‘Fashion forward’ has been taking on a whole new meaning lately. Top designers are now making clothes out of everything from peace silk (the silk worms are allowed to live after they finish that Dolce & Gabbana scarf) to fibers from the leaves of bananas and pineapples. Where once fruit was used in goofy headdresses, now it is the building block of high fashion.

For years the apparel industry has been pretty nonchalant in its use of unsustainable materials, whether it was pesticide-thirsty cotton or petroleum derivatives like nylon, but that is changing quickly. High fashion brands like Versace and Yves Saint Laurent may be creating one offs for fashion shows like the one last night, but some of the largest apparel manufacturers in the world are already producing sustainable clothing lines that are affordable for the average ecophile. Nike has been the number one or number two purchaser of organic cotton for several years and outdoor gear manufacturers like Timberland are completely rethinking how they make things.

So even if ready-to-wear versions of Calvin Klein’s fashion prototypes aren’t available soon, we can still content ourselves with an organic hoodie from Patagonia.

Mark Spellun

Publisher and Editor in Chief