MIAMI — High fashion is going granola. But not the grunge of hippie yoga wear and grainy hemp T-shirts typically associated with organic clothes.
Think soft soy dresses, cropped organic terry jackets and slim-fit organic denim jeans to pair with stilettos, not flip-flops.
Consumers worried about ingesting harmful pesticides have long been purchasing organic foods. But the philosophy is slowly hitting mainstream clothing retailers as experts warn about the dangers pesticides pose to the environment.
Whether shoppers are buying eco-friendly because it's trendy or because they hope to preserve Mother Earth, they no longer have to sacrifice fashion for philosophy.
With major retailers such as Target Corp., Victoria's Secret Stores Inc., H&M and Nike Inc. joining the green trend, there's something for fashionistas of every price range in 2007.
"We're fashion first. The fact that they're organic is a value-added product," said Marci Zaroff, founder of Under the Canopy, one of the world's largest producers of organic clothing.
Organic cotton, which makes up 95% of organic fabrics, is the driving force behind the trend.
Global organic cotton sales more than doubled, from $245 million to $583 million, from 2001 to 2005. Sales are expected to reach more than $2 billion by the end of 2008, according to the Organic Exchange, a nonprofit trade association that works to expand the use of organically grown cotton.
Although more retailers are considering organic cotton, it makes up less than 1% of cotton produced in the world. Designers are also experimenting with eco-friendly fabrics made of bamboo, soy, Ingeo (corn) and hemp silk.
The market is expanding "because a number of very large retailers are actually going to have a lot of product available in 2007," said Rebecca Calahan Klein, president of California-based Organic Exchange.
Target, which carries a number of organic baby clothes, is expanding its line this year. Sam's Club and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are among the top five brands that use the most organic cotton globally, according to Organic Exchange.
Victoria's Secret will also add organic cotton to its collection this year, Klein said.
Nike, which has been using organic cotton for several years, is one of the world's largest retail users of organic cotton. Spokeswoman Morgan Shaw says 52% of the garments the company manufactured last year contained at least some organic material.
