FA S HI ON
GOALS
Buying clothes is easier than ever,
but what you put in your
shopping cart today can impact
the planet for seasons to come.
Fortunately, a growing number
of designers and scientists are
joining forces to green up your
wardrobe. Learn how to
outfit yourself more mindfully,
and support brands that are
as eco-conscious as they are cool.
TEXT BY ALDEN WICKER
CHANGE
MAKERS
MARTHA
STEWART
WHEN IT COMES TO FINDING that new favorite dress—or perfect
pair of jeans—fit and style are usually the key metrics to making
a purchase. However, where and how items are manufactured mat-
ter more than ever. The average global consumer bought 60 percent
more clothing in 2014 than in 2000, and kept each garment about
half as long. Plus, we sent three-fifths of these purchases (many
of them made from petroleum-based polyester, nylon, and acrylic—
in other words, plastic—per U.K.-and-China-based consultancy
group Tecnon OrbiChem) to a landfill or incinerator within a few
years of being made. There are painful realities on the production
end, too: chemical fertilizers used to grow cotton, rainforest trees
pulped to create rayon fabric, coal burned to power garment fac-
tories, and fuel burned to ship garments across the world to our
doors. All told, the fashion industry is responsible for an estimated
8 percent of global carbon emissions.
That figure is what spurred Maxine Bédat to launch the New
Standard Institute (NSI), a New York City–based information
platform and advocacy group focused on greening the apparel
business, last May. Together with her colleague Linda Greer,
PhD, the senior global fellow at the Institute for Public and Envi-
ronmental Affairs (who also spearheaded the Natural Resources
Defense Council’s Clean by Design program), Bédat aims to
transform the industry by 2030. Their mission, per Greer, is
four-pronged: “We need to lower our carbon footprint, use less
water, employ fewer toxic chemicals, and reduce impacts on
biodiversity and ecosystems.”
“Fashion needs a systems change, and it’s starting to happen,”
says Harriet Vocking, chief brand officer at Eco-Age, the U.K.-
based sustainability-communications consultancy launched by
activist Livia Firth. The group helps brands such as Alberta
Ferretti and Chopard assess their supply chains and develop
cleaner practices. It also lobbies for global policy changes and
raises public awareness through the Green Carpet Challenge,
which enlists celebrities including Penélope Cruz and Cate
Blanchett to lead by example: They attend events (the Cannes
Film Festival, the Met Gala, its own Green Carpet Fashion
Awards), and wear environmentally friendly clothing and jew-
elry. To learn what you can do, read on.
48 SEPTEMBER 2019
STYLING BY RACHEL STICKLEY; CLOTHING BY AMOUR VERT, EILEEN FISHER, MARA HOFFMAN, AND PATAGONIA
PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER ARDITO
