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Designer Profile
Being responsible for Sharon Stone’s wardrobe, importing 20ft containers of used clothing from Australia to Botswana and working as a tourist guide on safari trips in Victoria Falls is hardly the typical background to launching your own fashion label, but for Zimbabwean-born designer Charlene O’Brien, her unconventional work history has paved the way for her environmentally aware labels eco logika australia and eco denim.
“I strive to produce a unique range of handcrafted, natural and eco sensitive clothing that has minimal impact on the environment, is community focused and encompasses that ‘feel good’ factor,” said Charlene, who settled in Perth in 1997.
Described as ‘eco chic lifestyle designer wear’, Charlene admits her business is her passion. “eco logika australia stands for great style made with integrity,” said the 41 year old. “Our colours are Australian inspired turquoises, greens and natural dye pigments such as indigo, madder, henna and turmeric. Most importantly, we only use organic cotton, hemp and silk, basically only 100 per cent natural fibres. “For example, hemp is a beautiful textile to wear for an environmental alternative to linen,” she said. “It’s qualities are extraordinary, for example it has three times the tensile strength of cotton and is 25 times more durable, as well as being resistant to stains, mould and bacteria, moth and silverfish, it’s even fire and heat resistant. What’s more, it’s perfect for Australia’s hot climate where we need trans-seasonal clothing.” Charlene said tierra ecologia designs are unique because the cloth is individually hand dyed, as well as being hand crafted, meaning that each piece is truly individual. Charlene’s denim label, eco denim, uses an innovative new yarn from recycled denim, which is hand knitted and crocheted by a Vietnamese co-operative. Charlene, who lived in Vietnam for six months during which time she put her young son into a Vietnamese school, said denim is one of the world’s most produced textiles, despite the fact that cotton is prone to high chemical and pesticide usage. “Denim waste from jeans manufacturers becomes a landfill problem because it doesn’t biodegrade when it hits the dump,” she said. “By collecting denim offs-cuts from factories we prevent more chemical usage and landfill by creating products from the waste. The off-cuts are shredded back into a fibre and then re-spun into a yarn. The yarn is then transported to Australia where it is spun and used to create clothing and accessories. “One of my major goals is to support fair trade practices. This provides self empowerment to small global communities with appropriate hand skills. Our community workers are paid fairly and this encourages the emergence of micro businesses where women take responsibility for themselves and therefore the knock on effect is that poverty within these communities is diminished, if not eradicated.” Charlene’s focus on developing products on a sustainable level using recycled or organic resources means, she said, that eco logika australia is a fashion label with a conscious. “For people who are passionate about a designer range of products that are natural, organic, recycled and hand made, and if you care about the environment and humanity, you share the tierra ecologia vision,” she said. And so what is the future for Charlene and her label? “I have many goals but I am determined to gain accreditation with the International Fair Trade Association in the short to medium term, so that all of my products are endorsed,” she said. “I am also dedicated to creating the ecologically sound and personally rewarding fashion that is the mantra of eco logika australia,” she said. “We will continue to enhance the environment through our responsible production methods and we will carry on supporting skilled artisans and our community by providing a range of fashionable products made with integrity. Each of our pieces is a unique artistic creation that is stylish, sexy and good for your wellbeing.” |