green is the hottest thing to wear
Add comment August 21st, 2008
ok, that might be an overstatement.
it’s back-to-school time, and while the kids love to pick out their folders and notebooks, what they really like to pick out is their clothes.
i originally was “inspired” to write this post when i got a press release about eco-fashion, which meant “buy this sewing machine.” kind of a stretch.
as i thought further, of course, hand-me-downs and thrift shop finds are “green.” and then i stumbled upon this story.
As an eco-designer, Bee Askin makes use of recycled materials to create clothing she hopes will appeal to a wide audience of women.
“It’s a very simple concept,” she said. “You deconstruct and reconstruct.”
“Eco” or “green” fashion involves “treasuring things that still have a lot of life left in them,” she said. “I think eco-fashion can be part of the fashion world.”
Askin’s favorite recycled materials are men’s shirts, preferably cotton and of good quality, perhaps too threadbare around the neck to still be worn but with attractive colors and designs she can adapt to her own creations.
“Men’s shirts are beautiful and well designed,” Askin said. “The collar can be frayed, but the rest of the shirt has years left in it.”
parting thought: the average american purchases 70 pounds of fabric per year, with 85 percent ending up in landfills, according to the institute for local self-reliance.
