Chic and Green

This week I read an article on the New York Times web site called “Riding the It Factor” by David Colman. This article talk about riding bicycles is becoming more chic in the city. Bike commuting is up 35% in New York from 2007-2008. This is attributed in part to the new line of bicycles that allow cyclists to look stylish while riding. These newer bikes have fenders, chain guard, generator and rack allows the rider to avoid the “messenger wear” since they do not have to worry about getting grimy while riding they can wear whatever they want. Also these bikes have the rider sitting upright, not hunched over, also the rider moves at a safe slow pace to avoid sweating. The gold standard among these bikes is the sleek black Dutch style. This article shows that consumers are finding ways to be chic and stylish while going green.

Going Green

I recently read an article on the New York Times web site about going green and environmentally friendly products. The article was called “An Environmental Cleanup in Every Aisle”, by Mike Albo. In this article the author talks about how over the past decade consumers have grown increasingly aware of environmental issues. Unfortunately inexpensive environmentally friendly products have been scarce. The author suggest that perhaps if these eco friendly products where less expensive consumers would be more apt to buy and use them. This is true. Often the environmentally friendly version of a product is quite a bit more expensive. I feel that environmental friendliness is an important trend to pay attention to in the fashion and retail industry, and a company that could find a way to produce and sell these products at a lower price would be tapping into a currently underserved market.