Maria Cornejo’s journey to sustainability has always been about integrating holistic principles such as minimalism and efficiency. An innovator of cut, material, and form for her Zero + Maria Cornejo label, the designer became conscious of the impact of fashion on the environment long before “sustainable” was a term.
“Having my own company since 1998, I started Zero by buying leftover fabrics from big companies. I would see the amount of waste they created in their sampling budgets,” Cornejo said. “By cutting each piece by hand, you really see how pieces slot together in a pattern. I wanted to only make what was necessary. Things were made to order in the beginning, and so I was able to see firsthand and control fabric wastage.”
As a founding member of the CFDA’s Sustainability Committee, the designer has led conversations of change in American fashion and the CFDA Member community. Through the CFDA + Lexus Fashion* Initiative, Cornejo and her team have stewarded supply-chain transparency with almost 100 percent of the label’s manufacturing based in New York. Most recently, the company has focused on materials, working towards further reducing negative impact through closed loop innovations.
Shared values and education are also important. “Knowing that fashion is the biggest polluter is enough of an incentive to make us want to continually review our practices and check ourselves,” the designer explained. “We’re trying to make positive change little by little, day by day wherever possible. What matters most is being consistent and considerate in all aspects. As a company, being aware of the whole process of a piece of clothing, where it’s made, the amount of steps to make a garment all tells us that we have to be aware of what we are putting out there at every step.”
When asked to coin a new word or term for sustainability, Cornejo shared, “We want to be a positive company so I like ‘fashion positive’ right now.”
Looking to the future, she will begin work within Fashion Positive’s PLUS program in January, participating in research towards circular fashion and material innovations.
See more of the CFDA/Lexus Fashion* Initiative sustainability story by following #ReDesignFashion.
