Just in time for the Stockholm Fashion Week last week, the British online magazine the Ecologist appointed Scandinavia to be the brightest star in the world of eco design.
“Stockholm and Copenhagen Fashion Weeks might not rank as highly as London, Paris or Milan on the international circuit, but they’re second-to-none in terms of eco design.”, they write.
Sweden has for example Nudie Jeans, that ask their costumers to turn in their old Nudie Jeans for recycling the cotton fibres, which normally lasts much longer than the time we use a pair of jeans. Then the jeans are repaired and remade, and sold again.
Other examples of Swedish designers with a greener and more socially responsible thinking are DEM Collective, Julian Red ad Zion Clothing (read more about them in this blog post)
So, why is Scandinavia putting such an effort in eco-designing? In the Ecologist article, Swedish designer Johanna Hofring gives her explanation: “There was a big wave of interest that started in 2006, when a lot of attention was focused on the [environment] in both media and education. Because of that, there was a very nourishing environment for designers working with eco-friendly materials, which is one reason why there are so many now.”
But – no matter how much green thoughts there are behind a piece of clothes, there’s one thing to remember: even organic and fair trade clothes require energy to produce, maintain and take care of once they’re used. That’s why I like initiatives like the clothes libraries or clothes swapping parties so much.
