Can Fashion Be Eco?

By Olivia Zaleski

Environmental entrepreneur, journalist, author and all around eco super-hero Paul Hawken recently said, "green consumerism is an oxymoronic phrase . . . fashion is the deliberate inculcation of obsolescence." Mr. Hawken you are absolutely right . . . but according to today's consumer spending reports, Vogue, and Women's Wear Daily, "fashion" isn't going anywhere soon.

As the prosperous continue to spend a large amount of environmental resources on the latest, it makes sense to offer eco alternatives . . . and to make them desirable. Yes, the following designers are still catering to consumerism, but they're doing so with sustainable materials, clean production methods, and fair trade policies. Enjoy this slideshow for the latest in beautiful environmentally conscious and responsible fashion.

Linda Loudermilk (www.lindaloudermilk.com) uses fabrics made of sasawashi, bamboo, sea cell, soya and other exotic self-sustaining plants. All fabrics and subsequent garments are created by meticulously researched sustainable business practices and fair labor standards.

Loudermilk believes luxury and affluent societies have traditionally existed at the expense of the environment, other people, and other cultures. Loudermilk therefore strives to create a "luxurious life" without excessive imbalance and cost to other humans, animals and the earth.

Jewelry designer Monique Péan (www.moniquepean.com) creates original jewelry from found remains of walrus, caribou, baleen and twelve thousand year old wooly mammoth ivory. Péan avoids the exploitative mining industry by using 100% recycled gold and conflict free diamonds. Ivory materials are discovered in melting ice caps, thus drawing attention to global warming.

10% of profits from Monique Péan's Bering Collection go to the Alaska Native Arts Foundation (www.alaskanativearts.org). The money is used to train the next generation of Alaska Native artists and fight to preserve a disappearing culture and natural landscape.

California-based design team Stewart+Brown (www.stewartbrown.com) employs biodegradable materials such as organic cotton, hemp, and linen. Additionally, Stewart+Brown make use of other companies' landfill-destined surplus fabric, therefore reducing waste and consuming less of the earth's precious natural resources.

Stewart+Brown is a member of "1% for the Planet," (www.onepercentfortheplanet.org) an alliance of small businesses that pay a voluntary earth tax and donate 1% of all sales to non-profit, non-governmental environmental organizations.

Mexican designer Olga Abadi and her handbag company Nahui Ollin (www.nahuiollin.com) use an ancient Mayan weaving technique to bind discarded materials into fully functional bags and accessories. This bag is made from discarded candy wrappers and is surprisingly very durable.

Rebe (www.myrebe.com) makes clothing and accessories from recycled vintage fabrics, yarns, and organic cotton. Recycling pre-consumer (unused stock) cotton keeps an estimated five billion pounds of waste from US landfills.

Chic sunglasses from iwood (www.iwoodecodesign.com) are carved from sustainable-growth woods like zebrawood, bamboo, bubinga, and Makassar ebony -- which means no trees are harmed in the process. Each pair is hand-cut, hand-sanded, and hand-finished locally in the US.

Nature vs. Future (www.naturevsfuture.com) designer Nina Valenti mixes natural and recycled materials to create modern silhouettes. Her favorite sustainable fibers include organic cotton, organic wool, hemp, soy, bamboo, seaweed, lyocell (a wood pulp), Ingeo (created from corn), and recycled plastic bottles.

Special thanks to Project Greenhouse East Hampton for showcasing many of these talented designers.