Green is the new black. Really. By green though, I’m not referring to the colour. Nor am I talking about Shrek. I’m talking about green the concept—green as in the environmentally-friendly lifestyle, the ecologically-conscious state of mind, or the ethically-driven purchase decision.
OK I must first confess that the environment has been on my mind since I got my first pollution-caused allergy attack a bunch of years ago. Gross, I know, but still—we each have a moment where things click and that was mine. And so I am a little biased on this cause. But come on, who doesn’t love blue skies, clear water, and nature (in small doses)? The ability to breath isn’t so bad either…
The tipping point for the whole green thing was probably Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth. This was possibly the most talked-about movie of last year. Although the information is nothing new, the presentation of it to a wide audience around the world in a format that everyone could understand allowed people to begin to recognize the scope of the problem in a unified and clear way. I have that problem all the time—I know that we are doing something wrong but I have no idea what the right thing to do is or what the exact stakes are. Not that this movie is a guide to how to save the world, but it does frame the issue well. Watch it.
OK so on to the fun stuff. How is green the new black? Don’t worry, I’ll lecture a bit along the way, but talk is cheap so lets get a few examples first of how green is taking on the fashion world “by storm”.
• Barney’s New York and Loomstate—Let’s start with the establishment. By the time Barney’s is putting organic t-shirts in their windows, we can be pretty sure that the fashion establishment has taken notice. This spring, Barney’s collaborated with Loomstate on an exclusive line of organic T’s. Organic cotton is better for the environment as the pesticide and chemical free farming methods are much safer while also using less energy in the process. Loomstate’s t-shirts are also softer than clouds. What more needs to be said?
• Stella McCartney—Ms. McCartney is possibly the world’s most famous vegan. Who could forget the talk that surrounded her first accessories collection? Plastic everything? Excuse me? But still, firm to her principles, Stella’s fashions are animal and animal-cruelty free—and most people who buy it don’t even know. Come fall look out for her new organic and natural beauty line as well.
• Anya Hindmarch “I’m not a plastic bag”—Let me first tell you that this bag is already sold out world-wide. The ultimate statement bag of the season, this canvas bag brings to the fashion foreground what we’ve all seen in supermarkets for years. Bringing your own bag to the market instead of taking one of their plastic bags reduces waste and energy. Now, the “not-plastic” bag is so chic that you can also take it to lunch, to the gym, or even to a party.
• Hot new brands—Edun, Noir, and Del Forte Denim are all brands that have taken the eco / ethical pledge. Acually there are a lot more, but these are my personal favourites. Again, eco-fabrics such as organic cottons and denims or even bamboo are a major part of these lines but for the first time, the designers have not traded off aesthetics for ethics and have been able to create looks that are as forward as their lifestyles. Luxury is no longer just about scarcity but now includes responsibility.
• Carbon Offsets—More of a celebrity fixation than a fashion trend, buying carbon offsets have been embraced by artists such as Coldplay and Sheryl Crow as a way to make their tours around the globe a bit more eco-friendly. Basically the idea is simple. When we use energy, we emit carbon into the atmosphere. This contributes to global warming. So, what you can do is pay other people to either reduce their emissions or to do things that absorb carbon (such as planting trees or covering up waste sites). The science is still a bit sketchy as to which is the best method, but when the cool kids are doing it, it’s hot, no?
• Hybrid and Electric Cars—ok so the prius was big news a couple years back already but still, the following, which includes Leonardo Dicaprio, Lucy Liu, and Cameron Diaz, has not given up. Rather, more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon and they are only making these cars bigger and badder than ever before. Last I heard one of the major fashion weeks was going to turn their shuttles into hybrids? We will see.
So—are you convinced? Green is the new black. Especially if black stands for dirt and pollution and the whole world turning into a giant commercial hub where everything is man made. How can anyone resist? But what I think is more difficult is deciding how to actually incorporate greenness in the ways we live and dress overall. Truthfully, it’s pretty complicated. When you start thinking about all the different issues that can be addressed, you start to wonder if there is anything that you can do at all. Think about it—you can worry about waste, transportation costs, energy costs in producing garments, effects on the local environments where things are produced, efficiency costs of production… And all that is just the beginning, no? The good news is at least now you don’t have to trade off looking hot with being green…
And so now—the big question. What is green fashion? Truthfully, nobody really knows. The talk centers around the multiple foci of sustainable fabrics, organic farming, fair trade, good labour practices, non-polluting manufacturing methods, and reduction of transportation and packaging costs. But how is this fashion? Fashion is about colours, styling, “looks”—you know what I mean. But at the same time, that is exactly the point. Until we see how things work as a whole—whether it be how a dress goes from sketch to store or how our actions affect the world as a whole—we won’t get it. And when we do start to look at these things, and when the information is available for us to study, then we can start to make choices that we otherwise would not be able or reflective enough to consider.
In all seriousness, green is the new “it” way to live. Back in New York and London, everyone is trying to figure out how to get a green roof, eating locally, and just overall being much more conscious about the way that they live. But beyond all of this hipness, it’s not just fashionable, it’s important—which is probably why so many people have caught on so quickly. It’s strange but for me, I didn’t realize how little of a relationship I have with nature or the “real world” until I went to Cancun last month and actually saw how beautiful the beaches were and had so much fun playing in the waves and picking up shells for my sandcastle. It was only after having had a view of Central Park for a few months that I realized how lacking my Hong Kong harbour view is. Strange, I know, but after a while, the concrete jungle starts to cave in—even on me.
The point is, the fashion world is no longer shying away from being responsible. Not that they aren’t still going to ask us all to considering starving ourselves to fit into their clothes (although that might be considered ecologically sound as we would all eat less and require less materials to dress ourselves with) or what not but rather they are looking at the world as a whole and their part in it. Every little bit helps. That’s all I am saying.
