Going green has never looked so good!
For years, we heard eco friendly fashion and we thought of Birkenstocks, droopy skirts, drab colours and itchy fabrics that mysteriously smelt like patchouli.
Eco chic sounded like more of an oxymoron than jumbo shrimp.
But now there is a growing movement of designers that have made eco friendly clothing a priority and a growing number of consumers that recognize that their purchases have a social and environmental impact.
On this site you will find easy ways to go green while looking fabulous, from environmentally friendly clothing lines, eco friendly shoes, eco jewelry, eco yoga wear and a resource on eco friendly fabrics.
We have eco fashion covered and at your finger tips.
When you are looking for eco friendly fashion, it could be difficult to find brands that actually follow the claims they use on their own packaging.
The definition is also a factor, since sustainable fashion can mean many things.
Businesses can use the term if they are being fair with their trading, using organic fabrics or just using recycled materials in their manufacturing.
Of course, this new taste in fashion could be just a trend, but there really are some companies that have a passion for making a difference in this industry.
Will all fashionistas go with this flow? It’s hard to tell, but if the amount of money and energy being used for the marketing of this endeavor is any indication, it could be here for a while.
So, how do you know if the brand you love is really being as ecofriendly as they claim to be? Well, you still have to do your research.
There are companies such as H&M that claim to use 100% organic cotton for their organic cotton collection, but this really may not be the case at all.
They have to ship the cotton from India and that uses a lot of fuel. Then, on top of that more fuel is used to ship the products to the many stores that take residence all over the world.
The cotton itself might be organic, but the amount of fuel used takes away from all of the good that organic is supposed to bring.
Since changes for this part of manufacturing weren’t changed at all, do they really have the focus needed for the eco friendly platform? It seems like they may just be joining the bandwagon.
There are other companies, of course, that have made sure to be as authentic with their claims for sustainability as possible.
One of those is bi-coastal company Feral Childe. They go the extra mile by cutting out waste by being made to order.
They also donate the fabrics and resources they don’t use by donating them to schools or other facilities that can make use of them.
They also don’t use as much fuel as other companies do because they use threads and fibers that are grown locally.
Their clothing line tends to steer towards basic pieces, which also helps with the sustainability goal.
Customers can use these basic pieces and make many different outfits, making them more useful and versatile.
Businesses like Feral Childe, seem to be successful with this endeavour because they make it part of their business plan.
Instead of having to move backwards and change the business from head to toe in order to fit eco friendly needs, they just start their business out that way.
By doing this, they are able to stay ahead of the game and keep their business decisions on track.
H&M would have a harder time with this, of course, because of the platform their business was created on.
The bottom line is that businesses want to save as much money as they can, which is why using tons of fuel can seem worth it to them in order to keep costs down even if that means compromising the authenticity of their sustainability claims.
Speaking of cost, this new need for eco friendly and sustainable clothing has its price. The average price of clothing from companies, like Feral Childe, is anywhere from the 80 to 300 dollar range,(Oct 2014) for its customers.
This should not come as a big surprise since it does cost more to create these fashions, but this is a big reason why more affordable clothing stores either don’t take the movement seriously enough to really put roots into it, or they shy away from it altogether.
The average middle class American tends to move towards clothing that is lower in cost yet still fashionable
They don’t spend time searching the backgrounds of the companies they buy from and tend to take claims of being organic at face value.
Since these types of customers are the prime cut for most marketing campaigns, it makes sense that big name clothing stores would jump on the bandwagon without really digging their nails into what sustainability really means.
Would you say that this is just a trend or here to stay? It’s probably both.
There are obviously companies that are basing their business of being truly organic with their claims, but the companies that still want to be part of the earth friendly boost but don’t necessarily want to pay for it also exists.
There is a definite need for more companies that keep their ecological footprint low, so the companies that are making this their priority may force their way into the mainstream of fashion if the demand is high for such products.
As of now, only a small percentage of companies are really putting into their efforts to make this into a staying feat.
The climate for this development of going green in more ways than just the usual recycling of plastics and paper seems to be on the rise but may cost more money than companies are willing to pay.
The answer to the question of if this will die out or not is really still up in the air for some of the better known companies that have more claims on the average middle class home’s closet.
Really, consumers are the ones that get to determine what is important to them when they buy their clothes. Fashion has always been a favorite of many men and woman and it is known for its constant change in society.
Technology has made fashion become less about what fads are in what country and more about the fashion industry as a whole.
If there are fashionable, sustainable clothing available for purchase that will stay in style for a long period of time, then more people will be willing to pay the higher price in order to help the environment a little bit more.
Eyes and ears are all watching how this new movement will go and it’s all in the consumer’s hands.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/kingston-university-fashion-students_n_1312724.html
http://fashionista.com/2012/04/10-eco-friendly-fashion-brands-we-can-get-behind
http://fashionista.com/2010/01/hms-organic-cotton-isnt-100-organic-its-not-sustainable-either
