Spotlight On: Tree House Threads

By Shami Bery

I have been interested in and active in environmental causes since high school. As time went on, my interest in environmentalism grew. While studying at Brandeis University, my environmentalist attitude grew from simply taking classes based on environmental science, to, during my year off, spending 2 months working with Grassroots India, a non-profit organization in the Western Himalayas. Experiences like this have taught me that above all, awareness is the key to creating an environmentally conscious atmosphere. That same awareness, if marketed and promoted in the right way, can turn into conscious action and activism. This belief has brought me to where I am now.

Since 2009, I have been involved in Flight School Clothing, an urban street wear apparel company based in Boston. Our desire is to make high-end apparel available to all demographics of people. Since our conception, Flight School Clothing has expanded globally – gaining notability in Germany. At the same time, we’ve worked to grow the brand stateside through a series of promotional events and campaigns. Through my experience at Flight School Clothing I have gained many skills needed to launch, not only a clothing line, but also a brand. Using these skills, and my passion for environmentalism, I have decided to grow a brand called “Tree House Threads.” The Tree House brand and mission is the result of my environmentalist attitude and the skills learned as a part of the Flight School Clothing core team.

The goal of Tree House Threads is to present the street wear apparel industry with an environmentally conscious alternative. By pairing pro-environmental themes and designs with 100% organic and recycled materials, Tree House intends on bringing environmentalism to the forefront of the urban fashion industry. While many companies can offer fresh designs on generic fabrics, Tree House is the only company that can offer the same level of quality while using environmentally safe manufacturing and materials. In many cases, companies must sacrifice quality of design and production in the name of their environmental cause. However, Tree House has combined environmental consciousness with the ‘fly’ aesthetic you have come to expect from street wear brands, such as Flight School Clothing. By using 100% organic and recycled materials, Tree House will separate themselves from the environmentally conscious and generic urban apparel brands, by pairing modern and creative designs with organic materials.

Our long-term plan is to exclusively produce using Hemp, but we have an immediate plan to use a combination of Hemp and 100% recycled materials. The use of Hemp will be one of the major factors separating The Tree House brand from any other urban street wear line. In addition to the raw materials, our Tree House design team has come up with a set of campaigns designed to promote environmental awareness. For the winter and spring we have introduced “The Tree House,” a line of t-shirts and sticker designs based on environmental efficiency around the house – scenes of rainwater filtration and recycling are just two of the themes the winter line will discuss. Also in the following months, we have “Save The Trees,” a campaign focused on the anti-deforestation movement and the promotion of hemp as an all-natural, renewable alternative to cotton.

Though clothing is a major part of The Tree House brand’s foundation, Tree House has plans to go beyond that facet and create an interactive atmosphere where community action can blossom. The Tree House, with help from the Flight School team will hold community events based around youth involvement and community awareness. Some of these events will include artist workshops where young aspiring artists can come and get ‘tutored’ by the older generation of Boston area artists. The idea here is to create a dialogue between the generations as well as an environment where idea sharing and collaboration run rampant. In addition to artist conventions, The Tree House will take part in hands-on environmental action. We plan to work with willing non-profit organizations in the Boston area to help lead clothing based campaigns with the intent to develop action in my local urban communities.

As we have been building the company infrastructure, the design team has been working tirelessly to put together two lines of shirts and other apparel. Throughout the summer, the Flight School Clothing team has been promoting the spring line while getting prepared for the fall designs. Feel free to check out the Flight School Clothing website (www.FlightSchoolClothing.com) and be on the lookout for the Tree House Threads homepage and catalog!

 
Shami Bery, Director of Marketing for Flight School Clothing and President of Tree Life Clothing, was born in India, where he lived for two years, before moving to the USA when he was 3. Currently residing in Roxbury, a borough central to the history and geography of Boston, he has been involved with fashion (through his company Flight School Clothing) and environmental issues (through various internships, both in India and stateside) for a number of years. Upon graduation from Brandeis University, combining these two passions came to fruition with the creation of Tree Life Clothing. While continuing his fashion endeavors, Shami is currently managing two of the rising stars in the Boston area hip-hop scene.