Factory Green - Organic Clothing For College Students By College Students
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 06.21.08
Factory Green, a new online eco-store, run by pre-med college students Jack Short and Daniel Lyons at the University of Missouri in their “free time.” The store is full of men’s and women’s tees designed by fellow college students and geared for college students. Thanks to tipster Adam, and a recent Sprig article for passing along this fashion tidbit.
What do they sell?
Their organic cotton and bamboo tshirts are all designed by University of Missouri art students, and the housewares are chosen by companies that use recycled materials and sustainable practices. The clothing is all manufactured in facilities that use 90% solar and wind power. The average item is just $20 a pop, so the items are not only eco-friendly but also wallet-friendly. The store also has accessories like cute recycled purses, wallets and grocery-store totes.
Some of the clothing is a little more edgy, depending on the artist, but it is all aimed at the 18-24 year old crowd. This is also apparent as their “housewares” section is lovingly called “Apartment.”
The Story Behind Factory Green
The guys have been friends since elementary school and really got on the eco-business kick when they both studied abroad in Europe. “People weren’t just talking about the problems, they were living the solutions.” So they got back to campus and got to work learning everything they could about opening a business, particularly an eco-one.
Since they are on a college campus, they have a wealth of talent with plenty of free time, and they definitely use this resource, employing the help of about 15 other students to help with graphic design and advertising.
Still Saving the Planet
Recycling is key at this company as they use campus newspapers for all package filling, keeping these out of the landfill. All other packaging materials and slips are made from recycled materials or are themselves recyclable.
This company is about hope and change, and the ability of young-people to do something to turn things around. To further this change, a percentage of each sale also goes to the United Nations Water for Life Campaign. They also have a blog highlighting store press and the latest Factory Green news.
Factory Green
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Today I came across the candy wrapper bags at www.ecoist.com that look very similar with the Factory Green products, if not identical, but on the product description they were not mentioned. They were also selling for $36.00 from $58.00. I would like more information on that.
I like Factory Green’s ideas and T-shirt product, but I am coming back to my eternal question: “How about the rest of us”? It seems to me that green is still for the young and hip crowd, and it should not be, since we all love this Earth, and want to show it, without the printed front.
The price difference on the Ecoist vs Factory Green candywrapper bags was because, if you look closely at the Ecoist bag for $36, it's the miniature version of what's on the Factory Green site which costs $58 for the full sized clutch. Also, the founders of Factory Green never claimed to produce original candywrapper bags, only original apparel designs (of course the candywrapper bags they sell are from Ecoist. It lists FG as a seller of Ecoist bags right on Ecoists webiste!! They're clearly proud to have FG represent them.).
And to dispute your statement that the Green Movement is only for the young people... that's crazy! How many tv ads encouraging people to "go green" depict the young and hip crowd? None. You see Toyota pushing their latest hybrid car or Sears trying to sell you a more efficient washing machine... clearly not marketed towards the "hip and young".
So what Factory Green is doing is truly revolutionary... it's a student-run corporation that is making the green movement FINALLY attractive and affordable to the younger generation.
I totally agree with Adam above: Factory Green is an amazing company. The fact that these two pre-med guys are running a successful fashion retail store is genius! The green movement has finally come to the younger generation... thank you FactoryGreen.com!