Summer Rayne Oakes is often referred to as the world's first eco-model for her work with environmentally and socially conscious companies and designers. Her latest project tries to unite those players and create the world's first online marketplace where designers can search and source sustainable textiles.

 

It's called Source4Style — and while currently in beta, will be wide open this fall.

 

"We now have 1,000+ sustainable materials on our site that are searchable and purchasable," Summer recently wrote. "Even though we have more to add, we’re going to work with our current suppliers to populate the product pages with more information so that you have everything at your fingertips — from weight, weave and price to country of origin, minimums and lead/ship times."

 

Summer's decision to launch Source4Style is prescient, as the fashion industry slowly embraces sustainable and animal-friendly products. Concerns that eco-friendly threads can't compete with more traditional fibers are starting to fall to the wayside — and there's sure to be an increase in demand for quality sourcing.

 

I look forward to seeing "Source" come out of beta this fall. Hopefully, like many other projects Summer has pursued, this will be another successful effort.