I saw the cover of [the recent] Mountain Xpress and looked forward to reading the story on eco-fashion [“Fall Color Forecast: Green,” Sept. 26]. I fully expected to see something in the article about Spiritex, Asheville’s own organic clothing store. Nothing. A strange omission when you consider that Daniel Sanders and his wife Mary Lou Marsh virtually began the organic-clothing industry back in 1990.
In the ‘80s, Mary Lou was an award-winning clothing designer in New York (M.L. Marsh Designs was her line), and she and her husband were the first clothing manufacturers to make the commitment to go all-organic. They brought their company to Asheville over a decade ago.
Daniel is both a fabric designer and manufacturer, while Mary Lou designs an organic-clothing line available in her store and elsewhere, as well as designing for other organic-clothing manufacturers.
One wonders why the local people referred to in the industry as the parents of the organic-clothing industry weren’t even mentioned in the article. They should be lauded for their work—not ignored in this fashion.
— Amy D. Mozingo
Asheville
Reporter Alli Marshall replies: Xpress is fully aware of Spiritex’s important role in pioneering eco-fashion. So excited are we by their presence in Asheville that they were the first company we contacted when planning our fall-fashion feature. Sadly, we were unable to coordinate with them, though we are happy to report they’re in the process of producing a spring ‘08 line, which we hope to include in our pages during the coming months.
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