Organic clothing line takes off in Utah

Brittany Olsen and Havilah Mills are counting on their new clothing line to reshape the way consumers think about their health and the planet, one T-shirt at a time.

The two twentysomethings are owners of The Green Element, which sells tanks, T-shirts, hoodies, hats and a women's underwear line called Eco-Booty -- all made with organic cotton and water-based inks.

Launched in March, The Green Element is a hit at local summer markets and is carried in three Utah retail stores, with plans in the works to expand to Portland, Ore., and Denver, Colo.

For Olsen and Mills, selling the importance of an organic clothing ethic is just as important as selling clothes.

"Part of our mission overall from Day One,

it was absolutely education," Mills said. "We want it to be a lifestyle. We want you to purchase an organic shirt and wear it just as you would purchase eco-friendly laundry detergent or organic soaps. We want it to just become part of your purchasing behavior."

The two met in business school at the University of Utah where, among other things, they were drawn to stories of entrepreneurs and also learned neither wanted a career built around a 9-to-5 office job.

"Our generation can't handle working and being loyal to a company," Olsen said, citing studies that find the Millennial Generation will change jobs seven times during their work years.

Both also have role models in fathers who own construction businesses.

"We grew up with parents who had that same free spirit and the idea they wanted to build a life for themselves and their family," Mills said.

But their entrepreneurial partnership wasn't hatched until after graduating in 2006, when they took a month-long backpacking trip across Europe.

Their vision wasn't just about having their own business. They wanted, Mills said, to make a difference -- to help their community, help people be more healthy and contribute to the health of the planet.

Their first business ideas centered on organic food, a cafe perhaps, and recyclable to-go containers.

They put together a 48-page business plan for an organic cafe before reality set in: Neither had any food service experience and, more important, owning a cafe wouldn't provide the travel opportunities and flexible schedules they wanted.

As they brainstormed other ways to engage in a green and sustainable lifestyle, Mills had an Aha! moment. Already a devotee of eco-friendly products, she was shopping online for clothes when she decided to search for items that were organic, sweatshop-free, fair trade and local.

"I couldn't find anything I would have personally worn that conveyed my style," said Mills, 23.

She didn't want to advertise a green ethic with a T-shirt that said "Recycle" or "Bummer" under a picture of a Hummer.

"That's not who we are," Olsen added.

Plus, the items Mills did find were "so outrageous in price that it was completely out of my range. It was more that couture, celebrity style."

Their vision: Create organic, eco-friendly clothing that is fashionable, geared to their age group and reasonably priced.

"You can be eco-friendly and not wear a burlap sack," said Olsen, 24.

It took about a year to get the business launched as they researched organic cotton and water-based inks, checked out competitors, spoke with local boutique owners and searched for suppliers. A small test run in February 2008 convinced them they were on to something.

In fact, there is a growing movement behind the use of organic cotton -- cotton that has not been genetically modified or grown with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. According to the Organic Trade Association, production of organic fiber linens and clothing grew 26 percent in the United States from 2005 to 2006, even though organic cotton is currently more expensive to produce. Patagonia took a lead among clothing manufacturers when it converted its sportswear line to organically grown cotton in 1996; American Apparel also offers a "Sustainable Edition" clothing line.

The two Salt Lake City women found a supplier in Los Angeles who provides blank organic cotton clothing and does screen printing with water-based inks. They contract with three artists -- including a tattoo artist and U. art student -- who, along with Mills, come up with designs used on Green Element's products.

In setting up their business, Olsen and Mills "bootstrapped it" while drawing on the expertise of the Small Business Administration in Salt Lake City where, they laugh, they are on a first-name basis.

"We definitely took advantage of the free local resources there are," Olsen said. "We contacted old professors at the U., friends, family. It's really just about networking and talking with people. You can't just sit in your room and write a business plan and think magic's going to happen."

Neither had any equity -- "We're just your average 23- and 24-year-olds," Mills said -- but they were able to get a small business line of credit, a time-consuming process.

"We went into our business loan when times were probably at their worst," she said. "But we knew we'd make up for it in passion."

Adds Olsen: "We dream big, but we know the economy we're in."

So, yes, they continue to work their day jobs, while putting in a full-time effort on Green Element. Olsen is a marketing manager for the Gateway Mall and Mills is director of operations for the nonprofit Save Our Canyons.

Their goal, of course, is to eventually be on their own, buying directly from organic cotton farmers and producing their own expanded line of garments, while fulfilling their entrepreneurial dream and educational mission.

Mills said one customer who bought a T-shirt in the Green Element's test run later told the women it had converted her to organic clothing, which she now makes a priority when shopping.

"For one of our shirts to be the catalyst that moves somebody into conscious behavior and conscious purchasing patterns is everything to me," Mills said.