[SustainableTompkins] "Eco-Couture" article

[Patricia Haines]

from http://www.obviously.ca/lifestyle/fashion/eco_couture  The Green Guide to Style: Eco Couture
By Sally Glover. Posted on 7:00:00 am - Thursday, January 24, 2008.  
It’s official - it’s fashionable to be green. The opening show of New York Fashion Week next month will seem just like any other – with models strutting down the runway for big name designers, celebrities filling the front row and a frenzy of frocks backstage – but there’ll be one exception. Every garment shown in the kick-off to fashion’s biggest week will be made from recyclable, sustainable and earth-friendly fibres.   An impressive line up of design talent is supporting sustainable clothing, with Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Narcisco Rodriguez, Donna Karan, Burberry, Jil Sander, Versace, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein showing off one-of-a-kind eco-couture at Earth Pledge’s FutureFashion show on January 31 in NYC. 
  FutureFashion was launched to educate and show the fashion industry and its followers that there are environmentally-friendly options for the garment industry. The goal of the initiative is to prove that style and sustainability can coexist while creating market demand and improving the health of the environment. 
  Stella McCartney is no stranger to conscious design, having brought vegan footwear and accessories to high-end customers for the luxury line Gucci. She is currently creating an 18-piece organic clothing line using untreated or minimally-dyed cloth for high-end retailer Barneys New York. 
  The show is not fashion’s first foray into the world of sustainability. The city of Portland hosted the first all-green fashion week in October, which showcased 35 earth-minded designers. Eco-friendly styling products were used backstage, guests left with sustainable gift bags, a bamboo runway was lit with energy-efficient LED lights and draped in Polartec recycled fabrics, fashionistas imbibed organic food and wine, and sustainable carpeting covered the floor in the VIP lounge. 
  Last September, Toronto’s Fashion Takes Action hosted its first annual “green” fashion show to raise funds for Environmental Defence and inspire event planners to leave lighter eco footprints. And local celebrities modeled sustainable duds in support of WWF Canada for “An Evening of Sustainable Style” last January, hosted by green living expert Gil Deacon and popular CBC host George Stroumboulopoulos. 

As we become more conscious of how our purchasing power affects the planet, ethical fashion is gaining importance - and popularity! We look forward to watching the fashion world continue to embrace sustainability in the design, execution, and marketing of their wares. 


- fostering sustainable community through collaborative initiatives in hospitality, education and the arts, in the 150 year-old democratic  spirit of the Danish Folk School
       
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