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Eco Fashion: Are We Making A Difference?

Apr 15, 2008 Author: Jenn Breckenridge | Filed under: Eco at Large

I just wanted to take a moment to check in with you. Yes, you, the readers of this blog who represent a good slice of the eco fashion heads in the United States. I imagine you not only read In The Loop, you are in the loop on greener garment trends. Some manufacturers like Natural High Lifestyle and Patagonia, as well as customers of hemp designs and vintage clothing stores, have been leading the eco fashion pack for at least a decade or more. Most of the sustainable fashion designers and junkies in the U.S. just realized very recently what a huge impact the clothing industry has on the world at large. From the destruction of ecosystems through cotton pesticides to the abuse of children in foreign sweatshops, what we buy, sell, design, or manufacture has a massive ripple effect on society and nature. It turns out that shopping does matter after all. So as Earth Day 2008 approaches, we must pause to ponder the question…Are we making a difference? Do you notice major changes in the availability of ethically-made garments and fabrics in your neck of the woods? Do you see any improvements in the communities and ecosystems most effected by the apparel industry?

This is the beginning of a conversation with the fashion industry-those who buy, make, and sell clothing-to suss out if all this hoopla of green fashion shows, eco haute couture designs, benefits, speeches, books, blogs, podcasts, and changes in consumer habits have made a damn bit of difference. Please leave a comment below and let us know what you see happening (or not happening) with eco fashion in your area…and your closet. Or, if you’re feeling super spunky, send us your perspective with a few photos and we’ll post it here on In The Loop.

Seriously, leave a comment, don’t be afraid. It’ll take two minutes and we’ll love you for it. The Comments section is just below this photo, right down…there↓. Thanks.

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15 Responses for "Eco Fashion: Are We Making A Difference?"

Jenn Breckenridge April 15th, 2008 at 12:53 pm 1

One serious sign of improvement I’ve seen: the organic cotton industry has grown by 53% in the last two years…http://thegreenloopblog.com/2008/01/the-organic-cotton-market-grows-and-grows-and-grows/
Aysia Wright April 15th, 2008 at 1:22 pm 2

Nice topic to broach Jenn, especially in light of many articles I have read recently that question how much good any type of consumption can be for the environment, even if it IS green. So here are my thoughts here…as wandering as they may be.

We have to start somewhere in addressing the morass of environmental nightmares we have created, and from where I sit, we have started. Commerce is the largest part of the global economy, and commerce has been a part of every economy since man became upright. It’s how most of us pay the bills, feed our families, get health care and ultimately survive. Sure, in an environmentally ideal world, we would all wear homespun, farm our backyards, and walk everywhere we need to go. But is this the ideal quality of life we seek? Does it have room for art? Personal expression? Creativity? Yes, you could carve wood scraps, paint hand stretched animal hides (sorry vegans) and the like. But the wow factor here for many is just not there. Sure, fashion can be shallow, catty, wasteful and downright ugly…in more ways than one, but the bottom line is that fashion is a large part of this commerce system that supports us. At the same time, it serves as an outlet for creativity and self expression - both on the part of the designers AND the wearers. Throw in there the fact that MOST of require clothing of some sort of function in modern day society (nudists aside), and fashion doesn’t look to bad. That said, the fashion industry needs to become more sustainable overall- longer lasting garments, eco-friendly textiles, protection of human rights, end of life product planning, efficient, clean manufacturing, and what have we seen? Just that. Since I launched Greenloop in 2004, at a time where just finding enough designers to fill out our offerings was a nearly insurmountable challenge, I have seen this industry explode. At this point, I receive between 10-20 new product submissions a week and MOST of them are authentically green, operating in a sustainable fashion in every capacity they can. Of course, there are a few posers in there…there always will be those trying to jump on the bandwagon without making any true commitment. We call it ‘green-washing’, and it is something we do need to watch our for. Despite this, awareness is growing; demand is growing; third parties are getting involved to ensure products are as green as they claim to be; availability of more sustainable textiles is growing; and soon, sustainable practices in the fashion industry will be a requirement for doing business. I’d say we’re doing good.

Enough rambling for now…
Marianne Drowne April 16th, 2008 at 8:54 am 3

I say “bravo” for the companies who have changed, and “pick up the pace” for those who have not.

Another environmental note is the production of garments and accessories made from endangered species: Siamese crocodiles and pythons. Tis a shame to sacrifice one species just to hold your cell phone and wallet when going out, etc.
Rob Ganger April 16th, 2008 at 12:45 pm 4

Thanks for starting the fire, Jenn! Measuring results of the burgeoning eco-fashion movement will take time as we make wholesale reevaluations of how we operate as humans on the planet. I became interested in fashion because when I stripped it down to a ‘no matter what happens’ scenario, food/water, shelter, clothing and art were what I was left with no matter what we are in for on Earth. Fashion is accessible because we all (well most) wear clothing every day, all day and we obviously purchase a ton of it. If we can get people across the globe to question where garmets are made, what their social/environmental impacts are, where profits go, are companies living up to their claims, are they good ‘corporate citizens’ with giveback and community programs etc., then I feel these questions have the potential to awaken us to ask those kinds of questions across the board about every aspect of our lives. I feel that the more people ask these types of questions of themselves, the less we will ultimately consume.
I started EcoNouveau http://www.EcoNouveau.com with the intention of artfully showcasing sustainable designers and artists/filmmakers concerned about the environment and social issues that could help us to see the world in a new way. I chose Gary Harvey to be the headliner b/c he’s a couture designer (the first international couture designer to show during LA fashion week no-less!) who works with ALL found materials. I thought this would make a powerful statement to the fashion world in kicking off LA Fashion Week and be inspiring to designers and fashionistas to see how gorgeous a gown could be using recycled/repurposed materials.
So, I think that we are on a journey here that is based upon ethics and integrity and transparency where sustainability is a process, not a destination. World changes may get a lot more dicey and change the game completely, but at minimum I am personally inspired by how many people are working/dedicating their lives to creating a more harmonious and benevolent global society. As a wise Chinese proverb goes– “we can only move the mountain one piece at a time.”
armedangels blog April 16th, 2008 at 11:33 pm 5

natural high macht kalifornische Strandkultur ökologisch verträglich

(Quelle: natural high via the green loop blog)
Mal ein kleiner Blick nach Übersee, um genau zu sein nach Kalifornien. Neben den Hollywood Stars gibt es dort auch ganz einfache Leute, die sich engagiert für nachhaltigen Umgang mit der Umwelt…
Natural High Lifestyle Making A Difference - In The Loop April 17th, 2008 at 6:10 am 6

[...] Frank Angiuli is the owner of Natural High Lifestyle, a “California Lifestyle” boutique. Natural High supplies ethical clothing, accessories, and yoga gear to the beachtown of Santa Monica, CA. They also have their own eco clothing line which they provide wholesale to quality shops like Fred Segal. Here’s what Frank had to say in response to our article earlier this week, which was a question for both ethical style creators and consumers, Eco Fashion: Are We Making A Difference? [...]
Swap-o-rama-rama: Making A Difference - In The Loop April 21st, 2008 at 6:02 am 7

[...] honor of Earth Day 2008, Greenloop begged the question of eco fashion: Are we making a difference? This series continues with this response from Wendy Tremayne, creator of Swap-O-Rama-Rama(who we [...]
Ken May 6th, 2008 at 2:25 pm 8

Organic produce/fabrics/etc are seeming to get closer to the general affordability level. That’s what we want! Hooray! I mean some days I’m at the store and I see organic food the same price as the “regular” produce… it’s going to go this way with clothing I’m sure!
joe June 26th, 2008 at 2:54 am 9

Yeah, good question. I think we are - but maybe not as much as we might like to believe. The vast majority of clothing is produced from ordinary cotton or polyester mix fabrics in average or below average factories. Ethics and environmental issues have been badged as ways to sell premium products. Which is fair enough for those involved, but not great for the rest of the people in the clothing industry and those who can’t afford the premium products.

I think we need a revolution of the way we ‘do’ ethical clothing, perhaps taking inspiration from the way the opensource movement has been able to totally change software.
Jenn Breckenridge June 29th, 2008 at 8:19 pm 10

Hey Joe- Check out Pamoyo and their use of Creative Commons licensing with their designs. Great minds do think alike.
http://thegreenloopblog.com/2008/05/creatively-uncommon-the-designers-behind-pamoyo/
3 Clothing July 2nd, 2008 at 7:05 am 11

I believe we are making an impact. We at 3 Clothing company certainly see it. We started our company in the fall of 2007. One of our biggest questions is what material we were going to use. We finally settled on organic cotton. Of course the major issue with that was the small number of suppliers. Over the last few months we have gone to “Clean” cotton, cotton that is in transition and sweatshop/child labor free. This has opened up our ability to get supplies. We have also noticed the increase in organic cotton materials.

We are even contemplating going to The Global Eco/Green Trade and Fashion Show in Vegas this year.

3 Clothing Company
“Changing the World in Style”
Veronica Cizmar July 3rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm 12

I definately see an increase in the number of vintage stores opening up–on the internet as well as on the streets. Fashion houses constantly look back to designs of yesterday for inspiration–even the larger chain stores like H&M have a vintage inspired line. If more stores open up, then more people will consider vintage instead of off-the-rack….I hope!
Cegah Satwa Punah August 13th, 2008 at 11:32 pm 13

Niche article, thanks you for write this article
Zoica August 15th, 2008 at 4:16 pm 14

Yes, indeed we are moving in the right direction, but with the fashion industry being one of the big culprits I can only admire the big steps that other countries are taking.
“As the Copenhagen’s Nordic fashion week closed on August 10, we are learning about the Nordic Fashion Association, and its goal to expand Scandinavia’s global reputation for healthy living and sustainable energy to its fashion industries.

“The ambition is to become front-runners in this area” said Danish Fashion Institute, Eva Kruse…..”
Please read more: http://www.zoicamatei.com/blog.aspx
ömer bostanci August 18th, 2008 at 2:01 pm 15

Another environmental note is the production of garments and accessories made from endangered species: Siamese crocodiles and pythons. Tis a shame to sacrifice one species just to hold your cell phone and wallet when going out, etc.

Greenloop represents the fusion of aesthetics and ethics, of style and sustainability, by providing the opportunity to look good AND do good without sacrificing your sense of style.