Ahhh, fashion. So fun, so fickle, so damaging?

"Disposable" fashion?

Inexpensive, trendy clothing is a huge market, in the US and in Europe. Companies like H&M, Old Navy, Target, and others have recieved lots of positive attention for making high style at low prices available to the masses, there are hidden costs- both environmental and other.Target, for one, is being sued by Williams Sonoma for copyright infringement, with Williams Sonoma accusing "Target Corp. of systematically copying its designs on a range of products, from Christmas stockings to votive candle holders." LINK That is interesting in itself, and, well, it kind of makes a lot of sense. High style at a great price? Yeah, stolen goods bought on the cheap. But anyway, I digress.

Environmentally, the idea of "fast fashion" (think fast food), is disastrous. A Cambridge University report examines the environmental impact of thefast fashion movement, and it is bleak. In order to make the clothes so inexpensive, they are generally less well made, and will not last as long as a well sewn item, and as one shopper says " “If it falls apart, you just toss it away!”

This is a really good article about how some of the big stores in the UK, like Marks and Spencers, are trying to keep up their sales while being eco-conscious and the same time. Delicate balance, but at least they're trying. LINK

And actually, that dress up top is disposable fashion, and environmentally sound- it's made of dissolving polymers!!!! How cool is that?!?!? And not only that, but the flowers on the dress turn into a brief art show when it melts!

"The fabric is knitted from a clear polymer - polyvinyl alcohol - of the kind used in sachets that release detergent in washing machines. The dresses will dissolve and turn into a form that can be recycled as a bottle.
However, they break down so slowly that they can survive a sweaty party.

The dresses are decorated with cleverly designed flowers that slowly give off a dye when they dissolve, making them move around like sea anemones in the huge goldfish bowl."

LINK