Rachel Roy wants to take on packaging. When she first launched her shoe collection and received her very first pair from the manufacturer, she says she was immediately unhappy with the amount of paper used to wrap them. She worked with the factory to reduce the paper by 50 percent.
Might there be a slightly greater chance for damage during shipping? Yes, says Roy, but she is convinced — and she thinks shoppers will agree — that the risk is worth it.
Greer, of the NRDC, wants designers to come to this initiative armed with questions, personal pet interests and a can-do spirit. "We're hoping to give designers a menu of options of where to start — and we don't expect to do them all at once — and any of them would be fine with me."
She ticks off potential jumping-off points: rail freight and ocean shipping containers instead of airplanes; fabrics that can be machine-washed in cold water instead of hot (or instead of being dry cleaned).
These aren't quick and easy fixes and will require more of a commitment, including a financial one, to adopt, but once things start changing, Greer hopes the movement will be sustainable.
"What the fashion industry has done to date is the occasional green item, and that doesn't affect the majority of the way they make their stuff. `Green' materials doesn't really affect how it's manufactured," Greer explains. "What we're hoping for is that this is a new chapter, a much bigger chapter," rather than a one-off.
The industry's ability to think out of the box is what's needed most, because some solutions aren't yet developed, Greer says.
The industry, while competitive, also knows how to come together for a cause, observes Hilfiger, noting its fundraising history for breast cancer and AIDS charities. The environment is next on the radar, he says.
"It's part of being a good global citizen," Hilfiger says, "and fashion is a global business. ... If we can all get together, all of us, I think we have enough influence."
Hilfiger says everything is on the table, from reusing water bottles at the office to LED lighting in stores. A big thing will be rethinking travel, but he's willing to do that, too. (If he weren't, his 17-year-old daughter would get on his case like she has about recycling everything at home.)
Rachel Roy's father insisted on a no-waste food policy all her life, she says, so composting — or even feeding scraps to her dogs — has always been the norm. She thinks the way to green fashion is to incorporate good practices into everyday routines.
"It's an overwhelming subject, like most important subjects in our lives. The way I've approached it is very natural, one step at a time. I ask what's in my immediate path and what can I do to leave a situation a little better than I found it?" Roy says.
