10:45 a.m., June 17, 2008--Sustainability and the footprint of the fashion industry on the environment are issues affecting all levels of the fashion industry from design and raw materials to manufacturing, distribution and consumer buying, according to Janet Hethorn, professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware.

To address these issues, Hethorn and her colleague, Connie Ulasewicz from the University of San Francisco, have written Sustainable Fashion: Why Now. The book is targeted not only to those currently in the fashion field but also to students who are the future of the industry.

Writing about fashion, whose hallmark is change, and sustainability may seem an oxymoron, Hethorn said, but there are many ways that the industry can cut down on waste, have less impact on the environment and go green.

The book is based on a model for sustainable fashion, involving the interaction between people, processes and the environment. People represent consumers who need to know how to make informed choices; processes can be altered to reduce waste and be eco-friendly, and the environment focuses on materials, such as fibers, and how they are made.

The book is divided into three main sections--“Connecting with People on Sustainable Practices,” “Production and Economic Processes in the Global Economy” and “The Environment, the Planet and the Materials Used in Fashion Making,” with an introduction by the authors and chapters by experts in the fashion field. Belinda Orzada, UD associate professor of fashion and apparel studies, was co-author of “Environmental Impact of Textile Production.”

Hethorn wrote a chapter on “Consideration of Consumer Desire,” which explores ways designers and product developers can “positively meet people's needs through fashion.” Her focus is on putting the consumer “in the center of the conversation” by knowing their needs and designing toward those needs, as the “core to sustainability.”

Fashion sustainability is more than recycled materials, although they play a role, Hethorn said. “Sustainability is about seeking solutions while maintaining healthy economics and solving social inequities,” Hethorn wrote, adding, “We should use these resources to meet our own needs today while ensuring that future generations will also be able to meet their needs.”

Hethorn has put her beliefs on sustainability into practice as well. She won the Best Sustainable Design Award at the 2006 International Textiles and Apparel Associating Design Exhibition for her “Re-Make 1,” a coat made out of thrift shop finds.

Article by Sue Moncure
Photo by Tyler Jacobson