 

After yesterday’s flea market, and one day away from my week long Italy trip, I’m feeling for vintage. Here are my favorite picks from Tradera this week – which ones are yours? Have a good week on Tradera Trend.

Top, vintage. Suede skirt, vintage. Sandals, vintage. Beach bag, vintage.

Bag, vintage. Levi’s, vintage. Suede skirt, vintage. Blouse, vintage.

On Sunday 14 June we’re doing it again! Make it last’s flea market is back and some thirty fashion insider friends of ours are ready to empty their wardrobes to sell at bargain prices. Please come join us! Bring cash and a big smile. Looking forward to see you there – Musikaliska at Nybrokajen 11, 1-5 pm.

Best wishes,

Emma Elwin, Lisa Corneliusson, Columbine Smille, Frida Gustavsson, Sandra Beijer, Behnaz Aram, Jonna Bergh, Michaela Forni, Joanna Fingal, Julia Stridh, Karolina Skande,  Ursula Wångander, Mathilda Brusewitz, Louise Sondlo, Gustav Axel Broström, Kristin Zetterlund, Charlotta Bendz, Camilla Åstrand, Cecilia Steiner, Filippa Lindén, Elin Edlund, Jimmy Guo, Erika Vallin, Paula Björk, Marcus Söder, Ellen Dixdotter, Ida Rislöw, Nicole Walker and friends.

1. Silk top by Zara  2. Flared jeans by Whyred 3. Vase by Gustavsberg 4. Shell 5. Robe by Rodebjer 6. Top by Chloé, 7. Handmade sandals 8. Vintage silver necklace

I’m in New York enduring the heat, so this week’s selection is definitely summer inspired. I have the robe by Rodebjer in white and it’s one of my favorite pieces for summer. The Whyred jeans I’ve heard is the best.fit.ever by someone I trust when it comes to jeans, so I’m really eager to catch a pair in my size. And then – not a week without a Chloé banana! Have a good week with us on Tradera Trend – where we pick favorite ads from Tradera.

1. Scarf, Miu Miu. 2. Sandals, ATP Atelier. 3. Wallet, Miu Miu. 4. Bag, Celine. 5. Bracelet, Sophie by Sophie. 6. Shoes, Prada. 7. Blazer, Acne 8. Dress, Acne.

This job… it’s dangerous. Only today, I’ve stumbled upon an amazing Miu Miu scarf with a Liselotte Watkins print and a pair of dream shoes from Prada. When I find vintage dream shoes from Prada… I tend to forget I don’t need them. No-one’s perfect, right? Have a good weekend with us on Tradera Trend – where we pick our favorite ads from Tradera.

It feels good. We hope you like it. 

Except for some new design and exciting functionality, there’s one major change. Until yesterday, we worked with three feeds – Emma’s amazing blog, Lisa’s not-so-frequently-updated blog, and an ambitious feed of articles – news, interviews, beauty stories, advice from our sustainability expert and much more.

Then we woke up and realized that working with different feeds felt, well, so 2013. We wanted one big fat feed instead of three – where you, our beloved readers, can get a full-scale Make it last experience. 

And do not despair! – Emma will be very much present with this setup as well, perhaps even more so than before – and, you can still read her posts only if you wish. 

Lisa will be here, somewhere, too, hovering over the site and its content – just not as a terrible blogger. And if you especially like any of our other brilliant contributors, you can choose to read only their posts under Authors in the menu above.

We actually want to introduce you to a new contributor as of today – Camilla Engström is the post-overworked fashion designer who’s realizing her dream of running her own business; a business closer to nature. Say hello to Camilla here!

To sum up: We want to be ever-present and personal as editors of Make it last, because the site is our journey to becoming smarter when it comes to approaching fashion and beauty. It is our journey and yours – so please, tag along and let us know what you think! You are everything to us, and we want you to feel inspired and in-the-know.

Patience is not our strongest trait, so we decided to go live with the site NOW! This does mean we still have some mending to do, so please be patient with us. And again, let us know if something looks terribly wrong.

Happy Friday!

With love,

Lisa, from a rainy Stockholm
Emma, from hot hot Cape town

Dressed for the occasion, record hunting at Amoeba (1), sunset in Los Angeles (2), drinks at The Line (3), art by Harmony Korine (4), vackra Eastern Building downtown (5)

Outside our house in Venice (1), magic at the Salvation Mountain (2), poolside in Palm Springs (3), the end of the world, also known as Salton Sea (4), two of the best in the world (5), on our way through the desert (6), Salvation Mountain (7), the cutest thing I’ve ever met (8).

Went to Matador Beach in Malibu and hung out with a tiny seal! (1). Climbed Griffith park, literally climbed, we took the wrong way and it got dark… (2). Reminded ourselves everything will be ok (3), wore striped sweaters and jeans (4), and spent a day at the Ace in Palm Springs.

Mhm, more of that magic… (1). It’s not been as warm as last year, but I’m optimistic when it comes to bare legs and bikinis (2). Inspected Chris Burden’s Metropolis II, a kinetic sculpture modeled after a fast paced, frenetic modern city, at LACMA (3). Ate these two loved ones for New Year’s Day breakfast!! (4) and played table tennis in silver heels at Ace in Palm Springs (5).

We continued to dance on the beach (1), went downtown to pose in front of Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall (2), greet CAMILLA! <3 <3 with green juices (3), had a drink at the Ace terass dowtown (love that Jesus Saves sign) (4) and went to LACMA (5).

Columbine arrived the day before Christmas. We were this happy! (1). We took walks on the beach in the sunset, pure magic (2), and also happened to stop by some stores in Beverly Hills… (3). Then, Christmas dinner at Musso & Frank, Hollywoods oldest restaurant (it’s still so young though, haha) (4). Started Christmas Day with a run to Santa Monica (5).

Loved the living room of the house we stayed in our first week here i LA (1). One day, I tried to look business (instead of wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt). I felt so uncomfortable, I had to go home and change. But – I love my new knitted cream trousers from Judit’s Second Hand in Stockholm (2). The sunset in Venice… no words needed (3). Now we’re staying in a house with a garden, it’s a dream. This is how happy I felt on Christmas! (4)… and sometimes I fall asleep in this thing…. (5).

As our contributing writer Ada writes in our news feed – the Reformation new year’s collection really is amazing. If I would wear this dress more than, well, on new year’s, I would buy it in a heartbeat (1). Small World Books is a gem on the Venice boardwalk (2); so is the skate park (3). The car behind me is mine, in my dreams (4), and the crescent moon on the last photo makes me think of Columbine (5).

Morning beach run (1), fitting room at Decades or Resurrection (with Gucci and Halston, none of them where in my leauge price wise anyways) (2), the facade of Hama – best sushi place in the world if you ask me (3), sunset in Venice (4) and me driving in the US for the first time (5). I got my driver’s license after my last long trip to LA. It’s a pity but this city is car bound. I like staying in Venice as much as I can though, here’s one of the few places where a car isn’t needed.

Ok I’m off to pick upp my bestie Columbine at the airport. Christmas in LA! Have a good one lovers!

So I’m in LA for a month, working a little and chilling for the holidays. Staying and Venice and waiting for the stormy weather to pass. I’ve already dug through the second hand shops on Melrose (Decades, Reformation, What Goes Around Comes Around, sure, but there are some hidden gems that aren’t as ridiculously expensive, like Bustown Modern). Other than that I’ve tried to stay beach side as much as possible. The ocean makes me happy.  Photos: sunset in vintage Lee’s (1), loads of wonderful Holiday issues at the Paul Smith store on Melrose (2), great second hand suede jacket at Reformation (3), the car of my dreams (4) and a new nice place for coffee and lunch in Venice, Gjusta (5).

Have you guys discovered 1stdibs? It’s freakkin amazing, I cannot handle it.

When we’re in meetings about Make it last, a lot of people ask us what sustainable fashion actually is. I think you have to find your own definition and relevance, for it to be real. To me, it’s very much about not buying all-new. I love old clothes. These white winter trousers are from Judits, and the Lee ass jeans are from that second hand-place on Götgatan, close to Medis.

I was hoping to see this face (Marcella!) and her amazing glitter shoes this weekend, but she’s escaped. Christmas comes and I don’t even know what happened with fall? Want to see more of my friends. <3

I found an amazing 60s dress at Judits the other day when I was out digging with my friend Frida. I didn’t buy it though, so if you love it as much as I do, go try it on!

The winter 2014 issue of Rodeo has reached the stores. It’s a favorite. Go get it.

Would not mind this Dries van Noten embroidered tweed coat from the Designers against AIDS Charity shop. Check it out.

Since last time was such a success, we’re arranging another flea market again – on Sunday! At Debaser Medis in Stockholm. Come to hang out our to shop the closets of my colleague Emma, Lykke Li, Columbine Smille, Pamela Bellafesta, Lisa Lindqwister, Naomi Itkes, Camilla Åstrand, Wasima Ayad, Nina Johansson, Elinor Nystedt, Ingmari Lamy, Nicole Walker, Louise Sondlo, Anna Åkerlund, Cecilia Steiner, Helin Honung, Simone Brenemark Molvidson, Al-Wadood Suberu, Johan Hurtig, Qhris Magsino, Gustav Broström, Jimmy Guo and many more. It’ll be great fun.

I’m heading to LA in a few weeks. I cannot tell you how excited I am. JESUS LORD. It’ll be for work and play. Really excited to bring Make it last with me to the city of kale. I’m such a cliché myself, experimenting with kale in the kitchen right now. Yesterday dinner was my sixth kale dish in a row. Haha. But don’t worry, I mix it with pasta. x