Introduction

Recycling is the process of converting wasted, unwanted material into new products. When one thinks of recycling they may want to get involved in the process. Unfortunately, most people are either uninformed or indifferent about recycling, adding to the massive increase to our landfills. Would you consider fashion as part of the recycling process? The terms “green fashion” and “eco-friendly” can lead to designs that utilize unwanted materials that are transformed into “fashion forward” clothing designs and art pieces.

Recycling is applied in the fashion industry when designers make a choice to focus attention on a “green lifestyle”. It is all about environmentally conscious choices that seem small but can make a big impact. Fashion photography has become another platform that highlights the work of designers that are choos- ing this area of fashion in order to increase awareness not only about environmental issues but also to showcase creative designs. They face many challenges such as finding sustainable materials, keeping it cost effective, and working with a limited palette. They use their creativity to make their clothing fashion- able, wearable, and trendy. Through their work we are not only more aware about eco-friendly clothing, but become more environmentally conscious overall.

One man’s trash can literally become another man’s treasure when people create things out of discarded waste. Many artists today use other people’s trash to create works of art. Two artists worthy of mentioning are Steven Seigel and Kelly Lane. A known sculptor, Steven Siegel, from Hudson River Valley, New York, creates massive sculptures using trash materials. He considers the materials he is going to use and then gathers them in extremely large quantities. Because these items will always be available they become the perfect material that transforms trash into artistic statements. Siegal shows his work around the country. In 2004, he showed Freight and Barrel, made from crushed plastics at the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania (Fabricius). His massive sculptures are beautiful in terms of scale, intricacy, and design.

Kelly Lane is one example of an eco-friendly clothing designer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who creates fashion forward collections for women and children. She takes the time to research and utilize sustain- able fabrics produced in New York City’s garment district for all of her designs. Some of these sustainable fabrics include soy/organic cotton and Tencel Lycra, which is a biodegradable fabric made from treated wood pulp. Lane’s collections are colorful and incorporate patterns, shapes, and other graphic elements fashioning a highly sophisticated silhouette.

ECOfashion was inspired by the work of other artists. For instance, Steven Seigel’s sculptures motivated me to create my own photographs highlighting recyclable materials as environmentally smart fashion. Creating fashion pieces from recyclable materials was the foundation for planning out this project, requiring sketch- ing out the ideas, collecting the materials, and hand-making many of the designs. The process I’ve gone through to create this project reflects the process that I take when creating any photograph. After deciding on a concept, I choose the wardrobe, hair and makeup, location, lighting, and postproduction techniques. This process may take more time but the steps are important for my workflow, just as the steps to being environmentally conscious are important to our planet. Green fashion inspires me because these fashion designs are created with not only the end wearer in mind, but also the future of our planet as well.

After experiencing this book I want you to understand what recycling is all about, why it is important, and easy ways you can do it yourself. I want you to think outside of the box and get creative with recycling and reusing. I also want you to question where the clothing that you wear actually comes from and what it is made from. This takes some research and a small amount of time. But you will find that it is much easier than you think. Plus it is rewarding when you can know that the clothing you wear was made with the environment in mind. When you start to do this you can begin to reduce your carbon footprint, even if it is in a small way. When many people make a small step to being gentler to the environment the overall effect will be great. I want you to actively take the steps to becoming a greener fashionista. In the coming pages you will see some examples of the steps to becoming a more eco-friendly individual in general and more specifically with your fashionable wardrobe.