Organic Clothing is the New Haute Couture

What’s the new what? I say Organic Clothing is the new Haute Couture

If you’re fashionable, but aren’t already an “environmentalist,” you will be soon – whether you want to be or not. The trendy shoes you slip on in the morning, the designer sweatshirt you zip up as you leave the club – its becoming increasingly likely those accessories are made from organic materials.

That's right, major retailers such as Payless and Target have embraced "green" clothing. Payless doesn't only offer silver stilettos, brightly colored plastic flip-flops, and fake leather boots. Now, it features 100% organic sneakers and hemp slides. Target, "where fashion fanatic meets organic-on-a-budget," just launched its first international collection featuring certified organic items.

A trend that began a decade ago with high-end companies such as Patagonia, 100% organic cotton clothing is no longer exclusively for the elite traditional environmentalist. You don’t have to go to stores with names like “The Pure Spirit” or “Children of the Green Earth” to get organic accessories. All you have to do is go to your local Walgreens.

This means people are walking around with their feet snug in organic cotton, bamboo or hemp fiber socks. Guys and girls are buttoning up organic cotton jeans and running on Nike’s recycled tire shoes – but does sustainability actually play in to consumers’ purchase decisions?

I doubt it. I have a feeling that people will purchase environmentally friendly apparel and accessories provided they are fashionable. Unless consumers understand the bigger reasons behind buying organic clothing, eco-chic will just be another short-lived fad, not a truly sustainable fashion statement.

(Image taken from www.alternativeconsumer.com)

Green Houses are the New College Dorms

- Lauren Silverman

Yesterday the New York Times featured a story on the “SEED House,” Oberlin College’s new sustainability house. In “sustainable” college houses, you are more likely to find people competing over who can take the shortest shower, not who can chug the most beer.

“Green living” isn’t only popular at hippie colleges such as Oberlin. At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where I go to school, some dorms and many cooperatives are taking a shot at sustainable living. A few weeks ago, when I was hanging out at a friend’s cooperative, I was chided for leaving on the bathroom light. My friend yelled, “We’re in an energy saving competition with the other cooperatives!" Compared to college dormitories and apartments, cooperatives are in a prime position to save both energy and money.

When you live in a cooperative you buy everything in bulk, reducing the price, packaging waste, and gas-guzzling trips to the grocery store. Communal living and cooking also helps cut down on the carbon footprint. In addition to greening daily routines, by turning off heaters and unplugging appliances, kids in cooperatives are greening the common house party. Just last month, Ann Arbor’s Luther House featured a “Go Local” party, where all the beer was locally made and to get in the door you had to “Bring Your Own Cup” aka "B.Y.O.C". Not only was this demand good for the environment, but it was good for conversation too. My friend’s polka-dot mug and my gold chalice were excellent ice-breakers.

Sustainable houses and parties are a great start. I just hope the green trend grows beyond the walls to surrounding college campuses.