The issue of ethically produced clothing first caught my attention at the beginning of the school year when a friend noticed that school trousers contain Teflon. Horrified by the prospect of putting her son in clothing covered by the same material as that used on non-stick cook wear - she began the search into 100% organic cotton school uniforms. And discovered it was no easy task.
When it comes to buying ethical clothing, the perception seems to be that you have to sacrifice style, and often pay a higher price. Although nobody would knowingly buy something made by slave or child-labour, with so many retailers now selling really affordable clothing, it's hard to know (but easy to suspect) just what it is keeping their prices down.
Many of the bigger retailers here in the UK (Oasis, M&S, TopShop) are making an effort to sell clothing made from 100% organic cotton. Something the Howies brand has been doing for years. Howies have an ethical policy that runs throughout their business and are committed to campaigning for fair treatment of labourers working in clothing factories. Often smaller companies bravely take on the retail giants with their strong, uncompromising ethics and in the case of clothing retail, it has had the positive outcome of driving change on to the high street. The demand for organic cotton goes up, the organic cotton market grows to satisfy demand, more cotton is grown organically, the environment benefits, we get to buy ethically produced clothing and so the virtuous circle is completed - through our involvement in a bit of retail therapy.
Aside from the larger high street stores who are 'greening' themselves, more and more 'born green' clothing brands are appearing as designers and retailers seek to express their desire to create socially and environmentally aware products. People Tree, American Apparel, Terra Plana, Ethletic are a few of the more recognisable names and just last week we met a designer, Eloise Grey, who makes coats out of organic tweed. Using no dyes or chemicals we were delighted to hear her describe the colour of the tweed as changing depending on the 'shade of sheep'.
Although occasionally you may have to pay that little bit extra, it is worth knowing that you are not impacting the environment, or some distant community, negatively. Pay a bit more, but buy things that last, not for a weekend, or even a season, but for a few years. We can take back our planet and look fabulous doing it!
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