Green is the New Black

As you may have noticed, our favorite fashion designers aren't exactly ahead of the curve when it comes to going green. Now, designers are just starting to get going with protecting the planet. But the good news is that they are at least starting to try.

Before there was the fear of looking to much like a hippie when being environmentally friendly, but as being environmentally friendly is becoming hip, the fashion designers are beginning to realize that it's hip for fashion to be green too.

What they are starting to do

Now that they've finally realized something needs to be done, they've started trying. Apparel is being made with textiles made with bamboo, seaweed, and other sturdy plants that don't require any nasty fertilizer or pesticides. They're also dyeing their fabrics with nontoxic pigments. These make major differences, since the poison in fertilizer, pesticides, and toxic dyes will run off into our environment, killing plants and animals. Some designers are also using recycled trims and fabrics in their designs.

Consumers want it, too!

According to a survey by NPD Group of 67,000 consumers, interest in buying organic fashion products increased from 6% in 2004 to 18% 2006. That may still seem small, but it's a big jump. And considering that are planet is also taking big jumps in a deteriorating environment, that interest in organic fashion may continue jumping too. If it continues at this rate, by 2012 50% of the population will be interested in buying environmentally friendly clothing. And it won't be long after when it'll be the only stylish thing to wear "green" clothes. Consumers already are willing to pay 24% more for eco-friendly apparel.

What to Look For

Next time you hit the mall, make sure to keep these textiles in mind when searching for environmentally safe clothing:

• Wool: But only sometimes. It may not be such a green choice when it is produced by farm factories, as the treatment of the animals is basically torture. If you want wool, try to make sure it is a caring manufacturer (if possible!). Also, the wool may be bleached a pure white. That's not great either, so try and get a nice wool that's a natural color, although there will be plenty of cases when the wool was not bleached or other things like that.
• Organic Cotton: When grown organically, cotton is spectacular!!! But non-organic cotton uses 22.5 percent of all the insecticides used globally, requires 257 gallons of water for just one t-shirt, and it needs to be bleached and dyed. But organic cotton is just fine! There are even some species that will naturally grow colored, like how the Aztecs grew their cotton.
• Soy Silk: This snazzy fiber is made from the by-products of making tofu. It's high protein content makes it great for natural dyes, too!
• INGEO™ CORN FIBER: Sounds to me like fashions twin for Ethanol, as both use corn. This is made by extracting the starches and sugars from corn and then processing it.
• Bamboo: While some aspects aren't so great, bamboo is on the eco-friendly list. It is highly renewable, as it can grow over a foot a day! It also has antibacterial properties and is biodegradable.
• FORTREL EcoSpun™: This is made from recycling plastic bottles to create a fleece. It is very warm and durable!

And here are a a few of the designers that happen to be using these nice products:

• Viridis Luxe
• White + Warren
• Katherine Hamnett
• Noir
• Organic
• Bahar Shahpar
• Linda Loudermilk
• Stewart + Brown
• Sworn Virgins

Green Fashion Websites

These websites sell eco-friendly clothes, and these clothes are especially cute, too! I'll keep adding to this list as I find more!

• Simple Shoes

Bibliography

These are my sources. Make sure to check them out for much more detail on this subject!

Binkley, Christina. "Green Jeans: Why Designers Are Late to Eco Game." Wall Street Journal Tuesday, April 19, 2007: New York City - Personal Journal (Section D), D1 and D10.

"Eco-friendly / Environmentally-friendly Fasion (Clothing and Textiles)- Natural Healthcare.ca." Natural Healthcare. Online. 2007 <http://naturalhealthcare.ca/fashion.phtml> 28 April 2007.