A new local eco-friendly clothing line is launched

Wearing green is catching on in the Windy City

As seen in A Fresh Squeeze, Aug. 4, 2009

By Jessica Tobacman

A growing number of local environmentally friendly clothing designers are hitting the fashion scene in Chicago. And as green clothing becomes more mainstream, Chicago-area stores Connect Chicago and Pivot are leading the way, offering customers an array of eco-friendly lines.

Most recently, Connect Chicago , at 1330 N. Milwaukee Ave., launched artless, a house brand that is environmentally and socially responsible, says Jonathan Shaun, the store's co-owner. Connect Chicago will begin selling the artless collection to other retailers in February 2010 and will offer it online in the fall. The collection includes T-shirts, V-necks, polo shirts, long-sleeved shirts and fleece, zip, organic hoodies made from reclaimed materials, some of which are limited-run bolts of fabric from old Burberry and Armani clothing, Shaun says. If not resold, this surplus clothing would be dumped into landfills, he adds.

"Each piece is a very special and a rare piece," he observes. "There are no more than 12 of the same one. In the future, we're ramping up production to 1000."

Pivot, at 1101 W. Fulton Market, has carried environmentally sound clothing choices since it opened in September 2007, including dresses, tops, sweaters, pants, skirts and jackets, says Jessa Brinkmeyer, store owner. "I'm very excited to be part of the green community, and to raise the profile of eco-design and fashion in the city," she says.

The boutique sells clothes by several designers who make sustainable clothing and products with organic cotton that are chemical-free, Brinkmeyer says. Pivot sells clothing by local designers, including Lara Miller, Frei Designs, and Elise Bergman. "We're lucky to have a number of great eco-fashion designers and my goal is to support them as well as I can and to [support] customers learning about eco-fashion," Brinkmeyer says.

Connect Chicago's artless collection are priced from $36 for the T-shirts to $88 for the hoodies, Shaun says. The hoodies, in particular, are environmentally friendly partly because local retailer Wired makes the zipper pulls from reclaimed bicycle chains that would otherwise be thrown away, Shaun says.

The brand name, "artless," means purely unaffected by the outside world, Shaun explains. Many of the clothes are produced in solar- and wind-powered factories in Pennsylvania and India, Shaun says. Connect Chicago also carries organic cottons by the Portland-based Nau brand and Topo Ranch; it also sells Holden outerwear, another eco-friendly brand.

"Our manifesto is to be aesthetically pleasing, highly sustainable and performance-oriented," Shaun says.

Brinkmeyer has a similar vision for Pivot.

"I thought it was really important to highlight eco-fashion and show the more conscious side of the fashion industry," Brinkmeyer says. "Eco-fashion has a long way to go; people, in general, are not aware of the difference with buying organic." She compares the delayed awareness with the local and organic food movement, which took some time to grow in popularity. "Eco-fashion has been gaining more ground in the past four to five years," Brinkmeyer says.

Brinkmeyer's business is growing. She recently launched online commerce at her Web site, and she incorporated a vintage section into the store last winter. Brinkmeyer also holds events about once a month, often designed with educational and community-building components, she says.
The next one is scheduled for Aug. 19, with a vegan theme that includes food and will feature vegan clothes, including coats from the local business, Vaute Couture.

Connect Chicago hosts events as well, about once every six weeks, including fundraisers. A fashion show is in the planning stages for late August. The retailer also donates 3 percent of all online proceeds to the nonprofit organization, the Central Asia Institute, and, within the next month, will donate proceeds from artless sales, too, says Nate Lindsay, another Connect Chicago co-owner. The Central Asia Institute promotes and supports community-based education, especially for girls, according to the group's Web site.

[Update: Brinkmeyer's store has since closed in Chicago, but her clothes are still available online.]