Fashion and Fabrics

The fashion industry possibly one of the biggest industries that could make a world-wide impact with its products. When it comes to purchasing in the ever growing fashion market place it is up to the consumer to put their money into eco-friendly companies who put the environment first. Aswell a this it is also up to the designer to encourage and persuade the consumer to buy the products else the environmentally friendly design idea will NOT succeed.

So what makes a fabric eco-friendly??   Eco-friendly essentially means “treading lightly” on the earth. There are three main factors that make a fabric eco-friendly: 1. The renewability of the product, the resource need to be renewed effectively in a short space of time. 2. The ecological footprint of the product, therefore how much land is used and needed to bring the plant to full growth and to support it. 3. The eco friendliness of the product therefore how much chemicals and pesticides are required in the growth and process of the plant before ready to sell.

Environmentally friendly companies usually also care about other factors such as: fair-trade labor NO SWEATSHOPS, sustainable goods in the sense that products made locally in order to use less fuel, animal cruelty NO LEATHER AND FUR and  finally making sure the product is recyclable or even made from recycled goods.

Hemp                                                                                                                                              Hemp fabric has the most potential to be eco-friendly for a number of reasons. It’s ecological footprint in considerably smaller than that of others. It also doesn’t require pesticides to grow, along with requiring no irrigation as it can survive on the amount of water in the average rainfall. Hemp has long fibres which makes it suitable for spinning with minimum processing. These long fibres are long-lasting which makes it incredibly durable and therefore wears extremely well. Hence less need to shortly throw away into landfill after purchasing. www.recycledsilk.com/hempnettle.html

Bamboo is a highly renewable grass, and it is probably this property that has resulted in its being classified as “eco-friendly”. It also has natural antibacterial properties and the fabric “breathes”. The resultant cloth is biodegradable

Recycled and vintage fabrics
Recycled fabric is great because it goes back into the market instead of ending up at a landfill. I feel this is a brilliant way to not waste fabric. Vintage fabrics are awesome  and this method is definitely becoming more popular now in young people. Mainly because you don’t have to lose style but just gain more. Within fashion this is on the rise and becoming a new way of dressing. Creating your own statement with recycled fabric, everyone can essentially be the designer. I love it!!

 modish.typepad.com

Organic cotton
Anything created organically (without the use of chemicals like pesticides or herbicides) is always a winner. Organic cotton falls nicely into this category. 

I especially think its important that consumers wise up to the issue belonging to fashion and fabrics. It is a huge factor in most peoples lives. A small change for some of the clothing you purchase to be environmentally friendly could make a huge difference to the enviroment. Now it is the designers job to design clothing that is appealing to the consumer using these eco-friendly methods.