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"Save the World in Style"

Sustainable fashion, also known as green or ethical fashion, is part of the trend of sustainability, which concerns the longevity of our ecological support systems. Sustainable fashion would have a large impact on this idea because it's the creation of clothes that have a long life span and have no impact on the environment to make.

Earth Pledge is a non-profit organization working with communities, businesses, and government to increase the use of sustainable practices. According to EarthPledge, " At least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world's pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton. This causes irreversible damage to people and the environment, and still two thirds of a garment's carbon footprint will occur after it is purchased." The carbon footprint is determined by measuring the amount of greenhouses gases in the air to see how much of a negative impact humans have made on the environment.

It's all about the materials. There are two types of fibers that are naturally found in the environment; animal and plant fiber. Some examples of plant fiber, or cellulose, are cotton, hemp, soy, banana, and pineapple. Wool, silk, and cashmere are considered animal fibers. Although cotton is alreadly widely used on this earth, if is conventionally grown, it uses 25% of the world's insecticides and 10% of our pesticides. Based on the past 5,000 years, I would say that hemp is our best bet. Hemp is just another name for cannabis, but it's commonly used to describe the industrial version of weed. It can be used for food, healing, toiletries, and clothes without ever harming the environment.

Fashion designers are trying to incorporate this earth-saving concept into real fashion, not the "dusty, hippy-looking clothes" that usually are associated with organic material. But much like every other organic product, the clothes would be much more expensive. Consequently, this attracts celebrities and more and more are being associated with sustainable fashion; artists such as Bono, Natalie Portman, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, and Salma Hayek.

However, many argue that this is just another trend, and as soon as sustainable clothes lose their appeal, people will discard them and that will totally defeat their purpose. Like every other trend, this one faces reaching it's peak before another chic idea is introduced, and people may forget their aspirations to save the world. But for those who are willing to see where this new level of sustainability may take us, let's not make this just a phase.

-Emily