Story by 15 Year Old Girl Fashion Fairy Our 1st Girls Design Tomorrow Fashion Contributor
According to statistics, in the year 2022 about 67 percent of consumers care about the kind of clothing they wear. They care about the environmental effects, and the people making and producing it. Now many people may ask, What exactly is sustainable fashion? Sustainable fashion refers to clothing materials that are designed, manufactured, and distributed in ways that are friendly for the environment. This movement has only gotten more popular as the years have gone on and customers have been paying more attention to the more environmentally safe fashion they buy rather than the cheaper fast fashion options.
Now I must admit, before doing much research about sustainable fashion, I envisioned every clothing piece that was eco-friendly to be a bit boring and bland looking. I thought that if something had to be so eco-friendly, then it would have to be ugly. I know for a fact that other people feel this way as well. They assume that since it was friendly to the environment, it had to be plain. Well that's just wrong. Every type of fashion can have good pieces, and bad pieces. You should never just judge a garment on the type of fashion it falls behind.
One of my most favorite sustainable fashion clothing brands is Stella McCartney. Stella McCartney’s brand uses several types of eco-friendly fabrics and even innovated a new type of faux fur! Just one of the materials she uses is called Econyl fabric, which is made from recycled plastic water bottles. Stella McCartney is an activist for sustainable fashion and she herself even stated “My goal is to drive change, encourage investments, and create lasting difference through incentives supporting the next generation”. Stella McCartney's brand stands for a cruelty free world of fashion that is kind to both the environment, and the creatures that live in it. Although her brand is not the most sustainable, overall any progress is great. She, unlike other fashion brands, strives to make products with the least impact on our environment.
"From 2001, her brand had never used a stitch of real leather, fur, skin, or feathers. Now, her brand uses organic cotton, is completely PVC free, achieved 100% sustainable viscose, banned the use of mohair, created the first ever leather bag made from mushrooms, uses recyclable animal alternatives made from recycled polyester and plant based plastic, and even more environmentally friendly materials."
Stella McCartney's fashion is not only sustainable, but a lot of her products are also very pretty. Not only does she make evening wear, she also makes cute and casual pieces as well. One of the major downsides of this brand is that the clothing garments are not very affordable. Most of her clothing pieces are no less than $1,000, which turns many people (including myself) away from this brand. Overall, although Stella McCartney's fashion brand has its downfalls, it really has made a positive impact on our environment. Her brand encourages others to learn about what is in the pieces they wear and do what is best for the world around them.
***Picture courtesy of Wikipedia
About Fashion Fairy
Fashion Fairy is a 15 year old NJ Girl destined to work in fashion. She landed paid creative fashion writing gig for Girls Design Tomorrow. She is our first fashion contributor, writing about what she loves or not; her insight and voice matters to us all.