farm to fork fashion

I watch a lot of ‘foodie’ shows while I work at home.  There has been a strong push towards the local, organic and slow food movement for a while now.  This is proven by the growing popularity of farmers markets  and local restaurants.  As I watch these shows I have noticed that there are strong similarities to what is beginning to happen in the fashion industry.

farm to fork (eat local) = (shop local) source local

organic food = organic clothing

slow food = slow fashion

nose to tail eating = no-waste pattern-making

As I watch these shows I clearly see the benefits of eating locally sourced, sustainably harvested, organic in-season food.  As a New Yorker it means I would have give up pineapple, mangoes and (yikes!) coffee in order follow this mantra.  But even that makes sense to me.  Why should the food I eat (organic or not) have to travel so far when I can find perfectly great eats right here (sometimes on my fire escape if the summers are kind).  But applying this same logic to fashion is a little harder for me, maybe because I’m much closer to the industry.  Yes, I can find great factories and great sustainable fabrics right here, or at least within the US.  But does that mean I have to give up working with beautiful fabrics from Japan because of their carbon footprint?  And more importantly, should I just be selling locally in order to reduce my own footprint?  If that’s the case – and I can certainly understand how some would see it that way – then I would have to content myself with only selling to those around me.  And that philosophy is counter-intuitive to my desire to put my work out into the world, to showcase it on a grander scale (yes, deep down I’m a chauvinistic designer, just as you may have suspected!).

Or could I have my (organic local bakery made) cake and eat it too?  Maybe I could produce locally in all countries where I sell?  If Japan decides it loves my collection, instead of shipping off a box of clothing, I ship myself and set up a small production run there to meet their needs.  Hmmm… I’m starting to see the problems with this scheme already!  So here’s the major problem: as designers, how do we export our ideas without leaving a huge dirty footprint? SANS may be on the right track. Or maybe there is no right answer and we all have to do what’s right for us individually, as long as we’re all doing our part.

On a personal note, would this also mean I couldn’t, in principle, support some of my favourite foreign designers unless I travel to their cities to purchase their clothing?  Is this how a locavore chef feels when he or she is faced lychee or Alaskan cod?