Beth Doane, Rain Tees  Founder and Designer and Founding Owner of Andira International.

Rain Tees is a 100% organic luxury line of apparel and accessories featuring artwork drawn by children living in our world’s most endangered tropical rainforests. Every piece sold plants a tree in Central America while educating consumers on the environment. Andira International is my consulting and import/distribution firm where I work with a wide range of clients on everything from how to make products as planet conscious as possible to how to create branding that reflects those environmental commitments.

1. What types of eco-divalicious things do you do in your daily life?

I grew up on a small farm so things like composting, having a vegetable garden, collecting and utilizing rainwater and even using a clothesline all summer and natural dyes from plants to make art have been concepts I have explored or practiced since I was young. I can thank my mom for a lot of that!  I also choose not to eat meat because of its profound negative impact on our planet and I look for products that are not just recycled but are also designed for re-use. I am a huge fan of “cradle to cradle” philosophy when it comes to what we purchase!

2. How do you apply being an EcoDiva to your business?

My business is really just an extension of who I am as a person so when it comes to how I do business my eco beliefs tend to shine through.

3. What made you decide to get into Eco-design?  And what makes your work special?

I was in fashion for two years before I literally became sick and tired of seeing the immense waste, pollution, toxicity and lack of awareness that designers and manufactures alike seemed to be dealing with while producing their brands. I knew there needed to be more education on planet conscious ways to make our apparel and also the adaptation of new trends and methods for promoting and retailing what we purchase. I mean, really, why on earth do we need formaldehyde in our pants and carcinogenic dyes in our jeans?  I knew there had to be a better way-and there is! This is why I created my own eco conscious brand and devote much of my time to consulting with designers and companies on how to green their lines as well.

4. What fun, fabulous and fashionable tips do you have to share with other EcoDivas and EcoDivas-in-training?

Well, at Rain Tees we mix fashion with conservation by educating our customers through apparel on how to save the planet-and especially our endangered tropical forests. Here is a quick list of the simple rules we love at Rain Tees for Rain Forest Conservation taken from our blog at http://raintees.com/index.php/blog/

1. We swear by 100% post consumer recycled paper or tree free paper grown and harvested sustainably. We also always look for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification on all our wood products and paper.

2. Be careful about consuming red meat. Thousands of acres of endangered forests are cleared for cattle ranching or burned illegally for large farming operations. Know where your meat is coming from or cut it out completely. This goes for leather products, as well, which can also come straight from rain forest cattle.

3. Cut back on oil and plastic products. Billions of gallons of oil have leaked into the Amazon illegally from oil companies who supply us with our gasoline and plastic products. The less we use the better.

4. Start checking for palm oil in your products. This sneaky culprit is in everything from girl scout cookies to hair products, and even small bits are likely to have killed monkeys and forced indigenous tribes from their native land. Check out http://raintees.com/index.php/blog/the_pitfalls_of_palm_oil/ for more info.

5.Buy eco apparel and organic household products so that we send a constant message to companies that we care about what we put on our bodies and into our earth. Organic apparel is free of toxic pesticides and contaminates that can gravely harm farmers and their families.

5. (To help alleviate eco-anxiety – no one can do everything, but everyone can do something)  What’s one thing you can’t quite give up or change to be more eco (yet)?

Sometimes it’s just hard to buy local when it comes to produce! I love tropical fruits and even things like lentils and carrots are not produced locally in winter months in many places so it’s a constant challenge.