Marie Claire goes green ... for good?

A recent Guardian article interviewed Marie O'Riordan, the woman at the helm of the glossy Marie Claire. Their new tag line "Fashion with heart" launches this June with a cover of Cate Blanchet while inside, the magazine profiles "A-list activists", talks to real-life eco-heroes, gives three women a sustainable fashion challenge and offers pages of "guilt-free" indulgences.

My alarm bells started to go off early on while reading this article. I was thinking (like an econista) how Marie Claire would stay mainstream while being green. I mean, would they still have ads for H&M, encourage us to buy the latest must-have beauty products containing known carcinogens and mass market mass produced leather-like shoes? Would they continue to show beautiful women swimming in blood diamonds? How big was was this heart going to be.

Fortunately, the author had similar questions.

"But while the magazine's editorial offering has always been subject to a tension arising from its attempt to combine intelligent features and frivolous fashion, by trying to marry ecology and consumerism aren't they now at risk of pushing it beyond the point of all credibility?

"I think we're just trying to reflect the reality of our readers' dilemma and confusion," answers O'Riordan. "There's no point in us saying, 'You have to stop shopping' or 'You have to stop flying'."

O'Riordan still thinks her primary task is to produce a glossy magazine - and she hasn't set herself a mission to fundamentally alter what that means. "At the end of the day, entertainment is my priority every month," she says, "and as soon as I stop entertaining I've lost the fight."

So there won't be an end to flying the fashion team to exotic locations, celebrity journalists commuting back and forth to LA for interviews, or the celebration of nice new things to buy? "We're not going to turn into the Ecologist because that's not who we are," she says.

When O'Riordan says that the magazine now uses paper from sustainable forests, but not recycled paper, "because it's not glossy enough", it is a neat summing up of what her professional instincts are telling her about how far to push the eco-message.
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I commend Marie Claire for treading into the murky waters of fashion morality while still trying to fill adspace. I just don't expect them to ask the hard questions of an industry that thrives so much on waste and self importance.

Many times I wonder if we econistas are too hard on the mainstream when it comes to how green they are. It's not easy to go from one extreme - unfettered consumption - to sustainability all in one swoop or declaration. And this is essentially what Marie Claire is saying. But at the same time, it is the help of the big money players, the main stream, that can provide the momentum needed to turn this movement into an everyday way of life. Mainstream sustainability is the only way we can ensure a fashionable life for our grandkids.

For too long the designers on the fringe have been creeping the movement along by making wares by hand, trading with friends and working with limited sustainable materials. Why must the megabucks fashion industry rely on the little guys to do what's right? But isn't that how it's always been done, those who sacrifice for their ideals and stick to their word are used by those who want to make a buck? It's true in many industries: those working on the fringe are inventing the future, while those in the inner circle are trying to predict the future.

In the end, I just hope that Marie Claire's quest for "fashion with a heart" really means that these fringe designers who are toiling away in the shadows will have their day in the sun on the glossy (not recycled) pages of the mainstream magazines. To bring their work and integrity to the fore and challenge the establishment is probably the most we can as for from a glossy with share holder mouths to feed. But that, in and of itself is a big step.