Made in Forests Film Focuses on Fashion’s Environmental Impact
Now more than ever, the world is paying attention to how the fashion industry impacts the environment.
In a new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) video called “Made in Forests,” Michelle Yeoh, a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador set out to see what sustainable fashion could look like without comprising clothing’s beauty.
“The connection between our clothes and our impact on the environment doesn’t immediately come to mind”, Yeoh said in a statement on the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) homepage. “If a jacket or a skirt or a dress looks good, and we can afford it, we buy it. But the environment pays the price.”
The video was presented in July 2018 to world leaders at the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development in New York, with the aim of bringing greater attention to the issue.
What Yeoh uncovers in the film, is that fashion made with sustainable forest-based fabrics—rather than relying predominantly on cotton and polyester—could be the answer to the industry’s ills.
“Given its ecological footprint, today’s fashion is an environmental emergency,” UNECE executive secretary Olga Algayerova, said. “We need to move from a fashion sector with a high impact on the planet to one that is inspired and uses natural resources sustainably. Forests can help this transition.”
Leaders in the denim industry have been on board with the idea, and some, like Textil Santanderina who was one of the textile mills providing fabrics for this project and look towards ways to carry the mission even further.
“We could not miss this initiative led by Forest for Fashion. Sustainability is in our DNA, and after more than 25 years of experience with TENCEL™ Lyocell, we are now launching exciting new developments using REFIBRA™ technology and LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers,” said Jordi Ballus, creative director of Santanderina. “We are seeing that sustainable initiatives in fashion are having a deep impact on customers.”