Organic Design

Fashion design is not missing a beat on the urgency of eco-friendly trends.  Sustainability has to be top on the list in all industries in order to put a halt on the harm of the Earth.  Fashion industry included.  It is of growing importance to members of today’s society to support Earth-friendly designs.  Patagonia strives for improving the Earth's dire situation through their clothing company.  Their website reads, "Our definition of quality includes a mandate for building products and working with processes that cause the least harm to the environment."

One type of sustainable fabric Patagonia designs for clothing items is made from bamboo.  Bamboo is considered a sustainable crop because it is fast-growing, and it is mostly organically grown, requiring no irrigation or fertilizers.  (http://www.ecouterre.com/how-eco-friendly-is-bamboo-fabric-really/)  The concerns with using bamboo fabrics are the chemical processes and the conversion to rayon (a state between natural and synthetic).  Patagonia does not use these environment-harming methods to create fabric from bamboo.  Instead they have eco-friendly hemp products that can work the same. 

The outdoors clothing company, Patagonia, isn’t the only one concerned with designing apparel with organic material.  The fair trade organic clothing company, People Tree, won the 2010 Global Fashion Awards’ Most Sustainable Brand.  “People Tree is being recognized for being able to deliver Change + be a catalyst for change in the fashion industry.” (http://www.peopletreemagazine.co.uk/uncategorized/7297/%E2%80%98best-sustainable-brand%E2%80%99-at-the-wgsn-global-fashion.html)  Both of these companies’ styles aim for organic clothing that fits in with fashion trends. Here are a few examples:

Monet Dress. People Tree. Fairtrade certified cotton. Image from http://www.peopletree.co.uk/products/monet-dress/

Women's Down With It Vest. Patagonia. 100% All-Recycled Polyester.
Image from http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-womens-down-with-it-vest?p=28395-0-155 

On the other hand, Recycle Bin Designers, a small retailer with the motto of “walking lightly on the earth,” designs pieces which embrace the “hippy” Earth-friendly aspect of their clothes and show it.  They are pieces inspired by the 60’s made mostly out of hemp. Hemp is sustainable because it is fast-growing, can be grown without chemicals, and is 100% biodegradable.  Owner, and designer, Tifany Hoffman explains that, “As a designer I have the chance to help relieve the negative impact on our earth by making sustainable clothing and products. I have the chance to make a difference for the peoples of this world by choosing socially conscious ways of producing products.”  (http://www.happyhippie.com/recycle-bin-designs.html)  This is one of Recycle Bin Designers' retro designs:

Hemp Akina Pants. Recycle Bin Designers.
Image from http://www.happyhippie.com/recycle-bin-designs.html