Green Cotton

Above: Diane Von Furstenburg Collection

Here at Green Cotton, we look at fashion from an eco-eye, discussing sustainable fabrics, fair trade practices, and eco-friendly options for the most discerning fashionista. New York Fashion Week, hardly an all-green event (yet), gives us an opportunity to spy the trends and find “greener” ways to rock them.
I’ve been peeking at the collections all week, and my favorite designers have not disappointed. While there haven’t been any eco shows since last week’s Be EcoChic event, plenty of designers have been showing boho-chic looks that unite the “haute” and the “hippie.”

For a brief fashion history lesson, the term “boho-chic” was coined in the early 2000s to describe the style of British It-Girls Kate Moss and Sienna Miller (fashion lovers to this day continue to dispute which one actually started the trend). Some sources (including a Wikipedia entry) claim that this trend reached its height in 2004-5, and the derivations we’re seeing now can be classified as “boho rock,” even “goth-rock.”

You’ll notice hints of gothic in this fall’s fashions, carrying over from the Fall 2008 collections shown this past spring. But the free-spirited boho look was even more prominent on the runways. Badgley Mischka and Just Cavalli took a trip to the 1970s with relaxed fits and floppy hats. D&G showed tartans, checks and plaids that had a playful, down-home feel. But Gucci best embodied the “haute hippie” and elevated her to rock star glory: right at home with earthy prints and flowing scarves were fringed boots, black skinny pants, bare shoulders and chunky chains.

Despite the debate over its dwindling relevance, boho-chic is clearly still alive and well on the Spring 2009 runways!

Diane Von Furstenburg (featured above) showed plenty of bright colors and dared to mix prints, giving her line a flower child vibe that she dubbed “Rock Goddess.”

Photo: Charlotte Ronson Collection

Charlotte Ronson’s flowy dresses and floral patterns are simple yet chic, exuding peaceful, natural beauty.

Photo: Miss Sixty’s Collection

In Miss Sixty’s very 70s spring collection, scarves, sunglasses and denim onesies abound, with loose silhouettes and bright patterns reminiscent of groovier times.

Photo: Jill Stuart’s Collection

Jill Stuart used a pastel palette to transport the wearer back to the 70s, complete with butterfly sleeves, asymmetrical hemlines, draping scarves and the occasional chunky knit.

Photo: Anna Sui’s Collection

Photo: Anna Sui’s Collection

Anna Sui’s boho girls were sweet as Swiss misses, but still had a rock-and-roll edge. The collection displays a wide range of shapes, from prairie blouses and skirts to sheaths and caftans, along with a dizzying array of colors (orange, fuchsia, royal blue and more rainbow brights compete with a few all-black ensembles) and patterns (floral, geometric shapes, beaded embellishments, even a paisley “peacock” look). There are so many looks, it almost appears the designer couldn’t make up her mind, but the overall bohemian spirit makes the collection feel cohesive.

Photo: Nanette Lepore’s Collection

Nanette Lepore gave the earthy girl a new level of sophistication. She’s grounded her in floral patterns and earth tones but dressed her up in blazers and high-waisted shorts, giving her polish and a slimmer silhouette. This collection shows, perhaps, where the boho-chic trend is headed, but not without a nod to the past: a few baby-dolls and crocheted knits peeked out from bright trenches and slinky silks.

What do you think of the boho-chic trend? Do you think it will still be going strong next season? How do you think it coincides with (or not) the eco-fashion movement? Let us know your thoughts….

Post By Erin Dale

Dear Readers,

I will be in Las Vegas for the next few days attending MAGIC’s Eco-Collection show as well as POOL. Stay tuned and I will bring you back some of the latest and greatest trends in eco-fashion!

Photosource above: Inhabitat.com

Most natural textiles – cotton, wool, linen, tencel, bamboo – are naturally cream or pale brown. Almost universally these fabrics are bleached before dyeing.

Natural shades of textiles vary, and starting the dye process with a white fabric enables the factory to anticipate the final color more precisely.

So honestly, how safe and environmentally friendly is it to bleach fabrics?

You know that bottle of bleach in your laundry room? The one with the safety cap, the warnings not to drink it or let children handle it or inhale the fumes or mix it with anything lest it go bang? That’s the exact same product that textiles are bleached with. And, often discharged into rivers.

The most widely used industrial bleaches are chlorine compounds, usually sodium hypochlorite – household bleach - or chlorine dioxide. Both are hazardous to factory workers, who are at risk of burns, lung and eye injuries.

So how do industrial bleaches affect the environment?

Sodium hypochlorite oxidizes organic matter in rivers and oceans to produce chemicals called trihalomethanes,  some of which are carcinogenic.

Chlorine dioxide also produces trihalomethanes in waterways. It also can form dioxins – carcinogens, mutagens, and tetrogenic compounds - which the body stores in fatty tissues almost indefinitely.

Bleaching also consumes large amounts of natural resources; primarily vast quantities of water used to rinse the fabric after bleaching, otherwise any residual bleach would weaken the fibers.

What are the alternatives to bleach ?

Unbleached fabrics clearly have an environmental advantage. Here’s a skater t-shirt for dudes,  and if I was four, I’d have a tantrum for this gorgeous little dress.

For other colors – and particularly for white and pale colors, such as achieving perfectly white jeans, or a pure white wedding dress, require the use of bleach.

Less environmentally damaging solutions to bleaching are the use of either hydrogen peroxide or ozone bleach. Both are chlorine-free, fairly benign chemical processes which produce no dioxins or trihalomethanes, and use less energy and water than chlorine-based bleach.

According to an ozone bleach promotional website, chlorine bleaching requires 8.28MJ of energy, and emits 800g of CO₂ to whiten 1kg of cotton yarn.

To bleach the same amount of cotton with ozone bleach would require 60% less energy and produce half the CO₂ emissions.

Ozone breaks down into pure oxygen as it bleaches, with no other by-products. But it’s hard to use, and factories must invest in new bleaching machinery to use ozone. Some factories are beginning to use ozone bleach in conjunction with chlorine bleach to reduce the quantity of chlorine bleach used – a step in the right direction.

Hydrogen peroxide has a similarly low environmental impact, as it breaks down into water and oxygen as it bleaches. It’s also easier to use, and products bleached with hydrogen peroxide are on our shelves (or our virtual shelves). Loop’s organic cotton towels and bedding are bleached with hydrogen peroxide, and ROMP’s organic white cotton shirts printed with French song lyrics are too.

Could Chlorine Bleaching Be Eliminated From the Textile Industry?

Chlorine bleaching currently dominates the textile industry but existing alternative technologies exist that can be used reasonably easily and cheaply, and have much lower environmental impact. Bleach pollution is a major problem, but it is one with a solution, and it’s possible that one day it will be history.

And for brides to be: yes! you can buy a wedding dress with without bleach. Olivia Luca’s wedding dresses made from unbleached fair trade handwoven silk shantung are elegant and eco-friendly.

Photo source above: Flickr