Sustainability of the Fashion Industry Chain: Crop to Shop

Sustainability has become a buzzword in its own right in the fashion industry. In a business whose dominant goal is the ever changing world of trends, the idea of sustainability is one that is sure to ruffle a few feathers (ones that aren't going to just grow back mind you). Worn Through pointed out a conference titled Sustainability of the Fashion Industry Chain: Crop to Shop. This international conference being held in New Delhi, India on November 28-29, 2008 is accepting abstracts through August 15.

Abstracts for papers are invited for the following themes:

* Design interventions and Sustainability
* Fashion Materials and Sustainability
* Sustainable production processes, technologies and ethical issues
* Sustainable consumption and retail
* Policy and Environment

We are particularly interested in the textile aspect of this conference. The materials of fashion are certainly one of the easiest places we can make an immediate impact. When the big guns like Premier Vision continue to add organic and sustainable sourced weavers to their roster there is certainly a market interest.

Whether fashion can be sustainable or not as an industry remains to be seen, but certainly the nitty gritty of what we do in terms of textiles, sourcing and manufacturing has much to learn from the wider sustainability movements. And because we just can't do a post without suggesting a little something we have organic and theoretically sustainable (its in their promotional copy, what does it mean, who nows, go to the conference!) garments from Linda Loudermilk, Beau Soleil, and Viridis Lux