Will the Fashion Industry Ever Achieve Sustainability?
It’s an uphill battle for many designers to “go green.”
Some walk the talk more than others.
I caught up with three pioneering eco-designers and asked them if the eco-fashion industry is simply lost in a waste-stream of organic textiles or if it is actually possible for the industry to slim down a bit.
Here’s what they had to say:
Sandy of EcoSkin:
As this question is so broad it is difficult for me to give a specific answer, but what I can do is hopefully provide some insight into this issue for EcoSalon readers.
The fashion industry as a whole may never “go green” because the demand for inexpensive clothing and the American way of having more for less is still very present today. Even with the onslaught of green designers and the incredible movement we have seen these past several years of men and women like me taking a stance on social and environmental responsibility, there are still and will likely always be consumers who choose the other option.
I feel like I am kind of preaching to the choir because EcoSalon readers already understand the importance of the fashion industry going green, and what is going to actually move this process forward is education of those who do not care or understand the purpose of green fashion.
All I can do is focus on keeping my carbon footprint smallest, and providing those who do want to see green fashion thrive with an affordable, high-quality, fashion-forward product, and encourage the growth and sustainability of this industry.
Of course I believe in it, and you believe in it, but for the fashion industry to go green as a whole, we will need to move the rest of the world into this mindset. I believe it is possible though, which is why I started EcoSkin. I knew a contemporary label could be produced entirely eco, and therefore, “why not?”
It is up to the consumer in the end to make a choice between the labels that are green and the labels that are not. When the American public and its influencers in government and, I’ll say it, Hollywood, demand eco fashion, the industry will follow and this has thankfully already begun.
Lara of Lara Miller:
Absolutely not impossible. Sustainability is comprised of three main factors in my opinion – economy, environment, and social good. Economy is what will drive the industry to be more eco-concious.
Recycling and engineering will be the future of our fibers. We need synthetic fibers, we cannot pretend that we do not – performance fabrics for athletics and various other industries. We want the varieties of fabrics as designers to allow for shine, stretch, and individuality.
Right now eco-designers have to be creative with what’s available. But our options continue to grow and expand as the consumer demand does. In just four short years I am amazed by the variety of textiles that have become available… in the next 10 years I truly see the sewn products industry using 75 percent recycled, organic, or renewable resources for fibers. Green choices simply make economic sense – thankfully – and those of us who are passionate about our environment will see the shift in the fashion industry that has been notoriously wasteful for way too long.
Lindsey of Reif Designs:
I don’t think it’s impossible for the fashion industry to go green, but it will take a very long time to get everyone on the same page. Given the fact that as designers we are in the business of creating new things, and we make our livings off of getting people to buy new clothes, rather than used, our definition of green can be very narrow or very broad, but there are steps that every designer large or small can take to work towards a more sustainable industry.
One of the biggest things I noticed when I started my line was the staggering amount of fabric that is wasted in production. Even the most precise cuts will yield waste, and the more garments produced the more there will be.
My first collection did a really small run, like 50 garments total, and I had 4 bags of scrap fabric from my floor cuts. These are pieces that can’t really be used for anything else but I couldn’t bear to throw them away. My solution was to post an ad on Craigslist offering the fabric to local crafters. I received 32 emails in 2 hours, and was not only able to give the bags of scraps homes, but I felt good knowing that the fabric was going to be used for some good. One recipient, for example, makes quilts for people in nursing homes, and another makes cat beds for cats waiting to be adopted at a shelter.
Another thing that I toil with as a designer is using newly produced fabrics. Regardless of how sustainable the fabric is, it is still brand new fabric, and there are warehouses full of fabric that has already been created and isn’t being used. I buy a lot of fabric end-run, and while some may say not like that its not organic, the fabric is just as sustainable as organic cottons and jerseys, possibly more so, because it’s keeping fabric out of landfills and using what we already have rather than producing new.
Plus, I find some great fabrics that way! There is a place here in Portland, for example, that buys leftover performance and outdoor fabrics from companies like Patagonia and Columbia. These are huge companies, and they might have 100 yards of a particular fabric that they can’t use any more, but for a small designer this is more than enough to create and produce a collection. These fabrics are also really durable and great for climates like the Pacific Northwest. These fabrics round out my collection, and I am able to provide customers with cool prints, colors and textures that I can’t get in sustainable textiles.
Image: Vincent Boiteau
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5 Comments
May 23rd, 2009 at 2:36 am
Cost is something I grapple with. I want my clothes to be sustainable and I can see the logic in ‘investing’ in good quality clothes rather than having a lot of cheap stuff and nothing to wear.
My first problem is that I’m clumsy and despite my best efforts, I unfortunately often tear or stain my everyday clothing. I’m capable of taking care of my best clothes, but I don’t seem to be able to sustain that to everyday life. So I don’t want to spend too much on my everyday clothes. Yet I do know that this is where I can make the most difference as changing the stuff I buy and use all the time will have a bigger impact than buying a one-off investment piece.
The second problem is philosophical. I’ve put time into earning the money to buy clothing. It seems wasteful to me to spend too much money unless I’ll get a reasonable cost-per-wear return. Just like the materials and labour, my time is also a natural resource and shouldn’t be wasted. I’m prepared to spend more money to meet environmental standards – just like I buy organic food. But I’m not prepared to spend many times more money. I don’t normally buy designer clothing at all, eco or not, as beautiful as it might be.
I don’t know the answer but as I’m probably better off and less cost conscious than the average consumer, as well as more environmentally aware, I don’t think I’m alone with this problem. It’s fabulous to have eco fashion designers to lead the way and I hope that their example, and the desirability of their product, rubs off on the bottom end of the market.
Ultimately we need to remove the worst of the unsustainable stuff from the chain until we get to the point where everything is reasonably green. If market forces and consumer choice don’t get us there quickly enough, should lawmakers step in?
It’s not impossible to make more of the basic stuff greener. Marks & Spencer, a department store in the UK, has introduced organic cotton t-shirts into their range, which I seem to recall are only £2 more than the non-organic t-shirts. They did that before the recession though, so I don’t know how it’s going.
May 23rd, 2009 at 8:17 pm
I think its totally possible for the fashion industry to slim down and be more green. But the consumer must demand it, after all the consumer is the one that runs any market!
Miguel’s last blog post..Fashion Video:Bridal Fashion
May 24th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Yes and no. Consumers run the market unless there are intervening forces (both good and bad), such as monopoly or government regulation.
Consumer demand for cheap cotton and sugar kept the slave trade in the US and all over the British Empire. Slavery wasn’t ended because people stopped buying the products. It ended because of political action (parliamentary action in the UK and the Civil War in the US).
Caitlin’s last blog post..Photo Friday: Narrowboats at King’s Cross
May 25th, 2009 at 5:59 am
Thanks Caitlin and Miguel.
Most of my closet is eco and luckily Caitlin, I DON’T spill stuff all over me! Can’t say as much for my husband….
So, I know lots of designers and get great deals on clothes (lucky me) but the other part of my closet is vintage and consignment.
Thankfully, those clothes allow me to expand my closet and fill the voids for everyday wear, not everything needs to be new. Find a great seller on Ebay and you’ve got yourself a new store.
True, the shift in the eco fashion conscience will be a shift in how things are run. Understand, the designers are more than ready to offer their clothing at lower prices but they too battle manufacturing and dyeing dilemmas. Their time and work is also worth a lot to them and they have to make a living.
We all take our part of the eco-movement differently.
Where you maybe value organic foods more, I value the clothes and designers. What we both need to do is embrace all parts whole of the eco-movement?
It’s hard to do it all but we both do our best right?
Miguel, I believe the consumer does have a hand in how things are run to a degree and once the clothing industry has some recognizable consumer standards and opportunities to buy sustainable at different price points, eco-fashion will just be seen as a luxury.
Change will come, be sure of that.
August 16th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I dont see why the entire industry cannot be sustainable.
I mean, if you see today’s eco fashions, its catching up in more ways than ever, with conventional fashion and clothing, in terms of fabric availability, eco printing, eco dyeing and so on.
If the same styling and look can be achieved by using sustainable materials, then i dont see why fashion as a whole cannot make a progression towards sustainability.
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