Samata and Sustainable Fashion " Eco Fashion "

I never really paid attention to fashion let alone Eco fashion, thanks to Samata, British-born Ghanaian fashion designer award-winning womenswear designer, winner of 2011 she won Suzy Amis Cameron's international Red Carpet Green Dress competition to create a red carpet gown from sustainable materials. now the Global Campaign Director of Red Carpet Green Dress, working between Los Angeles, New York and London and guest lecturer at the London College of Fashion, samata. I have come to the realisation that Eco fashion is the way forward to a better world. It will be a great honour to read her book titled " fashion designers resource book " in Avatar Dr Grace asked Jake to see the forest through Neytiri eyes. Same I wish to see fashion and Eco fashion in the eyes of Samata.

The fashion industry loves to dictate your life when it comes to dressing, pair that dress with those boots, buy those pants, wear this top, carry that bag. Well when it comes to talking about sustainable fashion, trust me a green wardrobe has benefits that one made up of traditional fabrics doesn't, but what exactly are those benefits? The fashion industry leaves behind a huge environmental footprint, from the pesticidesused in growing cotton and the leached chemicals from the toxic dyes that went into that perfect shade of teal, to the landfill impact of clothes that wear out and the energy required to produce each piece. Conventional cotton alone requires a third of a pound of chemicals to make just one t-shirt--and how many t-shirts do you have sitting in your drawers right now?

You may love the look of those leather boots you saw on the runway, but the life of the animal that gave up its skin should have you thinking twice about buying them. Instead of wearing those trendy organic leggings for just one season, invest in classic shapes, chic silhouettes, and foolproof colors that you can flaunt for years to come. Buying sustainable is just the first step: How you take care of your clothes once you get them home can also make a difference in your wardrobe's environmental impact. Wash your clothes on the cold cycle to trim your energy use (as compared to hot water) and use biodegradable detergent to prevent chemicals from polluting the earth; line dry instead of using the dryer to save even more energy, and give yourself a break from the dry cleaner to save time, money, and resources.

According to Earth Pledge, a non-profit organization committed to promoting and supporting sustainable development, "At least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world's pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton. This causes irreversible damage to people and the environment, and still two thirds of a garment's carbon footprint will occur after it is purchased." While environmentalism used to manifest itself in the fashion world through a donation of percentage of sales of a product to a charitable cause, fashion designers are now re-introducing eco-conscious methods at the source through the use of environmentally friendly materials and socially responsible methods of production.

Sustainable fashion, also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of human impact on the environment and social responsibility. Sustainable fashion is part of the larger trend of sustainable design where a product is created and produced with consideration to the environmental and social impact it may have throughout its total life span, including its "carbon footprint". According to the May 2007 Vogue, sustainable fashion "does not appear to be a short-term trend but one that could last multiple seasons, the very word season being up for grabs in a climate-affected world"

There are some organizations working to increase opportunities for sustainable designers and increase the visibility of the movement. The National Association of Sustainable Fashion Designers is one of those organizations. Its purpose is to assist entrepreneurs with growing fashion related businesses that create social change and respect the environment. Sustainable Designers provides specialized triple bottom line education, training, and access to tools and industry resources that advance creative, innovative and high impact businesses. The organization's mission is to create social change through design and fashion related businesses by providing education, training and programs that are transformative to the industry and to cultivate collaboration, sustainability and economic growth.

Red Carpet Green Dress, founded by Suzy Amis Cameron, is a global initiative showcasing sustainable fashion on the red carpet at the Oscars. Talent supporting the project includes Sophie Turner, Lily Cole Naomie Harris, Missi Pyle, Kellan Lutz and Olga Kurylenko. Eco Age, a consultancy company specializing in enabling businesses to achieve growth and add value through sustainability is one of the most recognizable organizations that promote sustainable fashion. Its creative director, Livia Firth, is also the founder of the Green Carpet Challenge which aims to promote ethically made outfits from fashion designers.

Ecoluxe London, a not-for-profit platform, supports luxury with ethos through hosting a biannual exhibition during London Fashion Week and showcasing eco-sustainable and ethical designers. The Ethical Fashion Initiative, a flagship programme of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and World Trade Organization, enables artisans living in urban and rural poverty to connect with the global fashion chain. The Initiative also works with the rising generation of fashion talent from Africa, encouraging the forging sustainabfdle and fulfilling creative collaborations with artisans on the continent. The Ethical Fashion Initiative is headed by Simone Cipriani. The advent of technology has opened an avenue of apps and websites to streamline ethical fashion experience for customers such as the Higg Index, Free2Workd and FairTrace Tool.