You've heard of wearing your heart on your sleeve, but what about wearing your soul? That's what eco-fashion -- aka "fashion with a soul" -- claims to do.
The up-and-coming trend of making and wearing clothes that promote a healthy environment and safe working conditions, takes into consideration a whole lot more than just the style factor. It's a new concept, especially in the fashion arena, which makes it a misunderstood one as well.
To learn a little more about the strange animal that is eco-fashion, keep reading.
The Fabric of Our Lives
We're certain you know who you're wearing, but do you know what you're wearing? Chances are, very high your clothing is not doing much to help our environment.
"Any fiber produced conventionally is not eco-fashion," said Haven Bourque, vice president of Straus Communications, which represents eco-fashion companies Del Forte and Lucina. "For every pound of cotton, two-thirds of a pound of insecticides and pesticides are used to grow it."
If it's grown organically, with minimal impact on the earth's environment, then you have an eco-friendly garment.
According to Bourque, some of the more popular fabrics used for eco-fashion are cotton, wool ("You don't have to spray sheep"), angora, cashmere, hemp, ramie, silk, linen and flax.
Don't be fooled by a label listing various percentages of these materials, though. If it's eco, more than likely, the designer will make this known with additional tags and labels affirming their support.
Shiny, Happy People
Eco-fashion doesn't just take into account the environment.
"It's good for the water, the soil and the workers, too," Bourque said.
For many of us, the last thing to cross our minds when looking in a three-way mirror at a pair of butt-flattering jeans is who is responsible for making them. Not the designers and the folks who drew the sketches, but the actual sweat behind the product: the labor workers.
Organizations like the Sustainable Cotton Project are making strides to educate the public on the dangers posed to fiber growers who use harmful chemicals. If it's bad for the earth, then it's probably bad for its inhabitants as well.
The World Health Organization estimates 20,000 deaths and 3 million nonfatal poisonings result from accidental pesticide poisonings every year.
Green fashion also takes into account the manual labor employed in manufacturing centers. Sweat shops are not only a faux pas here, they're considered a cardinal sin.
Next: It's not about hippies >
