Eco Fashion designer resources

[sassbrown]

My new book Eco Fashion published by Laurence King in the UK, distributed by Chronicle in the US, Logos in Italy and Blume in Spain is just about to hit the stores this week. It covers Eco Fashion in many of its expressions, recycle, reuse, redesign, ecological and sustainable fabrications, Fair Trade, slow design and heritage techniques, new business models and designer initiatives. The book promotes good design in fashion that is also sustainable. In conjunction with the book is my website www.ecofashiontalk.com which features extensive resources, as well as a book overview and a calendar of events. I am always happy to add new listings and link like minded sites, just drop me a note.
Sass Brown

[Faust]

Oh, oh. Did Geoffrey put you up to this?! :-) Your book looks interesting, and is of course, relevant. Good luck with it.

[gohn]

one argument states the poor quality of some fashion brands could blame the eco-material, like sneakers degumming ??

[sassbrown]

Hi, Geoffrey (I assume you mean B Small) didn't put me up to it, but he did write the introduction to the book though...
Sass

[sassbrown]

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi

[zamb]

Well,
thanks,
was reading a review of the book a few days ago. for me the jury is still out on this whole Eco Friendly movement. I respect it, but in some aspects I am not sold on it. I mean, I use mostly natural fibers in my work, and I am against waste in many aspects of my life..........but I'm not gonna go all non-leather, vegan and such.
I respect my environment, but not to the point of worship. I also believe some are in it because it seems like another great untapped area where there is potentially a lot of money to be made............

I remember going to a discussion a few years back, by a company called INGEO fibres, the panel was headed by Julie Gilhart of barneys, Valerie Steele, and some guy from Diesel............

the Key thing I remember is they gave us a T-shirt from the promotional, that I remember ironing one day and it broke into holes because the fabric couldn't be ironed...............so much for that.

I do like some of the organic cotton and wools though, and I think a company called Pickering international has some really interesting ones that I am currently sampling.

I shall surely get a copy of the book................

[Faust]

Hi, Geoffrey (I assume you mean B Small) didn't put me up to it, but he did write the introduction to the book though...
Sass

I was kidding :-) Welcome. It definitely would be interesting to hear some of your thoughts on how sustainable the eco-fashion movement is and whether it can be done on the mass industrial scale that the contemporary worlds demands. But maybe I'll start with the book.

[zamb]

I was kidding :-) Welcome. It definitely would be interesting to hear some of your thoughts on how sustainable the eco-fashion movement is and whether it can be done on the mass industrial scale that the contemporary worlds demands. But maybe I'll start with the book.

really interesting perspective that I never thought about..........

[Faust]

To me that's always been the crux of the matter. I feel like there are just not enough resources of this type to go around. But what do I know.

[ronin]

Thanks for posting, that seems like an interesting read. I've been to the Eco Fashion exhibition at FIT this summer and what struck me the most was how old the problematics of animal treatment, pollution and loss of work due to industrialization, toxic dying products etc, seemed to be old (and already fought against at the time). The way it's treated in the media makes it sound pretty new, while it's true that it's a major contemporary issue it's not like it has magically sprouted.

Regarding whether it can be done at industrial scale, I've always thought that the current width of the scale was a problem on its own. Over-consumption, lack of re-use of old garments, are to blame on their own. Actually, we, desindustrialized occidental societies, might be forced to reduce this consumption frenezy, with fabric-producing countries developping an internal market (see the article Faust posted about the raise in prices at Première Vision, for example); but it's not like it would solve the problem on a worlwide scale.

But I confess I have trouble trusting "organic" labels and such, especially regarding cotton. So many have developped over the past couple of years, I wonder how they did it. I thought (I may be wrong, maybe it's only true for agricultrue and in France) that being certified took at least three years. Maybe all those brands have started the eco-ification five years ago... But the impression it gives, is that everybody is claiming to be organic and eco-friendly and that it doesn't mean anything anymore. Well I guess I should better read the book.

[sassbrown]

Julie Gilhart and Valerie Steele

I was at that same roundtable! I don't remember the T shirt though! Funny thing, Julie Gilhart was not that into eco at the time, and she did a 180 degrees not long afterwards. I remember her first words were "I'm not sure what I'm doing here". Perhaps that panel was life changing or at least Barney's changing for her!

Anyway, I can respect your opinions. Like anything with any level of notoriety, there is of course people cashing in on what seems to be a trend. Never the less there are also some highly committed and talented eco designers out there that can be judged on their aesthetics as well as their sustainability, and my book is an attempt to showcase them in a fashion context rather than an activistic one.

Sass Brown

Well,
thanks,
was reading a review of the book a few days ago. for me the jury is still out on this whole Eco Friendly movement. I respect it, but in some aspects I am not sold on it. I mean, I use mostly natural fibers in my work, and I am against waste in many aspects of my life..........but I'm not gonna go all non-leather, vegan and such.
I respect my environment, but not to the point of worship. I also believe some are in it because it seems like another great untapped area where there is potentially a lot of money to be made............

I remember going to a discussion a few years back, by a company called INGEO fibres, the panel was headed by Julie Gilhart of barneys, Valerie Steele, and some guy from Diesel............

the Key thing I remember is they gave us a T-shirt from the promotional, that I remember ironing one day and it broke into holes because the fabric couldn't be ironed...............so much for that.

I do like some of the organic cotton and wools though, and I think a company called Pickering international has some really interesting ones that I am currently sampling.

I shall surely get a copy of the book................

[sassbrown]

I love the Oscar quote by the way! That has always been one of my favorites! I hope you like the book! Check out the website to, as it has some of the content from the book as well as a whole host of eco fashion resources. As for producing eco fashion on a production scale, I think there are a few schools of thought on that one. First and foremost, mass consumerism and throw away fashion is part of what got us into this mess with the environment, so I am not sure that is a model that should be used for eco fashion. That said there are some mass manufacturers working with one or another aspect of sustainability. Zara has been doing some very interesting back end eco work with the stores they build, low energy escalators, non toxic building materials, recycled materials where possible, recycled air filtration systems etc. Walmart is the worlds #1 organic cotton and transitional cotton purchaser. Marks and Spencers it the UK with Plan A for sustainable development is also an excellent example. Hopefully you'll find some good examples in my book!
Sass

[sassbrown]

Eco fashion

I'm not sure that the existing model of fast throw away fashion is the one that eco fashion should be trying to supplement, after all it is mass consumerism that has gotten us into this mess in the first place. That said there are some good examples of mass companies that are coming at sustainability from some very particular perspectives. Zara for example are doing some really interesting back end stuff with recycled materials in their buildings, no toxic paints, energy efficient escalators and recycled air cooling systems in their new stores. Marks and Spencers in the UK have made major strides in sustainability with their Plan A, and Wallmart have become the worlds single largest purchaser of organic and transitional cotton!

I was kidding :-) Welcome. It definitely would be interesting to hear some of your thoughts on how sustainable the eco-fashion movement is and whether it can be done on the mass industrial scale that the contemporary worlds demands. But maybe I'll start with the book.

[sassbrown]

I just responded to Faust's post that you refer to below with the same point that you are making about eco fashion not trying to mimic or scale to the fashion fashion scale, as mass consumerism is the problem to begin with.

You are absolutely right about the 3 year turn around for organic cotton, it does take that long to get the chemicals out of the ground water and earth where conventional cotton was grown. However "transitional" cotton has gained enormously in popularity as a means of supporting cotton farmers change over from conventional to organic cotton growth. Oddly, Wallmart has been pivitol in this with a 5 year commitment to buy transitional cotton from US growers, hence supporting the change over to organic cotton. They are now the worlds single largest organic cotton purchaser!

Sustainable design has indeed become a bit of a sales mantra (and a fake one in too many cases), but never the less, there are some very worthwhile, committed and aesthetically beautiful eco designers out there too, that are worth promoting for the product they produce alone, never mind their commitment to the ecology of our planet.

Thanks for posting, that seems like an interesting read. I've been to the Eco Fashion exhibition at FIT this summer and what struck me the most was how old the problematics of animal treatment, pollution and loss of work due to industrialization, toxic dying products etc, seemed to be old (and already fought against at the time). The way it's treated in the media makes it sound pretty new, while it's true that it's a major contemporary issue it's not like it has magically sprouted.

Regarding whether it can be done at industrial scale, I've always thought that the current width of the scale was a problem on its own. Over-consumption, lack of re-use of old garments, are to blame on their own. Actually, we, desindustrialized occidental societies, might be forced to reduce this consumption frenezy, with fabric-producing countries developping an internal market (see the article Faust posted about the raise in prices at Première Vision, for example); but it's not like it would solve the problem on a worlwide scale.

But I confess I have trouble trusting "organic" labels and such, especially regarding cotton. So many have developped over the past couple of years, I wonder how they did it. I thought (I may be wrong, maybe it's only true for agricultrue and in France) that being certified took at least three years. Maybe all those brands have started the eco-ification five years ago... But the impression it gives, is that everybody is claiming to be organic and eco-friendly and that it doesn't mean anything anymore. Well I guess I should better read the book.

[Faust]

Dear Ms. Brown,

Thank you for your replies (and for compliment on the Oscar Wilde quote - it is an awesome one indeed).

My apprehension about companies like Walmart is that because of their awesome lobbying power, whenever they get involved into an industry it often leads to loosening up of the standards. But, hopefully this won't be the case here. And, of course, I agree that the current fast-fashion model is responsible for an incredible amount of waste.

In any case, I signed up for your talk at FIT, and I encourage other New York members to do the same.

Eco Fashion - Sass Brown
Tuesday, October 26, 6-8 pm
Katie Murphy Amphitheatre
Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center, first floor
Sass Brown, FIT faculty member, presents her new book, Eco Fashion, a comprehensive look at the environmentally conscious designers who are changing the fashion industry. By promoting recycling, redesign, reuse, sustainability, fair trade, and community development, these artists combine concern for the planet with love for exceptional fashion. A signing of the book will follow.