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The trend to "go green" continues to expand beyond building and construction, beyond fuel-efficient automobiles and city recycling programs. The trend has moved into the world of haute couture.

Fashion designers are creating clothes made from sustainable materials, such as cotton and hemp, grown pesticide free on farms certified as organic. Production of the clothing is as important as their silhouettes; workers must be paid an honest wage and work under decent conditions. So to the production methods must be environmentally friendly; sweatshops and smokestacks belching black soot can ruin a designer's reputation.

To be eco-fashionable is to be aware of what the clothes are made of, where the material came from, who made the clothes and how they were made.

It seems a lot to ask of fashionistas.

But the demands of the fashion enthusiasts for green are nothing short of a revolution. Retail outlets are tagging clothes as organic, touting their natural fibers, and advertising their environmental correctness.

While the hemp skirt and cotton shirt are attractive to the wanna-be eco-chic, there is more to eco-fashion than responsibly designed designer clothes. The fashion-conscious tend to be trendy, and that can result in tossing aside last year's clothes with little thought to disposal.

Just because it's made of cotton, doesn't mean it should end up in a landfill. Eco-fashion includes taking responsibility for the clothes. The shopper should be sure to choose enduring, timeless styles for the mainstays of her wardrobe. Updating a wardrobe then, doesn't require bulk disposal.

There are other ways to be eco-fashionable, other than retail outlets and boutiques. Stores that specialize in gently used name brand clothing have beautiful clothes available, for a fraction of the original cost. This recycling of finery is proving to be a fashion statement in itself, both for the donator and the purchaser. Often, these establishments, like thrift shops, donate a portion of the proceeds to a worthy cause, making the recycling not only earth friendly, but socially uplifting.

Eco-fashion is more than a trend; it is an indicator of a shift in societal mores and awareness. Just as wearing fur is now considered morally reprehensible, so to will be wearing clothing that is made from the sweat of the underpaid or by methods detrimental to the well being of the earth's environment.

Learn more about this author, Shelly Mcrae.
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