生态时尚：我们不仅仅是我们的穿着
“Some view ‘sustainable fashion’ as the ultimate paradox. 可持续发展旨在为子孙后代保护环境。 Fashion, on the other hand, is constantly in flux and has long represented luxury and waste,” says Regina Root.
鲁特是威廉玛丽学院拉美裔研究副教授，同时也教授环境和物质文化课程。 She is making a name for herself in the world of ecofashion academics, first as the editor of a special ecofashion-themed issue of 时尚理论.
“时尚理论 is one of the world’s leading sources for the field of fashion studies,” says Root, “so it was also a little intimidating to know that this volume was going to help define the role of sustainability as a category for analysis in fashion studies.”
The ideas that constitute ecofashion include attention to sustainable textiles or other materials, the emphasis on living wages for workers, the integration of local forms of knowledge into the design process and the terms of consumption—all in the service of personal expression.
Following the UK publication of 时尚理论—a U.S. edition appeared three months later—colleagues at the London College of Fashion, along with an academic publisher, invited Root to co-edit a forthcoming international professional handbook. 这项工作将概述时尚研究领域，特别是因为它们与全球化世界的可持续性问题有关。
生态时尚的概念开始于我们所穿的衣服。 But we’re also how it was made and how long we wear it.
“Dress is a powerful cultural tool that conveys meaning,” Root explained. “We have opportunities to behave sustainably on any given day. We define ourselves through the clothes we wear and when we opt for disposable clothing, we all pay the price.”
越来越多的环保消费者
消费者对他们所做的选择以及他们如何花在服装上的钱越来越有环保意识。 设计师和整个时尚界都在关注这个问题。
“Designers are pushed by consumers,” says Root. “The multi-billion-dollar fashion industry employs some 26.5 million people worldwide. Some think of fashion as haute couture—and it can be—but it can also be about change and innovation and renovation.”
In recent years, the visibility of ecofashion has been raised through various initiatives, including the United Nations’ Environmental Program, which promotes “cool green lifestyles that do not strain the planet or exploit people.”
“The idea is to educate the world about the impact of our lifestyles and consumption practices in particular,” says Root.
选择并不总是那么容易，也很少是明确的。 以棉花为例。 这种天然纤维是牛仔布和t恤的基础，仍然是一种受欢迎的面料选择。 Root pointed out that Europe and the United States consume almost half of the world’s cotton and also subsidize cotton production to keep clothing prices low. 
“Interest in organic cotton is growing exponentially, in part due to an awareness of the effects of the pesticides used to grow conventional cotton, which deplete soil and can devastate the health of agricultural workers,” Root said.
但是，对于生态时尚达人来说，穿有机棉既不是不需要思考，也不是一件轻而易举的事。 First, there’s a little matter of supply and demand: “There is simply not enough organic cotton to satisfy the demand for the fiber,” she says.
有机食品不一定更好
“Moreover, when you factor in the manufacturing and dyeing process, some scholars argue that the entire life cycle of organic cotton may not be any more sustainable than its conventional counterpart,” Root explained. “So it’s important to remember that there are plenty of alternatives to cotton. We need to educate ourselves.”
社会和政治力量塑造文化； 时尚界也不例外。 鲁特认为，国际旅游和全球化的流动使得设计更有必要与它所代表和服务的社区相关。 In short, sustainable communities produce sustainable clothes—and a community is sustained when its workers earn living wages.
“In Latin American design today, we are seeing a pronounced focus on the people involved in the manufacturing process,” Root explained. “This, in turn, has changed the whole sense of a designer’s authority and vision—and sometimes even the outcome of the final product.”
A prime example involves Brazilian designer Carlos Miele, who has collaborated with a women’s cooperative from Latin America’s largest shantytown, Rocinha, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. The Rocinha Cooperative of Women’s Artisans and Seamstresses, or COOPA-ROCA, was initially founded in the 1980s by Brazilian sociologist María Teresa Leal. Women in the shantytowns, many of whom are skilled seamstresses, have always gathered to sew together, often making fuxico garments from textile scraps, a tradition with a deep cultural history in Brazil.
Fuxico 这是一个很好的方法来处理和回收面料，否则可能会被扔掉。 These cloth rosettes might be called “yo-yos” by U.S. quilters or clothiers. Like quilt squares, fuxico rounds are sewed individually, then pieced together. The name comes from the verb fuxicar—to gossip—which is what often happens when you sit around a table in this Brazilian version of a quilting bee. Carlos Miele在早期为Rocinha合作社工作期间，获得了联合国发展赠款。
“He worked closely with members of the cooperative to produce haute couture to the high-precision industry standard, ensuring living wages and thereby elevating them from poverty,” says Root. “In essence, the project has helped create the antithesis of the multinational sweatshop. Today, the cooperative works with other prominent designers and labels throughout the world and truly serves as a model for what can happen when you have a greater sense of interconnectedness.”
不再只是关于设计师
Of particular interest to Root is how the process tells a story about the relationship between the fuxico seamstresses and the design itself. On ecofashion catwalks, it’s no longer all about the designer. 材料、建造方法和其他可持续性问题也具有价值。 So a Carlos Miele garment produced by the cooperative carries an additional provenance that is interwoven with the “designer” label.
“This is what the industry often calls added value,” she said. “From my perspective, ecofashion’s greatest potential lies in its ability to inspire creative agency. 时尚可以重新表达过去，赋予某些群体权力，推动变革，产生文化意义。 Ecofashion also provides a powerful response to the environmental crisis.”
In 2004 when Root proposed the concept of “ecofashion” to Berg Publishers, she stressed that the goal was to bridge disciplines and represent various world culture regions for the emerging field of sustainable-fashion studies. 
由此产生的工作概述了全球时装业的一些问题。 Root noted that “big fashion” employs tens of millions of people—many of whom do not receive living wages. 时装业的碳足迹也很大：时装业仍然依赖危险化学品来生产服装纺织品，并进一步消耗有限的化石燃料来维持其供应链。
“The impact on climate change is undoubtedly significant,” Root says. 此外，她指出，时尚也促进了过度消费。
业务和供应链模型
去年，鲁特开始与梅森商学院（Mason School of Business）的副教授托尼亚·布恩（Tonya Boone）合作。布恩是可持续运营和供应链管理方面的专家。 他们的工作将商业和供应链模型与创造可持续时尚的过程联系起来。 This includes an examination of the role of international agencies such as the United Nations and non-governmental organizations like Raíz Diseño, a transnational network of Latin American designers who view design as a useful tool in the struggle to acquire voice, power and market share in the international marketplace.
“I think that we will see the interest in sustainable fashion grow as more consumers in general become engaged around these issues,” says Boone. “研究 suggests that while many consumers want sustainable goods, they are often not willing to pay premium prices for them. Still, I’ve seen estimates that indicate around 20 percent of the U.S. public are actively engaged in sustainable issues. This represents a considerable market segment.”
Boone predicted that as sustainable fashion supports consumers’ self-vision and self-expression, they will seek out sustainable fashions. “We plan to develop models of the sustainable design process, and then examine their effect on the fashion supply chain,” she said.
“There’s also a lot that the average consumer can do to behave more sustainably,” says Root. “The research shows that the most unsustainable stage of a garment’s life is actually while the consumer uses it. 洗、干、烫衣服都要消耗很多能源。 作为回应，一些设计师正在采用新技术来制造防污防臭的衣服，这样我们就可以少洗衣服了。 也有设计师推出了可以在衣服撕裂或有污渍时重新配置的衣服。 Choosing washable fabrics over those which must be dry-cleaned is also a fairly inexpensive step in the right direction.”
Boone said it’s not clear what effect the economy will have on the sustainable clothing segment of the apparel industry.
“On the consumer side, there are low-cost fashion and apparel products that have adopted environmental management systems. Right now it just looks like consumers have dramatically reduced spending,” says Boone. “On the business side, companies with sound strategies are more likely to weather the downturn and more likely to continue to support sustainability initiatives. 可持续发展正迫使更多的公司变得更有创造力、更足智多谋。 A lot of businesses are discovering that sustainability not only provides them with marketplace advantages, but more importantly, with operational opportunities.”
Several companies are discovering what Boone described as “powerful synergies” among environmental concerns and product quality and lean management systems. “For example, as a part of their sustainability strategy, Central Textiles—a supplier to the fashion industry, used quality management tools to simultaneously improve quality and reduce waste, which has reduced their costs and environmental impact.”
跨国问题
对于任何时尚趋势来说，最大的挑战可能是时尚供应链的跨国性质。 许多时装生产过程在全球范围内进行。 布恩说，将来自数十个不同国家的供应商和分包商团结在可持续发展倡议周围是一项挑战。
“Nonetheless, some of the largest fashion, textile and apparel firms are committed to sustainability’s core values and we should continue to see changes in production processes and supply networks that improve environmental performance,” she added.
生态时尚的概念已经从设计师-品牌领域转移到更注重环保的成衣领域。 On the horizon, Root predicts better and more informational labeling—not unlike nutritional labeling on grocery store items—on garments.
“Some companies already provide this information, such as Patagonia’s ‘Footprint Chronicles.’ Patagonia has truly led by example, having switched from virgin to recycled polyester and from conventional to organic cotton well over a decade ago,” Root said. “They map out every aspect of their lines, starting from the fleece made from a PET plastic bottle or the cotton seed. 消费者甚至可以在用完产品后退货。 这些都被回收到下一个服装系列中。 It’s quite remarkable.”
然而，并不是所有的设计师或公司都提供这类信息。 对于有环保意识的服装消费者来说，很可能即将发生变化。
“When it comes to fashion, we now have several countries working towards international standards to certify what constitutes organic, fair trade, ethical and sustainable,” says Root. “Sustainable fashion continues to articulate new relationships to material culture. In fashion this means that the entire creative process is changing, with more designers recognizing the significance of their role as facilitators to a larger production process that will require sustainable materials and sustained livelihoods for the people involved.”
课堂上的生态时尚
今年秋天，鲁特将把她的生态时尚研究引入课堂，因为她将通过夏普社区学者计划（Sharpe Community Scholars Program）领导一场关于道德时尚的新生研讨会。夏普社区学者计划是威廉玛丽学院（William & Mary）的一个服务学习项目。 The course will focus on Latin American fiction, essays, photography and documentary films including Ropa美国 (American Clothes), which follows what happens to an old purple T-shirt after it doesn’t sell at Goodwill.
这部影片将突出纺织品贸易的跨国范围。 鲁特说，她的研讨会还将探讨加工厂（maquila）的性别和劳工做法。加工厂位于自由贸易区，为美国市场提供大量廉价服装。 “Clothing produced at a sweatshop comes at a hefty human and environmental price,” she said. “I know that the Sharpe Scholars will bring fresh perspectives to the field when we address these questions.”