EFactor presented “Green Fashion Business” last Wednesday at AlleyNYC to add some sustainability to the New York Fashion Weekscene with a panel-style event. The forum was moderated by Kerri Quigley of The Fashion Class and included Tara St. James of Study NY, Alden Wicker of Clean Hippie, Allison Parris, Natalie Frigo, Yoli Ouiya of Yoli’s Green Living, and Enovia Bedford of Accessory Remix.

The panel shared insights on their missions in creating eco-friendly, sustainable products or writing about these fabulous products and educating their readers on living a sustainable lifestyle made easy.

The designers on the panel were fashion passion eco-queens, making smart, selective decisions when creating their fashion designs whether it’s using left over fabrics or recycled materials or simply producing products oversea that support fair trade. Still being conscious in the creative and execution of their fashion jewelry or clothing, they mention that although they are trying to make the world a better place, they still focus on the design and make sure the style is at it’s highest stylish quality.

The bloggers on the panel discussed all the cool, new fashion finds that are not only produced by brands and stores we love such as H&M and Anne Klein, but that are also very accessible for everyday shoppers to find. They also went into detail on how they message and communicate their eco-friendly, sustainable finds to their readers. It’s an educational platform, and they make being eco-friendly chic look easy and practical – something worth to invest learning more to make the world a better place – one purchase at a time.

Interestingly, Allison Page mentioned that her brand was ‘in the closet’ about being ‘eco-friendly’ because of the negative connotation it used to bring with direct consumers and store buyers. It was unfortunate to learn that eco-friendly was just not the ‘cool’ thing to rock – but she broke out and decided to start highlighting that she does recycle left over fabric and is very much conscious in the creative process. – now considered an added bonus when buying her product, not the sale trigger.

Natalie Frigo, Tara and Enovia, as well as Allison, all agreed that the design is the most important element to them and that the product could never be 100% sustainable to match the desired quality, style, design, but that with small sustainable integration, such as supporting local fabric stores or producing them through fair trade, is enough to feel confident in a stylish, sustainable way.

An eco-friendly fashion show followed the panel, in which bloggers took to the catwalk to model looks from Allison Parris and Study NY, jewelry by Natalie Frigo, watches from Sprout Watches and shoes courtesy of Nina Z. The bloggers-turned-models included: Christine from The Tiny TieRant, Sheena from Shanele Sheek, Hope from A Flattering Tale, Tessa from Couture Lust, Ashley from What Would Ashley Wear and Melissa from SuperGlam News.

Sponsors included:

– Anaisabel

Photos via Janine Just

[portfolio_slideshow]