Earth Pledge Talks Eco-Friendly Fashion at Otis

Earth Pledge, the nonprofit organization and think tank for developing ecofriendly ways of life, is penetrating the fashion industry from top to bottom.

On Jan. 31, Earth Pledge was on the runway at New YorkFashion Week, showing eco-friendly and sustainable clothing by design houses such as Marni, Diane von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan.

A week later on Feb. 8, Leslie Hoffman, executive director of Earth Pledge, spoke to Los Angeles students who are the next generation of the fashion world.

The Otis College of Art and Design event at the California Market Center was co-produced by Alternative Fashion Group , a student-run organization that has implemented eco-friendly initiatives, such as recycling fabric scraps, on the Otis campus.

Rosemary Brantley, Otis’ chair of fashion design, introduced the guest speaker with a story about her first meeting with an Earth Pledge representative. “He said to me, ’I visit a lot of city dumps, and they’re all full of clothes,’” said Brantley, who plans to move toward being “part of the solution.”

Since its inception in 1991, Earth Pledge has pioneered eco-friendly initiatives such as drilling the first geothermal wells in New York. Earth Pledge started targeting the fashion industry with its “Future Fashion” initiative in 2004. Although “the fashion industry is full of leaders and trendsetters,” it was “years behind” other industries that have gone green, Hoffman said.

According to Hoffman, fashion is the second-largest industrial user of water worldwide, and the fashion industry accounts for roughly 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

However, Hoffman highlighted what the fashion industry is doing and can do to move toward sustainability:

bull; Rethink source materials. Use sustainable, natural fibers and bio-based polymers and develop new products that require less energy and fewer chemicals for their care.

bull; Recycle and reuse materials. Turn used denim into insulation and plastic bottles into polyester.

bull; Reduce the use of chemicals by growing organic cotton and implementing vegetable-dye processes.

bull; Design products that can be easily recycled. The reality is that some clothes will end up being in a landfill. So design clothes with minimal hardware that can break down naturally.

bull; Buy second-hand clothing.

bull; Wash less often and use eco-detergents.

bull; Take into consideration the whole life cycle of a garment. Hoffman noted that lyocell, a cellulose fiber made from wood, consumes a lot of energy to produce. But it uses less energy in the care-and-use phase because it can be washed in cold water and doesn’t have to be ironed. She added that over the whole life of a garment, the carbon footprint of clothing is one-third manufacturing and delivery and two-thirds laundering.

Start creating a demand for organic products. “When customers ask for them, businesses try to respond,” Hoffman said.

Rhea Cortado