Eco fashion: fashion fad or future trend?

Abstract

Awareness of the impact current practices have on the environment is applicable to all spheres of life, industries, and countries, with emphasis placed on the wise and sparing use of resources. Similarly, eco fashion has become one of the lifestyle issues of the twenty-first century with some designers in the global and local fashion arenas, developing their collections around this concept. Yet, as pointed out by Lee and Sevier (2008) in discussions and debates on eco fashion, differing interpretations and endorsements of eco practices emerge. Does eco fashion refer to organic products, recycling, re-use, restoration? There are questions as to whether the concept could even be considered compatible with the idea of fashion. Breds, Hjort and Kruger (2002:27) maintain that many in the textile and apparel industry ‘… believe that there is a contradiction in working with sustainability [eco] and fashion’. This quote seems to be a true reflection of the fashion world where the consumer is constantly presented with seasonal and inter-seasonal changes. That consumers have an innate desire to have the next best thing is an idiom widely embraced in the fashion industry. How then, would it be possible to ensure, instil or develop eco-awareness and acceptance in the current consumer-based culture?