America's closets are turning green.
The same environmental sensibilities that have swept the foodie world
(farm-to-table, organic produce) are making inroads in the fashion universe as
the environmental movement continues its rise and new technology produces
refined synthetic and recycled materials.
For example:
--Saks and Neiman Marcus last March settled a lawsuit charging they labeled real
fur as faux fur to escape disclosing its source (raccoon dogs, in this case) --
a ploy that turns marketing on its head: Fake sells better than real?
--At a Last Call by Neiman Marcus in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, stylish
faux-leather vegan motorcycle jackets with faux crocodile trim (prominently
labeled as such) fill up a rack in the high-end discount store.
--High-heeled vegan pumps by OlsenHaus ($225 retail), made of all-synthetic
materials, recently showed up on the online shopping site MyHabit.com next to
leather platforms by more traditional high-end shoe purveyors such as Calvin
Klein and Cole Haan.
Red-carpet endorsements by celebrities don't hurt: Actress Natalie Portman
regularly wears vegan shoes, and designer Stella McCartney has become synonymous
with ethical fashion, rejecting fur and leather in her high-priced couture.
"Initially, when green fashion started to make any kind of inroads into the
apparel industry, it was headed by activists," says Sass Brown, acting assistant
dean of the Fashion Institute of Technology's School of Art and Design and an
eco-fashion blogger (www.ecofashiontalk.com). "Now it's headed by designers and
all tiers of distribution and all taste levels and all price points."
Green apparel and accessories still make up barely more than 2% of the $200
billion fashion business in the U.S., says Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at the
NPD Group, a market research firm. Still, that's about $5 billion.
"Just a decade ago, it was not even half a billion dollars," he says. "That's a
huge difference."
Social consciousness -- ethical treatment of animals, protecting natural
resources -- is a big motivator. But the average consumer would not be putting
these clothes on their backs and feet if they didn't look good. Remember
pleather jackets in the '70s (cringe)?
ECO-FRIENDLY, AND CUTE, TOO
High-end department stores and boutiques now carry green fashion. Top designers
are embracing synthetic and recycled materials.
"When eco-fashion started, the fabrication wasn't as great," says Lynette Pone
McIntyre, Luckymagazine's senior market editor. "It felt very burlappy. The
quality wasn't quite there. Over the past 10 years, technology has changed so
much. You can't tell what's eco-friendly or not."
Strict labeling laws let the customers know most of the time. And if the clothes
look good and are "ethical" in their manufacturing or construction, shoppers
want them.
"People are really caring where their clothing is coming from -- anyone from
10-, 12-year-olds to 90-year-olds," McIntyre says. "Just like they care where
their food is coming from, their carbon footprint."
Jose Medina, 22, a political science student at the University of Chicago,
agrees. "It's an ideology," he says. "If you disagree with the belief system or
what a company represents, it's less likely you're going to align yourself with
