Hottest Fashion Trends: Can You Say "Sustainable?"
The fashion industry is going green and becoming socially-conscious.
Responsible Fashion Trends
Skinny jeans and empire waistlines may be in and out in a matter of months, but as fashion trends go, the socially conscious and green fashion movements are making big waves. These fashion trends have the potential to revolutionize the business.
From relatively small, unknown fashion designers to big-name companies like American Apparel and Levi's, key players in the fashion industry are making strides toward global awareness. Publications such as The New York Times and Vogue are using "sustainable," "ethical" and "eco-friendly" in the same sentence with "fashion." These adjectives may not be on the short list of words we're used to associating with the fashion industry, but clearly, change is brewing. The enthusiasm building—among both fashion designers and consumers—indicates that socially responsible fashion may be more than a fleeting fashion trend.
Global Awareness as a Fashion Trend
It's not that love for fashion and concern for the global community have been mutually exclusive until now. However, when looking for clothing made with sustainable principles and products, the selection has been slim, historically. And while fashion mavens may love their fellow man and the environment, as a general rule, they don't want to look as if they're dressed to hug a tree.
So how does an industry that changes with the seasons turn over a new eco-friendly, socially-conscious leaf? This challenge is part of what makes this emerging fashion trend fun.
Reduce. Re-use. Recycle.
The fashion industry reinvents and copies itself all the time. Designers study fashion trends and predict fashion's future based on its past.
Carrying this idea of recycling style one step further, some fashion designers are finding ways to use recycled and discarded materials in their designs. Others are using vintage fabrics or dismantling and reshaping old garments into something new and cutting-edge. This calls for less energy in production and produces less waste.
Finding New Material.
Cotton comes from a plant; ergo, it must be "green," right? Actually, according to the World Bank, "Cotton accounts for 16% percent of global insecticide releases—more than any other single crop. Almost 1.0 kilogram of hazardous pesticides is applied for every hectare under cotton."
Not so eco-friendly, after all.
Several clothing manufacturers and designers have begun using organic cotton. Other designers are exploring different materials altogether. Textile manufacturers are using bamboo, soy, corn and wood pulp to create environmentally sound alternatives to cotton fabric.
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Chemical dyes are also out. Many fashion designers are using traditional, natural dyes as a part of their efforts to create sustainable fashion.
Staying Cruelty-Free.
Animal cruelty and sweatshop labor have been on our radar for years when it comes to issues of justice and fashion. But now, we're starting to realize it's not enough to know that our clothing wasn't produced in sweatshops; we also have to think about the origins of the raw materials.
For instance, the world's second largest cotton producer, Uzbekistan, is known to use child labor to harvest its cash crop. Another fashion staple that's recently come under scrutiny is diamonds. Jewelry designers and consumers alike want to know that their pieces are violence and cruelty-free.
Socially-conscious fashion requires attention to every step of the production process.
A Sustainable Fashion Future
Socially and ecologically friendly fashion means feeling good about your clothes and feeling good about where they came from can go hand in hand. While eco-friendly fashion may have a way to go before it's mainstream, this fashion trend should be encouraging to established and aspiring fashion designers and fashion lovers who want to see fashion embrace a kinder, more sustainable future.