Mel at Footpath Zeitgeist* has a post up about the ethics of fashion:
There has been more and more mainstream media coverage lately about issues of ethics in fashion, which is giving consumers this kind of knowledge. Sue Thomas’s opinion piece lays out most of the main things that consumers should consider, and there was a recent Sunday lifestyle story (which I can’t seem to find online) directly comparing the environmental footprint of various fabrics (taking into account the water and energy needed to grow and/or process them into fabrics, the energy to transport them to factories and retail outlets, their durability (hence how often they’d need to be replaced) and the energy, water and detergents needed to launder them. I remember taking from this article that organic cotton used extravagant amounts of water and that polyester was surprisingly environmentally friendly because of its durability and the fact that old garments can be broken down and recycled into new synthetic fabric.
It’s an interesting post that argues that the ethics of fashion are not straightforward.
Adding to this complexity, in addition to couture, ready-to-wear, knockoffs and vintage we need now consider the ethics of online fashion.
While there are certainly still environmental problems involved in letting a virtual you glam it up, it certainly helps to solve problems like water wastage, animal rights and landfill to have original fashions that can be worn without leaving the drawing board.
It also removes problems such as practicality from the equation; if you wanna wear a cupcake, wear a cupcake.
Iris Ophelia takes a tour of Second Life style here.
Even fashion protesters are getting in on the act.
*am I the only one who thinks that Footpath Zeitgeist is not updated often enough? 
Why are all those female protestors in Second Life doing Bob Fosse broken-back choreography without wearing hats?
Isn’t it obvious?!
You can show off yer new cyberthreads here.