Marci Zaroff is Poised for The Future of Sustainable Fashion. Don't Get Left Behind! Part 1
Marci Zaroff is a pioneer in the sustainable fiber and fashion industry. She was just included in the definitive book ECO-AMAZONS. Marci is finishing up behind the scenes work which will allow the launch of immersing lifestyle boutiques in 2012 and several new brand partnerships that reach all tiers of retail distribution.
After seeing the industry grow from 240 million dollars a year in the nineties to almost 6 billion dollars in 2011. Zaroff has a lot to be proud of. But she remains focused, open, and dedicated to the principle that eco-fashion can be great looking, silky soft and good for people and the planet. This is the first article in a series.
Bryan Ogden: I understand you coined the term "Eco-Fashion". I was wondering what you were thinking when you came up with that nomenclature.
Marci Zaroff: When you look back on my background I had from a very early age embraced the world of health and wellness and ecology and environmental consciousness - After getting a business degree where I always knew that I would be focused on what’s known as triple bottom line business - Which is profitability, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability - I ventured off and I founded a school in New York City that did all environmental education with a focus on food and beauty, and that ultimately gave me this opportunity where it became very clear that there was a missing link in that whole wellness equation. When you started to look at agriculture you could see the interconnection between food and beauty and fiber.
When I went out into the fiber and then ultimately the textile market to see what existed in the context of ecology organic sustainability I came up blank. There was nothing out there that would appeal to someone like me. and so my inspiration for coining that term was to fuse my background and expertise in ecology and wellness and then bring it in to the fashion industry so I could show people who were fashion forward that you don't have to give up environmental or social responsibility. And likewise show people who were subscribing to a conscious lifestyle that you could also be fashionable. And so bringing those worlds together in the early years and we're talking mid nineties was somewhat paradoxical because they had always been perceived as, you know, opposite ends of the spectrum.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati