The ECO has landed: sustainability gets stylish
环保，成为当红时尚元素
Many consumers see the great divide between luxury and fast fashion as black and white, good and bad. Surely that expensive coat must be environmentally sound if it has such a high price tag?
很多消费者认为奢侈品与快时尚（Fast Fashion，零售商将T台上最时尚的设计以最快速度制造并铺货到卖场的一种销售模式）之间渭分明泾。毫无疑问，名牌衣服的定价令人如此咋舌，在环保方面肯定是无可挑剔喽？
Not necessarily. Just as the carbon footprint of a flight doesn’t discriminatebetween first-class and economy, high fashion has a history of being just as damaging to the environment.
但事实并不尽然。正如经济舱与头等舱的碳排放并无二致，快时尚对环境的破坏也是由来已久。
But now, both luxury conglomerates and smaller designers are increasingly considering their environmental impact and taking steps to create more sustainable products. New York-based Maria Cornejo, for example, showed a collection for SS17 under her Zero + Maria Cornejo label that was defined by architectural drapes and contemporary lines. What made it particularly strong, however, was its use of a unique white fabric manufactured from wood pulp and sourced from sustainable forests in Domsjo, Sweden.
但如今，无论是奢侈品巨擎还是小众品牌都越发重视自身产品对环境的巨大影响，并采取相应措施打造环境友好型产品。比方说，纽约设计师玛丽亚•科尔内霍(Maria Cornejo)以Zero + Maria Cornejo品牌（由建筑窗帘布与当代时尚风格的线条打造而成）推出了自己的2017春夏季时装。但这些时装之所以特别结实牢固，是它们采用了由瑞典多姆舍(Domsjo)可再生林木质纸浆提取的一种独特白纤维。
Cornejo calls this new viscose Eco Drape. “It’s an ongoing challenge to produce a designer collection in a sustainable way,” she says. “A lot of the mills aren’t there yet. Viscose is the most popular fabric in each collection, so we felt we could make the greatest impact by remaking it in a more responsible version. It is obtained without illegal deforestation and does not utilise forbidden chemicals.” Even better: “the weight and drape of the fabric is amazing.”
科尔内霍称这种新型人造纤维为Eco Drape。“打造环境友好型时装任重道远。”她说，“目前众多造纸厂并未在瑞典设厂。人造纤维面料是每个时装系列最为青睐的面料，因此，我们认为通过把它改造成环保型面料，就能最大程度造福环境。它并非通过非法砍伐森林获取，也不使用违禁化学品。”锦上添花的是：“人造纤维面料的重量与垂感无与伦比。”
Cornejo’s brand is independent andniche. But changes in textile production are happening also across the broader luxury landscape, driven by the Paris behemoths. LVMH has an active, if opaque, “environmental department”, while Kering recently published guidelines under the title “Crafting Tomorrow’s Luxury”, detailing what it hopes to achieve in terms of sustainable development. The umbrella corporation, which owns Gucci and Stella McCartney, wants to be able to confirm the origins of all its raw materials, including their country of extraction, by 2025, “to ensure a transparent and responsible supply chain”. Kering has also pledged to halve its greenhouse gas emissions over the same period.
科尔内霍的品牌属于自主小众范畴。但以巴黎时尚巨擎为首的奢侈品牌同样在面料生产方面动作连连。路易酩轩(LVMH)设立了行之有效的“环保部门”（尽管有些遮遮掩掩），开云(Kering)最近也发布了以“精心打造明日奢侈品”(Crafting Tomorrow’s Luxury)为题的行动纲领，对如何实现可持续发展目标进行了细化。旗下拥有古驰(Gucci)与斯特拉•麦卡特尼(Stella McCartney)等知名品牌的开云集团希望到2025年前，能认证所有原材料产地（其中包括加工国家），“以确保整个供应链透明与环保”。开云还信誓旦旦保证到2025年前，把温室气体的排放量消减一半。
However, figures such as these may not always tell the whole story: “I would like to see a lot more emphasis on specific targets here,” says Tamsin Lejeune, founder of the Ethical Fashion Forum. “If the business grows by 50 per cent, and carbon emissions are reduced by 25 per cent, the footprint of the business may have considerably increased. I would like to see Kering register as a B Corporation [a business certified by the non-profit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance], which would be the best way for them to demonstrate their integrity.”
但是，这类数据可能还显得美中不足：“我希望看到时尚巨擎们更多强调具体目标任务。”时尚道德论坛(Ethical Fashion Forum)创始人塔姆辛•勒琼(Tamsin Lejeune)说：“如果公司销售额增长50%，而碳排放减少25%，那么该公司的总排放量可能大幅增加。我希望看到开云成为B类认证企业（即由非赢利机构B Lab认证的企业，满足严格的社会责任与环保指标），这将是时尚巨擎们展现自己对环保言而有信的最佳方式。”
At the same time, the growing membership of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, which includes H&M and Burberry, offers access to the Higg Index — a set of self-assessment tools that allow a brand to measure the environmental impact of everything they do.
与此同时，包括H&M与博柏利(Burberry)在内的可持续服装联盟成员越来越多地加入Higg Index——这套自我评估工具能让企业检测自身全部行为对环境的影响程度。
Stella McCartney, meanwhile, is infused with environmental values that far exceed its avoidance of fur and leather. “My first job is to be a fashion designer,” says McCartney. “I make desirable, beautiful clothing. But my first decision is always based on whether I can do this in a more environmental way without sacrificing design? If I can, then there is no reason not to.” Her collections feature “regenerated cashmere”, using factory waste from Italy, and she also employs recycled microfibre, which uses non-toxic dyes.
与此同时，环保理念也深深根植于斯特拉•麦卡特尼，其影响力远胜于避开使用各类皮草。“我的第一份工作是时装设计师。”麦卡特尼说，“我设计美仑美奂的时装。但我首先考虑的始终是：能否在兼顾设计的同时尽可能环保？如果可以，则问心无愧地去做。”她的时装以“再生羊绒”为特色——采用意大利羊绒厂的边角废料；她还使用再生微纤维（用无毒染料染色）。
Japan — where production techniques are notably experimental — is a hub for environmental consciousness. The Issey Miyake label, 132 5, which was launched in 2010, produces some of the most advanced apparel on the planet, all crafted from material using recycled PET thread. Miyake’s technique produces approximately 80 percent less CO2 than the process of creating polyester from petroleum. “We need to balance hand craft with technology in design,” says Miyake. “We use cutting-edge techniques to turn a Volvic bottle into liquid and then into a textile.”
面料制造技术超一流的日本是环保意识的引领者。三宅一生(Issey Miyake )2010年推出的132 5面料制作出了全球最尖端的时装，所有面料均用再生涤纶长丝打造而成。相比从石化产品中提炼涤纶的生产过程，三宅一生的技术使得二氧化碳排放量大约减少了80%。“在时装设计中，我们需要平衡手工技艺与科技的关系。”三宅一生说，“我们采用尖端科技把Volvic矿泉水瓶转化成液体、再用其生产时装面料。”
Conversely, fellow Tokyo designer Yohji Yamamoto favours largely natural fabrics for his collections: “I don’t like synthetics,” he says. “I don’t like using fabric produced using oil. We are creating a disaster on the earth. I like cotton and wool — I see fabric as a second skin, and it needs to let you breathe.”
与三宅一生截然不同的是：东京设计师山本耀司(Yohji Yamamoto)则主要采用天然面料制作时装。“我不喜欢合成类面料。”他说，“我不爱使用石化类纺织面料。人类正给地球造成重大灾难。我喜欢纯棉与羊毛面料——我把面料视作人的第二层皮肤，它必须要透气。”
Yamamoto’s focus on natural textiles is continually innovative, but is it really a greener way of operating? Tamsin Lejeune explains that it’s not quite that simple: “There are environmental advantages to using natural fibres, but there are several other considerations that come into the equation, such as the pesticides used on growing cotton.” And even organic cotton has its issues — its production requires exorbitant amounts of water.
山本耀司钟情于天然面料，创新程度与日俱增，但这样的做法是否更有益于环境呢？勒琼说事实并非如此简单：“使用天然面料对环境好处很多，但整个生产过程还是会牵扯很多其他因素，比如种植棉花使用的杀虫剂。”甚至有机棉花都有问题：因为种植它用水量惊人。
One of the crucial questions relating to the development of sustainable green textiles is: do consumers still care? Or has the worldwide green movement lostmomentum as shoppers are distracted by political upheaval?
生产绿色环保型面料的一个关键问题是：消费者对此真的在意吗？抑或说由于消费者被政治动荡分心，全球环保运动后继乏力？
Ryan Lobo, who co-runs the eco-focused Tome brand, believes there is no other option. “Sustainable and ethical fashion should not be considered a luxury but a given,” he says. “That’s the direction the industry is taking and it’ll be unwise for brands to ignore it.”
环保型品牌Tome共同创始人瑞恩•洛博(Ryan Lobo)认为我们别无选择。“注重伦理道德与可持续发展的时尚不应是奢求，而是必须去做。”他说，“它是时尚业的发展方向，时尚品牌漠视它是极不明智的。”
Cornejo similarly believes that sustainability remains a concern for consumers: “During the recession, we made it through because our clients cared about supporting our local economy, and they really connected with the fact that the majority of the collection is made in New York. I feel the same now — people will still focus on the environment, they still want beautiful things that have the right message and heart behind them.”
科尔内霍也认为时尚的可持续发展问题仍是消费者关注的焦点：“当初经济衰退时，我们成功度过难关，因为消费者在意是否有助于本地经济发展，他们真正关心的是多数时装是否在纽约本地生产。如今我有同样的感觉——消费者仍专注于环境问题，他们仍痴迷高颜值时尚：既内涵丰富、又心怀环境。”
