Parvati Magazine October 2014- Equilibrium | Page 25

FASHION
in domestically produced
quality, our country would
be a very different place.
Osmium offers a great
alternative,
beautifully
crafted clothing and footwear that encourages
guys to look twice and
buy once.
PMAG: What led you to
found the company?
MP: Like many entrepreneurs, I started Osmium
because I could not find
clothing that felt right.
Most of it felt very generic
and virtually all of it was
made in Asia. I wanted
clothing that stood out
in a quiet way, the way
Japanese
architecture
catches the eye with perfectly proportioned simplicity. I wanted clothing
that was made here and
represented my views
about doing more with
less. Having built a footwear brand (Chaco) in
the outdoor industry, I
thought I would try something a bit different.
PMAG: You use a lot of
natural fibers. What motivated this decision?

MP: Natural fibers are
more comfortable and
more aesthetically pleasing for everyday wear. I
am especially drawn to
cotton/linen and cotton/merino wool blends.
These fabrics offer the
positive attributes of both
fibers and are very comfortable. Synthetics have
their place in very technical applications, but
that is not what Osmium is
about.
PMAG: How can fashion
designers find a balance
between creating/moving a lot of product, and
respecting the environment?
MP: The mainstream fashion industry thrives on overconsumption. Trends are
designed to become obsolete quickly, encouraging more buying. Cheap
factory labor in other
countries produces low
quality goods at rock bottom prices, encouraging
consumers to buy many
garments of poor quality. Osmium is part of the
slow fashion movement,
companies that promote

the careful acquisition of
quality goods. Apparel
that prioritizes style over
fashion and quality over
bargain basement prices.
We believe it is better to
buy one quality, domestically made shirt than five,
cheap Asian made shirts
that will end up in a landfill prematurely.
PMAG: How can consumers find balance between
being on trend and keeping their fashion footprint
low?
MP: Fashion trends are designed to make what you
have obsolete so that you
will buy the latest styles.
Resisting these extremes
does not mean that we
have to dress without regard to today’s aesthetics. If we just tempered
our approach, and did
not jump so quickly and so
intensely into each trend,
our closets and landfills
would both be smaller.

Photo of Mark Paigen by Chris Coe

Mark Paigen’s first company, Chaco, produced the go-to sandal for
outdoor adventurers. After building the brand for 20 years, Paigen sold
Chaco to Wolverine World Wide in 2009. He took some time off and sailed
to the Caribbean to live with the wind and the waves before returning
to the US and starting again in Boston with Osmium. Paigen is an idealist
about product. He sees many companies growing faster by selling cheap
imports. “Growth can be addicting. It is heady place when your company
is multiplying before your eyes. The pressures can be formidable,” says
Paigen. “This time around, I will create a business that can sustain its values
for decades to come.”
For more information about Osmium, please visit www.osmium.com.