Eco-Fashion – Green is the New Black

Eco-Fashion – Green is the New Black

By Lisa Boushy

When I first heard of hemp clothing I was in university and I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept. Hemp was something you passed around in certain circles (ok, maybe my circle here and there). I also fondly remember the “tree-huggers” who went out west every summer to plant trees. Now they were the types to wear hemp clothing. I have images of them walking around campus in hooded Peruvian pullovers with muted colours; their feet firmly planted in Birkenstocks.

“Eco-friendly” clothing has certainly come a long way since the mid-’90s. Just one decade later, the use of organic cotton, bamboo, soy, vegetable-dyes and recycled items are gaining ground as we move toward more sustainable and healthy lifestyles. So if environmentalism is the new religion, then green is the new black — at least in the world of eco-fashion.

But how do we determine whether an item of clothing is eco-friendly or not? According to naturalhealthcare.ca, one factor has to do with a plant’s renewability (the more renewable the better since renewable resources can be replenished in a fairly short amount of time). Another deciding factor is the ecological footprint of the resource, which means how much land it takes to bring one of the plants or animals to full growth and to support it. The last factor concerns the number of chemicals that are required to grow or process the product in order to make it ready for market. For example, bleaching and then dyeing a fabric creates toxins that flow into our ecosystem. Petroleum-based products are also detrimental to our environment and the use of rayon for clothing is contributing to the rapid depletion of the world’s forests.

Coming back to hemp, it is extremely eco-friendly. Hemp is among the oldest fabric plants in the world, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. In fact, archeologists have found relics of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC. Hemp’s ecological footprint is considered smaller than most other plants since it grows very quickly and densely, which makes it difficult for weeds to take hold, eliminating the need for herbicides and artificial fertilizers. Hemp also requires no irrigation as it thrives on the amount of water in the average rainfall, and it is highly pest-resistant. Its naturally long fibres are also long-lasting and durable — historically, naval ropes were made out of hemp and used in and around water because of their resistance to rot.

Organic cotton is also a very popular eco-fashion material. Compared to regular ol’cotton, which consumes 22.5% of all insecticides used globally (one t-shirt requires 1,166 litres of water and uses 150 grams of toxic chemicals), organic cotton doesn’t contain pesticides, herbicides or insecticides during the growing cycle. It is also soft, breathable, durable and easy on the environment.

Like hemp and organic cotton, bamboo is strong, durable and soft (and a popular choice for flooring in the eco-design world), but it has a few more perks — it’s a highly renewable grass that has natural antibacterial properties. And bamboo fabric not only breathes, but is also biodegradable!

You may not like drinking soy lattes or squirm at the thought of eating a tofu-burger, but you can still make an environmental difference by wearing soy clothing. Soy silk is made from the by-products of the tofu-making process. The liquefied proteins are pressed into fibres, which are then spun and woven into threads, yarns, knits, etc. Soy is considered the “cashmere” of vegetable fabrics.    

Milk silk is one of the more innovative eco-friendly fabrics to be developed. Scientists have found a way to take a single gene from a spider and insert it into a goat egg. The idea is to make the goat secrete spider silk into its milk.

In spite of Canada’s cold winter weather, wool is often overlooked as a great eco-friendly garment (if it doesn’t make you itchy, of course). People have been wearing wool for centuries, but there are issues surrounding the practices of sheep farmers, who are concerned with productivity and speed. During the shearing process, nicks are commonplace and slicing the entire nose off the sheep is not unheard of. Other issues are sheep grazing plants almost to the root soil, and manure entering into the water supply. Not to mention the fact that bleaching or dyeing the wool to get it white can be a problem, but an eco-friendly manufacturer can overcome this last issue by using vegetable-based dyes.

Eco-Friendly Dyes

In fact, the use of “natural” dyes in the production of fabric is gaining popularity, even though the process has been used for centuries. Natural dyes are made from plants, earth clays and even insects, which translates to less harm to the ecosystem.

Designer Julie Sinden, who teaches the workshop “Natural Hand Dyeing” at Nathalie Roze & Co, uses four different dyestuffs in her classes: cochineal (bug), madder (root), osage (bark or heartwood) and pomegranate (the skin). The dyes are cooked up into an immersion bath and then the wool is dyed in the bath.

“Cochineal, which comes from South and Central America, was once so valuable that the people of the Andes used it as a form of currency. When the Spanish colonized the Americas in the 1500s, they quickly took control of the cochineal industry and it became an incredibly important export commodity, second only to silver. They kept the source of this beautiful rich red dye a secret from the rest of Europe, and for almost 300 years held a virtual monopoly on the colour red,” says Sinden.

Indigo is another colour that has been used for centuries. The dyeing process is a bit more complicated but it goes to show that natural dyes can be very vibrant across the colour spectrum and aren’t just confined to earth-tones.

“Indigo is such a strong and colour-fast dye. If anyone has seen medieval tapestries, they will notice that things that should be green, such as tree leaves and grass, are often depicted as blue.  This was not a mistake on the part of the dyers. Since the yellow dye used was not colour-fast, it faded, leaving only the blue colour from the indigo behind,” explains Sinden.

Another hot trend is the use of vegetable dyes on leather garments, whether it be purses, belts or wallets. Roots recently introduced an eco-leather line of purses and wallets. I own one of their bright, red vegetable-dyed leather purses, which brings me tons of compliments wherever I go. Although personally I can’t tell the difference between a chemical- and vegetable-dyed leather item, the experts insist there is one.

According to Scott Irvine, president of Brave Leather, which manufactures and sells belts of both types of dyes: “Vegetable-dyes produce a leather that has a beautiful look and feel with depth and life. It improves with age and becomes softer and more "real" looking as it is used. On the other hand, chrome [chemical-dyed] leather starts out softer but wears out with age.”

The vegetable extracts he uses in his belts come from the bark of trees (mostly from chestnut and quebracho) and are completely biodegradable, but there is a drawback: “Vegetable tanning takes about one month in the vats — chrome takes about one week or less — so there is a cost difference and some people are unwilling to pay for the quality that is inherent in the products that are produced with vegetable dyes. ”

Staunch environmentalists still believe that the process of extracting pigments from nature actually requires more energy and harmful chemicals than synthesizing them in the lab, but I wonder how they feel about eco-fashions made from recycled items?

Preloved is a funky store on Queen St. West that has based its whole concept on recycled fashion items. They take scraps of old workpants and turn them into elegant evening gowns; old bed sheets become summer dresses; and waistbands of vintage jeans are sewn together to become pencil skirts.

Then there is the husband and wife team (a.k.a. The Harveys) who were installing seatbelts into their 1950 Buick ten years ago when they had the idea of making a matching handbag. Everyone loved it so much they decided to make more, resulting in Harvey’s Original Seatbeltbag line of handbags. As their website says, it’s “the same stuff you trust with your life.” Clever marketing indeed.

Perhaps one of the most diverse companies I came across in my research is another Queen St. West store, Oqoqo, the sister company to Lululemon, the popular yoga-wear company. Oqoqo was created by Chip Wilson because  yogis were asking for apparel made from natural fibres. He wanted to create fashionable apparel from sustainable, natural and organic fabrics. The store classifies their clothes as “Zeitgeist Apparel” — clothing that fits the spirit of our times, which is defined as optimism and sustainability with equal parts style and function. With catchy fabric names such as Boolux (bamboo), Soyla (soy) and Hempcious (hemp), I believe it!

“Just as whole and unprocessed foods are better for both the planet and your body, the best fabrics are those that are closest to the source. Fabrics like bamboo and recycled polyester are easiest on the environment but they are all equally amazing fibres — bamboo grows like a weed and anyone who has a bamboo plant in their house or garden knows how quickly it grows. Hemp is actually the strongest natural fibre on earth — it is even five times stronger than cotton,” says Lesley Faust, Oqoqo’s community educator and showroom manager. Their soyla shirt called "Wrap n’ go" is a popular item and their must-have Spring item is their "Rockwell Trench” — made from recycled pop bottles.

 
“When we use recycled polyester (pop bottles), we are actually using items that would otherwise end up in landfills. We are producing so much product with so many progressive techniques that I feel we are really part of a global movement in fashion,” continues Faust. (Polyester fibre made out of recycled plastic bottles can also be made into fleece. This fibre is preferable to new petroleum-based fibres, not to mention that it helps recycle the millions of plastic bottles that fill up our blue bins. Backpackers swear by the fleece’s warmth and durability.)

Eco-Fashion Show

Eco-fashion has entered mainstream consumerism with a plethora of recent media attention. One event that created a lot of buzz this past January was An Evening of Sustainable Style, an eco-fashion show held at the Berkeley Theatre in downtown Toronto and produced by The Green Carpet Series, who’s mandate is to integrate “thoughtful, hip, urban, green-minded professionals (THUGs)…with green practices by making environmental issues relevant, positive and integrated with their lifestyle.”

The company wants to raise awareness of green choices for consumers; raise the profile of green businesses; and connect both to WWF-Canada’s work, which is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment; live in harmony with nature by conserving and using renewable, sustainable natural resources; and promote the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

The packed event was sponsored by Butterfield & Robinson (a travel company that specializes in biking and walking tours) and Grolsch Premium Lager, and hosted by CBC’s George Stroumboulopoulos of The Hour and Gill Deacon of The Gill Deacon Show. It was one of the most interesting fashion shows I’ve ever attended.

Celebrity models including TV host Wesley Mesley, musicians Melanie Doan and Sarah Slean, and a host of others, all walked bare-foot down the runway, showcasing the clothes and accessories of well-established Canadian companies like Linda Lundstrom Inc., Roots, and Cotton Ginny, right through to the small, hip ones like preloved, Nathalie-Roze & Co. and Oqoqo, to name a few. Before the show started, Monte Hummel, CEO of WWF, summed up the event’s theme as such: “Sustainable fashion is not ugly.” And he was right about that.

Event chairperson, Linda Lundstrom, an environmentalist for 20 years, showcased a collection of eco-chic bamboo clothing as well as recycled fleece, both free of chemicals. Lundstrom is a designer who has put her money where her mouth is. Her company has a “Green Notes” program which gives preference to suppliers of environmentally kind fabrics. Recycling programs are also enforced at the manufacturing and administrative facilities.

The event was powered by Bull Frog Power; the flower décor was provided by Eco-Flora; and Grassroots provided the biodegradable drinking cups (self-destructible in 43 days!). So even though there was a “scenester” element to the event, I’m glad it wasn’t just about the fashion.

It has become increasingly evident to me that there has been a noticeable shift in the collective consciousness regarding our escalating environmental issues. No doubt, wearing eco-friendly clothing helps combate the depletion of the world’s natural resources, but it’s not just about the funky t-shirt we wear. Equally important is the type of packaging and manufacturing methods we use, being mindful of shipping and transportation methods, etc.

The bonus of wearing eco-fashion is that it is rooted in positivity. It inspires us through personal expression instead of putting fear and negativity into our minds and hearts. For many creative types, clothes are a statement of who we are as individuals. Fashion is another form of art and there is beauty in that.

Earth is also a place of beauty and it’s in this spirit that eco-fashion heeds the call to save the environment.

Shopping Resource List
• www.braveleather.com
• www.oqoqo.com
• www.grassrootsstore.com
• www.seatbeltbags.com
• www.nathalie-roze.com (you can sign up for Julie Sinden’s Natural Hand Dyeing workshop through here)
• www.preloved.ca
• www.roots.com
• www.lindalundstrom.com
• www.bullfrogpower.com
• www.ecoflora.ca 

Resource List
• www.naturalhealthcare.ca 
• www.wwf.ca
• www.greencarpetseries.com
• http://organicclothing.blogs.com/