Ecological Fashion

Most of the world's clothing is manufactured in sweatshops in poorer countries, where workers earn less than they need to live, face cramped or unsanitary conditions, and are often subjected to physical and verbal abuse. The factory of a major sports brand pays its employees, which are mostly children, in Indonesia less then 2$ a day, to make a product that will retail for more than 100$. In Lesotho, workers make barely 30 cents an hour and at the end of the day they still need to go borrow money at the local loan sharks just to feed their families. In some factories in India kids work over 16 hours a day and are regularly beaten with rubber pipes. In some factories, the workers are only given the privilege of 2 drinks of water a day from the tap and many workers pass out, or have even died from heat exhaustion.

Demand for cotton on the international market has tripled since the 1980s. Today, cotton represents 30% of the international fiber market. And yet regular cotton is one of the world's most toxic crops. In 2006, cotton was cultivated on 2.5% of agricultural land but consumed 22.5% of the world's insecticides. Many of these insecticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers used or either known or probable carcinogens. As well, dyes used in clothing can contain toxic chemicals, while permanent press treatment can release formaldehyde gas, also a likely carcinogen.

Thankfully today there are many new companies that have included in their practices environmentally -friendly and ethical behaviours, thus launching the eco-fashion movement.
Eco-fashion designates clothes made from environmentally friendly fabrics and takes into account the working conditions of the people who make the clothing. Environmentally friendly fabrics include fabrics made from organic materials, such as organic cotton, or other plants that do not require pesticides or herbicides to grow, such as hemp and bamboo, as well as fabrics made from re-used materials, such as recycled plastic. Furthermore, the production of eco-fashion clothing does not involve the use of harmful chemicals and when it is made ethically it respects fair trade working conditions and wages of the workers.
Eco-fashion is a fairly new phenomenon but it has already generated quite a buzz. Indeed in 2005, 28 top designers presented eco-fashion clothing during the New York City Fashion Week.
Today there is a growing number of companies and designers that create clothing made from ecological fabrics. They offer a variety of collections, ranging from designer luxury collections, such as Linda Loudermilk and Del Forte Jeans, to everyday casual collections, such as HTnaturals and Grace & Cello.
Many of the newer companies are creating very fashionable and modern looking clothes in order to distance themselves from the idea that environmentally-friendly clothes are drab, plain looking, rough and can only be made with earthy colors.
Some department stores now carry a small section of environmental and ethical clothing but it is not always easy for consumers to find this type of clothes. There are though a few online shops that specialize in eco-fashion. Alterna Boutique is one of them and they carry a variety of different styles for men, women and toddlers. The beauty of an online shop is that it has less impact on the environment: people don't take their cars to go there just to browse around; no electricity is wasted on lighting the products, on AC or on heating. The only CO2 emissions created are the ones when a product is purchased and transported and the computers needed to run the company, on top that the CO2 emitted by the computers is offset by wind power! So if you're interested in eco-fashion check out the collection at: www.alternaboutique.com and encourage a company that is trying to make a difference.