Cassie Stevenson of Degree 6 Clothing

For December, we caught up with Cassie Stevenson, co-founder of Degree 6 Clothing to learn about bamboo clothes, cotton’s insatiable thirst and why there’s more to six degrees of separation than Kevin Bacon…

We love your clothes! How did you get started in the fashion business?
The decision to start fashion school was prompted by a study abroad trip to London while I was attending Chapman University. My advertising classes were in the same building as the fashion design classes. I found myself much more interested in what the fashion design students were doing than the PR/Advertising courses I had signed up for. I worked hard to finish my degree early and graduate from Chapman so I could attend FIDM. I was lucky to get an amazing internship with Modern Amusement, which I had the entire time I was at FIDM. I learned a lot about every aspect of the industry while at Modern Amusement, which prepped me for creating my own line, Degree 6. I also had a job as a buyer for a boutique in Beverly Hills, in which I learned a lot about the other side of the business. This gave me insight into positioning my line better for buyers and consumers.

Do you design the clothes yourself?
I do design each piece myself. I work with my pattern maker on each each style from start to finish until all details are perfect and ready for production.

Each piece in the collection features a Green Facts label – how did that happen?
The tag was an extremely important aspect to each piece in the line. One of our goals with Degree 6 was to make the environmental issues that we support easy for the consumer to understand. One thing that everyone understands is “nutrition facts.” In the same way that each box of food is labeled with “nutrition facts” which contain its ingredients, we did the same with our “Green Facts” label in order for the consumer to understand the ingredients of each Degree 6 garment.

Why bamboo?
The Bamboo Sorona is by far my favorite fabric to work with. There is really no comparison to any other fabric for a Tshirt, from the way it feels to the way it lays against the body. The Bamboo has a unique soft and silky feel, and is just as durable if not more than any other Tshirt fabric. However, the most important quality of Bamboo is its sustainability. To produce a Bamboo T-shirt requires 35 gallons of water compared to the 750 gallons of water it takes to produce a single cotton T shirt.

Do you wear your own clothes?
I do wear my own clothes. I love to comfy T’s for any occassion, whether is casual day wear or to dress it up at night, so my line is actually perfect for my style.

What is your favorite D6 piece?
I love each of the styles for different reasons, but I would have to say the Boyfriend T is my #1 because it is so versatile and is sexy and comfortable at the same time.

D6 stands for Degree Six, a reference to six degrees of separation. What does this mean to you?
I believe that everything each person does each day can effect the people and the environment around them. There are simple choices that people can make everyday to make a positive impact. A choice as simple as buying a bamboo Tee, rather than one made from conventional cotton can save over 700 gallons of water.

Have you ever played the Kevin Bacon game?
No, but I want to. Who should we start with?

You come from Portland, one of America ’s greenest cities. Do you find it more difficult to be green in your current hometown of Los Angeles?
Portland definitely has a heads up on LA as far as living “Green.” I continue to do the same things I did growing up in Portland, although they do not seem to encouraged in quite the same way. It is habit for me to recycle cans, plastic, paper, etc. As well as conserve energy by always turning the lights and electronics off when not in use, and not leaving the water running more than I need. However, I have seen more of a push for “green living” in Los Angeles in the past year than before. There are many more businesses taking action to do good for the environment and more products offered that are recycled and eco-friendly.

What’s your favorite green living tip for this ultra-consumptive time of year?
REUSABLE BAGS when shopping!!!!

Are you hoping to find anything special under the tree this year?
A puppy!!

What’s next for you and D6?
At this moment I am focused on developing the Mens and Womens collections further and incorporating recycled clothing in a few of the new styles as well as keeping busy with the launch of our D6 Baby collection.

For more on Cassie and the ultra-soft, ultra-cool D6 clothing line, check out the company’s website.