Today’s Friday Focus is a woman of all trades. Starting off in the finance world and ending up as the founder eco friendly fashion blog, Green House of Fashion, Suzanna Schumacher is actively achieving her goal for readers to dress well while minimizing their footprint. In addition to changing the world, one “healthy” outfit at a time, Suzanna is also a social media consultant. To reach her as your personal stylist, add her here!

GO TRY IT ON: Can you educate us a bit on Eco-Friendly Fashion? What exactly does it mean in terms of fabric, price, design, etc.? 

SUZANNA: The definition of eco-friendly fashion varies by person. In my opinion, there are a few elements that I deem requirements to be considered ethical, which are:

1. Material: What is it made of? Is it recycled?
2. Location: Where is it made? Is it imported or local?
3. Treatment of workers 

There is a lot of greenwashing out there (saying something is green when it’s not) so I advise people to check the label.

GO TRY IT ON: What are the best stores - both on and offline - to access Eco-Friendly Fashion?

SUZANNA: In addition to vintage and thrift shops near you, check out local spots that hand make clothing (it’s great to support local designers and artisans). FashioningChange.com, Etsy (obsessed), Juno and Jove and Future Standard are great online boutiques. Pure Citizen and Loving Eco are great sample sale sites dedicated to eco-fashion. 

GO TRY IT ON: What sparked your interest in Eco-Fashion?

SUZANNA: I realized how wasteful and irresponsible the fashion industry could be and many consumers don’t think about what goes into making the clothes they buy. Fast fashion is easy, trendy and non-committal both in style and in price, but it’s also really harmful to the environment, people and animals. I became interested in ethical fashion and independent designers who utilize sustainable processes to produce killer stuff. 

GO TRY IT ON: In your opinion, what makes a blog influential? 

SUZANNA: Having a niche content is a huge reason for the bit of success GHoF has seen. There are few personal style blogs that showcase responsible fashion. Images and text are equally important but you often don’t need a lot of text to get your point across.

GO TRY IT ON: What are your favorite blogs to read daily?

SUZANNA: My automatic go-tos are Ecouterre, EcoSalon, Who What Wear, Refinery29, RackedNY, Ecorazzi, The Sartorialist.

GO TRY IT ON: What is your favorite non fashion related site/blog to check up on daily?

SUZANNA: Apartment Therapy 

GO TRY IT ON: You have a very fashion forward out of towner visiting you and all he/she wants to do is shop. Where are you taking him/her?

SUZANNA: I’d take her to 5^th Avenue in Park Slope and hit up all the vintage shops. There are tons of them in a 10 block radius. We’d go to Beacon’s Closet, Odd Twin and Housing Works.

GO TRY IT ON: Favorite 5 restaurants in NYC?

SUZANNA:

1. Joya (Brooklyn) – has the best, inexpensive Thai food EVER
2. La Lanterna (Greenwich Village) – Amazing atmosphere, yummy pizza and post dinner drinks
3. Mad Dog & Beans (FiDi) – Delicious Mexican food on Stone Street
4. Milon (East Village) – Cheap, great Indian Food in a crazy atmosphere
5. Cafe Cluny (West Village) – awesome brunch spot  

GO TRY IT ON: Last book you read? Best book you’ve read? 

SUZANNA: The last book I read (well re-read actually), was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I should said, re-read, because I’m going back and reading the whole series. I’m that cool. I’m currently reading an amazing novel called Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese and I highly recommend it.