Started in 2011 by four friends who had no experience in fashion or production, Cielbleu was created by a desire to prove quality merchandise can be produced at fair prices and conditions. They found Switzerland was the perfect place to produce excellent product with a soul rather than mass-producing goods that have no story behind them. Check out what one of the creators Francois Heitz has to say about the green lifestyle and how to incorporate it into your every day in this exclusive interview.

What is your #1 eco tip? Be curious. Your new t-shirt presumably collected more airline miles than you, so ask yourself, "does this make the shirt better?" Wonder why someone in Asia needs to work with wool from South America on something you buy in Europe. You will quickly realize there are strange things going on. If you want to change something, curiosity is the starting point.

How do you incorporate eco-consciousness into your style? In general, we try to by aware about who manufactured a product and where. So many textile and clothing companies have outsourced their manufacturing processes to countries like China, Sri Lanka or Cambodia because labor is cheap. There is nothing wrong with producing in these places, but companies must engage in fair trade and make sure their laborers are working under humane and favorable conditions.

In our daily lives, we shop locally because it not only helps local artists and producers in need of business and gives us the chance to get in touch with the people and the story behind a product, but it also reduces traffic, smog and other pesky disturbances that come from trucking goods across the world.

At Cielbleu, despite the fact we dont like that everything is labeled eco these days, we try to be sustainable to the core. We want you to love our handmade cashmere goods because of the way it feels on your skin and the way it looks while youre wearing it not just because its labeled as green. We want to give you a piece of clothing you can keep, treasure and not even think of throwing away.

What are some easy ways to incorporate more eco-consciousness into our busy city lives? We try to calm down and become more relaxed about eco. While were buzzing around, we get flooded with advice on how we should live, what we should do and where we should buy. Theres a group of experts for everything, often just a click away, so its easy to jump on someone elses opinion. Instead, we should relearn to use our own brain. If were curious, inquisitive and leery, we will realize there are far more reasons for being green than for the contrary. What other websites do you go to for inspiration? http://needswants.com/

http://hopehope.ch

http://eccoeco.blogspot.com/

http://www.foundbyjames.com/

http://www.thefancy.com/