New Haven Independent

Posted by: kevin | November 25, 2009 2:42 PM

Awesome! I hope they do well. ... Do they have a website?

Posted by: Gretchen Pritchard | November 25, 2009 3:07 PM

"ties — made of satin, of course, rather than silk."

Paul, this makes no sense -- satin is a WEAVE, not a fiber. What makes satin satin is how the threads are crossed, not what fiber they are made from. Satin can be made of silk, cotton, rayon, polyester, etc. -- any fine, smooth fiber, whether animal, vegetable or synthetic.

High-quality ties are usually made of silk, more often with a twill weave than a satin weave, since twill is more durable. Presumably the fiber that Kerin's ties are made of, whatever it is, wears reasonably well when woven into satin and may be too stiff to knot well when woven into twill. Perhaps that's what led to your confusion.

Posted by: I Remember | November 25, 2009 3:27 PM

If only Mr. Rosenberg (actually Rosenberg's was owned by another family whose name began with a D (I think it was Mr. Rosenberg's son in law)) had been more foresightful, I might still be buying my suits (now made of course from recycled tires) from him.

J. Press better get on the stick!

Posted by: PETA | November 25, 2009 5:13 PM

PETA = People Eating Tasty Animals

Posted by: JC | November 26, 2009 9:40 PM

Check out this uplifting and inspiring video on why people choose vegan: http://veganvideo.org/

Also see Gary Yourofsky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bagt5L9wXGo

Posted by: streever | November 27, 2009 12:32 PM

Gretchen: or they may have misexplained it to him, or his notes might have been off, or.... a lot of things can go wrong to get a little detail wrong.

Do vegans use cruelty free silk? (my understanding is it is harvested by Jain monks, who take the leftovers, of happy, naturally lived silk worms who are allowed to mature and become moths and peacefully fly off they do not actually "farm" the animals or interrupt them at all, but simply take the leftovers, like collecting elephant dung)

Posted by: steve ross, human | November 27, 2009 8:34 PM

David, the manufacture of silk almost necessarily requires the death of silk moth larvae as their cocoons are boiled (to soften and release yards and yards of wound silk filaments) prior to their emergence as adults. The Jain monks may have the insects' welfare in mind, but I doubt Chinese agribusiness does.

Glad to see you back in action!

Posted by: OhComeOnNow | November 27, 2009 10:06 PM

You have got to be kidding me-VEGAN CLOTHES?? I can respect those who chose not to eat meat or wear fur or leather, but this is going a little too far. Who the hell is going to spend extra money on clothes that are "vegan"??? Why don't you folks spend your time and energy on something more useful and sustainable for the community? My bet-this place will be out of business in 6 months-if it lasts that long.

Posted by: streever | November 29, 2009 4:49 AM

Steve Ross, I just heard a very long podcast by my monks on a sect of monks who do not kill the moth, but let them matyure, and harvest the cast-off husk--because of that the silk is less fine then conventional, but cruelty free.

Check it out!
http://www.ecofashionworld.com/Glossary/Cruelty-Free-Silk-or-Peace-Silk.html

Posted by: OzoneRoad | November 29, 2009 11:05 PM

my girlfriend and I have recently become vegans and we're very much aware of our clothing and how we're presenting ourselves to the world. I have a leather jacket (purchased for me long before I became vegetarian) and I've been searching for a stylish, dressy, cruelty-free men's jacket for some time now... I can't wait to visit this store!

My grandmother (she's 85) said to me on Thanksgiving: "if we all ate [vegetarian] like you, we'd all be healthier. some day, everyone will eat like you."

And that floored me. I'm so hopeful for a future where animal life isn't farmed, where we treat all living beings with dignity and respect, where we don't keep cows perpetually pregnant for their milk, or breed chickens to have breasts too big for their bodies (so that they can't stand up), and where animals aren't injected with chemical cocktails for illnesses acquired from their substandard care (instead of correcting the environment, they medicate).

Vegan means "respect" for ALL life. Glad to see this store bringing responsible clothing to the Elm City!

Posted by: steve ross, human | November 30, 2009 9:43 AM

Thanks David.

Posted by: Norton Street | November 30, 2009 12:37 PM

OZONEROAD,
There is a big difference between farming, agriculture and using resources for the betterment of mankind and exploiting land, destroying the landscape and consuming more than contributing. My uncle lives on a small farm where he's raised horses, goats, chickens and some other animals (for his personal benefit, this was not his career), and when they reached the end of their life cycle, he would eat them. Doing this on a larger scale while still remaining local, to me, is perfectly acceptable and good, because these rural farms that produce crops and goods allow for advanced civilization to occur in towns and cities. Unfortunately, due to America's unbounded growth, overpopulation and devalued sense of the public realm, we have mutated farming and agriculture into very different things than what they were just a century ago. My grandfather used to make maple syrup in his back yard and he would sell it at his pharmacy and give it away for gifts and use it himself. This type of relationship with our natural environment is, well, natural. While I agree there are severe problems with how we currently do many things, the entire abandonment of thousands of years of culture and tradition seems over-the-top and unnecessary if the intended outcome is to only prevent abuse of living things, which is a realizable reality if our current systems are reorganized, localized, and are done as a service to mankind rather than run solely as a business.

OHCOMEONENOW,
Who the hell is going to spend extra money on clothes that have a certain tag? A whole lotta people, that's who. I say, why not? And if one's budget allows it, why not shop at this store?

Posted by: Paula Cook | November 30, 2009 1:14 PM

Thank you for opening this store. I am always on the lookout for vegan clothes and am thrilled to have it all in one place. I visited the store on Saturday night and was not disappointed as I purchased a beautiful vegan handbag. It means everything to me to know that the items I wear did not involve cruelty.

Posted by: Bill Saunders | November 30, 2009 11:05 PM

What minuscule fraction of a Flat Screen is actually being turned into shoes?

What kind of 'processing' makes this recycled material shoe-worthy?

Politically chic does not necessarily mean environmentally friendly.