As a curious environmentalist/sustainable developer/industrial designer, I was wondering, if a person is really interested in making a point or “living off the grid,” are there any options to be fashionable and eco-conscious?
Apparently there are, mostly involving organic cotton, which many stores have adapted to (like American Apparel). Other, less known options involve choosing different fibers, like bamboo, soy, flax, or hemp fiber instead. These plants remain sustainable because they either grown naturally in the wild and are harvested like so, or are organically grown. I do recall that even organic farms use heavy, oil-drinking machinery. Perhaps a naturally growing fiber choice like wild silk from wild worms might be better in cases where a person is concerned about global warming. Or even Lyocell fiber. I had never heard of it before, but it is a fiber produced by cellulose, the stuff that holds plants together and upright. Apparently clothes made with this fiber are completely biodegradable.
There are also plenty of ways to remain fashionable and not consume new products and materials. There are several ways to recycle old clothing or materials into new clothing. Patagonia Clothing Company recycles Patagonia-used products into clothing. This might be convenient if everyone bought Patagonia and were responsible enough to recycle their used clothing through the store. Hopefully most people that buy Patagonia are interested enough to make the effort to get their clothing recycled. There is also Ecospun, which takes used plastic bottles and makes polyester. If you’re still feeling weird about buying something “new” from a company, then there are always thrift shops, consignment shops, and eBay.
Even those people that have clothing that’s “dry-clean only” can go green and choose CO2 cleaning or wet cleaning instead of the chemical-heavy dry cleaning.