Fashion Week just hit Berlin and Amazingy decided to check out the runway and scope out this season’s offering of sustainable fashion. The selection of environmentally conscious clothing was summed up nicely at the Greenroom’s Ethical Fashion Show Berlin. The showcased collections were far from what one would normally associate with the eco-friendly fashion. It was a display of high-end sustainable fashion, which left us thinking twice about what we wear and feeling totally inspired.

Everyone can do simple things to make a difference, and every little bit really does count.
Stella McCartney

This year’s show hosted designers from all across Europe to show off their new collections. The designs revealed were diverse and enigmatic – from cork shoes, salmon leather, stylish recycled plastic bags, elegant hemp and silk dresses, to zero waste designs. All of the products had one common factor: they used sustainable practices and ethical procedures from the raw material to the final product.

Since the 80’s, the fashion industry has come a long way in creating more sustainable and ethically produced fashion. The transition has an end goal of eliminating the days where the customer is ignorant about their consumption. Progress is made when people no longer accept a product made under poor and unethical human (or animal) conditions (where suffering is a by-product). The idea behind ethical fashion is to consciously trace the initial natural source to the end product, hoping to reduce the environmental impact and to generate respect for human and animal rights. Although this movement is far from being fully actualised, every effort from within the industry creates more transparency between the consumer and the final product.

Bags out of PET-bottles by rossis.com

Jewellery collection RO by Rahel Krapick

Sustainable techniques

There are many different ways that designers work towards being more sustainable. For some, it’s as simple as recycling or up-cycling or sourcing biological and compostable textiles or using chemical free material. Bojana Draca, a fashion and textile designer of Farrah Floyd, developed her own zero waste technique. By producing only rectangular pieces of material and working with pleats designed to the shape of the body, all material is used, leaving no scraps, giving her collection a distinguished style and producing next to no waste.

Why change is needed

If you find the number of unknown chemicals in conventional food and self-care products concerning, the same concern should be directed towards what’s put in our clothes. More than 20,000 chemicals are used in textile production. Consider the impact that these chemicals have on local water sources and the eco-systems within which they are produced. The harm these chemicals generate has long term effects and often causes irreparable damage.

The conventional cotton T-Shirt uses over 2000 liters of water to produce and manufacture. Therefore, the transition towards organic cotton has gained much interest in the fashion world, as it uses a method that reduces the environmental impact. However, material like Lyocell, which is made from wood cellulose (similar to bamboo material), is becoming even more favourable among designers and mainstream fashion brands. Lyocell is an environmentally sustainable material composed of natural fibres, which makes for a soft, breathable, and naturally wrinkle resistant fabric. In this way, it becomes clear why the values underlying the sustainable fashion movement are beginning to change the minds of designers and consumers alike around the world.

The designers who showcased at the Ethical Fashion Show are pioneers of this movement and play a crucial role in the development of sustainable fashion. They understand that a change must happen within the fashion industry and advocate that designers are held accountable for every step of the production line. This system of responsibility ensures that people, animals, and environmental resources are not abused. In essence, the incentive to join the sustainable fashion movement is to be able to wear something you look good in and can feel morally good about.