Eco Fashion

The fashion industry is the second biggest cause of pollution. That is why ecological fashion is getting more and more attention from people all over the world.

The fashion industry is a major cause of the $ 2.5 trillion worth of apparel, used worldwide. That is why the fashion industry with more than 40 million workers has become one of the most profitable industries in the world. The process of globalization of rapid growth helps the fashion industry to continuously expand, hire cheap labor in underdeveloped countries. This has led to a lack of transparency in production and increasingly neglected social standards. According to Earth Pledge, a nonprofit that promotes and supports sustainable fashion development, at least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of pesticides worldwide used to grow cotton. Human and environmental damage account for two-thirds of the carbon emissions in a garment.

Therefore, consumers increasingly focus on transparency in products, and prefer safe, durable fashion items that can be used for longer than a season if they feel especially like them. Thanks to technological advances, the fashion industry has been able to create sustainable “green” products, manufactured under “clean” standards while ensuring aesthetic elements.

Edun eco collection 2017 of Edun brand

Designer Patrycja Guzik (4th from left) won the first prize at EcoChic Awards 2016 for eco-fashion.

Nike sports shoes always use eco-friendly recycled materials

Origin of eco fashion

The concept of sustainable fashion appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s when two famous fashion companies, Patagonia (specializing in the production of mountaineering costumes) and ESPRIT, struggled to find a way to live for their businesses. In the dark period of the economic recession at that time, the two owners of these two companies, Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins, set a vision for their business up to … 100 years! Therefore, all decisions made are based on sustainability perspectives.

There is no way to make a product without harm, just a matter of level. Nothing can exist forever, all resources are limited, but they want to minimize harm and the shelf life of products must be really durable. They began to study the impact of the fibers used in their company. Patagonia focuses on assessing the life cycle of four fibers including cotton, wool, nylon and polyester. ESPRIT focused on cotton, accounting for 90% of the firm’s output at the time.

The practical action of these two companies influenced the entire fashion industry and the sustainability of clothing at the time. In 1992, ESPRIT launched the first eco fashion collection. Materials include organic cotton, recycled wool, natural processed wool, low-impact dyes, natural colored cotton, and no electroplating. Patagonia also committed to using recycled polyester in 1992 and publicly announced the use of organic cotton in 1996.

Both brands announce their sustainability activities through documents, photo books and direct communication at the chain of stores. At the same time, the two companies also organize farm tours for fashion experts to meet directly with organic cotton farmers.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, the trend of sustainable fashion was expanded to many other famous brands with a primary focus on improving the harmful effects of clothing through fabric processing and the origin of raw materials. In addition, there is a transparent movement, showing the production process to increase the reputation of the company, creating a trend of conscious shopping for consumers.

Lily Cole wore a silver dress from recycled plastic bottles at Oscar 2016

Eco-friendly material

There are many factors that assess the ecology of a material, such as fiber regeneration and origin, the process of turning raw yarns into textiles, the condition of the producer and the total carbon content of the material.

Natural fibers: including cellulose (vegetable fibers) and proteins (animal fibers).

Cellulose: Mainly made from cotton. Other types of cellulose fibers include jute, flax, hemp, abaca, bamboo (used to produce viscose fabric), soybeans, corn, bananas, pineapples, and oak. Protein: The natural protein fibers include wool, silk, camel hair, long-haired goat, camel varieties in South America like alpaca, llama, vicuna, cashmere wool and felt fabric made from goat hair.

Fibers manufactured from natural materials: Lyocell and polylactic acid (PLA)

Recycled or recycled fibers: made from pre-treated materials collected from pants factories coat, processed back into short fibers to spin into a new type of yarn.

Lauren Bush Lauren and David Lauren always support eco fashion

Eco-fashion is a rare item?

Do you think it is not easy to buy an eco-item because it is only available in specialty stores? On the contrary, you will be completely surprised to know that the well-known famous fashion brands mostly have ecological products for customers to choose.

Typical example is Levi’s jeans brand. In 2015, Levi Strauss & Co announced a business restructuring to ensure the company’s sustainability on all fronts, from raw materials to production of products, efforts to organize volunteer activities. Levi Strauss & Co has teamed up with Evrnu to create the world’s first jeans to “only” discharge about 50% of the waste after consumption. This famous fashion brand also uses plastic bottles recycled into polyester fibers combined with cotton fibers to create a Water <Less jeans line that saves water up to 96%. Currently, most Levi’s jeans use this technology.

71% of Nike shoes now include recycled materials, some of which are sourced from leftover materials in Nike’s own factory. This shows that Nike is environmentally friendly and makes this factor one of their brand identities wisely.

Vietnamese designers are also quick to catch up with the eco-fashion trend and consumers can easily buy the eco products available at their branded stores easily. The one who always inspires love of nature, the environment is designer Li Lam. She is always attached to silk. Designer Vo Viet Chung, Cong Tri with collections of Ao Dai made of My A fabric and half-silk. Designer Linda Mai Phung roamed the northern highlands in search of handmade textiles that would not harm the environment for her eco-fashion designs.

Jeans made from organic cotton from Patagonia

Eco-fashion is a civilized lifestyle, not just a trend

Ecological fashion has become one of the vital elements of the fashion industry. Reputable brands are trying to build or reform their business models in an environmentally friendly way and regulate the buying sense of consumers, while also maintaining the sustainability of the business.

In 2014, fashion retail brand H&M did something unprecedented in the history of the fashion industry, signing a cooperation agreement with the United Nations International Labor Organization to protect the rights of workers in their factories.

Redress, a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting the sustainable development of the environment in the fashion industry, has opened the annual EcoChic Awards competition to inspire young designers to make new shades for eco fashion.

The influencers including famous stars, models, fashion icons, hot bloggers, etc. are aware of the importance of ecological fashion in life, so they should take advantage of their influence to actively promote eco-promotion. fashion.

Popular actress and designer Lauren Conrad is the co-founder of The Little Market, an online marketplace that sells handicrafts from countries like Bolivia, Peru, India, Nepal, Ghana and Guatemala. Through this, this online marketplace helps craftsmen around the world maintain their business and retain traditional skills passed down from previous generations, improving the community through a commitment to ethical standards such as fair pay, fair trade competition and safe conditions for all workers.

One of the most iconic eco-friendly designers is Stella McCartney. She only uses organic fabrics, renewable energy for the operation of the store, not using leather or fur. McCartney said, “We live on this planet and need to take care of it. Without it, we have nothing. Therefore, protecting the earth requires not only a fashion industry but also any industry.” McCartney also created a new Twitter for the hashtag #itsnotjuststella that calls for awareness of the sustainable fashion revolution, especially the less prominent brands, who produce eco-friendly fashion.

Lauren Bush Lauren, wife of David Lauren – son of Ralph Lauren, is the founder of FEED project, specializes in making handmade handbags and is a support company for organizations that provide 84 million meals for poor children to fight hunger worldwide.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Company collaborated with Amour Vert to create an eco-fashion line with shirts made from organic fabric, silk and used low-impact dyes. Each shirt sold will have an additional tree planted in the Tahoe National Forest.

Actress Olivia Wilde has been with H&M from the Conscious Exclusive 2015 collection. The collection uses recycled polyester, organic cotton and silk. Wilde also co-founded the online marketplace Conscious Commerce to prove eco-fashion is also stylish.

At Oscar 2016, Lily Cole appeared magnificently on the red carpet in a silver dress made from recycled plastic bottles of Vivienne Westwood. 20-year-old actress Sophie Turner of the blockbuster Game of Thrones also wore an ecological dress of Galvan.

This year, the most prominent event related to eco-fashion that attracted the press and curiosity for fashion followers was The Press Tour of Emma Watson. During the launch of Beauty and the Beast around the world, as the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations, the actress actively promoted the eco-fashion of brands and designers, who have an environmentally friendly lifestyle. It is Good Guys – the brand of footwear does not use any animal materials; Stella McCartney coats made from recycled cashmere, recycled fabric, organic cotton; Burberry organic silk costumes; Oscar de la Renta; Emilia Wickstead with recyclable material; Louis Vuitton dress designed by Nicolas Ghesquiere made of polyester regenerated from plastic bottles …

Collection of autumn and winter ecology 2017 by Stella McCartney

Eco-conscious shopping

An expert in the field of fashion said: “When shopping for clothes, women should ask themselves whether they wear the item 30 times or not. If the answer is “yes” then please buy it “. With fast-fashion, the average woman only wears about 5 times and keeps the item in the wardrobe for less than 2 months, clearly the figure of “wearing 30 times” is impossible. Thus, the above statement is only for eco-fashion because in addition to contributing to environmental protection, the pure material also gives the wearer a sense of security, joyful appearance and appearance throughout the year without being bored, when thrown away also relieved because they will return to a new look.

For women, to be awake to choose between fashion and the environment when standing in front of a favorite item, the desire to own it, is not easy. But if you know that China produces 300 tons of soot annually in the production of clothing, it makes it one of the leading polluting countries in the world; the most common polyester synthetic fibers of the garment industry take up to 200 years to decompose. To create a simple cotton T-shirt, cotton growers use up to 150ml of toxic chemicals that just one drop is enough to kill you … you will probably think again.

Anyway, clothing should only be accessories that make our lives better instead of “damaging” the environment. Now, fast-fashion (almost cheap fashion) is almost defeated by eco-fashion, also known as slow-fashion, by the market coverage, increasingly competitive prices and the sense of shopping of Consumers have also been enhanced.

POST: GIGI. PHOTO: AFP, MATERIAL.

Excerpt from Her World Magazine