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Major brands and young, globally minded designers alike are asking the question: How do you come up with a garment that is sustainable, that can stand on its own and not rob from the future? Here are six trends that eco-designers are currently following. Slow designers like Natalie Chanin make handcrafted garments, like this camisole dress, rooted in traditions of craftsmanship and quality.Photo: Alabama Chanin Designer Natalie Chanin remembers the exact moment her fashion paradigm shifted. "I was standing on a street corner in the [New York City] Garment District holding this old T-shirt…

Why economic nationalism is unpatriotic. Illustration: Dave Cutler As the world economy plunges into recession, globalization is going into reverse. A virtuous circle of rising trade and booming economic growth has turned into a vicious spiral of plunging demand and collapsing trade. Faced with the most severe downturn since the Great Depression, governments promise not to repeat the mistakes of the 1930s. At the G-20 summit in Washington, D.C., last November, leaders of 22 of the world’s major economies pledged to reject protectionism. Yet they aren’t living up to their…

TED Europe director Giussani says the Oxford event will “explore what’s hidden.”Photo: TED TED Talks, the presentation series given at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference, is the haiku of the international lecture circuit. Instead of the 17 syllables a poet has to work with in the short Japanese verses, TED speakers have 18 minutes—no more, no less—to give "the talk of their lives," as the organizers put it. TED has been held annually in California since 1984. Four years ago, TED Global was launched in Oxford in the U.K., and in July…

Pioneering environmentalist Lester Brown has a plan to stop climate change, and save civilization in the process. Lester BrownPhoto: Worldwatch Institute Lester Brown has always been skilled at taking the lay of the land. As a teenager, he grew tomatoes in New Jersey and went on to earn a degree in agricultural science, which he put to use by becoming an analyst with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1974, Brown founded the Worldwatch Institute, a research center aimed at promoting "ideas that empower decision-makers to build an ecologically sustainable society." Brown has led the debate…

Aimee MullinsPhoto:Schatz/Ornstein Photography Aimee Mullins was born without fibula bones in her legs, which were amputated below the knees when she was an infant. A lot of people would consider that condition, occurring so young in life, a pretty big disadvantage. But Mullins likes to think of adversity simply as change to which we haven’t yet adapted. "For most people, adversity is a setback that signals something they have to overcome," she says. "I prefer to see it as an opportunity to use it to discover potential, develop skills and create something new." Mullins, 33, has become…