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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Eviana Hartman, the designer behind Brooklyn-based eco-fashion label Bodkin
Why does sustainable clothing cost more than big-box brands? For the same reason that an heirloom tomato costs more than a box of McNuggets: a combination of economies of scale and economies of globalization. Unfortunately and perversely, the things that are best for you and the rest of the world are often more expensive than whatever’s fast, cheap, and easy. Clothing prices are, in many cases, artificially low because we’ve been trained to buy quantity over quality. With food, more people are willing to pay the premium because it goes into our mouths and is reflected on our waistlines. With clothing, too few shoppers make the connection.
