How Fashion is Going Green

When the average person considers eco-friendly clothing options, they may have images of the wardrobe from The Matrix (not the cool trenches and skintight pants they sported inside the Matrix, but the unfinished, no-color sacks they wore on the Nebuchadnezzar).  But green fashion has come a long way from the rough, un-dyed, homespun garments of yesteryear.  In fact, you may not be able to tell the difference between textiles that have harmed the planet at every turn and those that have done very little to increase your carbon footprint.  Thanks to changes in the industry that have turned an eye towards the future of fashion and how it relates to the environment, green fashion has grown.  Here are just a few ways in which the clothes on your back may be getting a little greener.

Schooling

The crossover between green living and the fashion industry starts with education and the new batch of designers entering the field.  This is why it’s awesome that so many fashion schools are now offering courses that explain the goals and possibilities where green fashion is concerned, as well as offering instruction in how to make eco-friendly clothing and accessory.  Even well-known schools like the Fashion Institute of Technology have embraced the possibility of greener clothing options by hosting exhibits and offering seminars and courses in eco-fashion.

Textiles

Organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, eucalyptus, and plenty of other plants are all being used to create fabrics that are free of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, doing less harm to your body as well as the environment.  And peace silk and organic wool are gathered humanely so that no animals are killed to give you the shirt on your back (which is good for your conscience as well as the animals).  In addition to the many environmental benefits that come with these textiles, you’ll be happy to hear that they’re good for your wallet, too.  Although they may be a bit more expensive initially, they can last up to ten times as long thanks to the fact that no chemicals are present to break down the fibers prematurely.  And many designers are now opting for these fabrics in their lines, thus supporting the organic farming movement.

Manufacturing

If you knew how many chemicals went into producing a garment (bleaches, dyes, flame retardant, stain-proofing, and even formaldehyde, amongst other things), you might not be so keen to put them on your skin.  And in addition to the potential for bodily harm, the processes used to manufacture textiles for clothing are a source of pollution and waste.  But concerned designers and manufacturers are beginning to seek ways to reduce the damage caused by clothing creation, from using natural dyes and skipping chemicals to recycling scrap cloth left over from the production of garments.

Accessories

You can’t have a fashionable ensemble without a few accessories, and while some green changes are obvious (faux leather belts, shoes, and handbags, for example, or accessories made from recycled materials), others may be things you never even thought of (fair trade precious metals and gemstones for jewelry, shoes that can be recycled to create playground surfaces, etc.).  Many companies in the fashion industry are finding creative ways to go green not only with clothing, but with accessories, as well.

Designers

Perhaps you haven’t heard of up-and-coming eco-designers like Casey Larkin, Kizzy Jai Knight, and Ada Zanditon (although you should definitely check them out), but you’ve likely heard of Stella McCartney, who espouses eco-friendly fashion along with her vegetarian values.  And with more and more designers going green, it won’t be long before some of your favorite fashion houses start offering clothing options that will make you feel as good as you look.

Carol Montrose is a writer for www.tshirtprinting.net where you can create your own custom tshirts, hoodies, and much more.

Beats by Dr Dre has teamed up with Oscar de la Renta to make these gorgeous plum fox fur headphones and they look for fab. We think they’re kind of hot and perfect for cold, wintry days.

Available on line at  www.oscardelarenta.com

As you might guess from the name, ShopStyle is a shopping app. It’s available on the iPad and iPhone and Nikki blogged about it when it first came out. ShopStyle is one of my favourite apps, here’s why…

ShopStyle has access to a great range of different clothing (and shoes! and accessories!) brands from economical basics to designer extravaganza. Starting from A some of the brands available are: Alexander McQueen, Alexander Wang, Agent Provocateur, All Saints, American Apparel – hopefully you get the picture.

The products, diverse in the extreme in terms of price and quality, appear side by side in the app by default, which is slightly surreal. To tailor the view to suit your personality (and budget) you can filter by Brand, Store, Size, Colour, Price, Sale and custom Keywords.

The app is in the classic iPad design and features a short description, price and lovely pictures for each item. The layout, speed of search and quantity of items make this a much nicer experience than using the shops’ own websites.

To purchase an item you are taken to the shops’ own site, meaning you have to set up several accounts and can’t make cross-shop purchases in one go. However, although this is irritating, as an IT professional I understand why they have structured the site this way – they’re reusing the existing stock systems that the shops have already invested in. If ShopStyle had decided to track each store’s inventory directly, this would have taken so much effort for each shop that the app would never have got off the ground.

There is also a small bonus for iPad users, as the current system means that ShopStyle must therefore have checked that the websites work with Safari on iPad (unlike some other big brand sites!).

ShopStyle is an absolute life saver for me and means that I actually have some clothes, when I wouldn’t have time to go shopping otherwise!

If you haven’t tried it, please do give it a go. Even if you don’t buy anything, you can now window shop from the luxury of your own home/iPad/iPhone whatever your gadget of choice is!

www.shopstyle.co.uk

Proporta and world renowned artist Ben Allen have just announced a new collaboration on two stunning hard shell protective cases for the Apple iPhone 4.

The range has been designed to add minimal bulk, but maximum style to your iPhone 4. Super tough and robust, the hard shell case comes in two stylish designs – Skull and Zebra. The British punk movement inspires the ‘Skull’ design whilst the ‘Zebra’ is Allen’s vision of the streets and the wild becoming one. Both are visually arresting, and are printed in high resolution on to super tough Proporta shells protecting against knocks and impact damage, whilst remaining soft and silky to the touch.

Ben Allen’s paintings have been exhibited in venues and galleries internationally as well as being purchased by celebrities including Richard Branson, Stephen Dorff, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, DJ Dan Williams and Jade Jagger.

Available from www.proporta.com priced at £24.95

I was a VIP at the ‘Fashion Kicks’ www.fashionkicks.org.uk charity event at the Lancashire County Cricket Club a couple of weeks ago in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. The night was made up of a high fashion cat walk show hosted by Selfridges, Westlife (whoop whoop) and a Michelin starred dinner – then of course a good old knees up!

I was wearing a DVF one shouldered black cocktail dress, black slingback Louboutins and matching clutch, I kept my jewellery simple with a subtle pink diamond ring. ‘WOW’ was my first thought at entering the beautifully decadent marquees, lit up like the night with stars on the ceiling (as well as many in the room!). Taking my glass of vintage champers offered to me I made my way to my 3rd row seat in eager anticipation of the cat walk surprises.

The one and only Dr Fox compared as the girls strutted their stuff in Stella McCartney, D&G, Matthew Williamson and many more. I couldn’t help but notice ALL the girl models were wearing Louboutins (I had to be held back from running up there to snatch them). My highlight was the Calvin Klein models – male of course, in some tasty boxers and briefs! Celeb models included Carlos Tevez, Patrick Viera and Amber Le Bon (who looked STUNNING in a full length hot pink sequined fitted gown with a fish tail and black waist sash).

Next was dins and we were taken to our seats for our lavish 5 course meal starting with a salmon salad, a delish lamb main course, a chocolate dessert finished off with cheese and biscuits and coffee.

Dennis Taylor helped kick start the after dinner auction with some BIG prizes – Craig Bellamy won the auction for the Harley Davidson! On to the silent auction….drum role…..my fantastic hubbie bid and WON ‘meet the BOYZ’ – a meeting with Boyzone when they return to Manchester on March 2011 – I’ll let you know how it goes what more could a girl ask!!

The much anticipated Westlife performance was introduced by  the Dr and I was within TOUCHING distance – agghhhhh!! They sang some of their older songs and then a selection of rat pack songs. It felt like an intimate audience with Westlife ! They were FABULOUS!

At 2am we agreed that we were unfortunately too tired to take up our invite to the VIP  after party that went on till 7am! For insider info on who went on to the party…..I take bribes, for us real life and baby sitters were calling…

Until next time fellow fashionistas….

Love Gillian x