Eco-Friendly Fashion

What you have been hearing lately is true. Green is the new black. The fashion world might not care entirely about some issues like the protests against animal-fur, but the new go-green statement will be going on for years to come. It is no joke the issues our Earth is going through due to global warming, for this, fashion companies are doing their deed, like jewelry made from recyclable materials and the usage of distinct materials, like soy and eco-friendly fabrics like organic and sustainable cotton. Fashion is a great communication strategy to educate consumers about the problem faced with Global Warming, fashion influences people and this makes it an important aspect for change.

Global Warming is also dictating the trends, other than fashion itself, since temperature is so unpredictable. Fall in some places, can be hotter than summer, this is allowing us to wear boots and wool in any season.

Young designers are taking this seriously and developing outfits depending on sudden temperature changes, also, ecological materials are very present on the style and green conscious consumers and designers. Alternate materials like organic cotton, bamboo and hemp have increased notably in sales for the past 3 years. There is now a greater variety of natural textiles available for purchase like soy or bamboo silk, offering the sustainability needed for the earth needs. Hemp is actually the strongest known natural fiber, four times stronger than cotton and also helps block out UV rays.

Oscar de la Renta, Dian Von Furstenberg and Versace, are some of the fashion companies experimenting with hemp and bamboo. Organic cotton has been used by almost everyone including retailers like H&M and Zara. The colors used are also influenced by the environment this season.

Synthetic fabrics can also be ecological when they are made with reusable products and textiles like recycled wool and are offering consumers education about their manufacturing process so they know what they are buying.

If you want to contribute with as little as you can, you can start by washing your clothes less than you do, buy vintage clothes, this is another form of recycling. Also, participate with your clothing, get to know where it comes from who made it, how and experiment with it by adding special accessories like buttons and pins and illustrations if you dare to make it your own, this way, you are being your own co-designer. Do some research about which companies are trying to make a difference, these are the ones that should be supported, write to the ones that are not contributing, they would want to hear from you.

As you know, green means fresh, and everyone wants to beat out the hot weather, but there is still to do, especially with eco fabrics. In the future, there will be bigger improvements like using less water and chemicals, emitting less Carbon Dioxide and resulting in less air and water pollution. Everyone should join forces starting today; the hardest step would be the education of consumers around the globe.

By: Priyanka Arora

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