Green is the New Black

Originally published in the Spring 2015 print issue of Valley Magazine.

“Sustainability” has become the ever-trendy buzzword making waves in the global market. But what exactly does it mean for fashion? Ava Graham sat down for a chat with Mariel Zook, Product Development Associate at Peruvian Connection and advocate for sustainable design, to find out.

Did you know it took 1,800 gallons of water to manufacture those jeans you love wearing? Not to mention another 400 gallons to make your favorite white cotton tee. A former fashion design student at Parson’s and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Mariel Zook has been bouncing around the industry since 2007. Working in evening wear, childrenswear, denim, sportswear, and fast fashion, Look knows the industry inside and out — and unfortunately, it isn’t all sequins and lace.

“I definitely saw the ugly underbelly of the [fashion] industry, and felt all the worse that I was a part of it,” says Zook.

One of the most disturbing developments in the industry is that of “fast fashion” — the 21st century trend of increased inventory turnover, outsourced labor, and engineered synthetic fabrics. It also acts as the mask for some of the industry’s most shocking statistics. This phenomenon of overproduction and excessive consumption has led to a problem we hate to imagine is possible: too many clothes.

A study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the average American throws away 68 pounds of textiles a year, only 15 percent of which is recycled. The remaining 85 percent is sent to landfills where common synthetic, petroleum-based fibers, such as polyester, can take decades to decompose.

Zook, conflicted by her altruism, breathed a sigh of relief when Sass Brown, an Assistant dean at FIT and author of Refashioned — a book about up cycled materials and innovative design — introduced her to the world of sustainable and ethical fashion.

Zook, however, is no recent convert to environmental consciousness, tracing her awakening moment back to elementary school. It was the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill, an environmental catastrophe that spilled nearly 38 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, that triggered something in Zook.

“Ever since [the oil spill], the effect our actions have on the environment, as well as the people who depend on the natural environment for their livelihood — of course, we all do, to some extent — has weighed heavily on my mind, “ says Zook.

Although jobs within sustainable design aren’t exactly a dime-a-dozen, as the phenomenon gains traction, companies are becoming more willing to reflect the demand with an increase in corporate jobs.

When asked about some of the coolest advancements within sustainable fashion over the past few years, Zook doesn’t hesitate: “Waterless air-dyeing.”

AirDye Solutions is reinventing textile manufacturing with their water-free printing process, saving 95 percent of the water used in traditional dyeing. Nike and Adidas are two of AirDye’s newest corporate supporters, as they both plan to adopt the process over the next few years.

Adidas has recently partnered with Parley, an international initiative, to create a sustainable sneaker made from recycled garbage found in the ocean. Adidas is attaching a brand new meaning to “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” with this eye-catching, eco-friendly shoe.

Swiss company, Freitag, is also joining the movement, pioneering the development of biodegradable fabrics in a range of sustainably produced and 100 percent compostable materials. When composted, these fabrics will completely biodegrade in three months, a huge contrast to the aforementioned fibers that take decades.

German studio, Blond & Bieber, is also reimagining the dyeing process with their project Algaemy. Avoiding harsh chemicals and cultivating a natural resource, Blond & Bieber have created sustainable fabric dyes with micro algae.

When all is said and done, don’t worry about sacrificing style, says Zook. Eco-fashion is no longer synonymous with the burlap sack.

“We’ve moved way beyond the hippie granola world of shapeless caftans and Birkenstocks. Sustainable fashion can now hold it’s own against high-end design labels,” she says. “it even has an edge, because it appeals to our wish to be on the ride side of a narrative of good and evil.”