A Natural Solution Environmentally Aware Have Plenty Of Options To Choose From, Even In The Fashion Realm
At Wednesday’s Inland Northwest Pollution Prevention Expo ‘96, you can have a short course in hazardous waste, learn new strategies for waste reduction, and get an update on air emissions. Then, between seminars, you can take in a fashion show. What’s that again? It’s not that strange a fit. The fashions in question are ecologically sound, made of organic cotton, hemp and pre- and post-industrial waste fibers.
They have another advantage. “They’re beautiful,” says Lucy Gurnea, who became a believer in earth-friendly clothes while she was lining up expo exhibitors.
The event, at the Spokane Convention Center, is geared for businesspeople but the public is welcome.
Gurnea is particularly eager to raise people’s awareness about clothes and accessories produced with fewer of the earth’s resources. And people who see these clothes - and like them - may be more apt to change their habits as consumers.
“When they see the beautiful clothes that are made out of pop bottles, they understand how important it is to recycle,” she said.
“Everybody wants to know what they can do. They need to change their behavior a little bit at a time. It’s a gradual process.”
Consumers need to know about alternatives to non-organic cotton and synthetics, the manufacture of which pollutes the environment, Gurnea said.
The expo’s keynote speaker, Paul G. Hawken, author of “The Ecology of Commerce,” is “a big supporter of eco fashion because the textile industry is one of the absolute worst polluters of all industries,” said Gurnea. Cotton, for example, uses half of all the industrial chemicals that are produced in the world for agriculture. The array of chemicals used to produce synthetics is a whole other story, she said.
Taking charge of this year’s expo was - excuse the pun - a natural for Gurnea. She’s the Green Star marketing director for Associated Industries in Spokane. The Green Star program helps businesses in their efforts to be environmentally responsible.
Now in its seventh year, the expo started out as a waste management show sponsored by the Department of Ecology. A couple of years ago, the department turned it over to Associated Industries, an association providing employer services for more than 500 member companies.
“We’re definitely committed to the environment and helping businesses work with their environmental issues,” Gurnea said.
Last year the expo expanded its scope somewhat, but it was still “mostly garbage trucks and recycling.” Gurnea said this year “we just sort of took a quantum leap” by adding fashion to the mix.
She was inspired to do so after attending a similar event in Boston last October.
On Wednesday, expo attendees will see a variety of eco styles, on models and at the fashion booths. “Those of us running the show will be wearing their own choice of eco fashions,” Gurnea said.
Some of those fashions of choice will be manufactured out of hemp.
Hemp can be made into everything from hats to shoes. “It looks like regular clothing. You can’t even tell it’s hemp unless someone tells you,” says Steve Logan, owner of Inca Hemp in Sandpoint, which will have three booths at the expo.
And no, you can’t get high on industrial hemp. It’s a strain of the same plant species as marijuana but contains negligible amounts of THC, the hallucinatory chemical.
Logan’s store, which he opened three months ago, sells “lots of clothing” and everything from backpacks to briefcases. Hemp also is used for food, shampoo, cosmetics, paper, building materials, even medicine, he said. “It’s pretty much the most versatile plant there is.
“Hemp is important because it has more pulp than trees,” he said. And, “it’s renewable. Every three months you can harvest it.”
Gurnea is equally sold on the plant: “Hemp needs no pesticides, no fertilizers. It’s a weed.”
Plus, she said, “It has these wonderful fibers. You can use it for anything.” We’re not talking about hippie wear, either. The fashions are stylish, and many are suitable for business wear. “It’s been an education for me,” Gurnea said. “When I first saw those fashions in Boston, I had no idea.”
Working on environmental issues has changed her attitudes about shopping. Now when she is considering a purchase, she asks herself, “Is this something that hurts the world, the earth? And if it is, is there something I can do to change it?”
Being aware of alternatives has convinced her to gradually convert her wardrobe to earth-friendly clothes. “It’s just a way of looking at how you make your decisions,” she said. “You start to think differently about what you buy. It changes your mind about what criteria you use to buy things.”
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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: EXPO INFO The Inland Northwest Pollution Prevention Expo ‘96 will be Wednesday at the Spokane Convention Center. Admission is $10. Hours are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. It will include earth-friendly fashions exhibited by the following companies: Inca Hemp, 311 N. First Ave., Sandpoint, Idaho 83864; (208-265-5743). Everything from backpacks and wallets to clothing and lingerie. Fremont Hemp, 3526-C Fremont Place N., Seattle, Wash. 98103; (206-632-4367). Clothes for children and adults. Washington Hemp Co., 217 S. First St., Mount Vernon, Wash. 98273; (360-336-0661). Representing four product lines, from Adidas hemp tennis shoes to sportswear, cosmetics and children’s clothing. Fisher Henney Naturals, P.O. Box 389, Brisbane, Calif. 94005; (800-343-6639). Organic cotton apparel made from naturally colored cotton grown without chemicals.