Socially Conscious Fashion Goes Mainstream

New York fashionistas are celebrating the arrival of The Andean Collection (The AC)- a fair trade jewelry collection that brings chic, socially conscious fashion to the mainstream.

The newest player in eco fashion, The AC is a fair trade jewelry company that makes its handcrafted product line with eco-friendly materials from the rainforests of South America and ensures a living wage for its artisans.

Designer Amanda Judge founded The AC in September 2008 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The jewelry is sold in high-end boutiques and is available online and in 30 retail outlets in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York.

Bright, colorful and fashion forward, its designers say the jewelry is making great strides to bring eco-friendly, fair trade jewelry into the mainstream through “smart design”. The collection introduces materials rarely seen in the U.S. jewelry market, but used for centuries in traditional Andean jewelry making. These include aÃ