Possibility for Differentiation within Eco Fashion - Essay Example

? Eco Fashion, fashionable? Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Discussion 5 A. Recent Trends and Their Implications for Ecofashion 5 B. Analysis9 III. Conclusion 13 References 14 I. Introduction This paper discusses ecofashion and the issues and concepts associated with ecofashion. Ecofashion is said to be a design and manufacturing movement centered on the use of textiles and the use of garment technologies that are sustainable from an environmental point of view. This means answering concerns with regard to production methods for cotton, as an example, as well as other raw materials. The focus turned to looking at chemical use and pesticides use in the processing of such raw materials for garments, to make them greener and less wasteful. Ecofashion then has come to be associated with these things, from labor conditions to the health and well-being of the consumer, to the use of chemicals, and a focus on organically grown raw materials for textiles, including cotton (Peterson and Kellogg 2008, p. 177). Vogue notes that the earliest references in the past three decades with regard to sustainable fashion and ecofashion were made as early as 1990. Then, the New York Times headlined a story with regard to an emergent green movement in the world of fashion, as well as a new environmental push in fashion observed in Vogue not long after that. It was also in 1990 that a pioneer of the ecofashion movement, Katharine Hamnett, spoke before the United Nations with regard to the anomalies in the way garments were produced. The talk was specifically about the negative ecological impacts of those production and marketing processes for fashion and garments. Terms such as acid rain and children of the earth, as they pertain to fashion, also came into vogue. These point to the deep historical roots of ecofashion in the fashion literature (Vogue 2013). Fast forward to the present, and there are whole movements in countries in support of ecofashion, and awareness of the large negative impacts of mainstream fashion processes, including the production processes for garments, has reached an all-time high. For instance, in Sweden, government assets that promote ecofashion cite statistics with regard to the massive negative environmental toll of producing mainstream fabrics. The chemical trails from the dyes, bleaches and prints that are used to produce garments are said to be on par with the production of wastes in petrochemical plants. Meanwhile tons of these garments end up becoming part of landfills and cause long-term havoc to the environment because of the chemicals that they contain. They also take a long time to totally decompose. This awareness in turn has been used to provide a boost for the creation of new ecofashion companies all over the world. In Sweden for instance, the first ecogarment firms were founded in 2004 (Quinn 2007). Among organic sources, the literature mentions hemp, cotton and bamboo as prime examples of organic materials that have become representative sources of fabrics in ecofashion (Rauf and Vescia 2009, p. 27). Recycling materials and the use of so-called “low-impact dyes”, or dyes that have a minimal environmental footprint, are also among the key concepts, materials and technologies that are associated with ecofashion (Lee 2009; Styles 2012). On the other hand, new ecofashion trends emphasize how current ecofashion has veered away from the symbolisms and the values associated with past eco-fashion waves. These include those that were produced by the counter-culture hippie movement of the 60's and 70's. Emerging ecofashion trends include that ecofashion has come to be embraced by the biggest mainstream fashion designers and brands, from Armani to Oscar de la Renta. Moreover, the focus of the new wave is on the aesthetics of the person wearing the apparel (Winge 2008, pp. 511-524). Elsewhere in the literature, sustainability and ecofashion have also come to be associated with fair trade too. Are the cotton farmers paid well and fairly? Are the supply chain processes optimized to reduce the carbon footprint of the whole process? These are some of the issues and concepts associated with fair trade, the environment, and ecofashion (Lee 2009; Styles 2012; Blewitt 2006, pp. 213-218). On the other hand an aspect of what makes a trend fashionable is whether it is adopted by the consumers in general. In this regard there are concerns on how far into the mainstream ecofashion can get. Organic materials and ecofashion in general is still considered to lie on the fringe of fashion, with few customers. Ecofashion, according to some estimations, still only lie along the margins of mainstream fashion. This is true even as the biggest-name designers and brands have tried to root for ecofashion in recent years. This was true in 2009 when some very big name fashion houses supported ecofashion publicly, headed by Armani (Loschek 2009, pp. 15-16; Winge 2008). II. Discussion A. Recent Trends and Their Implications for Ecofashion Current trends seem to favor the continued rise of ecofashion as a dominant force in fashion. In social media, for instance, such as Twitter, ecofashion has come to have its own hashtag. That there are many thousands of Tweets on the hashtag #ecofashion is a signal that the movement is alive and is being tracked by a sizable number of people around the world. The hashtag is also a rich real-time resource for collecting articles on ecofashion and where it is headed (Twitter 2013). A sampling of the Tweets on the hashtag includes a large number of new articles shared by Twitter users on ecofashion and sustainable design. As an example, one popular Tweet shares an article on how emerging designers may add to the voices favoring an industry shift towards ecofashion. In the United States, we find that there is a conference on sustainable design reported via social medial (Twitter 2013; Fibre2fashion News Desk 2013). Elsewhere, very recent news with regard to Gucci going green and embracing the ecofashion movement is a vital sign that the ecofashion movement is fashionable. The newest hero product from Gucci is a bag that touted as being 100 traceable and designed in partnership with a modern icon of the ecofashion movement, Livia Firth. This launch builds on the work of other priests of high fashion,, going back to the time when the likes of Oscar de la Renta and Armani went ahead and introduced ecofashion lines (Winge 2008; Armstrong 2013). In the case of the 2013 launch of the Gucci bag, the fashion house has gone the extreme route of making sure that the product is rigorously ecology friendly. The raw materials, down to the threads and the metals used for the zippers, conform to the standards of ecological sustainability. The material that they highlighted is leather. Sourcing the leather from a Brazilian farm, the fashion house made sure that not one tree was felled in the raising of the cattle from which the leather was sourced. In this way, Gucci is parlaying rigor in the selection process for the raw materials to satisfy the high ecological standards of the ecofashion purists. This is in line with its very premium position as one of the trendsetters and one of the most valuable brands in fashion. The way it is manufactured too, reflects the ecofashion cred of the new bag. Gucci further reinforces the close association between its brand and ecologically sustainable fashion. It makes use of other materials such as bamboo that are also viewed as ecofriendly. The craftsmen that have been working by hand on may premium Gucci products for decades are used to make the bag. This recent trend of the high fashion houses adopting ecofashion trends also signal a marriage between ecofashion and fashionable wear. The marriage changes the image of ecofashion as the product of the counterculture movements of the 70's. A strong element of the new message for Gucci and other icons of high fashion is that of an increasing awareness of the negative impact of fashion to the environment. What was fashionable before, such as black colors, is no longer as hip today. This is because such colors have been found to be high in toxicity to humans and the environment. Statements such as 'green is the new black' and '100 percent traceable' are marketing messages, true. However, the messages also imply a new consciousness that ecofashion can be fashionable and profitable. This is a welcome new trend in ecofashion (Armstrong 2013; Winge 2008). There is much evidence in the literature that ecofashion has taken on the dimensions of glamor and of political correctness. What this means is that embracing ecofashion means being on the side of those who are friends of the earth. As a movement, for instance, it has been adopted and made glamorous by such prominent public figures as Livia Firth in the UK. She is being credited with bringing the ecofashion movement to hew heights of glamor and desirability, She did this by actively promoting ecofashion wear during awards ceremonies and other high-profile events in partnership with her husband the actor Colin Firth (Bergin 2012). Livia Firth also partnered with Gucci on a new bag that is 100 ;percent traceable and ecologically sustainable (Armstrong 2013) Meanwhile, this movement extends to the further signing up some of the biggest names in fashion to the cause of ecofashion. In the case of an event called 'Green Fashion Challenge', Firth was able to enlist some of the most glamorous names in the world of fashion: Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Alberta Ferretti, and Paul Smith. Gucci is also in on the act for this particular event. This highlights the growing environmental movement and the move of these players to make their brands relevant and friendly to the ecology One can say from the latest trends in ecofashion that the movement is gaining momentum up to the present. This bodes well for the future of ecofashion in general (Waite 2013; Armstrong 2013; Bergin 2012). B. Analysis Winge (2008) situates the new trends as part of the shift in thinking about ecofashion in general. More and more people are coming to understand what ecofashion stands for. This includes the wide scale adoption of ecofashion by celebrities and by high fashion brands and designers. For instance, the old industry was shaped by the historical importance of profit over environmental and ethical issues. This meant neglect of environmental concerns and of concerns relating to the ethical treatment of workers. Winge in this way explains why the industry is the way it is. Economic and historical contexts provide the backdrop for understanding where the new movement is coming from. From the viewpoint of celebrity proponents of ecofashion, ecofashion represents not just a political stand. It also represents a new consciousness that takes up the cause of the environmentalists and the poor workers. This new consciousness pits them against the traditional profit-oriented causes of the apparel industry in general. It is worth noting that the very same fashion houses and brands that are beginning to embrace ecofashion have been the same entities that have profited from the harmful practices of the past. The shift in thinking represented by the heroes of the ecofashion movement is something that the fashion houses and the industry have come to embrace. This is partly a way to remake themselves maybe. This is to position themselves to profit from the new movement as well. Ecofashion has become, in a way, a profitable position that can be exploited. This is to say that the bandwagon has made ecofashion fashionable. What this means is that what is fashionable is what the mainstream high fashion houses and designers deem fashionable to be. It is partly trend and taste-setting, and partly marketing. It is also a nod to the potential of the ecofashion movement to change the whole industry. This is so because more and more people are becoming aware of the dire environmental impact of current ways of manufacturing apparel (Winge 2008; Lee 2009; Bergin 2012; Waite 2012; Styles 2012). The short of it is that more and more consumers are becoming aware that the old ways of making garments harm the environment. Awareness is translating to consumers choosing ecofashion options. Here one argument is that marketing by the large fashion houses is the result of shrewd business calculations rather than a genuine regard for the environment. Looking at the data, one can argue that a hero product from Gucci, such as the bag that has been discussed earlier, hides its other practices. It hides the fact that a large percentage of the apparel being produced today is still being manufactured making use of toxic chemical dyes. They are sourced from raw material crops such as cotton raised making use of tons of pesticides that again harm the environment (Winge 2008; Lee 2009; Bergin 2012; Waite 2012; Styles 2012). Hamnett highlights the example of how cotton production harms the environment: “As far as climate change is concerned, cotton is one and a half per cent organic. The rest of it is [grown] using chemical fertilisers, which give off huge amounts of nitrate oxide which is an incredibly potent greenhouse gas and that’s just the beginning” (Styles 2012). This does not take away from the overall desirability of ecofashion. It only reveals the way the ecofashion segment nevertheless occupies only a marginal component of the overall production, revenues and profits of the apparel industry. That only 1.5 percent of all cotton produced is organic tells a lot. It shows just how marginal ecofashion is in the grand scheme of things in the industry Its contribution to revenues and actual contribution to total output is low. Moreover, one can argue that the premium positioning of ecofashion is flawed. It is being touted not as a mass market product to replace environmentally harmful garments, but rather is intended to fill the needs of a niche market, and sold at very high profits. These aspects of ecofashion as discussed here, marginalized, high price and high fashion, all point to the big problems that still face ecofashion at present. This does not take away from ecofashion becoming fashionable. It is possible that the market will demand more ecofashion products in the future. This can translate to a more prominent role for ecofashion as a mainstream choice more and more people (Winge 2008; Lee 2009; Bergin 2012; Waite 2012; Styles 2012). III. Conclusion It can be said that ecofashion has become fashionable and respected. This is judging by the standards of the high fashion houses and judging from the enthusiastic acceptance and embrace by the major designers. The rabid support of some of very glamorous public figures also help. They testify to the glamor and the fashion aspects that ecofashion has taken on in the past decade or so/ This is reinforced by the increasing interest by the consumer market. This is also reinforced by the steady introduction of new products by iconic grands such as Gucci. These new products are being marketed for their strict and rigorous compliance with environmental and ecological standards. On the other hand, more pragmatic and cynical voices point to the fact that ecofashion products have minimal sales and adoptions. While it has taken on a prominent and glamorous spot in the industry, ecofashion still only represents a negligible fraction of total sales and total production. The reality is that while fashionable, it remains on the fringe. That said, its prospects for wider adoption moving forward are good. This is because of its fashionable image, and given trends favoring more massive adoption of ecofashion (Winge 2008; Lee 2009; Bergin 2012; Waite 2012; Styles 2012;Armstrong 2013; Loschek 2009, pp. 15-16). References Armstrong, Lisa 2013. Eco-fashion: Why green is the new black for Gucci. Telegraph.co.uk Fashion. [Online] Available at: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/columns/lisa-armstrong/TMG9902615/Eco-fashion-Why-green-is-the-new-black-for-Gucci.html [Accessed 24 March 2013] Bergin, Olivia 2012. Eco queen Livia Firth to launch her own range. Telegraph.co.uk Fashion. [Online] Available at: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9373612/Eco-queen-Livia-Firth-to-launch-her-own-range.html [Accessed 24 March 2013] Blewitt, John 2006. The Ecology of Learning: Sustainability, Lifelong Learning and Everyday Life. Earthscan. Google Books. 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[Online] Available at: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9010339/Livia-Firth-recruits-fashions-biggest-names-for-her-Green-Carpet-Challenge.html [Accessed 24 March 2013] Winge, Theresa 2008. “Green is the New Black”: Celebrity Chic and the “Green” Commodity Fetish. Fashion Theory 12 (4). Berg Read More