You know, as a resident of Boulder, CO (a place that, for those unfamiliar, holds the earth in higher regard than 102% of the rest of the world) I shouldn't be saying this. Progress is progress, as they say, and of all things to rip on, things that treat Mother Nature with respect should be far from the top of the list (and if you feel the need to rip on me in recompense for this, please comment).
However, I have to say it, and here it is: Eco-style, thanks to the prevailing hype of its prefix, has had the opportunity to suck much worse than other areas of fashion. Attention to detail, structure, tailoring – vanities, really, when all you need to move units is organic cotton, perpetuated by a sort of user-generated laziness that buys anything that promises to stop global warming.
Well, wake up eco-fashionistas; your golden age is almost over, and we're welcoming your newest competitors with arms wide open. First on our list of new thrills: Mottainai, an NYC-born, Mother-loving label whose designs are as mindful as the materials used to create them.
Joshspear.com: The word “mottainai†has a really interesting meaning – can you tell us about it?
Luke McCann: Sure. “Mottainai,†in its most basic form, means “what a waste,” or, “it's too valuable to waste.” In Japan, it is used in everyday conversations and embedded in folktales. There's a story in Japan about the Mottainai Ghost that will come for you if you waste something.
Think of it as when you see someone throwing away something perfectly useful, like food (you better eat all that!). The idea behind it is that a lot of people worked hard to bring that food (or in our case, clothes) to you, and in return you should be thankful and appreciative for what you were given, and use it to its fullest.
We’ve been unabashedly devoted groupies of Japanese artist 
