Sandy Black

Has mass consumption of fashion gotten, well, increasingly massive?

Yes—people have gotten used to being able to buy things relatively cheaply and instantly and not having to save up for them. We are consuming far more clothes by volume than even a few years ago. Clever solutions have to be designed to make people love their clothes more and not to view them as a disposable commodity.

You do a great job covering green designers like Ciel, Edun, Katharine Hamnett and American Apparel. Are there any designers that you would love to encourage to change their operations in an attempt to become more environmentally sustainable?

Right now, many high-fashion designers feel they would have to compromise their designs to become sustainable. I also think more fashion designers will become involved as more varied and interesting materials become available; supply and demand still works. Stella McCartney did an exclusive eco range for Barneys.

You're a professor of fashion and textile design at the University of the Arts London. What was your involvement with the industry prior to teaching?

I previously was a designer and ran a company with my own label, selling Sandy Black knitwear and knitting yarn kits. We sold them internationally to top department stores and individual shops, including Saks, Bloomingdales and Bendels in the US; Harvey Nichols, Browns, Harrods and Liberty in the UK; Isetan and Takashimaya in Japan; and stores in Italy, Australia, Canada and Germany.

Being that you are based in London, what do you think about American eco brands?

There have been some real pioneers in America, particularly Patagonia and Esprit in the 90s and now more are joining. They are like the UK: lots of smaller labels and some big players such as Timberland, and not many fashion labels.

A lot of designers are jumping on the eco bandwagon but aren't necessarily using organic fibers. Is greening the office, production or shipping just as noteworthy as using organics?

Organics are by no means the only answer. Everything has to be tackled both above and below the line.

Eco-chic is a catch phrase that gets tossed around a lot. What does it mean to you?

It wasn't such until very recently. To me, it means eco fashion is growing up and maturing into clothes which many people would want, not just the converted. Fashionability can be good long-lasting design as well as a one-season wonder. It means the cliché no longer applies.

How long did it take you to complete this book? Is there anything you wish you had included that you didn't?

It's a never ending subject, and moves very quickly. I started the research in 2005, but put it together during 2007. I have offered multiple strategies and solutions throughout which will improve matters; this is a subject and phenomenon that does not have one right answer. The most difficult for the industry and consumers is to buy less, and for prices to increase to more sustainable levels to benefit those at the bottom of the supply chain.

What would you say to skeptics who ask why green fashion is expensive?

If steps are taken to source more ecologically sound fabrics, to think carefully about design and efficiency in production and about end-of-life choices, as well as pay people properly along the way, then these considerations in the current fashion climate can add more costs.

What ways, other than supporting your favorite eco designers, can someone be fashionable and green?

Obvious other ways to be fashionable and green is to recycle your old clothes by remaking or swapping them, and customizing or embellishing them to give them a new lease of life.

What is your greatest fashion eco-sin?

I have too many shoes.

What is next for you?

Continuing to campaign and spreading the message through writing, developing research projects, lobbying influential bodies and lecturing. I am part of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion.