Victoria Silvstedt by Eco Skin
Sandy Skinner of Eco Skin
Can Fashion Save the Planet?
Photos by Steven James May
I only discovered eco-friendly dresses last year...it was March in fact, when all the glossy magazines come out with their Earth Day editions. There was a sexy beige floor length dress that I coveted. I even tore the page out and tacked it to my cork board. It was by EcoSkin Collections. So, when I got asked to be in a celebrity fashion show by HotMomsClub (who produced the Peace day event for Peirce and Keeley Brosnan), I jumped at the chance and requested that I be styled in EcoSkin. Sandy Skinner, the brands brainchild, offered up several eco-conscious, stunning styles for me to choose from. So, I pranced down the catwalk in an itsy bitsy bamboo mini-dress in the fashion show. (I loved it so much I ended up buying it). After the show, a naturally beautiful raven haired woman called out to me. It turned out to be Sandy Skinner herself, sporting a sling, the kind that you carry a baby in. Only when I looked down to see her baby...it was a baby kangaroo! Sandy volunteers at a wildlife ranch and works with animals in her spare time. She was helping to nurse the kangaroo until it grew big enough to survive on its own.
Sandy Skinner is an apparel industry native. She uses only environmentally sustainable luxury fabrics, woven, dyed, and sewn in the USA so she can closely monitor her lines production. EcoSkin designs don't look earthy. They look fashionable and hip. These clothes are a great inspiration to those who never new clothing could be green. But there are a lot of people who are very critical as to their "green" standards so I can understand why Sandy humbly refers to herself as an "amateur environmentalist" on her web site. Everyone has a different idea of what it is to be green. Mine is idea of "green" people is anyone who actively participates in making positive difference for our environment. No matter how big or small. Can fashion save the planet? Maybe...If everyone was a little more like Sandy!
I asked her a few fun questions to get to know her better.
Carrie Stevens: Why did you create EcoSkin?
Sandy Skinner: I was working at another company and I wanted to start some green product and the owners did not believe in the concept. I knew that if I really wanted to make a difference, I was going to need to start a whole new business on my own. Why couldn't a woman be super sexy and eco-friendly? I wanted to give women that option!
CS: What's your favorite food?
SS:I would say Sushi. I love it and I always feel better about myself when I eat healthy!
CS: What's your favorite charity?
SS: There are so many, but anything that has to do with animals. I really have a passion for animals and what kind of environment we are leaving to them. I think we need a balance between progress and peace.
CS: What makes you mad?
SS: People who believe that they can not make a difference. So many people don't make green choices in their lives because they think as an individual it won't make a difference but as they say a waterfall starts with a drop of water!
CS: What inspires you?
S: Nature definitely inspires me. Just living in California and being outside all the time and being aware of what nature provides us with. Traveling abroad and discovering all the different palettes in nature is a huge inspiration for me!
CS: When is the last time you cried?
SS: When my niece was leaving from her trip to see me and she was crying at the airport, it made me cry also. I wish my family lived closer!
CS: Can fashion save the planet?
S: I don't know if it can save the planet, but it certainly can destroy it. Fashion can make a huge impact on toxins and what we put into our environment and people can make a choice every day when they are shopping to buy green and make a difference!
CS: What was your first job?
SS: Babysitting when I was a young girl.
CS: What makes you feel sexy?
SS: Dancing makes me feel sexy. Anything that comes from within and creative can make me feel sexy!
CS: What are you reading?
SS: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. It is an amazing story of a woman's life growing up and how she takes adversity and uses it to help her grow!
CS: What is in your make up bag?
SS: Concealer, blush and mascara. I am fair skinned so I can't do without!
CS: What is your most treasured possession?
SS: Probably my Great Dane was. He just passed away this year and I still miss him everyday!
CS: Who are your heroes?
SS: Volunteers. Anyone who volunteers is a hero to me. Taking time out of our busy schedules to give something back. That is what a hero is!
Fabulous Eco-Skin fashions can be purchased in the Envi-Image shop!
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