The Debate Over Bamboozling

At DeviDoll we've been fans of alternative fabrics from the very start, bamboo among them. But we have noted that man-made (sorry, Harriet Harman, person-made) fabrics - bamboo, lyocell, tencel, PLA etc -- need to be produced sustainably to truly qualify for green status, otherwise, all the chemical byproducts in their production sort of defeats the whole point.

Well, this and several other issues in the 'green-ness' of bamboo are now in the limelight with the the Federal Trade Commission in the US charging 4 companies with making false claims about the how eco bamboo actually is and what positive properties bamboo clothing actually has. Read the whole press release here. The companies have rebutted with their counter-claims and others have joined the fray on both sides.

The topic is an important one as almost everyday, bamboo more than any other fabric, is gaining ground as a perfect 'eco' fabric with the same list of benefits repeated. It is relatively cheap, abundantly available from suppliers in China and India not all of whom can be adquately supervised and often reaches garment cutting stage relatively un-policed. So understanding all the claims, separating the wheat from the chaff, is essential.

While there is no doubt that bamboo can be a sustainable alternative to conventional fabrics this is not without caveats and to accord it miracle status unthinkingly....well....that's just silly.

Believe in bamboo, but not blindly.

MOCIUN (mo-shun) AT DEVIDOLL

According to her bio Caitlin Mociun, (designer/founder of eponymous clothing label, Mociun), "...continues to explore the realms of all things fantastic from her one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment". One would expect no less from a designer who consistently produces collections, centered around intriguing and mesmerizing prints, that seem to stem simply from her observation of the world around her...as filtered, of course, by her imagination. My favourite (so far) has to be AW07's 'Judas and the Chocolate Grinder' print. Here it is on the hemp & yak unisex button-up

By the way, Judas is Caitlin's cat, and I recently met them both in the aforementioned Brooklyn abode...

CM and SV
Photographer: UCCH, aged just barely 4 yrs, harasser of (hiding) Judas
March 2008, Brooklyn, NYC

Anyway, its not just the signature Mociun prints that are cool - the designs and use of colour have much to say for themselves. Her dresses

Mesh Back Dress
hemp/organic cotton Doily print
Spring Summer 08
at devidoll from April

The cult-favourite tie-front dress
here in hemp & yak
but re-incarnated across collections...


Tulip skirt tie-front dress
hemp & tencel zigzag print
Spring Summer 08
at devidoll from April

her uni-sex tees and other versatile tops

Pocket Smock
hemp & tencel zigzag print
handmade wood buttons
Shorts
hemp & tencel in navy
Spring Summer 08
at devidoll from April

Button up dress/tunic
hemp & tencel in teal menagerie print
Spring Summer 08
at devidoll from April

jeans

Jeans organic cotton denim
Spring Summer 08
at devidoll from April

Men's slim jeans
hemp & organic cotton
Sometime late 2008

and paper -bag waist shorts

Paper bag shorts
hemp & tencel zigzag print
Spring Summer 08
at devidoll from April

....all of these are original, different but also 'right-here-right-now' chic -- a rare combination.

Mociun's clothes appeal regardless of fabric but nothing like icing on the cake: hemp & yak, silk & hemp, organic cotton & hemp with silk featured heavily in AW07; in Spring/Summer 08 we'll have hemp & tencel as well as bamboo and further on, later this year, expect hemp/wool blends.

All good things to those who wait.