With climate change being one of Americans’ top concerns, a concern shared across the globe, it’s time to take an honest look at our beloved fashion industry’s contributions to earth’s excessive amount of CO2 emissions. A whopping 60% to 90% of fabrics are created using fossil fuels.

In 2019, The House of Common Environmental Audit Committee found, “…the garment industry is reportedly the world’s biggest manufacturing industry after the automotive and technology industries… Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined, consumes lake-sized volumes of fresh water, and creates chemical and plastic pollution.”

We may not think of these issues as we swipe our credit card at the store and purchase a beautiful new item–out of sight, out of mind. This isn’t the thought process we should have regarding fashion’s ties with the environment.

Emailing back and forth with Alyssa Couture of Healthy Fashion, I quickly learned of her strong, intelligent, and beautiful vision of incorporating plant-based fabrics into our everyday lives. With her new book, Healthy Fashion: The Deeper Truths, now available for purchase, there has never been a better time for an interview. And so I sent over my questions to Alyssa, desperate to learn more. With a prompt response, I discovered her brilliant and creative view of what the fashion industry could be, a view most definitely worth sharing.

What is your favorite form of plant-based fabric? Why?

“Plant-based cellulose fabrics are my favorites—as well as lyocell-processed plant-based fabrics like TencelTM jersey knit. Plant-based cellulose fabrics are comfortable to wear, and they are my favorites because they are the most breathable fabrics.”

When did you get started in plant-based fashion? What inspired you to do so?

“I have been a fashion professional since I was 15 years old, but I didn’t get into eco-fashion until my late 20s. I am 36 now. I have been inspired to promote clothing that both looks and feels good for almost ten years now. I worked in fashion retail stores that sell conventional fashion for most of my life. I was originally wearing all mainstream or conventional fashion.

In 2014, I started an eco-fashion blog and produced an eco-fashion show. That was when I became more interested in eco-fashion and wore less polyester apparel. In 2014, I got into plant-based fashion when I founded my previous handmade fashion brand, Alternative Fashion. I created sample collections—designing, pattern-making, and sewing all the pieces. I produced these collections made from fabrics like hemp, cotton, and linen.

I knew that mainstream fashion apparel was not supporting me enough. This inspired me to focus on eco-fashion and healthy fashion. I have worn a lot of uncomfortable fashion in my life. I still wear uncomfortable fashion sometimes. I have sacrificed myself in the name of fashion to look good, but not feel good. However, I am very sensitive to energy. I am a planetary energy healer. I needed to find apparel that supported my health and find therapeutic fabric materials that were aligned energetically with my aura, my energy body, and the 5 bodies—physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic.”

Are there specific materials you personally prefer to wear?

“When I go shopping, I make sure that I find apparel made of cotton, linen, or some other plant-based fabric. I wear some polyester apparel and some polyester/plant-based blended fabrics. I try to wear only plant-based fabrics as my first layers. Some of my loose-fitted coats, shoes, and accessories are made with synthetic fabrics. I have a couple of sweatshirts that are 60% cotton and 20% polyester, and many of my cotton leggings contain 5-10% spandex.”

Where does the idea of ‘medicinal’ fashion come from in your book?

“Besides my fashion career, I have a background in metaphysics. I am an energy healer and a spiritual person. I have lived and worked in five different ashrams and monastery retreats. Through experience and through studying, I learned that the existence of fashion can be interpreted and experienced with a deeper purpose; fashion as an alternative medicine for mind, body, and spirit. The direction and focus of my work all points to fashion made of therapeutic, cosmetic, and medicinal value for the human body. I like the idea and concept of fashion as alternative medicine and as a health practice. We need more medicinal fashion. Everyone wants more ways to improve their health. Ill people with pain that’s minor to severe may take aid. Plant-based fashion improves health—there’s scientific proof that fashion can aid the heart and purify the body with the ability to contribute to more comfort and ease down to the molecular level, promoting a healthy body and mind.”

If you could change anything about the fashion industry, what would it be?

“We need to raise more awareness about the health effects of fabrics. There are so many amazing fashion designers and brands, and so many fashions that I would like to wear, but because of the material, I wouldn’t buy them. I would like to see more plant-based fashion and more types of plants produced in textiles worldwide. We cannot create a plant-based fashion industry with only a few types of plant fabrics—we need to use different plants such as cactus, seaweed, wild weeds, vegetable waste, aquatic plants, etc. The most important thing is marketing and producing fashion as a health remedy and as a health practice.

I would like to see more of the industry create more innovative solutions for a healthier kind of fashion. Overall, we need to change the industry from the many sectors of the industry, and problem-solve for the critical needs of a fashion industry that impractically lacks the spirit of fashion because of toxic chemicals, synthetic fashion, fashion waste, unfair trade, unfair labor, false representations of fashion, etc. Supporting eco, ethical, sustainable, social, holistic, and organic fashion creates standards and healthy attributions of change for fashion today.”

Is there a date on which you think the fashion industry could plausibly become entirely plant-based?

“I don’t know when it will happen. This is a controversial subject because we, on a global scale, are confined to this synthetic material, for the most part, whether we like it or not. We can’t keep producing polyester, however, because it is not healthy enough to wear or to produce. Potentially, current plant-based products may create a significant number of resources depending on what they are and how they are produced.n

As a collective, ever since the 1930s, we have depended significantly on synthetic fabrics and have not even been given the chance to find other alternatives that are plant-based because of the demand for synthetic fabrics. Besides the fashion industry, the automobile, food, and beauty industries are becoming more and more plant-based. When plant-based textiles are backed up by technology in a sustainable way, then a 100% plant-based wardrobe could be plausible in the future. It is now possible to have a 100% plant-based wardrobe if you live in hot weather all year.”

How did you get into fashion in general? Is there a specific style you tend to gravitate towards?

“I worked in fashion retail—styling, sales, visual merchandising, and management for over 15 years. I have studied fashion design at the Academy of Art University. Previously, I founded 3 sustainable fashion start-up businesses: Alternative Fashion: an eco-fashion brand, Alternative Fashion Media: a fashion news site, and Healthy Fashion Campaign: a fashion-for-health awareness campaign. My brand was a selected participant in Saks Fifth Avenue’s Emerging Fashion Designer Competition in April 2016.

Additionally, I produced an eco-fashion show with vendors, and speakers and showcased several fashion brands and designers called the Alternative Fashion 2014 Eco Fashion Event. I have both a corporate and an entrepreneurial background in fashion. Regarding my style, I try to wear different styles, but I usually wear athleisure, activewear, and minimal fashion styles. The most important parts for me in assessing a piece of clothing are whether they are made of plants and whether the product is ergonomic in design. I love clothing that supports me ergonomically.”

How do you recommend transitioning into plant-based wear? Is there a shock to the system at all?

“I recommend focusing on healthy apparel design. Clothing that is ultra-modern, ultra-comfortable, ultra-enlightened. We are transitioning from conventional/mainstream fashion to sustainable/eco fashion to healthy fashion—the wellness fashion movement, spiritual fashion, spa fashion, holistic fashion, healthy fashion, and wholesome fashion. Eco-friendly fashion, biodegradable fashion, supporting biodiversity, restorative sustainability, and fashion recycling will help the transition to the plant-based apparel industry. Fashion for health is a new opportunity to discover the power of clothing. So if it shocks the system, it will shock it in a good way.”

Is there any way for the fashion industry to become sustainable without this fabric transition?

“No, there is no other way because polyester is a non-renewable resource and it is not the healthiest type of material to wear. The fashion industry will have to include the types of materials being used. Toxic fashion and most polyester fabrics aren’t progressive—they aren’t biodegradable and they are not breathable. However, if you like to wear synthetic apparel but you also want to support sustainable fashion, one crucial way is to purchase clothing that you’re going to wear for many years. Find clothing that is perfect for you.”

While I’ve always believed that fashion can be mentally uplifting, I’m curious about your thought process of certain fabrics helping the mental body. Can you explain how you came to this conclusion? What are the main fabrics that are helpful?

“We need fashion for mental health because it is a modern way of thinking about fashion. One example, cosmetic fabrics will help people’s mental health. Cosmetic fabrics are fabrics infused with herbs and botanicals like zinc, seaweed powder, aloe vera, neem oil, and essential oils. These fabric treatments will support the emotional and mental bodies as they are alternative health treatments.”