It was refreshing to hear that traditional methods of market selection and targeting cause large amounts of waste and perpetuate inaccurate beauty standards. Especially with the current emphasis on body positivity and inclusiveness in the fashion industry, the traditional standards of high fashion have been dwindling. In order to minimize waste and extend the true meaning of fashion to people of all backgrounds, the author introduces methods of observation and direct participation. To ensure consumers’ well-being, personalized tailoring services like in the case of Matrushka should be implemented in stores to encourage people to take better care of their clothes to make them last longer, eliminating unnecessary waste in fast fashion. This piece made me think about several alternative ways of being sustainable without having to forgo participation in fast fashion. Small scale changes like at store tailoring can really change people’s consumption habits.
“Eco-Tech Fashion: Rationalizing Technology in Sustainable Fashion.”
This reading was really interesting as it considers both the negative and positive effects of technology on the environment.
Two terms that I found useful :
“ecocentric”- which means that technology will for sure have a negative impact on the environment
“technocentric”- means that human ability of tech and science can actually manage the environment
However, the reading claims that these can’t really define the situation in the sustainable fashion industry. Then the text introduces the term “eco-tech” in the fashion industry that emphasizes technologies that are more sustainable during the manufacturing process and the consumption. The author states however that may be the most important point to look at how the fibers used for fashion garments are made because they are the base and starting point of the whole production. Usually, when I think of sustainable and “good” materials I always think of something natural. I think we tend to have this assumption that everything natural is “good”. However, as the reading points out and we previously learned in class, not all natural fibers are really sustainable, sometimes they use chemicals to process them and that is just as bad as creating synthetic fibers. Or for example, cotton plants need a lot of water which is also not very sustainable.
“Disposability is one of the most important technically mediated factors in the design process of all fibers. ” The reading also points out that while natural fibers can be degradable, when producing synthetic fibers, one needs to pay attention and come up with technologies for recycling these.
Group Presentation Documentation: The Next Black
Link to The Next Black:
For our group presentation, we watched a documentary featuring the sustainable future of fashion through different organizations, companies and people. Specifically for my analysis, I focused on BioCouture and its founder: Suzanne Lee. Both BioCouture and Lee have been leading the way in a completely new form of sustainable fashion, actually growing and biologically creating garments from scratch. Using the method of growing Kombucha, Lee brews fabrics from only a simple ingredients, such as the bacteria culture, green tea and sugar. Through this process of growing and drying the bacteria after growth, creates a unique and sustainable fabric that can be easily created and disposed of.
I was really shocked by this completely new method of sustainability, as I have never heard of anyone “growing” their own clothing. Having some experience growing my own Kombucha in science class, I would have never imagined the possible applicability of it to the realm of fashion and clothing. Innovators such as Lee show the unique and diverse avenues of which designers can begin to create their clothing. Instead of the “thinking out of the box” during the design phase, we can also apply the same thinking in different phases, just like Lee has with the growing of her own fabric.
Story of Eileen Fisher
Eileen Fisher founded a New York-based sustainable fashion brand. Her designs, just like many other similar fashion brands, are practical and simple, something, she claims, women want to wear.
One thing that really inspired me too to think about fashion or personally think about what garments I want to or should buy in the future is that she says she got inspired by the Kimono in a trip to Japan. Kimono is something that has been around for hundreds of years and it still looks good on every woman. I personally think that a lot of fashion items are not really sustainable because people don’t love them enough, because they just designed in a way that simply does not perfectly fit everyone. I notice on myself too. There are some items of clothing that I think look really good on me – so I wear them longer. And there are items that are just not comfortable so I only wear them a few times. What if all clothing was designed in a way that it actually fits the wearer?
The only thing I believe sustainable fashion brands like Eileen Fisher should consider is that their designs only appeal to a certain group of people because they are simple and usually more pricey than fast fashion brands so I believe there should be a way to make sustainable fashion accessible for more people.
In Class presentation
Group Members: Hanna &Sara
When meeting together with my group members, we came to an agreement with out research how there were companies whom really did a lot, yet where not getting as much recognition for their work. When doing research we really focused on how there were many companies whom did 3D work, such as ADIDAS and Eileen Fisher. Yet, I noticed how smaller people such as local designers were doing great work as well. These were sustaianable companies doing greater things.