Monday, January 14, 2008

Express Yourself...Dress Green!

Jennifer Kehoe and Alexandra Marsh

The population is going green. From the health addicts who crave the organic and locally grown food products to the environmentally conscious who splurge on hybrid vehicles, even the fashion industry is finding its niche. Clothing and accessories made from organic and alternative textiles and recycled materials are eco-friendly and cruelty-free. Young and middle aged women interested in sustainable and progressive ways of life are still fans of style, and when celebrities endorse the “green”, such as Bono’s socially responsible clothing line, the ideas and products become mainstream and accessible. Concerns about health and the environment, in relation to the pesticide use on textile crops is just another aspect of the green trend that consumers may be concerned about. Socially and environmentally conscious actions in the fashion industry connect it to the global phenomenon of sustainability.1

There are many companies and designers that are now offering full or part lines of organic fashion. Using pesticide free raw materials, recycled materials, and other eco-friendly textiles, they are able to appeal to a wide variety of people. Large chain stores such as Target, Sam’s Club, and WalMart are introducing Go Green campaigns and offering organic clothing in their junior, child, and athletic apparel departments.2

Organic apparel, in part due to a buy-in from retail behemoth Wal-Mart, is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the organic movement. Sales of organic fiber grew 44 percent to reach $160 million in 2005, according to the Organic Trade Association, and the boom is expected to continue as consumers become more familiar with eco-friendly clothing.3

Not only has population of progressive, socially and environmentally conscious citizens jumped on board the style of green, but the general mainstream market is offering similar products, and cheaper, to people who are just catching the eco-friendly bug. Stores such as WholeFoods and Nordstrom offer the earthy chic and designer lovers a chance to shop around for the industries products. Organic clothing and accessories are no longer frumpy looking, as the fashion world has taken on the project of stylizing the materials into pieces that look no different than other company’s designs. There is a shift in the industry from hippie to hip.4

The designer fashion market has a collection of supporters from designers to celebrity consumers. Boutiques and high-end department stores have started carrying all sorts of sustainable clothing lines. There are two types of consumers and producers, those who are adding fashion to their social and environmental responsibility beliefs and those who are adding the sustainable aspect to their already existing fashion production. As the “fastest growing
category in organic fiber consumer sales in the U.S., according to the Organic Trade Association,”5 the women’s clothing market has the opportunity to take the lead in eco-friendly design, and the consumer demand is quite apparent. The new trend in fashion is a national interest, coming from a variety of perspectives and is available in progressive areas such as Western Massachusetts and other cities, expensive high-end markets like Los Angeles, chain stores such as WalMart, and online.

As people are becoming increasingly interested in the environmental, social, and ethical consequences of their actions and decisions, consumer behavior has experienced a dramatic shift. From organic, Fair Trade, locally grown and eco-friendly products, the natural industry has been able to claim top sales. According to Packaged Facts, a 17.4% increase in sales has occurred since 2005, reaching $32.8 billion in 2006.6 In the fashion world, the trends of the summer 2007 season also introduced green as the new top color pick in more ways than one. Sellers claim that the surge of interest in the many shades that green has to offer is in indication of an awareness and interest in today’s environmental issues. The fashion industry has been introducing apparel made of recycled material, organic and alternative fabrics such as cotton, hemp, soy, and bamboo, and even accessories made of cardboard. “‘We've got woven bags made out of recycled materials like candy wrappers,’ said Seana Pedelaborde, owner of A Mano Trading in Berkeley, Calif., of her Babylon line. ‘They're really bright and colorful and have a New Wave feel to them,’”7

Major retail clothing and apparel companies are catching onto the trend of using sustainably harvested and organic fabric material. Powerhouses in the outdoor and athletic industry such as Nike, Eddie Bauer, and Timberland have been weaving these new textiles into their finished products. Environmentally conscious consumers are able to still buy their favorite, big-name brands, but with the assurance that the company has an interest in going “green” and pleasing the customer who values sustainability. “But the best part for consumers is that many alternative fabrics have features that traditional ones don't, said Rebecca Calahan Klein, the president of Organic Exchange, a clearinghouse and resource center in Berkeley, Calif. ‘Bamboo is a good example,’ Ms. Calahan Klein said. 'It's a natural and biodegradable fiber that also happens to be soft against the skin and, according to fabric producers, it is naturally antimicrobial.'’”8

One company, Indigenous Designs, founded by Scott Leonard 14 years ago, sells organic fair trade clothing made by the people of Ecuador, India, Guatemala, and Peru. He works with 300 knitting cooperatives of women. He determines their skills in knitting, sewing, and crocheting, and gives them designs his company creates for sweaters, casual wear, and accessories. They stick to their design manta, “Never let a customer feel like they're sacrificing quality or fashion sense to be a good global citizen." The fabric used comes from no more than 400 miles from the cooperatives, and is produced with sustainable natural materials. The women are given training and the right tools to create the clothing. Indigenous Design had a hard time when the company first started up, because no one was familiar with organic or Fair Trade, but now, the company earns $4 million in revenue.9

Conserve, a New Delhi based company that makes woman’s fashion accessories out of the plastics bags that find their way blowing across the polluted streets of India, started from the work of Anita Ahuja. After paying government ID-ed “rag pickers,” or people who search through the dumpsters, her employees turn trash into treasure, creating handbags out of reusable, yet no resale value, plastics. The fashions are sold through Global Girlfriend, an online retailer, to Whole Foods stores in the U.S. Ahuja’s products are an example of how green fashion accessories can be constructed out of almost any material. Ecoist, Basura Bags, and Focused Bags create bags and purses out of recycled chip bags, can tabs, gum wrappers, and broken skateboards. Companies of this philosophy combine creative art, environmental protection (recycled materials) and fashion into merchandise that consumers have fun with and feel good about.10 Reusable shopping bags are becoming immensely popular, even attracting top designers. Hermes launched its $960 reusable shopping bag in the U.S. this summer. Vogue writes, “Today, let us go out and harness the power of fashion to change the way the nation shops…Say no to plastic bags. Whip out your own brilliant alternative. Make people stare. Break a habit. Set a trend.”11

In the sales of ethical, eco-friendly/conscious, and sustainable trend products, the food and beverage category has experienced the largest growth in sales by the billions on dollars. Personal care products has taken second place, with an increase of 3.2 to 5.24 billions of dollars, from 2002 until 2006. By 2011, a 10% increase is expected, totaling a whopping 8.82 billions of dollars into the industry.12 The movement into holistic and alternative health practices may justify these numbers. As people are deciding they should monitor what they put in and on their bodies, a shift towards organic, plant-derived ingredients is catching on. Mainstream popular beauty outlets such as Lush, and department stores such as the famous Sephora are carrying brands like Dr. Hauschka, a holistic skin care company that emphasizes natural regeneration of the skins processes, and sourcing their ingredients from their own biodynamic organic farm in Germany.13

With corporate companies buying many of the socially and environmentally responsible brands, such as Hershey’s now owning Dagoba organic chocolates, and generic brands such as Kellogg’s introducing cereals that are now offered organic, “green” is everywhere.14 This mainstream shift though, has brought up controversial thoughts. Some believe that the root beliefs in ethical, environmental, and socially responsible consuming risk being undermined as going green become more mainstream and more trendy. Whether or not this debate really matters or will hurt the industry members who want stay “pure” is up to individual evaluation. Yet either way, people are moving towards the green, the natural, the sustainable, the eco-friendly/conscious, no matter the price, in response to an increased awareness in a progressive future and change in mental models.


1 Kennedy, Kelli. “Organic Clothing Enters Realm of High Fashion.” The Purse Blog. 14 October 2007. http://www.purseblog.com/fashion/organic-clothing-enters-realm-of-high-fashion/.

2 Bond, Patti. “FRESH IDEAS; MANUFACTURERS RESPOND TO A GROWING INTEREST IN ORGANIC FASHIONS.” ProQuest, ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry. Organic fashion. 14 October 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=1&did=1199085491&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1192454654&clientId=2724.

3 Bond, Patti. “FRESH IDEAS; MANUFACTURERS RESPOND TO A GROWING INTEREST IN ORGANIC FASHIONS.” ProQuest, ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry. Organic fashion. 14 October 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=1&did=1199085491&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1192454654&clientId=2724.

4 Bond, Patti. “FRESH IDEAS; MANUFACTURERS RESPOND TO A GROWING INTEREST IN ORGANIC FASHIONS.” ProQuest, ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry. Organic fashion. 14 October 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=1&did=1199085491&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1192454654&clientId=2724.

5 Sarkasian-Miller, Nola. “Green Day; Organic fashion takes root.” ProQuest, ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry. Organic fashion. 14 October 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3&did=830655851&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1192456481&clientId=2724.

6 “Corporate Responsibility: The Market and Trends for Green Products in Food and Beverage, Personal Care, and Household Items.” Natural fabrics, Packaged Facts; Market Research.com Academic. 1/1/2007. Oct 8, 2007. <http://academic.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1282418&curl=&surl=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Easp%3Fprid%3D1006577935%26query%3Dnatural%2Bfabrics%26cmdgo%3DGo&prid=1006577935>

7 Daswani, Kavita. “See Green; The Color Finds its Way into all Types of Accessories for Summer, Echoing the Growing Interest in Eco-friendly Products.” Handbags and Accessories, Proquest; ABI/Inform Trade and Industry. 8/13/2007. Oct. 8, 2007. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=7&did=1324167951&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1191933190&clientId=2724>

9 “Grocery Totes.” Chicago Tribune. 5-07-2007. Mintel.

10 Ahuja, Anita. Conserve. 20 November 2007. http://www.conserveindia.org/main.php

11 Ramberg. “Doing Good: Fair Fashion.” J.J., Entrepreneur; Oct 2007, Vol. 35 Issue 10, p36-36. Business Source Premier.

12 “Corporate Responsibility: The Market and Trends for Green Products in Food and Beverage, Personal Care, and Household Items.” Natural fabrics, Packaged Facts; Market Research.com Academic. 1/1/2007. Oct 8, 2007. <http://academic.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1282418&curl=&surl=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Easp%3Fprid%3D1006577935%26query%3Dnatural%2Bfabrics%26cmdgo%3DGo&prid=1006577935>

13 Dr. Hauschka Skin Care. Oct. 8, 2007. <http://www.drhauschka.com >

14 “Corporate Responsibility: The Market and Trends for Green Products in Food and Beverage, Personal Care, and Household Items.” Natural fabrics, Packaged Facts; Market Research.com Academic. 1/1/2007. Oct 8, 2007. <http://academic.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1282418&curl=&surl=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Easp%3Fprid%3D1006577935%26query%3Dnatural%2Bfabrics%26cmdgo%3DGo&prid=1006577935>

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