How are Eco-Fashion clothes made?

Eco fashion uses natural or recycled products that are manufactured in an ethical way that does not damage the environment. It offers a way of buying clothes that look good, feel great as well as being generally harder wearing and better value over mass produced low grade clothing.

You should not be put off by the term eco fashion because this term does not mean that the clothes that you buy will be shapeless unflattering or make you look like a hippy. These days many of the great fashion houses are beginning to work with eco fashion principles with designers from Burberry,  Yves Saint Laurent, Manolo Blahnik and Alexander Wang just a few who are gradually becoming more green.

The environmental costs of intense factory production in the third world and the ethical concerns over the employment of child and slave labour are becoming increasingly untenable to many people.

Eco fashion offers an ethical alternative to this as well as a more pleasurable experience to the clothes wearer. With eco fashion clothes you know that the materials used are soft and natural and will not cause any unpleasant reactions to your skin. You know that the people who have produced your clothing have been paid a fair wage and have reasonable living conditions.

Non-eco fashion clothes often use so-called natural products such as silk and cotton but these are usually treated with pesticides during the growing process and treated with bleach during the dying process. These processes contain many dangerous chemical elements that can damage and irritate skin.

Eco fashion materials are made from organic raw materials. If the garment is made of cotton, it will have been grown without the use of pesticides so is safe for workers and wearers alike. If made of silk, the fabric will be spun by silk worms fed on organic leaves, rather than chemical alternatives.

A major area of concern in mass clothing production is the use of bleaching materials which use high levels of hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid. Eco fashion uses dyes, which are plant based so are not only safe for the environment but are also are softer and more friendly on the skin.

Hemp is also a fantastic clothing material that is growing increasingly popular with the move towards eco fashion.  Previously used for clothing and rope it fell into decline with the emergence of man made fibres but now is sweeping back into fashion in a big way.

Hemp is easy to grow anywhere and is very adaptable for use with no dangerous by products. It has the strongest fibres of any plant known to man yet can be broken down and softened for a range of purposes including clothing and bags.

Eco fashion also looks to using recycled materials such as previously used textiles for high end clothing and even uses recycled plastics in shoes and bags. Although originally these materials may have been produced without any concern for green issues, giving them a new lease of life is fully in line with eco fashion principles.