This is an archived blog from when I ran Conscious Public Relations Inc. from 2008-2018. Excuse the potential outdated-ness!
Today is all about fashion.
I had a dream last night that I was in the studio of a wacky, Betsey Johnson-like designer and that I was an aspiring fashion professional of sorts, but I went in wearing my regular clothes. She and I talked about how “fast fashion” was a strain on the earth. And then she made me over to go to a runway show, and I was conscious about whether people would notice I hadn’t shaved my legs underneath my skirt.
Perhaps I was dreaming I was with Vivienne Westwood. Former mentor to Vancouver’s own eco designer Nicole Bridger, Westwood was inspired by climate revolution in her F/W 2013 menswear show. While I would hope that this would extend to women’s wear – as I believe the majority of people who buy clothes are women – this is at least a good start to helping people become aware of the fashion industry’s impact on the Earth. I think that the H&Ms and Forever 21s and Joe Freshs are great for price point, but they do nothing to make people conscious of donating, consigning, upcycling, and waste. I know H&M has come out with their Conscious Collection and their website claims that they donate garments to charity, but it would be more impressive if they had a program where they TOOK IN used H&M clothing and offered discounts on purchases of the Conscious Collection. Not that people need any more of a discount there. This is why I believe education has to start with high fashion – if all the haute couture fashion houses collaborated on a recycling program, everyone else might follow.
Ever since I sat down at Eco Fashion Week President Myriam Laroche’s seminar two years ago during my one-year local fashion challenge, I’ve cut down significantly on visiting malls and chain stores and have been purchasing either second hand or at local shops like Front and Company.
Read the full article on Vivienne Westwood’s collection on GOOD.is here.
