address | 1725 Westlake Avenue N, Suite 150, Seattle, 98109
telephone | 206-324-4850 Fax | 206-324-4852
email |
[purpose]
The Sustainable Style Foundation (SSF) is an international, member-supported nonprofit organization created to provide information, resources and innovative programs that promote sustainable living and sustainable design.
[mission]
SSF's mission is to educate, support and inspire people from all walks of life to make more sustainable personal lifestyle choices at work, at home and at play.
[approach]
From fashion, food and film to interior design, travel, music and more, SSF has designs on making sustainability the next big thing, as well as a timeless trend by using the power of popular culture to influence consumer choices.
[vision]
seven generations.
improving the quality of life for everyone.
living enterprises and economies.
family, friends, community.
equality.
Sustainability is all this and more. Most importantly, it's understanding that each of us has a role in making all of the above a reality. The world is full of opportunities to look fabulous, live well and do good.
[strategy]
Be the premier resource on sustainable lifestyles and design: provide useful and up-to-date information and resources to both design professionals and consumers so that they can more easily incorporate sustainability into their work and/or lives
Use the market: increase both the supply of and demand for sustainable products and services in the many and diverse style/design industries
Dangle cocktail carrots: When it comes to using a carrot or a stick, we choose the carrot as there are lots of other groups out there that are very good at the stick approach. Better yet we use tiny cocktail carrots...sometimes even the smallest positive reinforcement can create big change.
Surprise consumers: highlight the amount and breadth of sustainability already underway across the many and diverse style/design industries
Keep sustainability in the media. Ensure continuous forward progress to counteract the perception of sustainability as ‘fits and starts’ (a green building here, a fashion designer using organic cotton there)
Promote cross-industry awareness and inspiration: work to promote cross-industry learning and projects so that industries are aware of innovations in other industries that might be applicable in their own industry
Use popular culture to influence consumer choices: provide high profile lifestyle role models to inspire consumers to make more sustainable personal lifestyle choices themselves
[a word on 'style']
Dictionary.com defines “style? as a quality of imagination and individuality expressed in one's actions and tastes. ‘Style’, therefore, is not about conformity, consumption or the latest fly-by-night fashions. True style – the essence of style – is about individualism. It’s about expressing yourself, your individuality and you values in the clothes you choose to wear, the way you decorate your home, the car you choose to drive, the food you eat, the places you choose to go on vacation, etc. That’s why ‘style’ is truly something available to everyone. So whether you put on a Def Leopard t-shirt or a Donna Karan original in the morning, the question is how can you express your stylish self more sustainably. So, the “look fabulous? part of our now famous tag line “look fabulous, live well, do good? is about your definition of looking fabulous, not everyone else’s.
[founders]
Rebecca Luke | SSF Senior Stylist and Co-founder; President, les Egoistes
Rebecca founded les Egoistes in 2000 with 15 years experience in fashion and event production. Rebecca's skills run the gamut from production, public relations and marketing services to art direction, styling, costume design, choreography and visual display. Her expertise has been honed by working with over 50 clients both locally and nationally in non-profit, retail, clothing manufacturing, TV/film, theater and the arts industries. Prior to her full time involvement in fashion and entertainment, Rebecca was executive director of The Homeless Challenge and Development & Events Coordinator for Zion Preparatory Academy. Rebecca Luke maintains an active role in the social and environmental issues that affect her community and has committed the resources of her company to further these causes whenever and wherever possible.
Sean Schmidt | SSF Style Ambassador and Co-founder; Human Resources, University of Washington Medical Center.
Sean is a true renaissance man with incredibly diverse interests and experiences. With degrees in behavioral ecology and conservation biology, the ability to communicate in five languages and fourteen years in the corporate world, Sean seems to have his hands in just about everything. On the conservation biology side, Sean has studied small mammals and terrestrial amphibians in the Pacific Northwest, snow leopards in Ladakh, India and sandhill cranes in Cuba through Earthwatch. On the business side, Sean's tenure at Seattle-based fashion specialty retailer Nordstrom, Inc. included positions in sales, corporate human resources, information technology and sustainable business & development. In 1995, Sean was even an international expert on Russian venture capital funds following an internship at the Foundation for Russian/American Economic Cooperation. These days, Sean works at Harborview Hospital and is involved with environmental efforts both at Harborview and the University of Washington which manages the hospital. Sean learned his first lessons in respecting people and the environment from his grandmother, Rosie, while growing up on a small family farm in Nebraska. Later, as the son of a zoological park administrator, Sean was introduced to the pressing issues of preserving biological and cultural diversity at an early age, experiences that continue to inform his work in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility today. For Sean, establishing SSF is the integration of two of his passions, design and sustainability. He strongly believes that empowering people to make positive change in the world as they express themselves through their personal lifestyle choices is a powerful force that truly will improve the quality of life for everyone.
[history]
The concept of SSF began in 1998 when Sean Schmidt - then a salesperson at Nordstrom in Seattle, Washington - realized that many of his personal customers were looking for ways to simplify their lives and reduce their impact on the environment. In addition, labor practices of companies with overseas factory contracts were in the headlines and many customers wanted to know more about where and how merchandise was made. As Sean began a program to better serve these, what he called "sustainable style" customers, Seattle hosted the WTO Ministerial in 1999 and became ground zero for the largest anti-globalization protest in history. Western consumerism and corporate colonialism were key topics and Sean found, more than ever, that customers were looking for ways to incorporate their evolving social and environmental values into their purchases. In 2000, Sean was promoted to Sustainable Business & Development (SBD) Coordinator at Nordstrom where became familiar with the plethora of sustainability efforts going on in many diverse industries including organic cotton and PVC phase-outs in apparel, green building in architecture and interior design, green travel focusing on freight transportation, hotels and airlines and organic food showing up in America's finest restaurants. When Sean left Nordstrom in the fall of 2002, Sean's dream of starting a nonprofit to educate, support and recognize style professionals and link all of these industry efforts together finally materialized into what is now the SSF.
Coinciding with the inspiration of Sean’s dream was the vision of a group of local and nationally recognized artists, performers and members of the fashion, beauty and entertainment community who wanted to create meaningful events that were dedicated to promoting awareness of and supporting environmental, cultural and social efforts that have a profound effect on our future. Out of this desire, WATER FIRE EARTH (WFE) was formed as an informal group inspired by the STOP & GO events created and directed by Rebecca Luke in 1993. The goal of STOP & GO and ultimately WATER FIRE EARTH was to motivate action with entertainment events that have a higher purpose; allowing concerned citizens to enjoy themselves while learning and understanding more about the important issues troubling our world.
[sustainable style stands]
Sustainable Style Stands represent the core values of SSF. Each stand represents extensive discussion and debate and often reflect issues that are as controversial outsides SSF as they are within SSF.
no one is perfect | SSF recognizes that “no one is perfect?. Fundamentalism and absolutes just don’t work in the real world and issues are always more complex than they appear with their infinite shades of grey. When it comes to working with a company or individual that demonstrates seemingly opposing activities and/or value structures, SSF will focus on cultivating seeds of sustainability rather than the more arrogant option, we feel, of condemning or not associating with the company or individual.
creating change | There are many ways to create change. The metaphor of using a carrot or a stick to persuade someone demonstrates that change mechanisms have positive or negative associations. Many feel that it takes pain to create change and choose to condemn or convict companies or individuals when their actions or values fall short of social and/or environmental responsibility expectations. At SSF we prefer to create change through positive mechanisms, as we say “through pudding rather than pain?.
honor living resources | SSF understands that the welfare of animals is one of the most sensitive issues across style industries. Even within SSF we have diverse and often opposing opinions about this issue. SSF will focus on what everyone can agree upon: we need honor and respect all living resources.
[governance]
As a nonprofit organization, it is vital that we maintain a high level of professionalism, governance and vision. Our organization structure, at the local chapter level and international level, includes three oversight groups at the international and chapter levels including boards of directors, boards of advisors and boards of elders.
The first three groups may not surprise you, they are standard to most nonprofit organizations. But you'll notice we've added an "Elders" group. We felt strongly that we wanted to incorporate the knowledge and wisdom accumulated from those who have spent many years in our societies. Elder groups might include First Nations peoples, retired style professionals or even your Grandparents who seem to have the answer for everything. All of them teach us to honor our past, ground us in the present and respect those who come after us. Stay tuned for a list of all our groups.
Rebecca Luke | SSF Senior Stylist and Co-founder; President, les Egoistes