My efforts at a separate blog on sustainable textiles and clothing haven't yielded great results. For one thing, nobody seems to find it, so I'm not motivated to write new posts without readers. And for another, truth be told, I'm disappointed with some of the sustainable fashion and textile claims that I see, especially here in the United States. It's too often marketing instead of real innovation; too many light-green buzzwords instead of real commitment to standards of environmental or social change; too much replicating whatever fashion dictates for skinny 20-year-olds or making t-shirts instead of a real aesthetic. Story of my life -- I want substance AND style.
I realize this is an emerging movement, and that it's hard to change a global behemoth of an industry, especially in a shattered economy. But I'm just not that interested in pushing a lot of "sexy eco-chic diva!" or "adorable green mommy!" junk on my readers. There are plenty of other blogs doing that.
So perhaps I'll just go back to posting here when I find something of real authenticity and interest in the sustainable and slow fashion/textile world. Readers, I trust you will let me know if it's too much, too little, or if I'm trying to cover too much ground under one blog umbrella. As you know, my dream with this blog would be to turn it into a real magazine, or e-zine, for global textile artists, artisans, crafters and explorers, and magazines often have a wide-ranging portfolio guided by one overarching theme, so it doesn't seem like too much of a stretch.
With that prelude (never at a loss for words), I found MANTO, a wonderful Argentinian company that seems to embody principles of Slow Cloth and sustainability. They're interviewed here at Luxe Essentiel, an international green design blog, saying:
"MANTO (Cloak- woven fabric) are the threads that connect us. MANTO is woven in the hills. We gather, creating a fertile social, cultural, artistic and commercial link between the weavers of the Andean culture of northern Argentina and city dwellers all over the world. We contribute to the knowledge and spreading of unknown work methods and lifestyles, paying respect to their cycles and their connection with nature. We design products that represent this feeling."
On the Manto site, there is this lovely quote: "Each weave leads us to the art and the knowledge of the one who makes it."
And this is what their beautiful, chic yet timeless garments look like (for more, click on collections on the site):