Eco Fashion World

Want to be an ethical fashionista? Don't buy any clothes! This provocative statement shows the creative tension between ethics and the fashion industry as a consumer-driven business. I look forward sharing ideas on this double-bind I often find myself in with colleagues from around the world. My workshop this week during the World Congress on Organic Cotton, will be a great platform to discuss it. I hereby proudly introduce the people I have invited to give input on how to boost ethical consumerism.

People often ask me what I wear and if it's really all ethical. Confession: it's not. Or at least: not yet for maybe 5% of my wardrobe. Since I started working in ethical fashion five years ago, I promised myself to only buy green. So today I had a close look at my wardrobe to share what I actually wear.

Price only plays a secondary role when purchasing clothes and consumers are willing to pay a premium for ethical fashion. This is one of the outcomes of a recent study conducted by Karin Schreier from the University of St. Gallen and myself. The Facebook survey amongst 350 students from three Swiss universities, further revealed that consumers weigh social considerations heavier than environmental concerns when buying clothing. But above all, style color and quality are critical and will be looked at first in the decision making process. These outcomes are similar to findings of other studies in the UK, Germany and the US.

'The God of sustainability is punishing me', Patricia said when she got a heavy stomach ache after eating a typical Swiss 'bratwurst' (sausage). We just finished a doctoral seminar on the role of reflexivity in the academics and asked ourselves many questions on our behavior as sustainability professionals, researchers and individuals. Reflexivity (read: daily questioning if what you're doing is the right thing to do) is not an easy task and I have tried to get a grip of it through writing three small stories for my professors.

The summit of eco luxury? A three course all organic dinner served on a mountain top in the Swiss alps. Ingredients for such a top treat:

• Two sweet friends who come up with the idea
• One car to drive us there
• One friendly farmer who allows us close to his cute cows
• One MacBook for background music
• A view on the Bodensee-lake on one side
• A view on the highest peak in the region on the other

Last week as I flew back from Chicago to Zürich, I came across an article on how the current econolypse influences the relationships between men and women. The article stated that many women have taken over the role of breadwinner of the family while their husbands have lost their jobs the past 11 months. Instead of being proud of taking this responsibility on their shoulders, these 'recessionistas' are stressed at the idea of not just contributing the estimated one third to the family income, but suddenly bringing in the total amount. Research shows that women still grow up with the romantic idea of meeting their prince one day who will start taking care of them.

Is this dress made of soy? Can you eat that? This is what happens when you bring a bunch of management scholars to a local green event. For me a great way to check out upcoming young designers like Organik Revolution while they claimed that it was much more fun than the conference itself.

The world of Ecofashion is quite small actually; it’s quite easy to connect with other eco-minded creative souls on the other site of this planet. Designers teaming up easily when they are sourcing for production of fabrics. Clean & Unique, for example, is a platform for small fashion labels and fashion designers with a common interest in green business.