Gen Y Demands It: Green Fashion That’s Chic
Green is getting gorgeous. Whether it’s from high-end designers like Linda Loudermilk and Stella McCartney, large marketers like Nike and Levi Straus, or smart retailers like H&M and the trend-setting new Nau, the selection of environmentally friendly clothing gets bigger every day. Heck, even Wal-Mart just launched a line of T-shirts made from old soda-pop bottles. That’s because younger shoppers are finally translating their passion for purer and more organic foods in their kitchens to purer and more organic clothing in their closets, reports Iconoculture.
“Gen Y and the Millennials are really driving this trend,” says Barbie M. Casasus, senior director and consumer strategist at Iconoculture, based in Minneapolis, adding that 20- to-28-year-olds represent about $520 billion in buying power and say they are willing to pay more for organic and fair-trade products. “And they’re pretty passionate about it. While it’s a category that is still in its infancy, the demand is growing.”
For years, clothing has lagged behind other industries. And it’s hard to deny that “green fashion” is oxymoronic: The environmental police demand that consumers reuse and recycle, while the fashion cops urge shoppers to cast off anything left over from last season. So it’s hardly a shocker that the government estimates that each American throws away about 68 pounds of clothing and textiles each year.
“After all, the entire fashion industry is predicated on planned obsolescence,” says Ian Yolles, VP/brand communication for Nau, a Portland, Ore.-based clothing company launched last year by a group of former Nike and Patagonia executives.
