Earth Day 2023: How Passion Lilie Invests in Our Planet and how you can, too

This year’s Earth Day theme, Invest In Our Planet, is central to Passion Lilie’s mission. At our core, we are committed to investing in artists, ancient traditions, and production practices that make our planet a healthier place for all of us. We wanted to recognize Earth Day by sharing how we invest in our planet and by offering a sustainable fashion hack to help you invest in our planet, too!

We invest in people.

At the very heart of all things Passion Lilie, you will find human beings. Your Passion Lilie clothing is made by hand by a small group of artisans in India. We pay them fair wages, offer them stable employment with time off and other benefits, and ensure they are working in safe, healthy, empowering conditions. These opportunities permeate our artisans’ communities as they spend their profits in their local economies, start their own businesses, and share their skills. This leads to sustainable societies and a better world for all of us, even the most disadvantaged. 

Passion Lilie’s owner and designer, Katie Schmidt, visits India annually and knows many of the artists by name. In a world where fast fashion is taking over, contributing a massive fraction of the climate crisis and dehumanizing garment workers all over the world, knowing who makes your clothes and in what conditions is critical. 

We invest in tradition.

From hand-weaving techniques to block printing, Passion Lilie's textiles are rich in culture and tradition. The tradition of block printing began in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the 16th century. The advent of etching a design into a block and stamping the fabric with that block decreased the cost of printed fabrics and made these types of fabrics popular for fashion and home decor. Sadly, the block printing art form died off in the 17th century. Thanks to a few good people, the art form was revitalized in the 1960s. Today, Passion Lilie sources its fabrics from a couple of workshops that were part of this revitalization.

Kutch weaving is another ancient tradition that Passion Lilie cherishes and chooses to invest in. Kutch weaving, also known as Marwada style, is a 600-year-old tradition from the district of Kutch in Gujarat. Like many other crafts of India, it has been passed down by generations of artisans who have profound knowledge and expertise, and whose children grew up in the nooks of looms imbibing all the traditions at once. As they grew up, they took up the responsibility of making the craft relevant to modern times.

When you invest in Passion Lilie clothing, you are supporting the craftsmen and women and artisans who make our garments by hand. The undying spirit of the artisans is a testament to the love of tradition. By supporting Passion Lilie, you also help to ensure these ancient traditions and craftsmanship can carry on for years to come and can continue to be passed down from one generation to the next. 

We invest in fabric.

Investing in natural fibers like cotton is a huge step toward sustainability. While it’s not always possible to buy environmentally friendly cars or install solar panels on our home, we do have a choice in the kinds of clothing we purchase. Other fabrics rely on the further extraction of fossil fuels which contribute directly to climate change for manufacturing, but cotton does not. When cotton does need to be disposed of, it can break down in our world naturally.

In addition to cotton, Passion Lilie invests in modal fabric, a material that is both durable and eco-friendly. Modal is made from Beech trees in certified sustainable forests. It requires less water to produce than other fabrics, uses zero pesticides, and is carbon neutral. Modal fabric is often described as feeling softer, silkier, and more luxurious than cotton. It’s color-fast, so your clothes stay vibrant and won’t wrinkle or pill even after several washes. That means you’ll get a lot of wear out of your modal garment and will be less likely to throw it away, creating less waste. When you invest in one of our modal pieces, you’ll have a lifetime garment that is both super comfortable and made to last.

We invest in organizations.

Passion Lilie believes in lifting up organizations that are doing work we care about. We have invested in nonprofits near and far including ACLU, The Trevor Project, United Houma Nation and Krewe of Red Beans. 

In honor of Earth Day 2023, Passion Lilie will donate 10% of online sales to The Green Project for the entire month of April. Serving New Orleans since 1994, the Green Project's mission is to promote a culture of creative reuse by diverting usable materials from landfills and cultivating a respect for their value.

By selling used and teaching about reuse, The Green Project is able to provide affordable materials to the community, host low-cost and free workshops, keep usable goods out of the landfill and nearby waterways, preserve historic architectural pieces and educate residents about environmental issues.

How can you invest in our planet?

EarthDay.org, the global hub for Earth Day 2023, highlights sustainable fashion as one of the top six ways to invest in our planet. The site offers helpful resources, including a toolkit that will come in handy as you’re working toward your sustainable fashion goals. One excellent piece of advice they offer is to invest in a capsule wardrobe. 

EarthDay.org says, “By definition, a capsule wardrobe is a limited selection of interchangeable clothing pieces that not only complement each other but allows you to create a wide variety of outfits with just a small selection of items. Creating a capsule wardrobe can save you time, money, stress and will ultimately help you become more sustainable.”