Ask A Designer

What Should Emerging Designers Know About Sourcing Eco-Textiles?

by Summer Rayne Oakes, Source4Style, 12/20/11

Ask A Designer

How Can Fashion Designers Make Clothes Less Disposable?

by Timo Rissanen, Parsons The New School for Design, 04/19/11

Photo by Howard Lake

The current disposability of clothing is problematic. While clothes are seemingly durable goods, they are often marketed as fast-changing fashions and made of increasingly inexpensive materials with quality of construction often neglected. Clothing today is more economically accessible than ever before, at least in developed nations. Compromises in the quality of fabric and construction, and the outsourcing of manufacture to nations of cheap labor enable us to buy clothing in quantities not seen before.

What’s the Easiest Way to Reduce the Environmental Impact of My Clothes?

Garment care is an enormous environmental issue, but it’s also a personal one. We each use incredible amounts of water, cleaning products and energy on our clothes. Reducing that impact is something I’m trying to do every day. The way we care for our clothes has more impact on energy and water sources than a dye house, a factory, or a fleet of trucks. It’s easy to forget that wash water heads out to the sea, and dryers run on fossil fuels. Here are seven tips from all of us at Eileen Fisher.

Could Polyester be the Next Eco-Friendly Fabric?

A recycled-polyester dress from the H&M Conscious Collection

Out of all the fibers, polyester has the worst reputation—and unfairly so. I know eco-conscious people who would rather wear conventional cotton than let a polyester garment touch their skin. They scoff at me when I proclaim I love polyester, often questioning my intelligence, sanity, and taste. Yet I believe that consumers who refuse to wear synthetics are buying into one of the biggest misconceptions about fashion’s sustainability problem.

How Can Eco-Designers Stay Profitable While Advocating Slow Fashion?

It may be tough for green designers to stay profitable while discouraging consumerism, but it’s not impossible. The key is this: When it comes to developing your business model, you have to be equally if not more creative than you are designing your collection or product. I have always said my biggest challenge with Uluru wasn’t figuring out how to design sustainably. Rather, it was managing cash flow.

Why Does End-of-Life Management Matter in Fashion Design?

Simple is as simple does. We live in a world that our ancestors—even our grandparents—would barely recognize. For example, my mother was born and raised on a small dairy farm north of New York City. She was a young girl during the Depression years and remembered clearly the tenor of those times. One of her jobs on the farm was to take care of the chickens.

Is Textile Waste the Next Frontier of Eco-Fashion?

It’s tough to say if textile waste will be the next frontier in eco-fashion. It’s definitely a necessary step in closing the loop on textile manufacturing. Humans are the only species on the planet who create waste, and the amount of excess we create was magnified by the rise of the industrial revolution. What we need to do now as a society is get that waste under control and eliminate it whenever possible.

How Can We Teach Sustainability to the Next Generation of Designers?

Francesca Granata, sustainability educator, editor, and co-curator of Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion

Incorporating sustainability in fashion demands a radical rethinking of systems of consumption, distribution, and production, so much so that the very topic of sustainable fashion can be in and of itself somewhat controversial and, in a sense, oppositional to traditional fashion education. One of the hurdles to integrating sustainability in fashion education is that fashion design, perhaps more so in the States than in Europe, has traditionally been taught apart from other art-and-design practices. As a result, students are not asked to be as critical and questioning of fashion-industry practices—and of their own—as they would be within other areas of design or the visual arts. That’s not to say they don’t, of course. Some certainly do and in quite sophisticated ways.

What is Zero-Waste Fashion (and Why Does It Matter)?

Zero-waste design isn’t a new technology or material. Instead, it’s a new way of thinking—a philosophy that forces you to challenge existing techniques and become a smarter designer. Technique-wise, it involves fitting all the flat pieces of your clothing pattern like a jigsaw puzzle so no fabric is wasted. Considering that roughly 15 percent of the fabric is discarded when a typical garment is made, the cumulative effect of leaving behind no waste has far-reaching environmental consequences. More than that, however, zero waste about working within those constraints to invent beautiful new forms of fashion.

How Eco-Friendly is Bamboo Fabric, Really?

Photo by strollers

Bamboo is the fastest-growing woody plant in the world, capable of growing up to four feet a day. Most of it is grown organically (though very little is certified organic), and in most locations requires no irrigation or fertilizers. There are some concerns about its use, namely depleting natural bamboo habitats (for pandas) and clearing forests for bamboo plantations. But for the most part, the growing of bamboo can be considered sustainable. Fabric made from bamboo, however, is more controversial.

Can Conscious Consumerism Really Save the World?

I helped start FEED Projects in 2006 as an “accidental” business. FEED’s true mission was to sell the FEED 1 bag, which feeds one child in school for one year through the United Nations World Food Programme. Once it became obvious that the UN could not sell the bag itself to raise money and awareness, my business partner, Ellen Gustafson, and I decided the best route would be to start our own company. We’ve been in business for three-and-a-half years now, and the motivation behind the creation of every product we make is to raise a tangible amount of money for every bag sold, rather than simply creating product and then giving away a percentage of profits or proceeds (which can be generous but is always a little vague).

How Do You Define “Sustainable Fashion,” Exactly?

Is “Sustainable” Leather Really Better for the Environment?

Galahad Clark, owner and director of Terra Plana

As long as people eat meat, leather can be an industry byproduct and a realistic sustainable proposition. A huge shift in cattle culture, however, needs to happen first. While there is a move toward “sustainable” leather sourcing from free-range cows, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. To really impact change, we still need a mass-market solution.

Does “Made in China” Clothing Get An Unfairly Bad Rap?

Karen Stewart, co-founder and designer of Stewart + Brown

To answer bluntly, yes, China does get an unfair rap due to various health, human-rights, and environmental issues that have surfaced over the years, along with recent anti-fast-fashion sentiment. This is also a question we asked ourselves before Stewart + Brown, which is produced mostly in the United States, embarked on working with Chinese production facilities for some of our knits. Through our research, as well as personal experience, we discovered that with the bad also comes the good.

Why Are There So Few Options in Men’s Eco-Fashion?

Jeff Garner, founder and designer of Prophetik

Men’s fashion typically takes a back seat to women’s due to the consumer demand of women’s ready-to-wear. The men’s retail business makes up 20 percent of the market, with eco-fashion constituting only 7 percent (5 percent of which is women’s.) This gives the justification of why companies tend not to focus on eco-menswear. Plus, there is a shortage of menswear designers out there in general.

How Can Green Designers Thrive in a Down Economy?

Allison Teich McGowan, designer behind TEICH and proprietor of the NYC store of the same name.

No doubt times are hard right now for an emerging fashion designer. An economic slowdown, however, can also be an opportunity to steer your business in a new direction. In my case, I’ve had to adjust my business over the years in response to the fluctuating economy.

Is Wearable Technology Hype or Hope?

Syuzi Pakhchyan, media designer, author, and editor of Fashioning Technology.

I have very few illusions that the survival of our planet depends entirely on the clever technologies that we, out of dire necessity, will invent. Technology alone is not going to save our planet—but we certainly are. The onus is on us: It is our choices, our demands from the market, that will bring about the necessary actions and changes in the fashion industry. Smart fabrics and wearable technology offer us an opportunity for a more sustainable future, but the promise will be bittersweet if the entire product lifecycle isn’t taken into consideration.

Why Does Wearing Organic Cotton Matter If We Don’t Eat It?

Lynda Fassa, founder and designer of Green Babies

Fifteen years ago when I founded Green Babies, the term “green” was so disassociated from fashion (or anything else for that matter), that people would ask my husband and business partner: “Green Babies, what’s that?” And he’d answer, “It’s an adoption agency for Martian children.” “Oh”..they’d say, slowly nodding and backing away. Sometimes I’d tell them what it really was and they looked equally perplexed. Things have changed, for the much better and brighter, but the question still remains: Why does organic cotton matter?

Does the Art of Craft and Handmade Matter in Fashion?

Natalie Chanin, owner and designer of Alabama Chanin

Contemporary dialogues regarding sustainability often focus on chemicals, materials, improved design, and manufacturing processes—and how these impact the environment. Without question, these are significant concerns. Looking closer into the depths and complexities of these materials, however, leads us to realize that sustainability also relies on the human skills necessary to manipulate materials into usable objects.

Why Are Organic Baby Clothes More Readily Embraced Than Grown-Up Ones?

Kate Quinn of Kate Quinn Organics

There are myriad reasons, but they all lead to more questions: Why don’t we care as much about our health as our baby’s health? Doesn’t our baby’s’ well-being depend on our own? Why does fair trade and child labor weigh stronger on our minds when shopping for babies? Why does the thought of formaldehyde on our baby’s skin turn our stomachs more so than the idea of toxins on our own skin, even when we’re pregnant or lactating?

Does Greenwashing Exist in the Fashion Industry?

Miguel Adrover, creative director of Hessnatur

Unfortunately, greenwashing exists everywhere, including the fashion industry. The minute the industry recognizes a trend, everyone jumps on it. And one of the trends of the moment is “going green.” Many companies say something is “eco” because it’s a natural fabric. Or they use an organic fabric and blend it with a synthetic and say it’s “sustainable.” Well, to me, these are eco-lies. Creating truly green fashion requires honesty and commitment—the fibers must be grown at certified organic farms, and they can’t be blended with synthetics or dyed or bleached with chemicals.

Does Social Networking Help or Hinder Independent Fashion Designers?

Photo by Graeme Mitchell

I’m not a networker. I don’t use MySpace, I don’t have a Facebook page, and until very recently, I wanted nothing to do with Twitter. Earlier this year, I left the comforts of designing a brand for a larger commercial company. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do with my career, but I knew that my next venture would be entirely sustainable, somewhat conceptual, but most importantly, it would be all mine. Mistakes and all. When I accepted an invitation to show at The GreenShows during New York Fashion Week, I had only two months before the show and not one sample. One of my largest concerns was how to pay for the show and give a professional presentation that represented my aesthetic. I was then introduced to Kickstarter, an online funding platform for creative projects. I gave myself less than 60 days to raise the $5,000 I guessed the show would cost me, and I immediately started networking.

Are Mass-Market Eco-Fashion Lines a Good Idea?

Tara Eisenberg and Inessah Selditz of Sublet Clothing

The mass market will inevitably grab hold of anything popular, regardless of whether that market actually embraces the ethos behind the cause or it’s just in it for pure commercial gain. That said, we think that any method that moves sustainable fashion into the mainstream is a step in the right direction. A lot of people ask if we think that sustainable fashion will be the norm in the future—and we hope so—but truth be told, being green means turning back the clock to a more conscious way of living and consuming.

Can Leather Be Eco-Friendly…Ever?

Elizabeth Olsen, founder and owner of Olsenhaus

Producing leather—whether by chrome/chemical tanning or vegetable tanning—comes with a host of problems. It heavily contributes to global warming, land devastation, environmental pollution, the depletion of valuable natural resources, and water-supply contamination, not to mention the spread of disease and the abuse of billions of animals.

What is the Biggest Challenge Facing Sustainable Fashion Today?

John Patrick of Organic in his studio.

One of the biggest challenges today for designers and producers is the lack of readily available credit. In the past 18 months, we have witnessed a shrinking of the money flow. I was with the director of a think tank yesterday and I told him that it was imperative that we immediately set up a “grameen”-type of funding bank so that each season, emerging and growing businesses can access small loans to be repaid by the end of the shipping cycle. A first-time borrower, for example, would be able to access $2,500, which would be paid back within a specified time frame. This would vastly help the manufacturers and creatives by opening up some credit.