Get Hip Get Green
Once the fashion industry’s awkward outsider, eco-friendly clothing has now become the cool new girl in school. Labels have exchanged scratchy, straw-colored hemp—once de rigueur for eco-friendly style—for sleek bamboo blends and organic denims so soft they even put some cashmeres to shame.
But while we’ve got our pick of super-luxe basics that won’t harm the planet, there are still far fewer all-natural clothing lines that exhibit a truly haute sensibility. A handful of new labels and retailers, however, are following in the footsteps of Danish crusaders Noir, placing an emphasis on sleek tailoring and sophisticated embellishment for a style-conscious urban customer .
The Noir aesthetic is unusually minimal for an eco-fashion label. 50% of their Spring/Summer 08 collection is made from organically certified African cotton and in 2008 they launched their cotton fabric brand Illuminati II which will supply sub-Saharan cotton to luxury brands. They’ve treated the cotton in many ways to create what they call ‘cotton couture’. The coated cotton gives the impression of rubber with a sexy fetishistic appeal, the starched honeycomb cotton creates interesting shapes, while the cotton silks have a luxurious feel.
Apart from creating beautiful clothes Noir has created an ethical collection where a percentage of profits from the clothes go back to Africa to support the cotton workers. The Noir Foundation provides essential medicine and micro loans in a so-called Humane Business Model. “We want to be known as the first brand to turn corporate social responsibility sexy†says Peter Ingwersen the founder of NOIR. IlluminatiII. The label is a member of the U.N. Global Compact adhering to human rights, labour safety, environment and anticorruption politics. It is also affiliated with The International Labour Organization Via Treehugger
Sarah Ratty of Ciel also knows that eco-friendly doesn’t have to mean colorless; her vivid creations only use 100% Azo-free dyes on recycled or eco-certified fabrics. Ratty’s designs—standouts include a metallic-gold party frock and a silk wrap dress hand-printed with a blue flocked pattern—earned her 2007’s UK Fashion Export Award for Ethical Fashion, an honor for which she’s been nominated again this year.
Alongside these pioneering eco-couturiers, there’s also a strong contingent of online retailers devoted to showcasing the cool over the crunchy. Nimli.com carries ethical goods in everything from fashion—The Battalion is currently in stock—and beauty to housewares and furniture. Modify is the place to find Prairie Underground dresses and outerwear along with eco-basics from Park Vogel, Sworn Virgins and Loomstate. Elsewhere, Adili.com is staking its claim as the Shopbop.com of ethical fashion, offering flirty, colorful frocks from Ciel and People Tree, while Fashion-Conscience.com features a magazine-style format and trend reports in the vein of Net-a-Porter.
So if the retail world is catching on, why aren’t more designers following suit? “Eco-fabrics are more expensive than your standard poly/cotton/rayons, so it’s harder to keep prices competitive while also spending money on development,” explains Linda Wong. “Another obstacle eco-labels face is that there are only a handful of fabrications to choose from—for example, it’s really hard to find organic prints. We have to be really creative when it comes to sourcing other trims and details.”
Despite the challenges, Wong and her fellow ecologically-minded designers have proven earth-conscious doesn’t have to mean boring—and if they have their way, it’ll only be a matter of time before other designers start clamoring to join their clique. Via Jc Report
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