Sarah Richardson

Cover Sheet!

1. reflection piece: reflect on peer revisions/suggestions/feedback you received on your paper: 1 paragraph

I am very pleased with the comments and revisions made by my peers. I took note of them, revised my essay, and I actually like it better than when I originally wrote it. I feel that by getting an idea of what your peers think and feel about your writing helps to you understand what the audience my perceive from your essay. I also felt like I had a voice when I was commenting and revising my peer's essays. All in all, a great experience and I hope we can do that for every essay, because it really does help to get that honest opinion.

2. final draft

Sustainability, to most people, is how we maintain our natural resources and being aware of the changes in your environment, commonly quoted as "going green" by celebrities. The formal definition of sustainability is “the capacity to maintain a certain process or state indefinitely. In recent years the concept has been applied more specifically to living organisms and systems”(1). In today’s society, sustainability has become a major priority and concern. But what most people don’t understand is that sustainability is not just about recycling and conserving water. Living a sustainable lifestyle means most aspects of your life are concerned with using the natural resources Mother Nature offers to us. Of course, nothing is ever 100 percent perfect. But the goal of sustainability or rather, living a sustainable lifestyle, is to do the least amount of harm you can on the environment. For me personally, I have been trying to recycle as often as possible and use organic bags to carry my groceries and lunch. One aspect of sustainability that interests me is the idea of sustainable fashion. Sustainable fashion, in general, consists of clothing made from organic materials, most commonly organic cotton. An example of a formal definition for sustainable fashion is that it’s “part of the larger trend of sustainable design where a product is created and produced with the consideration of its total life span and the impact that product on the planet, also know as a product's "carbon footprint".(2) (For those who don’t know, the carbon footprint is basically your own effect on the environment through your activities).

Sustainable materials can be used to make almost any type of clothing, from dresses to jeans, shoes to handbags. But the main problem for those who design sustainable fashion products is finding the resources to make such items. First, there are guidelines before you can consider a material sustainable. The sustainability of a fabric is based on “the renewability and source of a fiber, the process of how a raw fiber is turned into a textile, the working conditions of the people producing the materials, and the material’s total carbon footprint.”(3) There are two main types of materials used to make sustainable fashions, natural fibers and manufactured materials. Natural fiber materials are broken up into two subcategories, cellulose (plant fiber) and protein (animal fiber). The most common sustainable material for clothing is organic cotton, which is a cellulose fiber. Other cellulose fibers include flax, hemp, soy, banana, and pineapple. Now, as surprising as it is, banana fibers are used by the Japanese to make some types of kimonos. Pineapple fibers are actually made from the leaves of pineapples, called piña. Piña can be used to make bags and lightweight clothing items, similar to the look of linen, Examples of protein fibers include wool, silk, angora, cashmere, and mohair. Of course, all of the protein fiber materials are in organic form. There are only two known manufactured fibers made from natural resources, lyocell and polylactic acid. Lyocell is used in items “such as jeans, coats, and pants”(4). Lyocell is also known to be more expensive to produce than cotton. Polylactic acid can be used as “upholstery, disposable garments, awnings, feminine hygiene products, and diapers.”(5) As far as footwear, the commonly used material is faux leather for boots and other items typically made with leather. So when you purchase sustainable clothing and accessories, look at the labels and you might be surprised at what you are actually wearing.

For some fashion addicts, it’s not just about what the clothes are made from, it’s who makes the clothing and who wears it. Fashion would not be fashion without famous designers to model after and people who wear the fashions effortlessly for you to imitate. Though not very famous, there are actual sustainable fashion designers. MauiTHINGis a sustainable clothing line that features stylish graphic prints, without use of harmful dyes. Another fashion line, which to me, looks almost like couture sustainable fashion, is called Prairie Underground, created by Davora Lindner and Camilla Eckersley . Even some famous fashion designers are taking an interest in designing clothes from organic materials. Leona Lewis, a well-known Pop/R&B artists (known for her win on The X Factor, the UK version of American Idol) is creating a completely vegan clothing and accessory line. Sean “Diddy” Combs even is expanding parts of his own line towards recycled material, featuring a recycled wool blazer Other famous desgners who have crossed over into the organic/eco-friendly fashion design include Calvin Klien, Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, Charlotte Ronson, and Tommy Hilfiger. Stella McCartney is actually going to be designing more eco-friendly hats for the Queen’s guards. However, one designer is under attack for using animal fur in their show for Fashion Week New York City 2008. Donna Karen has come under attack numerous times for her use of fur by PETA. Despite Karen claiming that she would not use fur again, her lines featured fur coats and outerwear. In Donna Karen’s defense, one time she did not use fur, and PETA attacked her just by assuming she was. What I find refreshing is that there is an actual 10 year old, who is overlooking the design of sustainable fashion for kids made from second generation cotton. Her name is Bindi Irwin, and her line is called RENEW ‘restore the planet.’. The push of sustainable fashion goes past just the designers, but celebrities are helping to push the movement. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton (I know, it shocked me too), Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, Pamela Anderson, Heidi Klum, Seal, and numerous other celebrities are talking steps towards promoting sustainable fashion and living a sustainable lifestyle in general. The popularity of sustainable fashion is definitely influenced by the celebrities who wear them and the designers who make them.*

Now, if you are truly a fashion fanatic, then you know the most important thing to a fashionista is shopping. For normal fashion divas, it's easy to find the clothes they like almost everywhere. But for the sustainable fashion lover, it's not quite that simple. Some stores offer the organic cotton tees and bags, such as Wal-Mart, Old Navy, Target, Macy's, J.C. Penney, and many other popular franchises. But finding unique sustainable fashions requires knowledge of online shopping. Hopefully, as we move forward into the future, there will be sustainable fashion boutiques located conveniently in every city of every state in the U.S. But that's a high expectation for something that is just slowly making its way into the hearts of true fashion lovers all over. I actually went online searching for great sustainable fashion retailers and came up with these stores:The Green Loop offers a variety of designers who specialize in sustainable fashion. They offer Women's and Men's apparel, as well as a gifts section. American Apparel has been offering organic cotton tops years before sustainable fashion became popular. Another eco-friendly fashion boutique is Envi. Like The Green Loop, they offer various designers and styles, all using sustainable materials. However, the prices are kinda high. That, in a sense, is the downside of sustainable fashion. When you want to be fashion-forward while protecting Mother Nature, it can be costly. But I personally feel that the expensive cost is a chance worth taking to improve the earth for the generations to come. If you don't have a major budget, you can always go to those 5 stores I mentioned in the beginning. Also, as you shop, if you use an organic shopping bag (I got mine from CVS), it helps to eliminate the amount of plastic bags we use everyday. Old Navy's bags are even going eco-friendly, considering they are made from 30 percent recycled materials. Even if you only buy one organic cotton tee shirt, that's one more tee shirt that's helping to maintain the health of the environment.

My Personal View Points on Sustainable Fashion In General

I am officially done with the informative nature of my essay, and want to share my own opinion on sustainable fashion. Growing up, I never really thought about how the environment was being harmed by the little things I do, like leaving the T.V. on when I'm in another room. So, it surprised me even more recently that even the clothes I wear can harm Mother Nature too. I try to do the best I can by recycling and conserving water, but the one aspect of my life I have not changed is the actually clothing I wear. Now, as far as shopping is concerned, I use my big, green organic cotton bag to put my clothes in, but I know I need to take a step further and actually wear the sustainable fashions. I have a few shirts that support the "Go Green" movement, but as I was doing my research for my essay, I noticed that some of my fashion staples, I can easily buy in a more organic and bio-degradable form. The issue now is not just speaking about sustainable fashion, but living it as well. Doing the research and typing this essay has given me a whole new direction as far as what I wanted to do with my career now. Maybe I'm just being over dramatic. You're probably thinking, "It's just an essay." Well, for me, it's become more than just an essay for a class, but a newfound passion. Sustainable fashion is not boring or ugly, but it is the future of fashion in general, and I can't wait to be apart of that history.

1. “Sustainability.” Wikipedia. Page 1. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability]

2. “Sustainable Fashion.” Wikipedia. Page 1. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_fashion]

3. “Sustainable Fashion.” Wikipedia. Page 1. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_fashion]

4. “Lyocell”. Wikipedia. Page 1. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyocell]

5. “Polylactic acid.” Wikipedia. Page 1. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid]

*All the information I found on celebrities and designers of sustainable fashion came from this link (click on the word 'link')

3. all peer feedback work performed (perform at least 3 peer reviews)

don't forget to tag everything perd! Perd is the wyrd!

Brittney Williams

Deidre Nieves

Amelia Singh

4. compose a graphical representation of your writing process. You can draw/paint/color and then scan, or you can use the graphic image manipulation program of your choosing.

Sustainable Fashion Diagram.jpg

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