As with just about every item on this planet – from hybrid electric automobiles to eco-friendly Nano ipods, from recyclable paper bags to organic crayons – everything seems to be jumping in on the “green” bandwagon, not the least of them is our clothing, our fashion, as designers go eco-chic this spring.

One of the biggest trends of this decade is eco-fashion, and it is very evident this springtime.  Prominent designers around the world are offering more stylish and affordable eco-friendly clothing as consumer demand for it rises.  In fact, Wake Forest’s sustainability office and eco-designer Jenny Hwa will soon be co-hosting a fashion show of eco-chic clothing and accessories.

“With every year that passes, it becomes easier to incorporate eco-friendly values into our shopping habits,” says Jenny Hwa, owner and CEO of the environmentally friendly company, Loyale Clothing. “If you want to support companies with green philosophies, you have to do your homework. Eco-friendly products are available, but consumers have to do some research to find them.”

She says that to choose earth-friendly fashions, one must look for organic cotton. According to Hwa,this is because the fibers of a conventional pair of jeans and a t-shirt are embedded with two cups of toxins due to chemical-intensive growing and production methods.

Natural dyes are also good choices. In some cases, manufacturers use color-grown cotton, which is derived from organic plants that bloom in colors varying from brown to green to blue. That makes dyes unnecessary.

American-made garments can be another green option. “Domestically produced clothing is subject to U.S. labor and environmental regulations,” says Dedee DeLongpre Johnston, director of sustainability at Wake Forest University. “Clothing made in developing countries is often produced there precisely because there are no regulations.”

“To be conscious consumers, we need to focus on things other than price as a value,” DeLongpre Johnston adds. “When we buy that $1.99 shirt, we often have to give up something else that’s important to us, because the true costs of the clothing have been externalized onto the environment and the backs of the people making the clothes.”

In the long run, educating people about sustainable choices may help change the consumer mentality of quantity over quality.   DeLongpre Johnston believes it’s important to highlight the fact that earth-friendly clothing can be both stylish and beautiful.  Hwa’s designs, for example, have been featured in magazines such as Vogue and InStyle, and worn by celebrities such as Blake Lively, Rachel McAdams and Jessica Alba.

The eco-chic fashion show, will be the first of its kind in the Winston-Salem, N.C., area. Over a dozen top designers are participating.

Says DeLongpre Johnston: “People get up and get dressed every day. This event will give people an opportunity to turn the lens of sustainability on a seemingly ordinary activity and see it in a new way.”

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

In my opinion i have quite good designs. I mainly design evening wear eg prom dresses and wedding dresses etc. but i have a slight problem. To actually get my designs noticed so that i can sell them and become a fashion designer and so on i actually have to have them made. But i am useless at actually making the clothes themselves. What do i do????!!!!???? eek!