The first synthetic material gets a major makeover.

First introduced to the world by DuPont in the late 1930s, nylon rushed into the textile market as the perfect material for ladies stockings with its form-fitting, stretch and easy-to-wash and wear qualities. Women in the U.S. went crazy over the new leg wear that rendered their skin, knees and calves near perfect to the point that nylon sales reached 64 million pairs by the end of 1940.

After the onset of WWII, nylon production moved into military supplies such as rope, tents and tires, causing the price of nylon stockings to skyrocket from $1.25 to $10 a pair. Nylon production re-focused on women’s hosiery after the war ended, and millions of women lined up at department stores to buy stockings made from the “miracle material.” Thus began the “nylon riots,” triggering calamitous behavior such as witnessed in Pittsburgh in June of 1946 when a reported 40,000 people stood in a mile long line to compete for 13,000 pairs of nylons. Soon the entire synthetics fiber market shifted towards civilian products as industries like carpeting, home furnishings and car upholstery caught on.

By the 1950s, nylon made up more than 20% of the fiber produced for textile mills in the U.S., marking the beginning of our lasting affair with petrochemical textiles. With the onslaught of chemical manipulation and large investment into crude oil harvesting and management, acrylic, polyester, aramid, and spandex, alongside several others soon followed. These materials were soon incorporated into nearly every type of garment from underwear to socks, coats, mock-wool clothing and even men’s drip-dry suits, not to mention all of the other industries they entered.

The nylon production process uses a combination of coal, water, petroleum and natural gas as the main resources for performing a series of chemical reactions that produce a substance called caprolactum. The caprolactum is polymerized through a steaming process to produce a molten solution that is flaked and then processed through a spinneret that looks like a shower head, solidifying and spinning it into filaments of fiber.

Now nearly 8 million pounds of nylon is produced annually, meaning that the fiber accounts for approximately 12% of the synthetic fiber market. Although this is a small percentage considering the domination of synthetic fibers in several modern industries, we nonetheless have a bevy of nylon material already in existence with several million pounds added each year. So what to do with it?

What we’ve learned best to do with the toxic excess that we have created is to recycle it. Hyosung, a Korean company, has developed a method for recycling discarded nylon items into a textile grade fiber called Regen. As textile grade yarn is the finest achievable form of the fiber, the recycled material is not inferior to virgin nylon in any way, and can be used for a number of applications.

A whole range of pre- and post consumer’s nylon waste is utilized to create the recycled material, such as fishing nets, carpet, clothing, tires, rope and even instrument strings. Although the re-processing method is not entirely environmentally efficient or sustainable, recycling nylon keeps a rather large percentage of petro-chemical waste from going into the landfill or being incinerated, releasing toxic emissions into our atmosphere. It also uses 27% less natural resources than the production of virgin nylon, reduces greenhouse emissions by 28%, and can be processed over and over again.

Several companies worldwide recycle waste nylon into virgin grade material, such as Nilit in Israel, Unifi in the U.S., Toray in Japan and Nuriel in Spain. This retrieving routine has attracted a plethora of clothing and accessory designers so that a range of consumers can access and experience products made from recycled nylon. Patagonia is a devotee as one of the first apparel companies to incorporate the material into its athletic gear and backpacks, alongside the likes of running gear manufacturer Nautilus in its Thoni Mara line.

Christopher Raeburn A/W 2012

Even apparel giant H&M has taken on the use of recycled nylon in its Conscious Collection, while the material has also been cited in the collections of Christopher Raeburn, Organic by John Patrick and DKNY Pure. As no apparent danger of another nylon riot is in the near future with our abundance of material to work with, hopefully more manufacturers will see the beauty in rejuvenating the experienced versus the virgin version.

The post Fiber Watch: Nylon Gets a New (Recycled) Life appeared first on EcoSalon.

SeriesPart 3: The fashion industry is emerging from its cocoon post-recession, a changed sector where consumers are more cautious, manufacturers are on their toes and designers are struggling to stay afloat doing business as usual. In this five-part series, we take a hard look at the fashion world, speaking with industry leaders, luminaries and experts. This week we ask: Now more than ever, is eco-fashion inextricably linked to conscious connections with land and place?

We might attribute eco-fashion to ’60s youths, with their natural approach to style, but the official terminology came much later. The term “eco-fashion” came into the mainstream in the late ’90s, and 2005 was perhaps the most significant year. EcoSalon’s Louise Lagosi writes, “In 2005, it became a marketing tool which is why we suddenly knew about it. Capitalists needed to bank on a trend and this was something they couldn’t ignore. It became the tipping point for eco-fashion.”

While eco-fashion most certainly did become a focal point for all industry sectors circa 2005, if we take a look at why it has stuck, we might be surprised.

Textile Arts Center knitting group

A Consciousness We May Not Be Conscious Of

Owyn Ruck, General Manager of the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, says our green awareness has gone beyond being just “eco-friendly” to a deeper understanding of how things are made.

“Understanding not only reminds you of the impact of an object on the environment, but also allows for the true appreciation of the object. Things from our past are easily represented through physical objects, and by understanding more about the making, we pay more respect to our past – and thus ourselves and current environment,” says Ruck.

Permacouture Institute batch dyeing

Pioneering women have entered the sustainable scene, with many dropping the “eco” terminology altogether, introducing heritage craft with natural textiles and dyeing to further promote this awareness. These designers and entrepreneurs have taken our appreciation of what is eco to a new level, where natural materials are not only being used, but are being designed to biodegrade to leave virtually no footprint at all. But there’s something deeper yet at work – something bordering on the primitive.

Ruck says the growing desire to go past the surface of the eco label is a weighty subject.

“What does this even mean to the average person, who may know nothing about the production of the product? The more prevalent these words become, the more people want to understand them. People are not stupid,” says Ruck. “They want to understand what this movement is about, what do these words mean, why the large price tag on designers using natural and sustainable methods? Maybe it’s not to the point yet where the H&M’s of the world using such terms are ignored, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

She adds that education is key, as well as knowing the person or the story behind the brand.

A New Seasonality

Adie + George

Sasha Duerr, Founder and Co-Director of the Permacouture Institute in San Francisco, author of The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes and co-designer for Adie+George, is one of those pioneering women willing to educate and create in concert. Duerr says creating her line has been an experiment and a labor of love fusing natural textiles with a desire to test out a new seasonality.

Having just completed a full collection of Northern California artisan spun (fair trade), local and seasonal naturally-dyed knits, Adie + George hopes to broaden the topic of biodiversity for color, while also looking at connections to the physical source of materials. Duerr says she hopes her collection will ultimately finish in the compost pile after a very long and well-loved life to create more food, color and fiber for future fashion.

Adie + George co-designer, Permacouture Institute co-founder and author Sasha Duerr

She also asks us to consider something we’re not used to when it comes to fashion: seasonal colors based on what’s in season, as we do with food. Though she says it takes more care, thought, and common sense to understand the benefit of why we should use natural dyes, following what makes the most sense for nature is not always perfect, and it is not always commercial.

“Fashion seasonality in the industry is so far out of sync with actual seasons, that it is difficult to sync your samples to your production process with batch dyeing. So we choose some plant dyes that are always readily available in the urban environment (example: avocado pits). This created the mauves, grays, and pinks in our collection. For the other color [yellow], we derived a system to use two weed dye plants that bookend each other in wet and dry season so that we know if one is not available the other will be,” says Duerr.

Permacouture Institute

Can there be four seasons in fashion when designers are creating this way?

“I think there can absolutely be four local seasons of fashion in sync with what makes the most sense for nature and culture,” she says. “Refining the process is ongoing and creating a healthy and thriving life for ourselves as designers and human beings, also means saying ‘no’ to the insanity of how the industry currently functions on the expectations of  ‘fast fashion’ seasonality. Time after time, appreciating more with less is usually the most satisfying.”

Primitive Permaculture

Another design duo working closely with nature is designer John Patrick of John Patrick Organic, in collaboration with knitwear designer Amanda Henderson, for the A/W 2011 season. To document the story of the collection, Patrick collected video footage and provided visuals of his supply chain onto a Sourcemap to document the garments from fiber collection through manufacturing and production local to the Eastern United States. See the inspiring video here about the people behind his collection.

John Patrick Organic and Amanda Henderson’s A/W ’11 collection

The supply chain began with wool fibers sourced in upstate New York at Hudson Valley Sheep and Wool Company. After the wool was sorted and washed, it traveled to either a mill in Canton, Massachusetts, or directly to Queens, New York to be knit into hand crafted sweaters by Henderson. The fabric used in the collection was created at Draper Knitting in Massachusetts, then cut and sewn in NYC’s historic garment district and finally previewed and exhibited at New York Fashion Week in February 2011.

I asked Henderson if she thinks designers need to have a better connection to where they’re getting their materials. She believes it’s “a fundamental connection that greatly inspires the end result,” and adds that elements of story-telling and honor in fashion has been lost to the past and that perhaps we need to have more of it when considering clothing.

A John Patrick Organic knitting mill for the A/W ’11 knitwear collection

“Native Americans would worship the animals that brought to them necessities for survival. They adorned simple garments beautifully and meticulously in order to honor that animal and what was provided to that individual person and what it meant to them,” says Henderson. “That is the element of fashion I wish to resurrect, which is why this project with Organic meant so much to me. Why I felt that establishing a connection with my materials, and the story of those wools, was so important to both John and me.”

But with a hungry society enamored with fast fashion’s quick catering to trends and bargain basement pricing strategy, can this story really matter to the consumer? Do we as a society have the patience to hear it?

“Now is a perfect time for the consumer to cease spending on numerous new garments with short-lived spans, especially from designers who consider price over both human and clothing quality of life. Rather, to invest in few, very selective pieces, with great meaning to that person, at a higher material quality and technique level. Timeless clothing with hand-made history, and primal human meaning. After all, clothing has been around since the early beginnings of human existence, and can inspire a modern person to consider their roots. That ancestral element, to be passed through the generations,” says Henderson.

Fashioning Self In Relation To Environment

Abigail Doan, fashion writer for EcoSalon, textile artist and founder of Ecco Eco, says that while she is an “eternal optimist” regarding consumer’s connections to clothing, she isn’t so sure that we are closer to being significantly connected to what we wear as a result of a raised fashion consciousness.

Doan says cost and overall availability are things that still influence which items consumers select and incorporate into their wardrobes. Someone living a few hours from a major city is likely to either shop at a local mall, a local main street retailer, or hunt for bargains online when trying to locate new fashion acquisitions.

“This is why I feel that ‘conscious fashion’ also needs to incorporate ideas about fashioning self in relation to the environment as a complete approach to how clothes shopping relates to one’s ethical and environmental views,” says Doan. “Being connected to nature via our clothes must first come from an awareness that is generated by the individual in response to how to create or style an identity that reflects one’s awareness about conservation, materials, and craft.”

Doan, who grew up in a household where hand spinning and sheep shearing were regular activities, goes on to say, “From this platform one can build a wardrobe that reflects a connectedness that is meaningful and perhaps even sustainable.”

Abigail Doan photos

Designers will always have to make money and consumers will always want something new, but the psychology of fashion is changing.

Duerr-Fossel says it will all come down to our individual lifestyles – that this consciousness extends beyond fashion to many areas including food, transportation and even the way we love one another.

“It is an overall choice to do things that help the environment, in many aspects of your life, and when you start with one, it’s easier to keep going. Which we can see with this idea of homesteading very clearly. I think all these changes and movements feed off one another in a nice way that keeps our society changing to something more positive,” Duerr says.

Our hearts are set on it.

Image: sydigill, b3d, Dan Zen

The post The Post-Recession Fashion Industry: A Return to Nature appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sustainable fashion just got another big push from mainstream, this time by Lexus and the Council of Fashion Designers of America. The program’s goal of increasing sustainable practices in the fashion industry, just picked their ten finalists, three of which will be selected to receive support from Lexus for their Fall 2011 show or presentation in February 2011.

The finalists, representing womenswear, menswear, and accessories include Behnaz Sarafpour, Maria Cornejo, Monique Pean, Marcia Patmos, Organic by John Patrick, Costello Tagliapietra, Alabama Chanin, Libertine by Johnson Hartig, Subversive Jewelry by Justin Giunta and Slow and Steady Wins the Race by Mary Ping.

WWD reports that the ten finalists were chosen based on their most recent collections – 25 percent of which had to be created in an eco-conscious way in order to qualify.

Three winners will be announced next Tuesday, in addition to a “People’s Choice” winner that you can vote for on Lexushybridliving.

Image: Linda Loudermilk

The post The CFDA and Lexus Announce the Eco-Fashion Finalists appeared first on EcoSalon.

Working for the best eco fashion blog, I know ecological clothing is not a passing trend – it’s the future of fashion. It’s just a matter of time before the mainstream industry agrees. With last week’s 40th Earth Day celebration, it’s time to take the pulse of mainstream culture. Here are some interesting news stories and evidence of sustainability filtering through to mainstream brands.

Hot Mods

As far as cars go, Saab has always been a quirky brand. But the logic behind their recent launch of an eco clothing collection called Pure BioPower Eco Clothing is, well, lets just say ahead of its time. Designed bу Swedish designer Josefin Lassbo, the collection made its North American debut alongside the new Saab 9-X BioHybrid concept that is E85 bioethanol-capable а×-ԁ equipped wÑ–th thе next-generation GM Hybrid system.

Stella Takes a Tip

She has long been considered the fashion world’s conscience by refusing to use skins or furs in her designs. Recognizing a further need, Stella McCartney has a dedicated green portion of her latest seasonal collection which beautifully utilizes organic and alternative textiles in the designs. Check out her 17 eco tips over on her website.

Puma Unboxed

Puma kicks off an ambitious long term sustainability initiative with its inventive shoe packaging that features a cutout loop as a carrying handle, which also doubles as a reusable shoe bag and therefore eliminates the need for a plastic bag. Designed by Yves Behar of Fuseproject, Puma estimates the design will reduce the company’s paper usage by 65 percent and cut carbon emissions by 10 tons per year. It will also save 20 million Mega Joules of electricity, one million liters of fuel oil, one million liters of water, 500,000 liters of diesel and up to 275 tons of plastic by eliminating shopping bags. “Clever little bag” is more like the Cat’s Meow.

Mossy Glossy

All this talk of Anna Wintour’s retirement makes me daydream about how game changing it could be for the industry if her successor was a green fashion proponent. In the meantime, rival Elle’s green coverage is challenging their readers to go green with their 21 day long eco-chic list. Kudos to Elle for leading the glossies towards green.

Seeing Green

With all the best green fashion content available on the Internet, it’s hard to drag yourself away. But, take a break and drag yourself to the couch because designer John Patrick of Organic is getting his own six-episode show. It will no doubt prove a fascinating insight into the challenges of getting a sustainable clothing line produced. Get set for the premiere on Planet Green in early 2011.

The post The Latest In Green Fashion News appeared first on EcoSalon.

It wasn’t until recently that I considered jumpsuits.

A friend of mine whose fashion advice I value and who is fully entrenched on the fashion front said she’d ordered this one by Loyale.

I can see it with a cute belt and strappy sandals this spring. Mama like.

But jump suits? What if you’re bloated? Isn’t it a lot of work to go to the bathroom?

Then I found this one by Tree Hugger, an organic cotton bandeau number that means all you have to do is pull down and you’re all set. No zipping or unbuttoning. But, really a lot of fabric and you are combining two trends in one (harem pants and jumpsuit); sometimes that can be hard to pull off.

Eco-designer John Patrick has one at the ready for Fall 09 if you want to continue the trend. A little more tailored and thanks to a bow to break up the shirt/pant union, a little more formal for work.

Hmmm, jump suits.

The two words tell me I’ll be limitless in my physical pursuits when wearing it. I will bound forth in leaps to find eco-fashion. I will pounce catlike in a one-piece organic number that can be used for work and play but oh, going to the bathroom”¦

The post When Shirt and Pant Collide appeared first on EcoSalon.