Ich habe ja einiges Kritisches zum Spot zu sagen gehabt, wie ihr in meinem Eintrag „Zieht euch aus!“ lesen konntet. Und ich habe deswegen an Jenny White, die Chefin von Eco Boudoir gemailt. Noch nie vorher habe ich eine so detaillierte, ehrliche und selbstkritische Antwort einer Firma bekommen. Man merkt einfach, wie ernst sie ihre Kundinnen nimmt und wie genau sie weiß, dass kritische Konsumenten leicht verloren werden, wenn sie sich getäuscht fühlen. Lest und lernt über Baumwolle, Bambus und die armen Seidenraupen, die sterben, damit wir sexy sind. Aber ich bin jetzt doch ein ziemlicher Fan.
Liebe Jenny, Respekt.

Und verzeiht, allerliebste Leserinnen und Leser. Ich mute euch mein englisches Schreiben und Jennys englische Antwort zu. Yes, you can. Die Berliner bloggen ja längst alle auf Englisch, nur ich bin noch so Old school. Heute nicht.

JENNYS ANTWORT

„Dear Kirsten,
Thank you for your email. It was great to have so many hits from
Germany!
Your points are all very valid.
Our film is about textiles in general. And cotton is one of the most
polluting textiles out there in particular related to the amount of
deaths every year from cotton related pesticide poisoning. The facts
around cotton are the most dramatic and we wanted to grab attention. A
pair of cotton knickers seemed like the simplest proposition to put
forward.
And I would say that a lot of underwear and nightwear is made from
cotton.
I agree that the majority of ‚lingerie‘ is made from polyamides +
elastanes etc because of the need for stretch. In the
Morethanprettyknickers website we talk about many different fabrics ie
wool, hemp silk, polyester, silk, leather and acrylic fabrics, corn
starch.
I am very aware of the problems with bamboo production. I also think
it is a new material in its early stages. Bamboo is a hugely fast
renewable resource and I am still open to using it and not ready to
dismiss it as a new material. For our new AW09 collection we are also
working with Lenpur as we are guaranteed a close loop systems and
Ecotex certification.
What I am trying to do is to make a very commercial collection which
can compete with other main stream brands and our aim was to produce a
film which is attention grabbing, hence the use of stereotypical
models, black underwear, made from both polyester and cotton.
I personally think that silk is a sustainable fabric as is bamboo. I,
eat organic, free range meat and am careful what fish I eat. The silk
that we use does kill the silk worm. It is organically cultivated/
farmed. They are boiled in hot water. I don’t think this is nice, but
I do wear leather shoes and I do eat meat. Eco-Boudoir as a concept is
about reducing pollution to the land and water and also about
supporting small supply chains, communities of women. I believe that
improvements in sustainability can only truly be made through business.
In order for sustainability to hit the mainstream it is important for
people to feel like they are not making compromises. Eco must not look
or feel eco or it will remain only a small niche few who follow and no
change will be made.
People want to look sexy and glamorous and they want fabric to be
soft. Peace silk is very often scratchy and not suitable for lingerie
production. It is already extremely hard producing lingerie with fine,
untreated silks and non stretch organic cotton!
For our new SS09 and AW09 collection we have quite a bit of organic
cotton (the website has not had the new pictures uploaded yet). There
are so many issues with so many fabrics it is impossible to be perfect.
What I want to do is produce textile based fabrics which are as non-
polluting as possible and which are as competitive on the high st as
possible. I want to change peoples perception of sustainability and I
want to make it sexy.
We are currently designing a complete new website and it will be much
clearer about the fabrics and sustainable angle.

If you need anymore information, please let me know.

Best wishes,

Jenny

MEINE FRAGEN
On 14 Jan 2009, at 14:21, Kirsten Brodde wrote:

> Dear Jenny White,
>
> as a journalist from and green fashion blogger in Germany I really
> admire your work and especially your amazing new spot about the
> toxics in lingerie that attracted huge media interest here.
> And there are some aspects in your spot that really raised my
> interest.
>You are referring to the negative environmental effects of cotton
> (pesticides and water) which are important aspects to draw public
> attention to. But as far as I know only a small fraction of lingerie
> is actually made of cotton. Underwear is mostly made of different
> types of polyester to create elasticity and increase the asthetical
> aspect. So while it is hugely important to talk about the
> environmental problems linked to cotton, underwear seems to be the
> wrong garment to talk about in this regard.
>But I am sure you are aware of this. I would appreciated it, if you
> could let me in on your  logic in producing the spot and centering
> it around cotton.
>Another aspect that I found misleading is, that viewers will start
> to think that your sexy lingerie is made of organic cotton even
> though you state very clearly on your homepage that you do not use
> organic cotton to produce your products.
>As stated in your philosophy you decided to use 100% natural silk,
> hemp/silk, bamboo, organic lavender and vegetable tanned leather.
>In Germany the use of bamboo in the production of garments is
> heavily disputed since research has revealed that a huge amount of
> chemicals is used to make garments from that fibre. I am sure you
> have come across this discussion before but I would appreciate it if
> you could let me know what your opinion on this issue is.
>Silk is another material that has recently been heavily criticised
> due to animal rights aspects since the moths are killed in a brutal
> way. How do you ensure that the silk you source is produced in an
> animal friendly way?
>I hope that I am not asking too much by raising these issues, but as
> I am sure you will agree they are  important issues in our current
> debate on ethical living. In this regard I would appreciate it if
> your time allows for a response to the questions I raised.
>
> Thank you very much in advance,
> best,
> Kirsten
>
>
> —
>

>
>

		Kirsten Brodde, Blog-Gründerin und Autorin von "Saubere Sachen", hat das Thema Ökomode quasi aus dem Nichts entwickelt. Sie arbeitet als Greenpeace Detox-Campaignerin bei Greenpeace Deutschland. Hier finden Sie alle Artikel von Kirsten .