On January 28, 2011, I happened to be walking down 6th Ave in Seattle and shocked and amazed to see the the words "Sustainable Style" plastered across the storefront of the H&M store. Its actually a term I coined over a decade ago. Later, in 2003, I co-founded a nonprofit with Rebecca Luke called the Sustainable Style Foundation (SSF) to educate, support, and inspire people from all walks of life to make more sustainable lifestyle choices. I remember many people saying that the 'sustainable style' was an oxymoron and certainly wouldn't capture the hearts and minds of mainstream consumers. Since that time we've seen everything from green issues of Vogue and green initiatives in the NFL to green Olympics and green Oprah giveaways. So now, to see the words 'sustainable style' being used in H&M ads, for museum projects, and in newspaper headlines makes me a pretty happy camper. I'm not all that involved with SSF anymore, but I still follow their efforts and am a big fan. In the end, I'm just happy to say that all the effort in starting, growing, and maintaining SSF was worth it...it worked!It turns out that H&M has a pretty robust sustainable style and corporate responsibility program...in fact it is their 2nd year into a multi-year effort to make all of their products sustainable. Sadly, I don't fit very well in most of their clothing, but they do have some pretty cool stuff so stop by a store or surf their website to take a look. let's make sure to reward them for their good behavior!
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