>> Stella McCartney is synonymous with vegan fashion — she's a member of PETA and has been known to get upset when her pieces have been used in conjunction with fur.  Next Monday, she's being honored in New York with an environmental award, because her commitment to ethical fashion goes beyond just a stance against animal cruelty, as she explained recently to Suzy Menkes:  

Well I don't do leather and I don't do fur and it's not just because I don't eat animals or that I think that half a billion animals a year shouldn't be killed for the sake of fashion. It's because I also believe very much in the connection between fur and leather and the environment. There's a huge connection. Now, I think more and more people will start to take notice of that — the use of water for tanneries, the chemicals that are used — there's a huge impact environmentally.

She extends the responsibility beyond just the clothes.

I try and just think responsibly in the way that I approach business. We have stores, for instance, around the world and the majority of them are powered by wind power. Our headquarters is powered by wind. We have bags that are all recycled paper; we have biodegradable corn bags; we're just very conscious — we just think like that. It's sort of part of everyday life now for me and for the people that work with me.

And there's a reason her line is more straight-forward than trendy.

I'm very much not a designer about disposable fashion, so you're kind of barking up either the right tree or the wrong tree there. I very much believe in creating pieces that aren't going to get burnt, that aren't going to landfills, that aren't going to damage the environment there.

We're working in a very interesting day and age in this industry and I think that my take on it is to learn and try to change and change and change. Not necessarily change in silhouette or in color every season; for me it's about materials, and I'm really excited, as a designer, to create a pair of boots that are made out of biodegradable suede — fake suede. I'm, like, 'O.K., that's really interesting.'

*image: source