odor-causing residue and is eco-friend-ly.” Another sustainable cap model option Saferstein presents is manufactured
from recycled plastic bottles. Recycled
PET yarns, pre-dyed fiber blends and repurposed woven labels are all innovative
approaches to please the eco-conscious
masses. Even using computer software to
initially design and perfect an order down
to the smallest detail can aid in avoiding
unnecessary time and material waste.
This inspired demand from customers
certainly isn’t news to apparel and head-
wear industry pros. But the fact that this
is the new here-to-stay standard and not a
brief, societal soapbox trend, will contin-
ue to challenge suppliers to strike a bal-
ance in fulfilling this permanent category.
Efforts to promote responsible products
from the drawing room to the end-prod-
uct can be more sustainable than others
in each step of creation. Karlicek is well
aware of this possible duality struggle in
striving to meet green needs: “Organic
is nice, but you still leave a carbon foot-
print. We are trying to reduce landfills.”
Only through continued creative proce-
dures and customer feedback will we be
able to find parity in the quest to be en-
vironmentally prudent and fiscally profit-
able.
Positive winter headwear solutions
you can tip your hat to…
I may still have to face the white-knuck-
led mornings of a powder-filled commute
(after displaying impressive survival skills
burrowing out from the front door to the
driveway), but the utter humiliation of
walking into a room looking like a soaked
and defeated victim of the elements won’t
plague me this winter. Whether impec-
cably vogue in a jacquard knit beanie,
hopelessly allegiant to my beloved Den-
ver Nuggets in a proud display of powder
blue and gold, or Earth-first in recycled
wool, I needn’t compromise the luxury
(and personal requisite) of looking pol-
ished for the absolute necessity to stay
warm. The lifelong habit of pining away
for the dog days of summer while cross-
ing my fingers that no one I know sees me
adorned in the “practical”—read: wholly
unattractive—oversized, nightmarish
styles of dome-toppers in years past, can
be re-delegated to a status of permanent
vacation. Make that hibernation. While
some of us warm up to the idea of long
winter months more readily than others
(present company excluded) we can all
face the season with our headwear held
high.
Pw
