Springwise - Fashion & Beauty

'Buy one, donate one' effort lets kids direct the giving

2010-07-21T09:26:22Z

“Buy one, give one” initiatives are increasingly common forms of corporate generosity, but it wasn't until recently that we began seeing them involving children. Much the way Happy Blankie lets recipients of its animal blankets help decide where the donated ones get sent, so Texas-based clothing maker Whitten Grey aims to let the girls who wear its dresses participate in donating similar ones to girls in far-off lands.

Through Whitten Grey's Project Little Grey Dress, buyers of any eco-friendly dress from the company receive a unique code along with their purchase. When they enter that code online, they can then choose what country they'd like to donate a dress to—currently, the choices are Liberia, Guatemala, Malawi and Zimbabwe. After choosing the colour of the dress they'd like to send, girls can then enter a message they'd like to include for the girl who receives it.

Generosity has become increasingly important to the Generation G masses, so it stands to reason they'd want their children to learn that virtue too. Purveyors of other kids' products, large and small: time to bring some charity-minded capabilities to your own pint-sized patrons...? (Related: Buy a onesie, donate one to a baby in need.)

Website: www.whittengrey.com/give/
Contact: give@whittengrey.com

Spotted by: Inhabitots via Judy McRae

New fashion label only available to those who donate blood

2010-07-20T16:13:37Z

Fashionistas love exclusivity, but usually it's all about who you know, or how much you're willing to spend. Creating a twist on limited editions is The Red Rail, a new Dutch fashion label that's only available to blood donors.

The first Red Rail collection was presented at the Amsterdam Fashion Week last Friday, and consists of 20 unique outfits by 18 up-and-coming designers. Since the number of items is limited, The Red Rail will use a lottery to pick 20 winners. Over the next six months, people can select their favourite outfit, donate blood, and then send an email to theredrail@stichtingnobel.nl, listing their donor ID and the item they'd like to win. The lottery will take place in January 2011.

Initiated by the Nobel Foundation and sponsored by the DOEN Foundation, the project was developed to enlist a new (younger) generation of blood donors, and to heighten awareness of the need to donate blood. According to Nivel, a Dutch research institute for health care, it's likely that the Netherlands will be facing a shortage of blood donors within three years. The Red Rail hopes to convey the message that a blood donation is a personal, altruistic gift, and one worth giving.

Website: www.theredrail.com
Contact: theredrail@stichtingnobel.nl

Spotted by: Yu-Lan van Alphen and Nicole Rietvelt

Airport contest seeks new runway models

2010-07-01T14:21:53Z

We've seen airports engage consumers with everything from free dancing lessons and light therapy to a four-storey slide that rewards duty-free spending. The latest innovation? Gatwick Airport's Runway Models contest.

Launched in late May by the UK airport and Storm Model Management, the Runway Models contest invites Gatwick travellers to submit a photo of themselves either online or by taking advantage of the dedicated photo booths in the airport's departure lounges. The closing date is 12 July; all entries are posted online, where they're available for public voting. Once all the entries are in, Storm's model scouts will choose four guys and four girls to go through to the next stage, while public votes will choose an additional guy and girl to advance; those chosen by the public will also win GBP 500 in Gatwick retail shopping vouchers. The Final 10 will then be invited to a “model bootcamp” and photo shoot where they'll spend the day with industry professionals learning the modelling basics as well as having their hair and makeup done. The guy and girl that impress Storm the most will be selected as the final winners of a year's “New Faces” contract and a debut at London Gatwick Fashion Week in August. Gatwick, meanwhile, will donate GBP 1 to the Great Ormond Street Hospital charity for every photo uploaded.

There are myriad ways to impress and engage consumers, but sometimes there's just nothing like a good, old-fashioned contest; if it can tap into consumers' vanity, so much the better. Beat that, traditional advertising! ;-) (Related: Lottery contest appeals to dog owners' gravanity — Contest replaces ad campaign for Nissan launch — Contest asks fans to design their own doughnut.)

Website: www.gatwickevents.com/runwaymodels/
Contact: feedback@gatwickairport.com

Spotted by: airlinetrends.com

Shampoo brand is a reminder to save water

2010-06-29T16:31:06Z

There's no shortage of bath and body products made with organic ingredients or otherwise positioned as earth and human friendly. Hoping to stand out in that increasingly crowded marketplace, a new German company is taking things a step further: instead of a regular brand name, it operates under a message: Stop The Water While Using Me.

Stop The Water currently sells shampoo (EUR 13) and shower gel (EUR 12) through its online store, with toothpaste in the works (EUR 8). All products are made with organic and/or natural ingredients, packaged in biodegradable containers, and manufactured with sustainability in mind. But the standout feature is that message, reminding people to switch off the tap while lathering up.

Managed by ad executive Stefan Kolle, Hamburg-based Stop The Water was shortlisted for a 2010 Cannes Lion and is currently seeking retailers to sell its products. Whether or not you sell bath products, the concept of message-as-brand is worth a brainstorm. (Related: Smart devices help households monitor their energy use.)

Website: www.stopthewaterwhileusingme.com
Contact: hello@stop-the-water-while-using-me.com

Spotted by: NOTCOT

Contest by wearable magazine asks participants to be kind

2010-06-24T15:32:18Z

It wasn't too long ago that we wrote about T-Post for a second time—the focus then was its augmented reality t-shirt—yet now here we are covering the innovative company again. The reason this time? Looks like the creative minds behind the Swedish wearable magazine are the latest to succumb to the “random acts of kindness” trend we've been following for some time.

Last month T-Post kicked off its Real-Life Superhero Contest in the hopes of encouraging participants to do something good for society. Launched to coincide with the magazine's May issue—entitled “I Am Shining Star” and designed to highlight what T-Post says is a growing, modern-day superhero trend—the contest asked entrants to don a costume and then take to the streets to help others. Said costume could include the “I Am Shining Star” shirt or not, as long as the wearer performed some good deed, captured the act on video and posted it on YouTube by midnight on June 14. Winners are now being decided; the video that received the most views by the contest's deadline will win USD 1,000, while a separate winner chosen by T-post's editors—for a combination of factors including costume design, deed performed and overall entertainment value--will win a free T-post subscription for life.

The results are pouring in, and so far it seems clear that kindness really can be good for business. Greed is so yesteryear; time to make generosity the name of your brand's game! (Related: Free umbrellas on rainy days aim to inspire kindness — Canadian credit union gives people ten-dollar bills to give away — Online game focuses on real-world kindness — Clothing brand asks its wearers to be kind — Random acts of kindness for Hyatt's most loyal guests.)

Website: www.t-post.se/hero
Contact: info@t-post.se

Spotted by: Lieke Voermans

Digital mirrors let customers try on cosmetics without applying

2010-06-23T15:34:56Z

Earlier this year, we wrote about Shisheido's Digital Cosmetic Mirror, installed at a Tokyo department store to let women test makeup without actually applying anything to their skin. Following in Shisheido's augmented reality footsteps is L’Oréal, which will be trying out digital mirrors in the UK this summer.

How it works? Customers snap a digital self-portrait using the mirror's camera. They can then scan a product's barcode to see it 'applied' to their self-portait, using the system's touchscreen interface to select different colours or get recommendations for shades or products that match their skin tone or eye colour. Customers will also be a

Besides offering customers a convenient and hygienic way to try new shades and products, the mirror could help prevent buyer's remorse and therefore reduce (costly) product returns. The system used by L’Oréal was developed by EZface, which has also partnered with Boots and Walmart. As reported by Brand Republic, "L'Oréal will be trialling the kiosks later this month offering products from brands such as Maybelline, ahead of a possible commercial deal."

Letting customers try before they buy (dubbed tryvertising by our sister-site trendwatching.com) can be a remarkably potent way of advertising products. And a virtual approach, using augmented reality, seems like a natural fit for the fashion and beauty industries.

Website: www.ezface.com
Contact: business@ezface.com

Duvet suits & boots for cold-weather lounging

2010-06-21T11:41:32Z

By turning down the thermostat by 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit during the nighttime hours, consumers can save between 5 and 15 percent on their heating bills each year. With an eye toward helping to make that happen, Australian Lazypatch has created the Duvet Suit and other lounging gear aimed at keeping consumers warm while they reduce their energy usage at night.

With a drawstring waistband, large pockets for TV remotes and other essentials, a removable hood and a carrying bag that doubles as a pillowcase, the Duvet Suit is designed to keep wearers warm while they watch TV, take the dog for a bedtime walk, attend a sporting event or participate in any other occasion where cold can be a problem. Available in 12 different colours and patterns, the polyester-filled Duvet Suit is priced at AUD 130 for a full suit or AUD 65 for the pants or jacket alone. The AUD 170 Deluxe Down Suit, by contrast, features duck down and duck feather fill, also with a 100% cotton outer layer. Then there are Lazypatch's AUD 40.70 thermal boots with duck down filling and ultra soft leather/suede soles. Lazypatch is currently in discussions with a dyeing and printing company, meanwhile, to enable customized colours and patterns.

It may already be winter in Australia, but in the Northern Hemisphere there's still plenty of time before the cold weather sets in. Stockists in northerly climes: the timing could be just right for you!

Website: www.lazypatch.com
Contact: info@lazypatch.com

Reflective lace combines style and safety for bicyclists

2010-06-17T15:14:04Z

The safety hazards of bicycle and scooter travel may demand protective gear, but that's no reason to stop being stylish, as we've already noted before. Recently we came across a new innovation for participants in either mode of transportation in the form of reflective lace that can be sewn into or worn over traditional clothing.

Reflective Lace, also known as “LFLECT,” is available in lengths of 120cm or as a set of two ruffled elastic rings to be worn directly over socks, gloves or hair; both are priced at GBP 20. Eight colours are available—including antique beige, antique mint green, black, bright fuchsia and canary yellow—as are two designs, including one with a bicycle pattern and wavy border. Reflective Lace is currently available only from London-based Lost Values, but its maker welcomes inquiries from potential retail partners. Bicycle-related stockists the world over: one to offer your fashion-conscious customers...?

Website: www.reflectivelace.com
Contact: elena@lostvalues.com

Spotted by: Green Thing

P.S. Along with three other companies we've featured (Sugru, Make Do and Woolfiller) Reflective Lace is in the running for Sustainability's Next Top Model, a contest organized by our friends at Green Thing. Head over to the competition's Facebook page to vote for your favourite.

No-darn repair kit breathes new life into worn wool garments

2010-06-16T11:50:39Z

Just as Denim Doctors can inject new life into a favourite old pair of jeans, so Woolfiller can extend the usability of a much-loved wool item.

The brainchild of Dutch product designer Heleen Klopper, Woolfiller repairs holes and hides stains in woollen jumpers, cardigans, jackets and carpets. In a 21st century approach to darning (their words), Woolfiller takes advantage of the unique quality of wool, whose fibres each contain miniscule scales that open up when pricked with a felt needle. Once open, those scales bind with each other and do not separate again, even when washed. To use Woolfiller, consumers place a small bunch of patching wool in the spot that needs help. They then repeatedly prick the old and new wool with a needle, working from both sides over a foam block, until the new patch has bound. Six standard, colour-themed kits are available on the Woolfiller site, priced at EUR 17.50 each delivered within the Netherlands, but custom kits can also be created for EUR 21.50. Each kit contains five pieces of coloured wool, two felt needles, a piece of foam and a user's guide.

Last fall Klopper won the Doen | Material Prize for Woolfiller, which is available both online and in outlets in the Netherlands and in New York. Green and crafty retailers around the globe: time to bring a little good, old-fashioned ingenuity to sustainability-minded, wool-loving consumers near you?

Website: www.woolfiller.com
Contact: info@woolfiller.com

Spotted by: Green Thing

Made in South Africa, fair trade bracelets for Dutch soccer fans

2010-06-16T11:13:47Z

Like any major sports event, the FIFA World Cup is a prime merchandising moment, with vast quantities of t-shirts, scarves and those infamous vuvuzelas hitting the stadiums of South Africa and the streets of the teams' home countries. But as crucial as they may seem to fervent soccer fans, most of the patriotic paraphernalia has a fairly short lifespan between shipping containers and landfills.

Offering a meaningful alternative to mass-produced goods, Dutch start-up Rainbow Collection decided to go local and fair trade. It partnered with Africa!Ignite to create the Orange Bracelet, made of beads in the Netherlands' national colour (orange) and the rainbow colours of South Africa's flag. The bracelets were produced by women in the province of KwaZulu-Natal; according to Rainbow Collection, it provided employment for more than 400 rural women by ordering 100.000 bracelets.

Besides offering Dutch fans a way to support both their national team and South African women, the Orange Bracelet is also one of the more stylish accessories designed for the 2010 World Cup. That combination of style and substance seems ripe for replication to other events worldwide.

Website: www.rainbowcollection.nl
Contact: www.rainbowcollection.nl/contactus.html

Five (more) businesses selling personalised products

2010-06-11T18:55:00Z

Over the past seven years, we've covered dozens of businesses that let customers design or personalise products. People love having it their way, and entrepreneurs can gain a competitive advantage by combining offline manufacturing with online sales and personalisation. Five recent spottings:

1. THE MAGICAL STORY MACHINE — For GBP 5.95 or less, the Magical Story machine allows users to record their own children's audiobook, along with a personal message. Users pick from a selection of popular children's stories, then record the words online using their computer's microphone and a web-based autocue tool. Appropriate sound effects and music are automatically mixed in with the storyteller's voice, and the result is made available for download as an MP3 file.

2. I AM A STUFFED ANIMAL — I Am A Stuffed Animal makes cuddly toys that resemble caricatures of real people. Users send in one or more photos of themselves (or whoever they want parodied) and some descriptive information such as interests and clothing choices. The stuffed Mini Me is then delivered within four to six weeks; a little more if the destination is outside the United States. The price? USD 69.

3. QUILTCREATOR — QuiltCreator.com allows consumers to come up with their own unique bed quilt by choosing from a wide range of themes, patterns and colours, using a drag-and-drop tool. Six to eight weeks later they'll receive a hand-crafted, 100% cotton quilt that matches their design.

4. EDELWISER — In a similar vein but a very different field, Edelwiser Ski lets users design the livery for the top layer of skis purchased from the Austrian company. Full-colour graphics can feature artwork, images and text. There are also downloadable templates for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator if users to prefer to do their graphic design using familiar software.

5. FLUID FORMS — Also from Austria, Fluid Forms is a design label that specialises in using CNC technology to create products customised by customer input. Their latest line is Streets Earrings: jewellery featuring an etched map of any location that's special to the earrings' future wearer. Like most personalisation concepts we've covered, it's all done with an easy-to-use web tool.

Spotters: Martina Meng, Judy McRae, Dave Lueder, Dietfried Globocnik

Charity shop invites young designers to upcycle donated clothing

2010-05-25T11:54:49Z

We've written about companies who engage in upcycling to create scarves, bags, teddy bears, and more. Similarly, our latest spotting breathes new life into cast-off clothing, but adds a charitable twist. Launched by the Ted Noffs Foundation, Sydney-based One Noffs offers local aspiring fashion designers the opportunity to rework donated garments into one-of-a-kind designs, which are then sold to fund programs for disadvantaged kids.

Participants receive a big bag of pre-loved clothing which they have three weeks to remanufacture, either at home or on One Noffs' in-store sewing machine. A section of the foundation's second-hand stores will be dedicated to these one-off designs. Each designer receives 20 percent of the sale price and their bio is added to the item’s swing tag.

There's nothing like one-of-a-kind designs to make consumers feel unique, but add stitch of upcycling, sew in a social cause element and the products become all the more desirable. (Related: T-shirts with a story, and a cause — Salvation Army's 50/50 project.)

Website: www.noffs.org.au
Contact: onenoffs@noffs.org.au

Spotted by: Gerard McLennan

French café serves up sewing machines by the hour

2010-05-14T13:20:46Z

It's been a few years since we first came across the Linkle sewing café in Berlin, but recently one of our spotters alerted us to a like-minded establishment in France: Sweat Shop, conveniently located near Canal Saint-Martin in Paris.

Aiming to facilitate the DIY movement in the world of clothing, Sweat Shop offers 10 workstations equipped with Singer sewing machines as well as a central communal table. Amid a relaxed atmosphere featuring funky furniture, hot beverages and organic treats, sewing enthusiasts can come and go as they please, paying rates of EUR 6 per hour to rent a machine or EUR 25 for the day, including tee and coffee. A series of weekly workshops on sewing and knitting techniques are also available, ranging from EUR 20 to EUR 80 per class. American brand Singer sponsored the sewing machines; Sweat Shop also sells kits including everything necessary to create a particular item of clothing, according to a report in the New York Times, with prices ranging from EUR 30 to EUR 100.

Given the continuing interest in all things DIY, there are still plenty of opportunities to facilitate the customer made trend among crafters in other parts of the world. Time to offer—or sponsor—some “stitch & bitch” sessions in a cozy being space near you...? (Related: All-in-one kits for style-sensitive knitting novices — Retailer helps tweens make their own clothes — A being space for learning English.)

Website: www.sweatshopparis.com
Contact: info@sweatshopparis.com

Spotted by: Lamia Aloui

Waterproof jacket, tent and sleeping bag in one

2010-05-13T09:53:23Z

Consumers may be able to design their own sleeping bags, but it's a safe bet that few would come up with a jacket, tent and sleeping bag in one. That, however, is just what Seattle-based JakPak has innovated, aimed primarily at outdoors and sports enthusiasts on the go.

JakPak bills itself as the world’s first all-in-one waterproof jacket, sleeping bag and tent, with the goal of “providing safety and comfort in an unpredictable world.” The patented JakPak design combines a waterproof sleeping bag, minimally structured tent and insect netting into a comfortable jacket, creating an instant dry habitat that is ideal for outdoor sports enthusiasts, people living in areas prone to natural disaster and anyone else on the go outdoors. Made from 3.1 oz., urethane-coated ripstop nylon polyester body fabric, the JakPak includes a detachable tent that provides shelter over the head, neck and shoulders. Attached “no-see-um” netting deters small insects, while an integrated sleeping bag folds in and out of the jacket for quick and easy access.

Due to be available later this spring in the U.S., the JakPak is priced at USD 249.99. Sports and outdoors retailers around the world: one to get in on early...?

Website: www.jakpak.com
Contact: info@jakpak.com

Spotted by: Murtaza Patel

Laotian kudzu bags with a mission and a story

2010-05-10T10:53:37Z

Much the way Shokay aims to create markets for Tibetan herders' yak down, so Nature Bags hopes to benefit the ancient Khmu culture on Laos's steep mountainsides.

Using a design that's been perfected over thousands of years, members of one of Southeast Asia’s poorest minorities make Nature Bags using wild-growing JungleVine, also known as tropical kudzu. The result is a reusable and sustainable organic bag that's compact, lightweight, minimalistic and highly durable. Eight variations on the Nature Bag are available, varying in both style and size—prices begin at USD 15 for a small bag in the Pahk style. Iowa-based Hawkflight has purchased some 10,000 Nature Bags from Khmu families, and is running the operation with the help of a 22 year-old Laotian student.

Of course, social entrepreneurship with a side serving of product life stories and (still) made here appeal is all very well, as we noted in our story about Shokay. But a heaping helping of traceability would go a long way toward playing up those virtues, much the way Icebreaker does. Time to help introduce the world to the individual Khmu craftsmen involved in making each bag...? (Related: Furniture with a story, crafted from salvaged dhows — Tracking & tracing fashion brands' product stories — Coffee life stories.)

Website: www.naturebag.org
Contact: info@naturebag.org