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Guilt Free Shopping
The ethical status of a product is has recently become a key concern of consumers. Now ethical fashion championed by designer Katherine Hamnett and ethical label People tree is gathering momnetum and quickly becoming an important force in the designer world. London fashion week has even launched ‘Estethica’ a section dedicated to eco-sustainable labels. But what is ethical fashion and what is all the fuss about?
Ethical fashion is all about ensuring the clothing that you buy has not had a detrimental effect on people or the environment. Pesticides cause an estimated 3 million cases of severe poisoning and 20,000 deaths each year, mostly in devloping countries. By buying clothing made of organic cotton you can help mimimise the effects of toxic pesticides on people and the planet .
Recycling is also very hot at the moment with the vintage look becoming a key trend with celebrities. Up to 1 million tonnes of unwanted fabric goes into landfill in the UK every year. Charity shops are often the first port of call for the label and style consious shopper. Thousands of shoppers also use ebay as a way to access second hand clothing from their favourite label at a fraction of the price. Labels such as Junky styling, from somewhere and Worn again recycles fabrics reworking them into something new and uptodate, helping to decrease landfill and reduce the carbon footprint of clothes manufacture.
Fairtrade labels such as people tree ensure that workers making their clothes have been given a fair deal and are not part of the the three billion people in the world working to earn less than $2 a day. The number of fairtrade labels is growing and this has ensured that it is possible to have a conscious and wear the most up to date and hottest and most stylish fashions.
There are many ways to shop guilt free from cost effective high street shops to the more expensive designer labels. Here are a few of the best:-
Topshop - both vintage and fairtrade clothing ranges
Next- organic cotton clothing range
Monsson - organic cotton clothing range
Marks and Spencer - organic cotton clothing range and committed to intoducing 20 million garments made from fairtrade certified cotton ove rthe next year
Sainsbury-‘s- Fairtrade cotton range
Tesco - Fairtrade cotton range designed by Katherine Hamnett
www.adili.com - an ethical label shopping site.
Www.ciel.ltd.uk - A favourite label of celebs with a conscious
www.fromsomewhere.co.uk - label using offcuts of materials from Italian factories
www.Katherinehamnett.com - Designer using fairtrade cotton
www.noir-illuminati2.com - high end fashion with ethical credentials.
Www.peopletree- favourite ethical label
www.ethicalthreads.co.uk - 100% organic cotton t shirts
www.junkystyling.co.uk - trendy recycled clothing
For further information
www.ethicalfashionforum - a network of designers, businesses and organisations focussing on social and environmental sustainability in the fashion industry.
Www.wearorganic.org - details of brands selling organic cotton
www.waronwant.org- details of how to exert your power to influence companies to become more ethical.
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