Luxury fashion designers and retailers have caught onto the green wave with new lines of clothing and accessories that can lay claim to being "environmentally friendly" and "socially responsible."
Retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's and others are looking to take part in and expand the $229 billion market for products and services that protect the environment and increase social justice. That figure is defined by Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability in Broomfield, Colo., a network of companies engaged in environmentally sustainable business practices.
"There is no question that there is an enormous opportunity," Bloomingdale's Chairman Michael Gould told Bloomberg News. "People are developing an affinity for companies that can talk in a meaningful way about being friendly to the environment. But you can't give up quality, fashion and newness."
Quality and fashion has been an issue facing designers who, in the past, explored do-good duds but found production technology was not able to deliver what luxury consumers demand.
That has changed as evidenced by designer Linda Loudermilk's fall fashion show held back on February 1 in New York. Ms. Loudermilk made use of hemp satin and reclaimed fake fur in the evening gowns worn by models on the runway.
Designer Stella McCartney, daughter of famous vegan parents Sir Paul and Linda McCartney, has designed leather-free shoes and handbags. She also has a new line of organic skin-care products, Care, sold at Sephora.
Designers such as Ms. Loudermilk and Ms. McCartney are looking to succeed where others have not in the past.
Lynda Grose, one of the creators of Ecollection, a line of clothing using organic and recycled materials that failed in the nineties, said, "Before, the clothes were too ethnic, the fabric not quite right. This wave around is more stylish and is more in sync with the marketplace. The whole industry is going toward more advanced product."
Discussion Question: Why has high-end fashion lagged behind other categories in areas such as environmental friendliness and social responsibility? Are consumers of high-end fashion more or less environmentally conscious than those of more moderate means?