sustainable style foundation*

Original Tag Date: 2007 Renewed: 2008 Type: Small Company Level: Company Website: moralfervor.com

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SUMMARY
Moral Fervor strives to create an ecological model of business through their clothing. Conceived in a tiny dormitory on the campus of Tyler School of Art in 1998, Emily Santamore and Melissa Sack discovered that they had far more in common than just their cramped quarters – they both shared a passion for art, fashion and environmental issues. United by artistic studies in graphics, printing, painting and art history, the two developed a close friendship. This relationship served as a catalyst and the foundation for what would become Moral Fervor. The company uses only bio-based fabrics that are organic and sustainable. They are conscientious about every level of their business - from the concept of each collection, design, sourcing and production. Each collection is inspired by an environmental or social topic, giving each collection a level of depth and meaning that they feel is an important part of life. The designers hope that the message behind the designs will inspire and educate. Constantly looking for ways to intertwine environmentalism and fashion, in 2005 Moral Fervor began incorporating Ingeo™ Fibers into their designs. Derived from fermented corn, Ingeo™ is the world’s first sustainable synthetic fabric. For their spring 2007 line, Moral Fervor became the first fashion company to exclusively use Ingeo™ fabrics. Moral Fervor’s fall 2007 collection incorporated fabrics like bamboo, Modal™ and organic fleece. Their pioneering approach to fashion technology has put them at the forefront of a full movement, already landing them in publications such as...Newsweek, Women’s Wear Daily and The New York Times, and has positioned them at the cusp of a growing sustainable fashion movement.

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EVALUATION

human rights & social compliance
environment
other business practices

COMPANY ATTRIBUTES

human rights & social compliance	environment	other business practices
has product(s) with Industry certification (e.g. SA 8000, Oxfam, Fair Labor, etc.) all workers receive a living wage all workers have a right to association all workers have access to health care uses no, child, sweatshop, prison or other forced labor has active, enforced code of conduct, including global monitoring of human rights and labor conditions has education programs on social issues (e.g. HIV/AIDS, homelessness, etc.) is a signatory on voluntary industry standards (e.g. Global Compact, UN Human Rights, etc.) respects the rights and cultures of indigenous people has active, enforced diversity and anti-discrimination policies and procedures extends benefits to same-sex partners annual report includes information on social compliance/performance has adopted voluntary standards for business ethics (e.g. Global Sullivan Principles, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility, etc.) administers all personnel actions such as compensation, benefits, transfers, layoff, return from layoffs, company-sponsored training, education, social and recreational programs without regard to association, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, national origin	has product(s) with industry certification (e.g. Organic, LEED, ISO 14001, etc.) offers products that contain recycled content, are made with sustainable resources or are recyclable implements product take-back, recycling or end-of-life management program incorporates energy conservation efforts incorporates water conservation efforts incorporates other resource conservation efforts (paper) uses Design for Environment, green design, product stewardship or other lifecycle design has an active and enforced global warming policy has envtly friendly purchasing program (buy recycled content items, eco-friendly cleaning products, etc.) incorporates green building in it’s facilities is a signatory on voluntary industry standards (e.g. CERES Principles, GRI, etc.) has active, enforced supplier partnership and/or monitoring uses no genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in their product(s) has policies and programs that respect biological diversity annual report includes information on environmental performance	has programs to purchase from minority- and women-owned businesses has diversity at board level utilizes governance structures (creating board/exec. committees, engaging full board/investors) to address and enhance social & environmental responsibility uses accounting standards and oversight executive salary commensurate with revenue has programs and policies to actively engage shareholders in communication and encourage increased shareholder activism has programs or processes (e.g. AA1000, GRI) to insure active stakeholder engagement involves youth in governance functions has a corporate giving program has programs that provide time and/or compensation to employees for volunteering in the community has programs to support local businesses has programs to employ individuals returning to the work force publicly publishes (e.g. on website, brochures or other collateral) programs and policies relating to social and environmental efforts (other than annual report) incorporates special programs (e.g. special events, product/service discounts) for seniors Not Applicable included in SRI Fund