Eco Focus: Eco Avenger
For Marilyn Barrett, revenge is best served fashionably.
Barrett debuted Los Angeles–based eco T-shirt and accessories line Revenge Ishellip; in October 2008. A corporate attorney by day, Barrett hopes the eco-T-shirt line will build a bigger soapbox for her views than her occasional blogs for The Huffington Post. In her new venture in fashion, the slogans on her T-shirts are calls to environmental and civic activism. Graphics on the tees read “Revenge Is—Energy Independence” and “Revenge Is—Taking Our Country Back.”
The eco messages of this line are kept short. They are posted on shirts mostly constructed out of a soft fabric derived from a blend of 50 percent organic cotton and 50 percent RPET fiber, which is made from recycled plastic bottles. (One T-shirt is composed of 65 percent RPET. Other T-shirts are 100 percent organic cotton.)
The new line includes six different women’s styles and six different men’s styles. They offer a variety of messages in colors ranging from basic black to heather gray. The core wholesale price point is $17.
In the near future, Barrett hopes to expand her message with new styles including tank tops, long-sleeve shirts, V-necks and children’s tees. She promises more-intricate designs to engage activism. Her company’s Web site, www.revengeis.com, also will offer a newsletter with opinion pieces by Barrett and profiles of the causes and charities that Revenge Ishellip; helps support.
If the ideals of this line are noble, the word revenge can have a negative connotation. Yet the revenge Barrett is talking about comes from the quotation “The best revenge is living well.” For Barrett, revenge against those who perpetrate environmental and political crises should be distilled into looking for solutions to clean up their messes. “These shirts are about taking constructive action. They are saying, ’I’m concerned, and I’m part of the solution,’” she said. For more information, contact info@revengeis.com. —Andrew Asch
