Below is the paper, “Green is (NOT) the New Black: The Role of Sustainable Fashion in Historically Black Communities”, that I presented at LIM’s Fashion Then & Now conference on October 20th, 2017. Good afternoon. My name is Mikaila Brown. I’d like to thank the organizers of this conference, LIM, and my fellow panelists. It is an honor to be given a platform to tackle this topic and I look forward to the discussions I hope this presentation will inspire. My initial intention in preparing for this paper was to conduct an anthropological examination of sustainable brands in the West Harlem area. For the last year, my company, The Common Thread Project, has been deeply investigating the historical, political, and cultural background of prevalent fashion trends in that area. My early searches for sustainable fashion brands in Harlem yielded very little, but I did come across an article that highlighted the local African artisans who make and sell wooden and metal jewelry and Africa print dresses on Harlem’s 116th and 125th streets. My first thought was a question. “Are these products sustainable?”. But then I realized that they fit many of the necessary components to be considered ethical and sustainable: * Many of the materials used are eco-friendly * Their production contributes minimal to no harm to the environment * Almost everything is hand made by one or a few local artisans, which is the exact opposite of “fast fashion” * And these products are woven into the cultural fabric of their community and not only reflect the aesthetic of said community but also economically feed back into it. So why did it surprise me that these fashion products could be categorized as “sustainable?”. I realized my skepticism was fueled by my own preconception that a sustainable brand meant overpriced products, and a white-owned business that markets a cause to be supported. To be clear, when referring to the terms “sustainable” or “ethical” throughout this paper, my definition is way less myopic. In this paper, I am referring to brands committed to how fashion products are made, encompassing everything from environmental issues like how the cotton was grown to social issues like how the garment workers are treated and paid. And while sustainable brands come in all shapes and sizes as we’ve seen and heard today, I am speaking specifically about ethical brands whose production is based in nonWestern communities, but who are owned and managed by Westerners. Ok. So in examining my own misconceptions of what constitutes “sustainable fashion”, my paper topic began to shift. I began to critically analyze how race impacts how sustainable fashion is defined, understood and operated. The fashion industry has not been insulated from the current political climate and the conversations—and sometimes shouting matches—we’re having around race and representation in our country today. We’re hearing increased calls for more diversity across the industry—on the runway, in corporate fashion boardrooms, and in major design houses. Conspicuously absent from these conversations has been a critical analysis of