In undertaking a photography assignment for a new British travel magazine/supplement with environmentally friendly aspects and awareness, ‘Eco-Trip.’ I took the following shots in order to capture the rural environment present within the city of Birmingham….
The ‘Bay City Times,’ recently released an article in which they address the issue of green clothing, commenting on how much is now available on the high street.
The article written by Sharon M. Pennell, published today ( Sunday, May 25th, 2008 ) reiterates the sentiment put forward in pervious blogs, i.e. clothing made through eco-friendly production methods and with environmentally sound materials such as fair trade cottons etc. are finding their way to the high street in their masses.
Pennell states ‘In todays increasingly eco-conscious world, more and more shoppers are discovering that “going green” doesn’t mean a sacrifice of quality or style.’
The article taken from an American newspaper situated in Michigan just goes to show the impact being made on a global level.
My focus for Environmental News Online is fashion and I was therefore delighted to attend Walsall colleges’ end of year fashion show. Students such as Charlotte Wooldridge, 18, showcased her designs with models strutting their stuff down the catwalk with a clear focus on the environment. Environmentally sound materials were used throughout her collection but use of leaf designs, neutral colours and an emphasis on calm, soft greens reflective of the earth, nature and the environment as a whole as well as ‘sustainable living being expressed through clothing.’ When asked why the environment is so important within her collection the young designer commented ‘it really should be; only a few designers I know of are taking the planet into consideration.’
T-shirts and bags adorned with slogans such as ‘heal the world’ make the message explicit.
Fashion icon and well respected designer Stella McCartney has experimented with organic cottons for many years, her main concerns however lie with animal rights, and therefore nothing tested on animals is included or used in any part of her collections. Stella McCartney is an inspiration within her field doing more than her bit for the environment, her flagship London store is wind powered.
But if haute couture is just out of your reach, High Street super brand ‘Marks and Spencer’ released its ‘Plan A’ mission statement (because there is no plan b) to be carbon neutral by 2012 by reducing packaging and using fair trade cottons and production methods where ever possible, they have even gone as far as to open an eco factory earlier this year in Sri Lanka.
The well known H&M store is also helping to raise awareness of environmental issues through a number of different ways, promoting ‘environmental awareness among employees and suppliers,’ a respect for nature and caution in decision making, being aware of the impact such decisions could have on the environment. All products are healthy, ‘safe and harmless to the environment.’ Even efforts towards transportation is being made ‘greener,’ with ‘clean and efficient transport with limited influence on the climate.’
A rage of childrens clothing has recently been designed with the environment in mind, tshirts with an organic cotton tag and sloguns such as ‘take care of my world’ demonstrate explicitly the reason action is needed within environmental awareness so as to protect the earth for future generations. Having young children express such sentiments through fashion illusrates this point well.
This particular advertisement isn’t narrated by Eddie Izzard, (as previous mentioned) but demonstrates the governements intention to encourage the younger gerneration to recycle.
There’s no disputing the fact that issues facing the environment are literally everywhere at the moment, everyone seems to be doing their bit. Noticing this shift in attitude isn’t exactly difficult; advertisements seem to focus on the environment as their strongest selling point. Take ‘British Gas’ for example, firm believers in ‘the development of renewable electricity’ are giving away four free energy saving light bulbs to every customer, with imagery which explicitly makes Britain greener in the eyes of the consumer.
Cars, clothes, food, almost everything is fresh, organic and environmentally sound. This led to me wonder, has this changed the attitude of the everyday person, the ‘average Joe?’
I work in a DIY shop as a sales assistant in a small town called Aldridge with a lot of time to think. The average age of customers I would say is about sixty five, set in their ways, strong minded people who do not like change. But even their attitude towards the environment has altered over recent times, carrier bags are shunned, eco-friendly wallpaper purchased and elderly couples take a slow walk home as opposed to running their cars for a short distance. Helen Dukes, 63, commented, ‘I’m coming to the later part of my life, and its easy be selfish, just get on with what I want to do but the media has made me, and my whole family realise what little things you can do to make a big difference in the long run.’ I found this remark inspirational, the little decisions we make on a day to day level paving the way for our families for centuries ahead. I considered this lady to be a sort of spokes person for her generation dictating the way their attitudes have changed. When asked whether the environment is something she considers when shopping in general she nodding emphatically and said ‘you have to, well, it’s not something that would have even occurred to be a couple of years ago, if I’m honest but it’s everywhere these days isn’t it? I’d feel bad if I didn’t even try to make an effort.’
Yesterday on a trip to the supermarket I was presented with a large carrier bag which told me to reuse where ever possible. Another example of how environmental issues are literally, hitting the high street. Carrier bags does seem to be at the forefront of the agenda at the moment, paper bags are becoming more dominant pioneered by high street shops like ‘Primark,’ and ‘Topshop’ but what is becoming more and more common are reusable cotton shopping bags emblazoned with such slogans as ‘I’m not a plastic bag.’
Then there’s recycling, heavily promoted through TV advertisements and endorsed by many celebrities. Narrated by Eddie Izzard, the £10m multi-media advertising campaign set up by the government intends to encourage the public to recycle household waste. Focusing on the tagline ‘the possibilities for recycling are endless.’ Recycling is getting easier, collected at your door on the most part. There is however room for improvement in this area in my opinion, perhaps more information about where to take things for recycling. The only places I know of are places I have seen in passing; an information service such as this would surely be beneficial. It is refreshing to see the younger generations also taking this concept seriously, Lucie Plumpton, 19, a student from Walsall, remarked ‘I like the idea of recycling, obviously it needs to be done but I like the idea that when I’m done with something, its reused in so many different ways.’ She’s right as the well known advert tells us, endless indeed!
It seems people have finally got the message, attitudes are changing, adapting and improving to suit the current climates, greener is better.
National womens fashion outlet ‘Evans’ are helping to do their bit of the environment by launching a range of clothing which uses 100% organic cotton. The range of clothing are clearly inspired by the environment using earthy tones along with subtle embroidery, buttons and beading.
The range also includes a shopping bag, which seems to be on everyones agenda at the moment, made entirely from recycled bottles.
This organic cutwork leaf tee is £18.
But why stop there?
Also heavily endorced by ‘Marie Claire,’ design superbrand ‘Graham & Brown’, have recently launched a range of eco-friendly wallcoverings which are still avaliable at affordable prices. Like ‘Evans’ range of clothing, the range of papers are clearly inspired by the environment, using floral patterns in a modernised sense and neutral earthy tones in their colour designed in collaboration with students form Central Saint Martins. Environmentally speaking the product is ’sourced from managed timber sources, the ink used is solvent free, and even the packaging it arrives in is compostable, made entirely from corn.’ According to ‘Marie Claire.’
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Talking with one of the first eco-friendly stylists, Ms Monique Marco is an inspirational experience. By her own admission the term ‘eco-stylist’ has only just been coined and means, in her own words ‘an eco-stylist is a stylist who is concerned about the environment and ethical production methods. This translates into advising clients in various ways from using recycled clothing, to shopping for organic clothing, to laundry care, make-up, skincare and more.’
Ms Marco remarked on always having possessed a ‘strong conscience as evidenced in both my personal and professional life. Thus my career has evolved around the idea that good behaviour makes good business sense, so I’ve worked diligently in both the green and LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) sectors.’
Ms Marco has had an amazing life, serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco allowed her to ‘imparted to me a deepened ethnic and cultural sensitivity and awareness in addition to a heightened sense of social justice and the ability to reach out to others.’
But is doesn’t stop here, other volunteer work which led her to pursue the path of environmentally friendly fashion included involvement in ‘Dress for Success,’ a non-profit organization which intended to give confidence boosts thought styling, mainly for interviews to low-income and disadvantaged women.
On a more personal level Ms Marco was clearly effected by both her mother and aunt’s battles with cancer which inspired the stylist worked as a make-up artist providing free makeup for the ‘Look Good, Feel Better’ foundation. When asked what this involved Monique commented that it was ‘workshops through a network of hospitals. Specially trained volunteer beauty professionals take small groups of patients through a 12-step skin care and make-up regime designed to combat the visible side effects of their treatment.’
‘So this has all led me down the path to be an eco-stylist and green image consultant because it is a perfect way to combine my twin passions of social good with my flair for style and fashion.’
Ms Marco is not without clients, when asked whether the environmentally friendly services she offers is something which particularly concerns a lot of her clients she comments that it does ‘concerns some of my clients and I am gaining more and more interest in my services because of this. Hopefully clients will start coming to me especially for my exclusive ecoLove programme.’
In terms of what the regular person can do on a day to day level in the spirit of being more eco-conscious, Monique offers the simple piece of advice of ‘simply being mindful of what they’ve buying and why.’
The philosophy she offers ‘is selection over acquisition, so it certainly makes dressing green easy because it’s about investing both your own resources and the earth’s resources wisely.’
More information can be found at: -
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This blog is really paying off.
One of the first an only eco-stylists got in touch with me and was happy to answer some of my questions. Her name is Monique Marco and she’s all about style, substance and doing more than her fair share for the environment.
This the first draft of a feature/article which is soon to appear on Environmental News Online.
Firstly, what does the term eco-stylist mean to you?
In my opinion an eco-stylist is a stylist who is concerned about the environment and ethical production methods. This translates into advising clients in various ways from using recycled clothing, to shopping for organic clothing, to laundry care, make-up, skincare and more.
What led you individually to follow this path in the realm of being a stylist?
I have always possessed a strong social conscience as evidenced in both my personal and professional life. Thus my career has evolved around the idea that good behavior makes good business sense, so I’ve worked diligently in both the green and LOHAS (lifestyles of health an sustainability) sectors.
Is this something which concerns a lot of your clients? Or is it something you generally bring to their attention?
I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco and this experience imparted to me a deepened ethnic and cultural sensitivity and awareness in addition to a heightened sense of social justice and the ability to reach out to others. Other volunteer work includes Dress for Success, a non-profit organisation established to provide interview suits, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women where I was a stylist to help these disadvantaged women. I was also inspired by my mother and auntie, both cancer survivors to volunteer as a make-up artist for Look Good, Feel Better. Look Good…Feel Better provides free makeup workshops through a network of hospitals. Specially trained volunteer beauty professionals take small groups of patients through a 12-step skin care and make-up regime designed to combat the visible side effects of their treatment.
So this has all led me down the path to be an eco-stylist and green image consultant because it is a perfect way to combine my twin passions of social good with my flair for style and fashion.
This concerns some of my clients and I am gaining more and more interest in my services because of this. Hopefully clients will start coming to me especially for my exclusive ecoLove program.
What changes can the regular person make to their day to day lifestyle (in terms of fashion) in order to be more eco-concious?
People should “go shopping” in their own closet first, then go shopping at eco-friendly boutiques and also just generally be mindful of what they’re buying and why. My philosophy is selection over acquisition, so it certainly makes dressing green easy because it’s about investing both your own resources and the earth’s resources wisely.
More information about the fabulous Monique Marco can be found on her website http://moniquemarco.com.
Oslo fashion week 2008 took place last week and amongst the top designers showcased, environmentally friendly fashion house FIN shone through. Designed by notorious Norwegian duo Arne and Carlos.
Ecological fabrics, Fairtrade production methods and carbon-neutral materials were all prodominent in this Norweigian companies 2008 spring/summer collection.
The company has also recieved support by the likes of Kiera Knightley and Kate Bosworth, dubbed eco-lux, the label has not scrimped on their couture image.
The clothes themselves are completely free from chemicals. This company goes as far as to supervise prodction methods, which, actually benefit the consumers even more making them more affordable. This also ensures the materials are completely free from chemicals.
Eivind Pytte ,Ødegaard, partner in FIN, commented “We wanted to create a fashion brand that in addition is organic and ethical - not an organic and ethical fashion brand. The latter has been done several times, but these treehuggers and hippies have seemed to forget the importance of the fashion and design part of their business.”
The company also commented that ‘organic cotton contributes to a healthy environment and better working conditions for cotton producers. conventional cotton fields represent 25% of insectacides used worldwide. Organic cotton uses none.’ Fashion is moving environmentally forward. This company is a shining example of things to come, affordable, luxurious and eco-friendly fashion.
