The Fabrics of Our Lives

[Medical Marijuana]

It wasn't long ago that Davora Lindner, a designer for the small eco-friendly clothing company Prairie Underground, was buying fabric from the same hempitorium that also sold to the aging hippies who were creating garments that would never be mistaken for high fashion.

"There really weren't a lot of people who were selling environmentally sound fabrics. My options were pretty limited," says Lindner, whose company is based out of Seattle. "This is all something that's quite recent."

Designers and retailers are just beginning to explore the idea of creating clothes that are earth friendly - doing everything from using organic cotton or hemp to experimenting with natural dyes. The challenge for them has been to find fabrics that are both high quality and manufactured in a way that causes minimal negative impact on the environment.

"I'd say the options of what's out there have tripled in the past year," says Storey Hieronymus Hauck, owner of Turtle in the South End, which sells clothes from several ecologically conscious designers. "Customers are also starting to educate themselves about it."

The difference between the emerging new breed of designers who are creating eco-friendly fashion and their Age of Aquarius forefathers is that they want consumers to be interested in their clothes because they look good, not just because they are good for the planet.

"Hopefully our collection will spark some interest in the ideas of sustainability," says Andrew Soernsen of San Francisco-based Turk + Taylor. "If the person who buys our shirt because it's cool notices that it was produced with organic cotton and made locally, maybe it will cause them to think more about where all of their clothes are made, and what they are made of."

Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2008 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: letter@globe.com
Website: The Boston Globe Online - Boston.com