Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, The Gap, Zara, Abercrombie and Fitch, Nike, the Kardashians, and H&M. That’s just a short list of major clothing retailers who’ve been called out for their awful humanitarian policies. It’s difficult to feel good about a clothing purchase when you can’t be sure that your gorgeous new dress wasn’t produced in a brutal sweatshop. Luckily for us, there’s a young designer who’s looking to change that and more.

Abi Ferrin is now based in Dallas, Texas, but she grew up in my hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. (Yes, that’s the little ski town where Justin Timberlake proposed to Jessica Biel.) Abi, who was named Texas’ Next Top Designer in 2007, is making waves with her bold, colorful designs. But what makes her vision really unique is her business model. All Abi Ferrin garments are assembled in the USA, and each one includes a piece that was handmade by women involved with the Freedom Project. The Freedom Project is an initiative that Abi created to empower women in the US and beyond. She works with an organization that rescues women from human trafficking in Nepal and Cambodia and gives them the opportunity to work in a safe, fair trade setting. I had the chance to interview Abi and learn more about her inspiring process.

How did you get started as a designer?

Well, it actually goes back to my roots. I was in 4H in Jackson Hole. That was my only fashion training. That’s not really fashion training, but it was sewing and pattern work. I think seven was the age when we could start, so I started doing that at seven. Then, I had gotten my degree in political science and journalism, and I was working in D.C. I thought I was going to be a political journalist. But I realized that wasn’t really my calling, so I moved to LA and basically started sewing. I didn’t have a job and I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. I didn’t want to get stuck in a dead end job, working in a cubicle. So after a while, I was working at Paramount Pictures and started making a lot of clothes for myself. I grew up in Moran [Wyoming, take a look here to see what she’s talking about] – I really credit my childhood for a lot of my inspiration.

What’s a typical day in your life like now?

Well, what happened after I was in Hollywood and wearing my clothes was that celebrities started stopping me and asking me where my clothes came from, which was really cool. But the problem with celebrities is that they want free clothes, and that’s not really a way to run a business. So I moved to Dallas, and opened up a shop in my cousin’s garage. That’s where I won the Texas’ Next Top Designer award, which is what allowed things to really take off for me. Now there is now no typical day. Nordstrom picked up my line after I was selected to be the designer for the NFL players’ wives during the Super Bowl last year. This year we’ve really built a revenue stream and client base. Up until this year the other girls on the team were doing two or three jobs each, but now we have a team of twelve people, and we’ve been able to support a business in Cambodia that rescues women out of trafficking. I’m the CEO and lead designer, so a lot of what I do is managing people, as well as getting inspiration for designs.

Tell me about the Freedom Project. How is it integrated into the production of your line?

When I was in Hollywood I fell into a really bad relationship, and afterward I basically realized that I could either feel sorry for myself, or focus on people who had it a lot worse than I did. My sister introduced me to these organizations, there’s one in Nepal and one in Cambodia, that rescue women from trafficking. And also indentured servitude – there are lots of people who are stuck working as indentured servants in garment factories. We provide them with a stream of revenue, order from them, and help shape their design. We have this signature 5-way dress, and this year we’re making it into a collaborative project. It’s going to be made from t-shirt material, and it will be completely produced by these women. They make clutches for me already. I actually got to go meet them in October. It’s so interesting to see the range of what we’ve been able to help them do, because now the girls are so passionate and excited about helping others. The other thing that I do so I can guarantee that we get an order in to them each month, is that each garment that we sell has a button on the tag that they’ve produced. We sell an average of 2,000 garments each month, so at least they have those 2,000 buttons, and usually it’s more like 3,000 or 4,000.

Tell me a bit about what is involved in creating a fashion line from the time you first design all the pieces to when they end up in stores.

It’s an intense process. My team really focuses on the creation, so it’s not, “Oh, let’s see what Diane von Furstenberg sent down the runway” and then copy that. Our Spring 2013 collection was inspired by my new-found love for scuba diving. So for example, I just took this trip to Cayman, where I got all this inspiration. Then the design team starts to gather these thoughts and inspirations. We try to create our own prints and textiles, and then we start building our collection. We start with our skeleton structure, so say we need 10 dresses, 8 tops, 4 bottoms that link back to those tops. Then we start working on designs and figure out themes. Our Fall 2012 collection is very hippie-themed and 70s inspired. We have this cork board in our office, and we’re always putting things up there. We leave the things up that we like, and take things down that don’t work or don’t fit. We have an archive closet, so we can pull out past designs that we could base something off of, that people have really liked and asked to see again. We don’t want to do the same thing, but people don’t want the collection to look completely different every season. First, we make a design out of muslin fabric. We try it on different body types, keep adjusting the patterns, and revising. Usually each design goes through about three muslins. Then we pick fabrics, usually pre-bought fabrics, and have a team pow-wow. Members of the staff who aren’t on the design team come in, because they’re all interested in fashion and they have opinions. Then we make the final design and put together our packages. Every February and September we come to New York for coterie, and that’s when buyers come and choose the pieces they want. Nordstrom usually comes to us directly – just recently I flew to Seattle to show them the pieces they’re getting.

You seem to work with a lot of bold colors and patterns. Is there something in particular that attracts you to that aesthetic, or is that just the way you’ve always designed?

It’s the way I’ve always designed. My first three collections didn’t have any black. Now, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate slimming effects of black. And as a designer, you have to put black in a collection because it sells. But I’m crazy about color and bold, bright prints. Prints are popular, then they’re not popular, bold colors are popular, then they’re not. But I think women love it regardless. They’ve been buying the bright colors and prints all along whether or not they’re popular that year.

Do you have a favorite piece you’ve designed?

The 5-way dress is really the star… We’re really excited this season, because we need something new to talk about. So this spring we’re doing a color block 5-way Nikki dress. The 5-way dress is the Nikki dress. We name all our clothes after people.

What have you got coming up this year?

I get to go back to Cambodia in March. We’re getting ready to expand the Freedom Project, build more facilities, and empower more women and men – because it’s not just women, there are men working there, too – and create more opportunities for fair trade… And another exciting thing is that I’m being featured a design event in Dallas. It’s to raise money for Livestrong, Lance Armstrong’s foundation. And right now we’re really just closing up one year and starting another.

For more information about Abi, check out her website and find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. When she’s not dancing or writing, she can be found exploring the city, and let’s be honest, spending way too much time on the internet. Follow her @garnethenderson.

The holiday seasons are all about eating too many dips, spending way too much money on frenemy gifts, and watching Elf on repeat. This year we’re prepared to take the stress and the frustration out of holiday gift giving by giving you the ultimate gift guides to buying the perfect presents for your favorite people (and we’re splitting into 3 different price ranges so you can choose the gift based on how much you actually like the person!).

So set this series as your favorite because all week we’re bringing you the best.

As many retailers start advertising Christmas before you’ve even begun planning your Halloween costume, it’s often hard to look past the consumerism of the holiday. Giving gifts is a nice gesture – you get to show the people you care about that you appreciate them and it can be fun trying to pick out something you know they’ll like. At the same time, Christmas is obviously big business – a lot of money is exchanged during the holiday season. Yes, you’ll probably continue to buy gifts (I know I do) even if you could just make donations in people’s names, or dispense the practice of gift-giving all together.

You can however, give gifts that both help out a cause, while still treating someone you care about to something nice.

When you’re out doing your Christmas shopping this year, look for gifts that continue to give (and I’m not talking as a re-gift). Some companies provide charitable gifts – a different approach than making a donation in someone’s name, you can give a gift that where proceeds go to a charity or a gift that helps fairly employ someone in a developing country. While giving donations for people is an amazing gift, I know there are times when you feel like you should be giving them something tangible instead.  We’ve found nine gifts at various price points to help you give a gift that keeps giving back! There are a lot of options out there, find something your gift receiver will like or a cause they support.

[Click on any photo below to start the gallery.]

Get even more gift giving inspiration in CollegeCandy’s Holiday Central!

Whenever I go to the grocery store, I always try my best to load my cart with socially responsible products.  Cage free eggs?  Uh, yeah why not?  Organic lettuce? Sure, throw that on in there.

The truth is, though, up until recently, I didn’t really know what these things meant.  They’ve just been over-marketed so that I think I’m doing good when really I may just be wasting money.  That’s why I formulated a mini label guide for all of your shopping needs.

Hint:  don’t waste your money on the “organic” Oreos!

“Organic”: Now these babies can be tricky.  In order to determine exactly what you’re eating, you have to read the package carefully.  There are 3 basic types of organic labeling that you may see in your local grocery store.
1. 100% organic:  This one is pretty straight forward.  If it says the product is 100% organic, then all of the ingredients, except water and salt, are grown and processed organically.
2. Organic:  Organic is simply the weak-sauce version of 100% organic products.  These products must contain 95% organic ingredients in order to obtain an organic label.  According to the USDA, all other ingredients must be on “the list” of foods that are unavailable in an organic form at the present time.
3. Made with organic ingredients:  This label is just a fancy way of saying “we’re just putting this on our label so you’ll buy it and think you’re doing something good for the environment.”  Under this labeling, 70% of ingredients must be made with organic ingredients, but the law leaves much for interpretation in how the product may advertise its organic-ness.  My advice? Go for the other two if you really want to make a difference.

Fair trade:  Fair trade is built on the principles of respect in trading partnerships, usually through higher wages and economic self-sufficiency for overseas workers.  However, there are no set guidelines for fair trade labeling like there are for organic products.  A fair trade inspection committee, known as FLO-CERT, inspects companies to make sure they have “a quality management system, transparency in all processes, and independence in certification decision making” before giving out a certification.  Although these are vague terms, free trade can be worth it if it has the official sticker on it.  If not, there really is no way to tell whether or not fair practices are in place.

Free range: In theory, “free range” indicates that livestock are allowed to roam freely instead of being in cages before slaughtering.  The USDA, however, does not have a set definition or any sort of regulation for free-range animals and for egg production.  Thus, free range labeling is entirely unregulated and really doesn’t mean much when it comes to your food.  Save your money on these are look for more meaningful labels, such as “grass fed” (see below).

Grass fed: Unlike free range, the USDA has actually formulated a substantial definition of what constitutes “grass fed.”  According to this definition, livestock must be grass fed for their entire lives – pasture included! That means there are no scary antibiotics or other chemicals in the food you’re about to put in your body.  Although some argue that there are loopholes in grass fed labeling, it sure is a heck of a lot better than free range!

So yeah, this is a lot of great information, but how does it relate to the environment?  It actually has everything to do with the environment!  As a rule of thumb, you can consider everything that takes a step back from our highly industrialized economy a step forward for the good of the environment.  In other words, the more natural our food production processes are and the less harmful chemicals, pesticides, and pollution are used, the happier our planet is!

If I needed to name one food substance I absolutely could not live without, I’m pretty sure it would be chocolate. My weapon of choice is dark chocolate, as dark as possible…I’ve had up to 88% cocoa and thought it was fantastic. Espresso or coffee mixed with dark chocolate is also possibly one of the best things on Earth.

I’m ashamed to admit that I actually believe this, but I think the chocolate I buy has medicinal qualities.

If I have a stomachache, I eat half a square and start to feel better almost instantly. If I’m feeling just crummy in general, even a little nibble can be enough to perk me up. Part of the reason my chocolate is so magical, I think, is because I don’t waste my dollars buying Hershey’s, which is like flavored candle wax to the dark chocolate connoisseur. Hershey’s has recently tried to go all high-class with their Cacao Reserve line, but let’s not kid ourselves. It’s basically the same stuff in more refined packaging.

No, when I spring for chocolate, I spring for the good stuff. Here are a few of my favorites and the reasons why they’re so fantastic.

Green & Black’s Organic: This stuff is heavenly. The espresso bar is fantastic, because they grind the coffee beans so finely you can’t even tell they’re there—you’re just left with a lingering, amazingly perfect ratio of coffee and dark chocolate. Green & Black’s also uses all organic materials to make their chocolates, so you can be sure that what you’re eating is fresh and natural.

Theo Chocolate: Oh, Theo Chocolate, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. First of all, this is the finest quality of dark chocolate I’ve ever tasted. I know it’s good because I only need a small fraction of a square to satisfy my chocolate craving. Secondly, Theo specializes in dark chocolate—it’s all they make. And, finally, all the chocolate they make is Fair Trade Certified, which makes me feel so much better about paying $5 a bar.

Godiva: How can you expect anything less than excellence from a chocolate with “God” in its name? Godiva delivers an amazing and delicious contrast of sweetness and bitterness in their Chocoiste dark chocolate collection of bars (especially the dark chocolate and raspberry…swoon). But the real winner for decadence is the Godiva Chocolate Raspberry Truffle ice cream. I can’t even describe it…you just need to taste it.

And oh my gosh, their hot cocoa. The Dark Chocolate Truffle canister of hot cocoa is one of the best purchases you will ever make in your entire life. SO, SO WORTH IT.

Got any other chocolate tips/products? You know I’m dying to hear them!!