Sustainability Is Sexy

Unlike the world of cars, where talk about energy and mileage is very serious, the world of fashion thinks that sustainability is SEXY and being nice to the planet is chic.

During Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC, I attended the Be EcoChic fashion show at the American Museum of Natural History. The company, Be EcoChic was founded to use the power of the runway to raise environmental awareness. Obviously they get a lot of play.

The fashion show, hosted by super model Angela Lindvall of Discovery Planet's Alter Eco and The Sierra Club , featured collections made with sustainable fabrics.

Fashions included clothes crafted from seaweed, recycled crêpe de chine,  gowns made from vintage raffia and dresses painted with low impact dyes.

So, you may ask, how does this relate to the world of cars? It just got me thinking about how often we focus on what's not happening. I hear so much complaining about how the major car companies did not prepare for the future, why didn't they see this coming and build more fuel efficient cars and blah blah blah. I say look at what IS happening.

By example, Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. has 830 acres of wetlands on its 8,200 acres of property. Of that 830, Honda has developed 172 acres of into eco-ponds.

Besides the fact that wetlands can be visually stimulating ---picture white egrets, rippling waters, swaying cattails--- these self-built ponds are a way for Honda to manage rainwater runoff from its buildings and parking lots. The efforts have cut costs, reduced pollution and lessened the industrial site's impact on its surrounding ecosystems.
    
Honda also uses water from the ponds to cool the plant from April through October.

Before adding the ponds, Honda pumped groundwater from an aquifer. Having the ponds "allows Honda to reduce groundwater withdrawal by about 40 million gallons annually," says Karen Heyob, who coordinates Honda's Green Factory programs in North America. "It's a huge reduction in water usage. Plus we're saving energy by not having to pump it out of the ground."

Ford has also been investigating ways to save energy with natural resources. They have been looking at soybeans, hemp and coconut fibers to reinforce plastic parts in cars.

Case in point. The 2008 Mustang has seats made with a 5 % soy-based foam, instead of the standard 100 % petroleum-based foam.

Ford along with LEAR is working on a prototype called EnviroSeat that  features components made from renewable resources to garner significant reductions in C02 emissions.

Features of the EnviroSeat include: soy-based foam used for seat and headrest cushion; seating fabric and headrest bag made of  a type of 'plastic' that is derived from corn; side shield plastic material produced from sugar cane and seating clips made from recycled water bottles.

I viewed samples of compressed soybeans, hemp and other types of grasses at the Ford plant in Michigan last month. The textures were rather interesting...interesting enough to display on the inside of cars. Hey, if recycling is so hip in clothing design, wouldn't it follow for cars?

A corn-fiber control panel? A sugar cane shifter? It's all up for discussion.
 
For more information on alternative fuel sources check out:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/alternativefuels/articles/105341/article.html
 
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/alternativefuels/articles/120397/article.html

Posted by

Holly Reich September 16, 2008, 5:43 PM

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Be EcoChic, Discovery Planet, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week