June 2010 International Media Studies
InWEnt/DW-Akademie-Print 1
Ecological Fashion By Cheng Cheng Zhu
Thinking green on the catwalk
Hogwarts for tree huggers
P H O T O : P R I VAT
The ecology receiver: student Michael Maxein
36-year-old student Michael Maxein had already worked for 10 years and then began to study communication design at Ecosign.” This school emphasizes the environmental awareness and give us more ecofriendly practices.” said Maxein who is now studying in his sixth semester. As communication design students, they have to learn how to explain and show ways for a different interaction with the environment and social problems. Maxein has his own Eco-clothes shops in cologne and he has a clear vision of its future “To insist on the ecocampaign “.
Ecology+ Design=Ecosign Ecosign academy was built up with the concept of ecologicallyorientated design in Cologne by a designer, Karin-Simone Fuhs in 1994. The Academy offers full-time courses which awards students diploma in production and communication design. For the current this private complementary school has around 200 students and more than 35 lecturers.The tuition fees are 390 Euro per month or 2340 Euro for the whole semester.
In spite of the mini atelier, the shining wooden floors, green logo with her brand “Slowmo”, four sides walls with various kinds of jumbo posters and the background music from an African band already made an impression on me. The 2010 autumn and winter collection samples hang in an orderly way on the shelves. “This warm and fragrant environment always brings me the inspiration” this 28-year-old designer said proudly. In 2006 Moss-Kraus started a family-run business with her brother Melchior Moss in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Their brand “Slowmo” stands for not only the sustainable trading and long-lasting quality, but also explains that they always invest much time to produce high quality eco-clothes. “Our products are 100% certified organic cotton and fair traded. They are free of child labor, exploitation, genetic engineering and environmental pollution”, this young designer showed me one gray winter jacket. From touching the material, it is softer than the conventional clothes, and while wearing, it did not feel heavy and looked ponderous as the classical one. Will it really keep us warm in the cold winter?”Absolutely!” Moss-Kraus explained, “It has 3 layers inside, so it is wind resistant and warm for winter.” Though the eco-clothes are slight and modern, almost all the organic cotton clothes are in dark color, like dark blue,
gray and black. Because of this the eco-clothes may lose some customers who usually prefer lighter and bright er colors. “Actually the eco-clothes can be produced in every color except neon “ Moss-Kraus smoothed away the doubts.
The resource saver: organic cotton crops do not need water while growing
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he roots of Eco-fashion can be traced back to the 1970s when wooly leggings and rugged tie-dyed fabrics were trendy among the Eco conscious. Initially concerns focused on the use of pesticides on cotton crops. Now ecological clothes are coming again and this time it is a combination concerns about the way clothes are made: the effect on the environmental damage of growing cotton, consumer health, and poor working conditions. In order to keep up with the green trend, I visited Eco-designer Felicia Moss-Kraus in her atelier in Berlin.
OS: S LO W M
Bettina Boden is one of the 54 teachers at the Ecosign and formerly she also studied here. “The students will receive intensive training in technical processes and basic theory, as well as transferring this into an ecologically responsible design” said Boden,” The most efficient study method here is that the students learn from each other through the semester project.” After graduation students can work as Eco-designer, independent Eco-producer or Eco-trainer.” I would like to let more people know and pay attention to the ecological life.” this 37-year-old teacher expresses her deep heart thinking.
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"We take things from the nature endlessly and at the end the biological chain will be broken." Moss-Kraus said with some anxiety. The conventional cotton crops are very susceptible to insects, therefore, farmers often spray extremely aggressive pesticides to the crops. Each year, about 25% of all pesticides are used for conventional cottons around the world. Then those toxic substances will soak into the ground. Instead of relying on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, organic cotton growers use organic manure to fertilise the crops. And they do not have the antiwrinkle chemicals applied to conventionally produced cotton products, m a k i n g them not only softer and much more comfort-
PHOT
The ecology design transmitter : teacher Bettina Boden
FOTO: DIE GRUENE PARTEI
PHOTO: ECOSIGN
Eco-Fashion clothes is in vogue able to wear, but also safer, as wearers will not be breathing in the toxins from the fibres that are so close to the skin. One more "green" point is that the organic cotton crops do not need any water while growing. The raw materials will be imported from Turkey where the unique soil structure and moderate climate are suitable for the organic cotton growing. And each kilo costs around 1.85 Euro, compared to the classical one takes 1.50 Euro. After separating the organic cotton into different grades, they are colored on the spot before being transported to and processed in Germany.
Challenges for Eco-clothes : weather "The biggest challenge for the Eco-design is the weather" admitted Moss-Kraus, “If there is not enough sunshine or wind, the organic cotton can not be gathered on time.“ And when they do not get enough raw organic cottons, the remainder of the process like transporting, and production would also be delayed. So of course, costs would be increased unexpectedly. "So we are choosing one new environmental-friendly material which comes from recycled plastic bottles." added Moss-Kraus. Although the clothes are fair traded and the design is modern, a 260 Euro winter jacket or a 39 Euro summer T-shirt may not be affordable for everyone, especially for the students. "They can save pocket money, meanwhile when we have some clothes with small defects, we will also offer a special discount price to the students." Moss-Kraus shared some of her own experiences when she was a student.
The Eco-clothes do not involve the use of chemicals and blaches to color fabrics.
Environmentally- friendly materials 1 Bamboo fabric is created from the bamboo plup.It does not need dhlorine to bleach and can be dyed easily with minimal water requirements. 2 Organic cotton uses no pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides during the growing cycle.
3 Recycled Polyester takes used plastic bottles and makes clothing out of them. 4 Hemp fabric makes clothes absorbent and lightweight. Hemp does not need either pesticides or excessive amounts of water.
Despite of all the challenges ecological fashion is still on the way to mass consumption, particularly in Europe like Germany, where eco-consciousness is more advanced than other parts of the world. Scientists have also given one new expression " Lohas" (Lifestyles of health and sustainability ) to the new group, who live healthier and prefer the ecological and sustainable products."I hope one day we are all Lohas!" MossKraus exclaimed with full of confidence.
✓ www.slowmo.eu