C: Competitions

China may be better known for its mass production than haute couture. But it’s also home to a growing number of sustainable fashion designers. Enter the Ecochic Design Award, the nation’s first mainstream ecofashion design competition. Aimed at stimulating textile-waste-reducing designs, 10 finalists compete for the top prize: the chance to design a sustainable collection using innovatively recycled textiles for Esprit. In 2012, the prize went to Gong Jia Qi, a student at the Raffles Design Institute in Shanghai. Gong reconstructed five garments using unsold stock from Taobao, one of China’s leading online retailers.

In the Netherlands, the Amsterdam Fashion Week and Ministry of Economic Affairs first supported young ecofashion designers in 2010, when the The Green Fashion Competition was launched. The Green Fashion Competition serves as a talent show challenging fashion designers to balance the social, ecological and economical impacts of their ideas. The award winners receive a sum of money that they can use to make new collections, as well as an individual coaching programme stimulating their corporate social responsibility and marketing skills. In addition, the Amsterdam Fashion Week allows the first prize winner to show a new collection as part of its catwalk programme. Dutch topmodel Lonneke Engel being ambassador of the competition, the winners are likely to receive plenty of media attention.

Between 2010 and 2012, The Green Fashion Competition, which was open to international designers and labels, awarded prizes to sustainable design talents such as Elsien Gringhuis, Carrie Parry and Studio Jux. According to Lonneke Engel, the competition has put the spotlights on the Netherlands as a forerunner in eco & fair fashion. What’s more, because the prize winners receive plenty of information and support, they are more likely to develop a profitable as well as people & planet-friendly business. And it remains to be seen if the Ecochic Design Award can also achieve that.

D: Do’s & don’t’s

With eco-chic becoming ever more popular, there is a growing range of shopping suggestions, style advice and must-do lists. One of the most practical guides is 12 Rules To Dress By, an initiative by jewelry designer Amisha Ghadiali who has been fighting for a green and fair fashion industry since 2008.

So how do these 12 Rules To Dress By work? The Elegance Rebellion website provides a handy overview of the basic rules, which consumers are encouraged to keep in their wardrobes and wallets in order to prevent unnecessary purchases and make the most sustainable style choices. In addition, the 12 Rules To Dress By poster includes a wardrobe checklist to keep track of the contents of your closet.

The rules include relatively simple principles such as buy fair trade, choose organic fabrics, and ask yourself if you really need something new. But Elegance Rebellion also suggest you’d research ethical designers, ask shop assistants about the origin of the clothing, and upcycle old clothes into new ones.

It may not be easy to follow each of the 12 Rules To Dress By all the time. In fact, it took Amisha Ghadiali two years to work them out and make them part of her daily routine. For anyone who’s just started that challenging journey towards a sustainable wardrobe, it will be a relief to know that there are many ways to reach that destination. Buy less is a simple yet effective way to start. Rent or borrow clothing for special occasions, such as weddings, is another. And what’s difficult about taking care of your clothes: washing them sparsely and at low temperatures, repairing them when necessary – and making them last?

And let’s not forget the don’t’s. Dumping clothes in the garbage can, washing at high temperatures and using a tumbler dryer are definite no-no’s when it comes to a green wardrobe. The same goes for buying cheap clothing and frequenting fast fashion stores. Now how difficult can that be?

E: Eco-chic

A fashion paradox. That is how Sandy Black describes ecofashion in her book 'Eco-chic'. How can an industry that thrives on innovation, trends and newness ever be green? It is safe to say that a growing number of sustainable fashion designers have found a way out of this dilemma. They embrace slow design, casting no more than a sideward glance on trends.

Which items are typical must-haves for lovers of slow fashion? Obviously, the little black dress, pencil skirt, trench coat, cardigan and a good pair of jeans are the kind of classics that slow designers happily introduce to today's fashion scene. Designers such as Monique van Heist also remake coveted items such as boyfriend pants, the jumpsuit, biker jacket and leggings. These items sometimes return in her collection in a new color or different fabric, thus expanding the lifespan of her designs.

Slow fashion may be no more than a niche in today's shopping street, its proponents believe in its positive future. In order to become mainstream, slow fashion labels have to overcome at least two hurdles. First of all, slow fashion can never compete with fast fashion when it comes to price. Therefore, in times of economic downfall, slow fashion businesses will not have it easy. Secondly, the pace of slow fashion does not seem to match with consumer attitudes to buying clothing. We're used to buying a new piece of clothing on an almost weekly basis. How can slow fashion, which launches an average of two new collections per year, provide consumers with enough goodies to keep them happy?

It is here that the paradox of slow fashion comes to fore with particular force. As Sandy Black concludes in 'Eco-chic', we need to investigate how much we consume and how we can challenge the paradigm of growth and change that drives current fashion. Therefore, the future success of slow fashion lies in the hands of consumers.

F: Facts & Figures

You may be vaguely aware of the fact that a green clothing style is not something you’d need to consider some time in a distant future. But maybe – probably? – the urgency of greenifying your closet has not come home to you quite yet. Fret not. Here are some facts & figures that make clear the importance of working towards a sustainable lifestyle. Once you’ve read them, is there still an excuse for not taking immediate action?

According to research by Elizabeth Cline, Americans buy an average of one new clothing item per week.
Almost half of the American population (48%) trash re-usable clothing, says USAgain.
Less than a third of US consumers (31%) is prepared to pay more for environmentally friendly clothing, according to a 2011 study. A staggering 49% say they're definitely not to willing to pay extra.

In 2012, a UK study found that in the average British household 30% of clothing has not been worn for a year. This equals 1.7 billion unused items.
One in five Britons are wearing items only once before throwing them away, a survey of 2200 UK consumers by M&S found in spring 2012.
In 2001, two Guardian journalists calculated that a pair of jeans sold in the UK had travelled 40.000 miles and visited 13 different countries before hitting the store.

One in five Dutch citizens admitted in 2012 not knowing which clothing is suitable for donating.
Dutch consumers tend to use their jeans for a considerable amount of time. In 2010, the lifespan of a pair of jeans in a Dutch closet was 1 to 3 years.
According to a 2012 survey, 89% of female consumers in the Netherlands prefer sustainable clothing to conventional fashion.

According to estimates, the production of a woolen suit requires the use of 685.000 liters of water.
It is estimated that in cases where production is out sourced to a developing world country, workers' wages only account for between 0.5 to 4% of the final retail cost of a garment.
During the production of a clothing item, 15% of the fabric will be binned, says Sass Brown in her book 'Ecofashion'.
Textile waste takes up 5% of the global landfill space.
A large part of carbon emissions (70%) related to clothes results from consumer behavior, not the production of cotton or distribution.
An average clothing item can be washed 52 times before it’s worn out.
Every year, approximately 50 million animals worldwide are killed for fur. This includes an estimated two million cats and dogs.
The environmental impact of one kilo fur is five times as big as the climate impacts of one kilo of textiles.

G: Greenwashing (do your own bit of it)

The fashion industry is no stranger to accusations of greenwashing. Elaborate reports on Corporate Social Responsibilty suggest that people, planet & profit are in perfect harmony in the everyday business practices of Nike, Puma, H&M and C&A (to name but a few of the brands that go to considerable lengths to explain their sustainable ambitions). At the same time, ngo’s and media regularly report on illegal dumping of chemical substances, child labour and other not very sustainable practices in clothing factories producing for those very same brands.

It seems that the chances of fashion companies engaging in greenwashing are getting bigger every day, now that green fashion is ever more en vogue. While it’s business as usual in the design and production departments, the marketing offices are doing overtime to build a green image and to attract a new group of (environmentally aware) consumers.

The good news is that we can do some green washing ourselves – with immediate positive effects on the environmental friendliness of our wardrobes. A study by Dutch research bureau CE Delft on environmental effects of clothing and textiles suggests that two phases in the lifecycle of a clothing item have the biggest (negative) impact: the production of raw fibers (especially cotton and wool) and consumers’ laundry habits. No less than 32 percent of the effects of clothing on issues such as fossil depletion and climate change result from the way we wash and dry our clothes.

So no matter how unfashionable it may sound, truly green consumers would not only need to think about the sustainability of their clothing purchases. They would also need to consider washing less frequently, washing at low temperatures and ban the tumble dryer. Now that’s what I’d call green washing.

H: High fashion with hemp

Does that make you high? It’s a question that always seems to be asked about clothing made from hemp. Sustainable fabrics like nettle (doesn’t that sting?) and bamboo (isn’t that depriving the panda from its favorite food?) are fighting similar public misconceptions. (Because the answer to all three questions is, of course, a firm no). Hemp also has another battle to fight: it tends to be seen as a coarse, inflexible fabric suitable only for workmen’s pants and similarly unfashionable items.

Understandably, proponents of hemp are vocal about the stylishness as well as the environmental benefits of its fabrics. By blending hemp with softer fabrics such as cotton, it becomes possible to create a versatile garment with a great fit. And because natural fabrics such as hemp and cotton are breathable, they are comfortable to wear. What’s more, hemp threads are strong and therefore a perfect base for making long-lasting clothes. A pair of trousers made from hemp is estimated to last more than five times longer than a cotton one.

The environmentally friendly properties of hemp fabrics are more controversial. At first sight, the benefits appear obvious: hemp is a fast growing plant that needs little water, pesticides or fertilizers. Cultivation does not lead to soil erosion and is highly efficient when it comes to land use: yields are reported to be two to five times higher than cotton.

Like bamboo, hemp cultivation raises environmental issues primarily in the fiber processing stages. Generally, vast amounts of chemicals are used during the processing of coarse stalks into fibers. Manual processing is possible, but – again, like bamboo – is more expensive and therefore less common.

Another issue concerns the energy-intensive distribution networks that are inextricably connected to the current hemp production facilities. India and China are the largest producers of hemp, whereas the United States are crucial in the garment production. A piece of hemp clothing often has travelled literally around the world before it reaches your closet.

Centuries ago, the use of hemp for clothing was fairly common in the Netherlands. Nowadays, hemp cultivation has become virtually extinct (for clothing production, that is!). Several European research projects have attempted to revive the industry, developing new plant varieties and creating networks between cultivation and processing of fibers on the one hand design and production of clothes on the other. So far, none of these initiatives have resulted in local production facilities. (In fact, in 2009, the Dutch police reportedly destroyed the only test field of hemp plants because they were under the impression it was related to drugs production).

In the mean time, China is anxious to expand its hemp production, which would offer considerable benefits for its labor force. First, it would free large areas of cotton-growing land for food production. In addition, hemp cultivation promises to generate extra income for millions of small-scale farmers in some of the country’s poorest rural areas. If this is true, we’d better tackle that image issue soon …

I: Investment dressing

Critics of fast fashion can’t seem to stop talking about the throwawayism associated with cheap, trend driven clothing. They propagate slowing down our consumption habits, which means buying fewer garments that are classic and will last for years. Enter investment pieces, those instant classics that are meant to be a basic, long-term part of every woman’s wardrobe.

With consumers becoming ever more dissatisfied with fast fashion – feeling the constant pressure to buy into new trends every season, and being confronted with low quality garments that quickly fall apart – its slow counterpart is gaining momentum. However, for those accustomed to affordable fashion the price tag of the average investment pieces can be a setback.

A tool called cost-per-wear provides new insights in this issue. How does this work? First estimate how many times a newly bought garment will be worn during its lifespan. Then, calculate how much each wear would cost. (Advanced users of this method also take into account the number of items in the wardrobe that it can be worn with). According to experts, this would often make clear that a high quality, organic garment that you will covet for years actually costs less per wear than a cheaper option that is quickly worn out.

Consumers who are willing to put this theory into practice appear to have one more hurdle to take: finding the right investment pieces. Unfortunately, an ethical production process is no guarantee for a high quality garment. The same goes for designer labels and high retail prizes. In addition, it can be difficult to assess an item’s future-proof design. Will that bootcut jean, colorful beach dress or wedge heel belong to your wardrobe staples for the next five or ten years, or will you soon get tired of them?

A good way to overcome these issues is by taking a long, hard look at your current wardrobe. Which items are more than five years old and still wearable? How come they have retained their value? Are you still wearing them, and why (not)? By exploring these questions, it will become clear not only which elements tend to characterize high quality clothes, but also which type of clothing you’ll be inclined to covet for many years. And with that knowledge, it’s safe to take those exciting new steps towards a sustainable wardrobe.