Moving fashion forward

By Kate Levinson
You can rock this oh-so-fashionable bagfrom Target and state the obvious: I don’t use bad-for-the-earth plastic bags. But what damage was done to the planet in the making of your conversation piece? (I find it curious that Target doesn’t say.)

Enter the rising world of eco-fashion—stylish stuff that takes into account the wellbeing of the environment, consumers and manufacturers. The industry is popular, trendy and becoming more and more mainstream as the general public is more educated and concerned about environmental issues (i.e., that 25 percent of insecticides and 10 percent of pesticides in the world are used on cotton). And, of course, any industries growing in popularity so much so fast are career fields worth keeping an eye on.

Perhaps one of the most popular eco-fashion trends is the transformation of trash to treasure. From various food wrappers to old newspapers, soda can tabs to old vinyl records and bike chains to billboards, people are making—and buying—fashionable clothing and accessories that used to be different things entirely.

Check out Ecoist.com for a great selection of cool stuff that would have ended up in a landfill. (My favorite Internet find so far: Reiter8) —get it?!—which makes bags and other accessories from repurposed sails from sailboats.)

As someone who doesn’t have a straight-up environmental career, I find these possibilities to do what you love and positively impact the environment at the same time fascinating. No matter what field you’re in, there are opportunities to use the eco-fashion philosophy of creating products in a way that’s good for the people who make them, the people who use them and the planet we all live on.

For more eco-fashion: Check out the Eco Fashion Blog, EcoFashionWorld.com, the very cool FutureFashion and, of course, TreeHugger.

Photo: Target.com