Feature
Sustainable Design: The Rise of the Eco-Friendly Designer
Sabah Karimi
London-based designer Orsola de Castro has traveled the globe to pull together unique products for the private label’s showcase at flagship stores in the UK. The launch of the ‘From Somewhere’ label has received national recognition for stylish and contemporary pieces with a focus on sustainable design and creativity. The company received the Green Apple Award to applaud their business and commerce practices, and the collection’s continue to draw from a vintage aesthetic with recycled materials and a good dose of ethical
business.
The launch of the ‘Red’ brand by Bono has created a strong following of conscious consumerists across the globe. While Bono was honored at the Council of Fashion Design Awards earlier this year, designer Giorgio Armani showed his support by launching the Emporio Armani line in September 2006; the global aid campaign for fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa has collected thousands of active supporters around the world, and 40% of the sales of RED aid products go directly to the global fund. The Emporio Armani RED watch leads the lineup of this specialty collection to raise funds for the worldwide initiative.
Vancouver based designer Nicole Bridger developed an eco friendly collection to cater to the socially conscious and fashion forward segments. Classic garments with bold prints and traditional lines are made locally using only sustainable materials. Patagonia, the outdoor clothing and technical gear brand, ha been using 100% cotton in its clothing and launched the Common Threads Garment Recycling
program in 2005. Customer return recyclable clothing to Patagonia where the company turns worn-out clothes into new garments.
While clothing and ensembles rise with socially conscious initiatives, handbags and accessories are also making a fashion statement with a green glow. Ecoist ‘develops unique gifts and fashion accessories for the eco-minded individual’ With their sights on creating functional and stylish products using only earth-friendly materials, the collections include candy wrapper handbags, eye-catching reusable shopping bags, and even a selection of confetti colored placemats. Wrapper bags from Ecoist have created a following of their own; each one is carefully constructed from real candy wrappers and converted into stylish accessories that make a strong statement.
While the company continues to develop creative accessories, including Billboard movie poster bags and unique belts, the appeal for ethical shopping is slowly but surely becoming more prevalent in high fashion and beyond.
While luxury fashion and quality goods continue to populate our fashion runways, boutiques, and online retail stores, a shift towards eco-friendly fashion has triggered a lineup of creative goods and garments with an emphasis on sustainability. Both local and national designers are reinventing their fashion focus to help with the global mission; making a statement with eco friendly fashion and style is helping to sculpt a new direction and vision for the industry’s leading designers.
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