The Birth Of Eco Fashion
In 2005, Earth Pledge, a non-profit organization that works with businesses, communities and governments in order to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices, partnered with Barney's during New York's renowned fashion week to make a statement: high fashion can be glamorous and environmentally friendly at the same time.
To prove the point, designer Richie Rich stunned spectators with an uber-chic pink-and-yellow skirt constructed of corn fiber and topped with a silver bustier made with recycled polyester.
The message was clear, and sustainable fashion quickly shed its reputation of being made only for practical unfashionable dressers. The term 'eco-fashion' was coined.
Today, the international trend is so popular that activists are calling 'green' the new 'black.' Celebrities like U2's lead singer Bono and his wife have launched an eco-friendly brand, Edun (nude backwards) and fashion designer Linda Loudermilk's line of 'luxury eco' promotes the use of exotic, sustainable materials like soya, sea cell, sasawashi, and bamboo. Even Levi's has a line of 'green' jeans.
Defining Eco Fashion
According to the Sustainable Technology Education Project (STEP) website, eco-fashion is defined by the following elements:
1. The use of organic raw materials, such as cotton grown without pesticides and silk made by worms fed on organic trees
2. The non-use of harmful chemicals and bleaches to color fabrics
3. The use of recycled and reused textiles. High-quality garments can be made from second-hand clothes and even recycled plastic bottles
4. The use of durable materials so that people keep them for longer
5. The practice of fair trade, which means that the people who make the clothes are paid a fair price and have decent working conditions.
For some designers in Israel, the expense of importing organic materials makes recycling an attractive option, especially when you can get rid of a few more of those noxious plastic bags that collect in the branches of trees and in the beds of rivers, killing marine life as well as many species of birds.
The Israeli Eco Friendly Designers
"I wanted to create something beautiful out of what everyone already has at home, so I decided to make things out of plastic bags," says designer Irit Vilensky.
Using a special technique to dissolve the plastic, she reshapes each unique accessory by hand. If you didn't know they were once plastic bags, you would never guess. Her delicate line of colorful accessories, entitled 'Satik,' includes chic, one-of-a-kind handbags, wallets and bracelets.
The Environmental Protection Agency released data a few years ago that placed world wide consumption of plastic bags, wraps and sacks at somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion, millions of which end up outside of landfills.
In some countries, the non-biodegradable, problematic plastic bags are not even legal anymore, so Vilensky is happy to be doing her small part to help the environment in Israel.
For another young Israeli designer, recycling the inner tubes of old, black tires provided an innovative solution to the problem of finding organic material in Israel. "I spent a few years in Toronto studying film, and I was exposed to the environmental awareness there. I wanted to do something like that in Israel," says Elanit Neutra, whose notebooks, address books, handbags, and wallets are all made using recycled black rubber.
"I have always been a collector, taking things from the street to make new things, and when I saw the tires, I decided to try and make something nice from the raw material," she says. Her soft, chic designs are so similar to leather that it's hard to tell the difference until you touch them.
Neutra says that while reshaping the rubber is long and difficult, the benefits of making environmentally-friendly bags far outweigh the challenges. "I maintain the natural shape of the material in order to keep an authentic texture. The imperfections are what make each piece unique."
In her new line of ultra-trendy plastic shoes reminiscent of the jelly shoes that were such a hit in the late 1980s, Shlomit Slavin is using thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), a type of recycled plastic that she imports from Turkey. Although the raw material is more expensive than regular plastic, she says it's worth it to be environmentally conscious.
"This is also something that sets the Hoki shoes apart from Crocs," she adds. That and the fact that the sleek shoes appeal to high-end fashion houses. "These were originally shoes made for workers, which means they're really comfortable too," says Slavin picking up her foot to show off a pair of bright yellow sandals.
In fact, the name Hoki means 'broom for the street' in Japanese because Slavin wanted a name to reflect the comfort, simplicity and style of the shoes.
The other advantage of using TPE is that it can be injected with any color imaginable, so a wide range of options and styles exist for the upcoming designs. "People want to buy items these days that are environmentally friendly. It's important to help the environment and be fashionable."
So while eco-fashion may still considered a burgeoning industry in the holy land because organic raw materials are hard to get and expensive, recycling is one alternative that has produced no shortage of chic new accessories and shoes.