Fashion Organics: What Running a Glamour Business Should Be
There are so many stereotypical characters in my industry. I’ve actually worked for them all: Devil-Wears-Prada coffee throwing editors. Whip cracking managers demanding hours until 4 am. Vapid, indecisive, queeny, inarticulate creative directors. Anorexia-mongering stylists. Sales VIPs who want to throw kerosene and a match on the entire collection the day before the show. Then they would have everyone make the entire collection over again while they go back to their home in the Hamptons… Yes, Fashion has a seedy, slimy underbelly, just like most industries.
But being a good little trendsetter, I, of course, could never follow. It’s just not in my nature. Never has been. So when starting my business, there were a few things I noticed that were completely un-chic and I threw them out on their ear along with that hideous pair of pegged, acid-wash jeans. Natch.
There were a number of things I didn’t want to do. But there were even more that I did want to do - so many causes and good ideas and ways to improve things. They’re all worthy but I always kind of figured that if global warming took over and turned the entire northern hemisphere into a big, fat, ugly desert, well, most of those great ideas might not excite me so much if there was nowhere for them to live, anyway. So I prioritized.
One of the main objectives I always had, aside from creating a good environment for design, was to be completely carbon-neutral. For those of you who are not yet immune to euro-jargon about the environment, this means maintaining a balance between producing carbon dioxide and eliminating it.
I started with the actual materials I use to manufacture fabulous designer clothing. Having done a bit of research on cotton, I unearthed knowledge about some very uncool by-products. Cotton the most used fabric in the United States and throughout the world. (I wouldn’t consider using disgusting scratchy polyester, as it’s derived from oil and it belongs in the 99 cent discount bin.) Cotton seems like such a harmless thing. It’s not fur; it’s not even leather. Right?
Unfortunately I found that the standard method of growing cotton is responsible for 25% of worldwide pesticide use. Pesticides, like the bad-smelling can of Raid under my sink, are not something that I want sprayed on crops that are then turned into fabric, that I then put on my naked skin. I wouldn’t want that any more than I would want a Raid shower.
Reading up on the cotton plant a bit more, I also found that accidental deaths from cotton-related pesticide poisoning stand at around 20,000 people every year. That’s 20,000 people dead as a doornail, often migrant workers. In the United States alone, 811 million pounds of pesticides were dumped into the ground for cotton production in 1993. (Followed swiftly by the poison’s entry into water table, which is the underground fresh water source from which we all drink). And this is just one country.
If we take a look at other countries which produce cotton, it gets worse. Uzbekistan. I know, I can’t say it either. This place is located west of Turkey, east of China, north of Afghanistan and used to be a southern territory of the former Soviet Republic. It has control of a body of water called the Aral Sea, which is larger than the Great Lakes (which means it’s a big fucker.) The current president of Uzbekistan is Islam Karimov and it is the 2nd largest exporter of cotton worldwide. Mr. Islam Karimov is, in short, an asshole. Mr. Islam Karimov forces his people to harvest cotton, starting at age seven. That’s right - dude shut down the schools and threw everyone into the cotton fields. So, slave labor is alive and well, as the government keeps the largest portion of the profits. And that great big sea that they own? The Aral has been drained by 50% in poorly-managed irrigation attempts for growing the cotton.
Yeah, this makes me want to scream too. Are you wondering yet where your jeans have come from? For my own company, my first objective was to obtain all-organic cotton and responsible fabrics – hemp, bamboo, soy or kelp-based. I don’t employ children to sew garments and I don’t want them picking cotton either. I want them watching Sesame Street and spending long afternoons at the library.
This objective, while it sounds simple, really hasn’t been. I’m a designer, so I don’t own any farms, cotton or otherwise. I’m therefore completely dependent on what other people are selling. Getting fabric mills to understand any of this is not easy, because so many of them are just not interested. But after a few years of combing through market after market, bending ears, soap boxing and arm-wrestling with my suppliers, I have finally achieved a reasonable stock of organic fabrics. Some of the really great organic growers still aren’t hip to the fact that there are other colors besides hippie brown, but it’s a work in progress.
In addition to using more friendly materials, I’ve also started an offset program. Each time my company sends a package, takes a flight, uses a car or does anything else that impacts the earth, new trees are planted to compensate. The Arbor Day Foundation has an excellent program where it is possible to purchase trees that are planted for you in areas which were devastated by wildfires. They will also send baby trees directly to you. However, my mother’s lawn is running out of room. Additionally, I’m running out of concrete squares where the city hasn’t realized yet that it was someone else besides the parks department who replanted that city block. So lately I’m favoring the Arbor Day programs where I can get someone else to do the planting in areas not covered in concrete. They also have a lovely rainforest reclaiming scheme.
As a person who is simply wearing clothing, there are a few straightforward ways to sort out all this information and find eco-conscious clothing. Most designers who went to the trouble of getting organic cotton don’t take it lightly and will label their garment clearly. It should be in the garment title on their web site or on a tag in the store. Other great places to find organic products are Ekovarhuset boutique on New York’s Lower East Side, Eco Citizen boutique in San Francisco and Beklina.com
