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You don’t have to be a Fashion Diva to know about fashion. But how many of us ever wonder, as we dress ourselves to face the day, where the clothes we are wearing came from? And that does not mean the brand or the name of the store. Really came from?

Does it ever cross our minds that, with every material, accessory, footwear or cosmetic that we pick up, we may be contributing to the destruction of the ecosystem?

The fashion industry packs quite a punch, especially when we realise that every individual on the planet is touched by it. Fashion maybe fickle, but there are umpteen who worship at its altar; and, when a clarion call is made by its doyens, even ripples created impact like a wave.

Today the industry is creating a new wave. It’s called Eco fashion.  Eco fashion is not about being alternative, but about being socially responsible. It redefines sustainability with design that gives back to the earth.

Eco-fashion, simply put, refers to the use of environmentally sensitive fabrics, responsible production techniques and ethical business practice.  Clothes and accessories that are made from natural products such as hemp, bamboo, seaweed, wool or pinewood; organic raw materials such as cotton grown without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are termed as eco friendly.

Not so long ago, the industrial age hailed the innovation of synthetic materials like polyester. Blends became fashionable, though cottons remained popular. Mass production opened up avenues for designers who turned their art into a craft. The fashion industry took off with a boom. Scant regard was paid to the consequences. Pesticides and fertilizers were used for higher yields to meet global demands. These chemicals, many of them believed to be carcinogenic, seeped into the earth and found their way into water bodies silently destroying the marine ecosystems, the surrounding flora and the fauna and into the human food chain. Health problems could be traced back to the pollution in the air.  Heedless to the warnings of the environmental watch dogs, the fashion industry played pied piper, and the fashionable mindlessly followed. Centuries old traditional crafts using natural fibre and dyes began to fade out.

It always takes a calamity to bring about change. The earth’s distress has brought about a renaissance of sorts in the fashion world.

Designers have been dabbling for years with alternative fabrics, but the mystique of green in the form of eco fashions only won global attention at New York City’s famed Fashion Week in February 2005, at a runway event called FutureFashion. Famous and aspiring designers showcased outfits made from eco-friendly fabrics and environmentally sensitive designs using fabric made from hemp, seaweed and bamboo.

Since then, eco fashion has made its way across the globe, from USA to New Zealand and is here to stay.

Jay Chong, founder of Greenpeas which promotes eco lifestyle and design in Singapore feels, “though eco fashion is not exploding, it is expanding steadily in Asia. The awareness in the US and UK is much higher than here, though ironically much of the fabric comes from China and India.” She is currently working with designers Thomas Lee Adrian Huang, and Angelynn Tan to develop their eco fashion collections. Jay is of the opinion, “fashion is not about the clothes we wear, but how we fashion our lives and impact others and the earth that we are stewards of.”

Designers like Linda Loudermilk, Perri & Emily Drysdale, Charu Parashar; brands like Timberland, Bannana Republic, Esprit with its E collection, are all moving in one direction: cruelty free, ethical, sustainable fashion.

Eco warriors or not, consumers who understand the fabric and the value behind the tag, are not likely to be deterred by the price. According to Charu Parashar, “there is little difference in pricing, but with more innovations, more importantly, when accepted as mainstream fashion and with increased business volume, the time is not far when price pointers will certainly come down.”

The buzz caused by experimentation with natural fibre is exciting for designers who now have options other than organic cotton. Angelynn Tan, a textile designer and full time lecturer with National Academy of Fashion and Arts, (NAFA) Singapore, is quite inspired by Bamboo. “Its so soft and comfortable, better than cotton, does not crumple easily, is durable and cool, absorbent and odour free. It is truly eco friendly as Bamboo is easily available, renewable and biodegradable requiring no pesticides or fertilizers.”