Fashion is slowly moving towards being more eco-friendly and more and more designers are opting for eco-friendly alternatives. So what does the future entail?
Fast Fashion
With brands like Zara introducing new collections every two weeks, the uptick in production is an ongoing challenge that rivals the steady consumption culture that’s defining the way we see fashion. For those that are uninformed, the current state of fashion is an epidemic that is polluting both our earth and our bodies and vestiges without consequences in any shape or form.
Organizations to make aware
There are organizations who educate young millennials on conscious consumerism and peer-to-peer mobilization around going green. Perhaps this observation throws light on the apparently careless nature of consumers who’ve largely decided to opt-out of the ethical fashion culture in favor of scoring cheap clothes at big box retailers.
Is it only the consumer who should be concerned?
Despite the large influence shoppers have on the success of the fashion industry, the onus isn’t solely on the consumer. The “we want our fashion new and we want it now” lifestyle is fed by a system that remains silent about their environmental practices and labor laws.
The results
The factories that produce our clothing provide low-skilled labor that we’ve benefited from. The increasing rate of cotton farmers diagnosed with cancer due to heavy contact to pesticides is a cruel reality that matters not when the only way these farmers can continue to survive is through slowly killing themselves each day to produce the clothes that will become hanging shrines in our closets.
Eco-Friendly Designers
Celebrities, models, and designers such as Stella McCartney, Amour Vert, Edun, Stewart+Brown, Shalom Harlow and Summer Rayne Oakes have lately drawn attention to socially conscious and environmentally friendly fashion. “Portland Fashion Week”, which has featured sustainable designers and apparel since 2005, has also concerned international press for its efforts to sustainably produce a fashion week that showcases 100% eco-friendly designs.
In Europe well-known trademarks are Armedangels from Cologne, Germany,Ajna-Organic fashion from Germany, Nudie Jeans from Sweden, Pelechecoco From Denmark, KamiOrganic from Paris, Pants to Poverty or Po-Zu shoes from London, room to roam (reversible clothes) from Munich, Royal Blush accessories from Switzerland or the Bio Shirt Company Berlin.
It is no doubt that many designers and consumers are realizing the importance of being eco-friendly and are thus catering to the needs of the eco-consumer as well as the planet.
