The price of eco-friendly fashion

Saving the environment it's for the rich

Bureau de Betak, producer of fashion shows for Isabel Marant, has announced it will ban

single use plastics, reduce its carbon emissions by 25 percent and reuse 100 percent of its

sets by 2021.

Senior Fashion writer at the Guardian, Lauren Cochrane, said the impression she got from

Paris Fashion week is an “interest and drive to add more sustainability minded points of

view into what we [in fashion] do”.

Though eco-friendly fashion appears to be booming in popularity, there have been

questions about the affordability of these items, and even the motivations of the fashion

houses themselves.

“We are in a privileged position where you can think about buying clothes based on their environmental impact, but people on low incomes do not have that,” Lauren said.

“They cannot afford to spend more money on clothes because it is better for the environment.”

These sentiments are echoed by fashion branding student Francesca.

“I can appreciate these brands, but I cannot actually engage or buy from these brands as

they are mostly more expensive that I can afford,” she said.

“All these luxury brands are just for the elite and we do not know if these brands are becoming eco-friendly just for the publicity.”

Eco-friendly fashion is still a fairly new frontier, and Lauren suggests brands need to

innovate before prices can be reduced to be more accessible.

“You have to be innovative, which means items have to be priced at an expensive level

first,” she said.