TecBor Tribal Eco-Couture

This just in from the eco Couture blogspot!:

TecBor Tribal
14 June 2010

One of the biggest trends to stride the runway this season was the "tribal" concept we so often see during the spring and summer. However, this spring's "tribal" styles had a new, hard-edge. Fierce models looking more like warriors, took on the runways with painted tattoos and armor style jewelry, providing the perfect inspiration for every summer wardrobe.


The perfect way to bring this trend into your wardrobe is with accessories. I was on the look-out last week for more accessories like these to toughen up some of my girly looks, when I found just the thing.


As I scanned countless pages on etsy, I came across an accessories designer that has a very new take on this popular spring trend. Flavia Amadeu, a member of etsy, sells amazing jewelry made from a rubber material produced in the rain forests of Brazil. The unique material, called TecBor, is an eco-friendly rubber made with a new technology of coagulating the material with out the smoke acid chemicals used in making other rubber products.


Flavia Amadeu makes everything from bracelets to bookmarks with this interesting new eco-friendly material. The pieces I found most interesting were the "zig zag” and "rectangle" bracelets and arm bands. These bracelets are bold and tough with a tribal feel that’s perfect for the the summer trends. Also, because it's made from rubber the jewelry is comfortable and flexible and comes in vibrant summer colors. They would even be the perfect accessory to wear with a bathing suit at the pool or beach.

Check out Flavi Amadeu’s great pieces on etsy and bring the tribal trend into your wardrobe.

Note: She also sells other items, such as necklaces:


Diamond Necklace, Green Jewelry from the Amazon Rain Forest. MADE IN BRAZIL. Colors: orange, red, blue, green, lime, yellow, black, brown. About the material: The green rubber production originated as a means of sustainable development for native Amazonian communities. This project, known as TecBor, was developed by the University of Brasilia, Brazil where the manufacturing was perfected to improve the properties of the rubber. The rubber production is environmentally friendly and product safe for human use.


Thin Elipses made of an ecological rubber from Amazon. It is a Green Jewelry from the Amazon Rain Forest. MADE IN BRAZIL. It can be used as necklaces, as elastic for things, as charm or holder for your hair or as what you imagine. $12.00 each one. You can choose many colors, creating your own combination. They are very resistant and flexible. The material is an ecological rubber from the Amazon.

[Thanks eco Couture for posting on this! Check out eco Couture's Blog, where they state, "Why should sustainability be stuffy, unaffordable, or overcomplicated? Here, I'll try to find the best of designer organic fashion to better the world--through green and fair trade practices."

Enviro-Chic: Green Couture

Tansi Clothing company puts Cree words on bamboo shirts

Sandra Black has recently written a book on Eco-couture, called Eco-Chic: The Fashion Paradox. With advances in technology, and the new ‘fast fashion,’ garments can be created quickly and cheaply, and are accessible to more people via online shopping. Black warns that our new consumer throw-away culture has seeped into fashion, and has huge environmental impacts.

Eco-couture hit the runways in a big way in 2008, and the green trend was adopted by fashion with open arms. The list of natural materials utilized by designers included more than just cotton and hemp. Now, consumers can buy their clothing made with unusual materials, including bamboo, coconut, seaweed, and soybeans.

While cotton continues to be a commonly used fiber, the use of man-made materials has increased significantly in the past decade, and a 2006 report found that man-made fibers accounted for over half, or 58%, of all fiber demand. With the increased use of these materials comes the increased environmental impact. The production of synthetic fibers, for example, is energy-intensive, and they do not biodegrade and are not easily recyclable.

Native fashion designers Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo) and Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo) are two designers who are blazing the green trail for Native fashion. Ortiz’s 1680 line features cashmere and organic t-shirts, and Michaels incorporates bamboo, soy fabric, and silk hemp into her work. She’s recently started incorporating silk corn husks into purses.

But Native fashion’s roots may be some of the greenest of them all. Michaels explains about her eco-friendly work, “It’s putting an organic feeling to who we are. It’s like everything Natives stood for in the first place that made us ‘savage.’” With a unique twist, Michaels makes an excellent point: while Native people were looked down upon as uncivilized savages for their use of natural materials in clothing and were forced to adopt Euro/American attire, now we’re seeing a reverse of sorts (similar to the hippie movement in the 1970s).

Native designers are positioned to capitalize and expand on the green movement. One t-shirt company, Tansi Clothing, based out of Saskatchewan offers affordable options. The company’s mission includes donating to non-profit organizations that give back to Indigenous communities. They also promote positive messages by inscribing inspirational words and phrases on their shirts, such as peace, don’t give up, green, and strength, all written in the Cree language.