by Oliver St John

     The world of fashion is no stranger to the worthy cause. Individual designers and entire collections have in the past been dedicated to helping the homeless, defeating diseases, fighting famine. Indeed, the recent global AIDS conference in Toronto featured a rather quirky fashion show involving entire outfits made from contraceptive devices as a means of raising awareness.

     It is therefore no surprise - but nonetheless very welcome - that an eco-fashion movement has begun to develop. Designers both established and new are moving to more environmentally conscious apparel options, whether simply opting to use sustainably-grown cotton or actually recycling used products into the clothing itself.

     One of the brands at the forefront of today's eco-fashion movement is People Tree. People Tree was founded as a joint British/Japanese venture by environmentalist Safia Minney, with the aim of producing clothing made to high environmental standards. The company partners with fair trade organizations in twenty developing nations, and also provides funding for social welfare projects in many of those countries. Fully half of People Tree's current collection is made from organic and Fair Trade-certified cotton.

     Also of note is the new fashion label Edun, founded by U2 vocalist Bono and his wife, and designed by Rogan Gregory. Edun aims to use organic cotton wherever possible, chiefly from Africa. Their production facilities are sited in developing nations in order to provide sustainable work in the areas of greatest need.

     More unusual offerings have recently been designed by American-based artist Tara Lynn Scheidet (www.taralynnstudio.com), who prefers to take items which would otherwise be discarded and divert them into her own creations. An example of this is a rather handsome rain jacket, the waterproofing on which is provided by stitching discarded grocery bags onto it. This has the unique advantage of being easy and inexpensive to patch if it tears.

     Tara Lynn describes her creations as "like wearing a piece of art work. It has a lot of meaning to it. Everything I create tends to have some sort of moral value behind it. It is wearable art dedicated to endangered species, so in buying this piece of art you can raise awareness and donate a portion to environmental organizations. In addition, it's made of natural fibers and vintage fabrics so down to the core it is something to be proud of and it is beautiful at the same time."

     It can take 2-3 days to complete one jacket. The art work is the most time consuming, a combination of embroidery, crochet, macramé, trapunto, quilting and appliqué, can take 4-16 hours. On the butterfly jackets the butterflies look like the real endangered species and sometimes one butterfly can take 3 hours.

     Another American, Carly Stipe (www.carlystipe.com), has recently launched a line of accessories created from... duct tape. It sounds bizarre, yet many of the articles are very charming, and help to reuse an item which would otherwise go to waste.

     One further purveyor of eco-friendly fashion is Sage Creek. Originally founded to create baby clothing, the company is now moving into adult apparel and home furnishings. Not only do they use certified organic cotton, but they use biodegradable plastic packaging, and as little of that as possible.

     It appears that ecologically sound clothing is becoming increasingly popular, and slowly moving toward the mainstream. Long may it continue!