Science is about more than just memorizing equations and using formula sheets. It’s a way of exploring and discovering things about the world around us. It can be learned by anyone, anywhere – and it can teach you a lot about style.

Over the next few months, I’m going to be explaining how science can apply to your wardrobe and showing you the places in which fashion and science intersect. (It’s more places than you think!)

Last time, we talked about the science of laundry stain removal. In honor of Earth Day, we’re examining another area of science. This is the first installment of a three-part series about ecology, the study of the interactions between living things and their environment. 

Today’s topic is the rain forest: so I’ll talk about some of the interesting things about rain forest ecosystems and the organisms that inhabit them, and then give you some sustainably-sourced outfits based on what we learned. Sound interesting? Keep reading!

Table of Contents

Abstract:

The rain forest is one of the most interesting places on the planet. Rain forest ecosystems cover a very small amount of the Earth’s surface area, but are home to more than half of the planet’s species, and are responsible for producing lots of oxygen, as well as several types of fruits, nuts, and vegetables, and a wide variety of medicinal substances. 

One of the most interesting ecological features of the rain forest is biodiversity – that there are thousands of species coexisting in the same environment. Even more interesting is the way that organisms in the rain forest interact with each other – there is no dominant species in rain forest ecosystems, and trees of the same species are rarely found together. Because of the density and variety of rain forests, there are always plants producing plants and flowers, so there is a year-round supply of food for animals.