If you want to save the planet, go nude. Not really an option for you? Then Toad&Co wants to help you make your fashion choices more sustainable.
Starting this month, the eco outdoor-lifestyle apparel brand is kicking off a cross-country road trip in a blue and white ‘59 Shasta trailer, a tour the brand is calling “Save the Planet. Wear Sustainable.” One part educational workshop, one part pop-up retail event, the mobile tour’s aim is to highlight the fact that the apparel industry is the fourth worst-polluting industry worldwide and a major contributor toward climate change.
“We want people to think about the purchases they’re making and educate them on the fabrics and processes that are okay, and ones they should avoid,” explains Toad&Co Marketing Manager Steve McCann.
Sustainable fashion no longer means itchy burlap tees. Everything in Toad&Co’s line is made from a minimum of 80-percent sustainable fibers and/or fabrics that are third-party certified for responsible manufacturing. But, McCann explains, there’s a lot of misinformation and confusion out there about which materials are actually eco-friendly (organic cotton? Nice. Bamboo? Not so much). That’s why the “Save the Planet” tour will focus on education in addition to showcasing Toad’s collection, all while working with local retailers, nonprofits, artists and organizations to create a “sustainability marketplace” at each location.
“It’s a party,” says McCann. “At one event we worked with a local soap maker, we brought in an environmental artist, and we had a recycling center come and educate people in the community about what’s happening locally on the sustainability front. We have products for sale, but it’s more of a showroom experience. We want people to shop local.”
Even the Z-striped Shasta trailer, “Buffy,” is designed with the planet in mind, built with 100-percent recycled materials like salvaged beetle-kill pine, reclaimed sawdust fiberboard, and recycled steel and cork.
The Save the Planet tour is headed across the country through the fall season. Find an event near you at ToadandCo.com, come out for a beer (reusable cup required), meet your neighbors, and learn how to save the planet — clothing optional.
Photos courtesy of Toad&Co.
XX RANGE Crew