Green is Black is a family and friend venture. We have spent our lives, pre- green is black attempting to achieve zero footprint, by dwelling in cities and using our bodies, bicycles, and trains to get around; employing permaculture techniques in the spirit of the “Food not Lawns” movement; eating organic and locally-grown food wherever possible; being herbivorous and thus eating as low on the food chain as possible, employing the three R's, while recognizing that recycling is really the last resort; making new purchases only when we can confidently reach our end goal by voting with our dollars to support a responsible company producing low impact goods.

The one thing that seemed to elude us was the ability to purchase clothing that was both sustainable and appealed to our craving for soft, sensuous, beautiful, and body-celebrating clothing; shoes and accessories that were vegeco and therefore free of PVC/vinyl, and hip, funky and sexy to boot (no pun intended!) We felt guilty for wanting it; we felt self-righteous for going without out; we felt a little cranky about not having the ability to have it without compromising our ethics.

We didn't want to be guilt-laden, self-righteous, cranky beings, so we started looking for solutions. The shift to solutions-oriented thinking brought about a tidal wave of infomation about designers who were acknowledging their need to create art, and stopping at nothing to ensure that their creations be made in an ethical manner – in field, fabric, dye, and manufacture.

The more we explored the idea of creating a forum for like-minded individuals to have a place to come where they could purchase ethical clothing, the more at home we felt about it. Achieving close to zero-footprint is essential, but to stop at that means only that we've almost disappeared. In following the principles of socially responsible investing, we must put positive pressure on other businesses to get on board and reduce their collective footprint by demonstrating that an ethical business does not have to be in the red, and in fact that if they don't pull up their pesticide-laden, bleached, sweat-shop produced socks that they will fall behind. Consumers have the right and the presence of mind to ask for more, and they're doing it in increasing numbers.

We have attempted to make green is black wholistic in approach. There is much discussion before any products are purchased, and we measure the environmental and social impact of each designer's wares before bringing them to you. We welcome comments, questions and suggestions always.