Eco friendly fashion is increasing popularity, if you judge based on press releases. Almost all of the major apparel manufacturers are pushing some sort of “eco friendly fashion” because they know the concept appeals to consumers who care about the environment. But what exactly constitutes eco friendly fashion? Let’s take a look at the issue.

Eco friendly fashion is flying off the shelves

The term “eco friendly” connotes fashion that is renewable and sustainable. We can assume that such products would never be produced in sweat shops, and would be kind on the environment in some way. Of course we’d want to make the clothes from organic sources like hemp. And most of all, when we “threw these clothes away”, we would want it to have a minimal impact on the environment.

What does an eco friendly label mean on a fashion product?

But really, it isn’t up to us as consumers to guess what constitutes “eco friendly fashion.” Right now the fashion companies are adding the label eco-friendly to products, but aren’t necessarily part of any internationally recognized labeling group, which leaves the area wide open for abuse.

Right now ecolabelling is a voluntary process for companies.

“Ecolabelling” is a voluntary method of environmental performance certification and labelling that is practised around the world. An “ecolabel” is a label which identifies overall environmental preference of a product or service within a specific product/service category based on life cycle considerations. In contrast to “green” symbols or claim statements developed by manufacturers and service providers, an ecolabel is awarded by an impartial third-party in relation to certain products or services that are independently determined to meet environmental leadership criteria.

In other words, we need to take a good look at any eco friendly fashion before assuming it meets our personal standards of being green. When we’re considering doing business with the “fashion industry” it would be naive to not at least consider what a deplorable record many of the large operators have had concerning laborers. How can we be assured that these companies are actually complying with the spirit of the green movement, or if they’re merely looking to cash in on the newest trend?

Right now we can’t. But we can assume that companies that are at least using environmentally friendly fiber are headed in the right direction. Considering the huge amounts of pesticides used on traditional fiber, a step in this right direction is sorely needed.

We can also examine the words and actions of the eco friendly fashion companies. Before long, we should be able to determine their true intent. Over the years we can expect a tightening of the ecolabelling standards as the segment becomes more important to consumers. Until then, use common sense when purchasing eco friendly fashion.