Tuesday, April 28, 2009

ORGANIC & FAIRTRADE FASHION DOING JUST FINE

Have you been looking over your shoulder wondering if that credit crunch has hit support for eco fashion? Then worry not. Good news comes in two forms from key opinion forming organizations.

A GlobeScan survey on Fairtrade support, commissioned by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) and ahead of celebrations for World Fair Trade Day 2009 on 9 May suggests Fairtrade certified cotton clothing is far from doom and gloom. Among the sample surveyed across fifteen counties, three quarters of shoppers still feel that companies should be going that one step further and ‘actively support community development in developing countries’ with nine out of ten people trusting the labels of the FAIRTRADE Certification Mark or North American Fair Trade Certified™. Despite the economy, 2008 sales overall were on the increase too, from 10% in the US to a whopping 75% in Sweden.

Binod Mohan, Chairman of the Network of Asian Producers and member of the FLO Board says, ‘We in Asia have faith in the consumer and their loyalty to buying Fairtrade products. For the shopper these are staple products; for the farmer in the developing world the purchase of Fairtrade makes a big difference and we know consumers realize this.’

Recent organic market reports from the UK’s Soil Association showed that the sales of organic certified textiles are also softening the blow of the recession. Sales forecasts are suggested to rise three times over by 2012, and sales exceeded a monumental mark of £100 million in 2008, with high street retailers M&S and New Look alone selling 3.4 million organic items.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is great to hear! Everyone should be concerned and try to support these trends as they benefit everyone! I recently discovered a new clothing company based out of Atlanta called INDIE PEACE. After checking out their site I became even more of a fan:

"INDIE PEACE is a fashion brand first, all INDIE garments are made from socially responsible fabrics.

We are making our mark without leaving one

All INDIE products are created under the guidelines of our trademarked descriptor “PEACE GOODS.” PEACE GOODS by definition means that every consideration is given to the social and environmental impact of the design, manufacture, sale and distribution of our product.

In terms of manufacturing, PEACE GOODS means that all INDIE clothing is made with 100% certified organic cotton, hemp, RPET(recycled poly), or bamboo. PEACE GOODS means we only use natural or low impact dyes and water based printing inks. It means we make every attempt to minimize the amount of travel INDIE PEACE clothing must make throughout the supply chain. We use minimalistic and socially responsible packaging.

The FAIR TRADE COMPLIANT factories making INDIE PEACE clothing are located in the USA. INDIE PEACE has chosen a localized supply chain for specific social and environmental reasons, from providing work for USA factories and their local, skilled work force, to reducing the amount of transportation required for travel through our supply chain. Some of the factories are even less than a mile from each other.

Social responsibility is a core value of INDIE PEACE. The company is committed to the “cradle to cradle” awareness and protection of the resources used to provide our high quality fashion to the people who crave it while leaving the lightest possible footprint on the planet in the process.

INDIE has taken a leading role in the socially responsible movement. INDIE donates a percentage of sales to select charitable organizations whose missions support the conservation of the environment and the aid of its people."

Their shirts not only follow these environmentally friendly guidelines but fit my husband amazing too!

Check them out at www.indiepeace.com