Ethical Fashion: What, Why and Why Now?

Overview

What is ethical fashion, why is it important, and why are we just hearing about it now? Well, to answer these questions we start with what is wrong with clothing production today. Most clothing available in stores today is produced in an unethical manner using sweatshop and/or child labour to ensure a larger profit margin. Manufacturers use unsustainable fabrics like non-organic cotton (dubbed as natural, it accounts for almost 25% of all pesticide use) and polyester (which is a petroleum by-product). They use conventional dying practices which release chlorine, chromium, and other pollutants into the environment posing a health risk to the farmers, assemblers and wearers (7 of the top 15 pesticides used on conventional US cotton crops are “possible” to “known” human carcinogens). The shift to ethical production practices in the clothing industry has been undeniably important for a long time making the market ripe for a positive change. Consumers are starting to demand better.

What is Ethical Fashion?

Ethical fashion is that which is produced using: fairly-paid and fairly-treated adult workers; sustainable fabrics and materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and reclaimed or recycled materials; low-impact fiber-reactive dyes or vegetable dyes; respect for a healthy environment and/or product for the farmer, the assembler, and the wearer of the clothing.

Why Ethical Fashion?

We are all responsible for how our own lifestyles affect the environment. Simple measures can be taken to achieve big changes by simply switching our buying patterns to include products made of low impact materials. Positive pressure on businesses who have yet to volutarily clean up their acts is very easily applied by simply choosing not to spend money on their products, and helping – little by little – to grow the businesses who have made an explicit commitment to responsible business practice.

Why Now?

The wonderful thing about the booming ethical fashion industry is the huge variety of designs, colours, cuts, fabrics and sizes now available. Long stigmatized as cousin to the burlap sack, the ethical offerings today are design-oriented. Designers with heart are creating beautiful, sexy, edgy, classic, current, imaginative, and, yes, flattering pieces – ethics will simply not be compromised and thankfully neither will the look and feel of their work. Reducing our footprint can be done without making any sacrifices.

One of the main driving forces of the ethical fashion boom is public awareness. Thanks to exposés on large manufacturers, the fact that sweatshop labour is used for the overwhelming majority of production can no longer be ignored. The power of boycotting has been demonstrated, as has the power of voting with our dollars to support good practice. Thanks to accessible work like “An Inconvenient Truth”, the lay person is no longer free to assuage their environmental guilt with the denial of the existence of climate change. Thanks to alternative medical practitioners, who deal with cause instead of just symptom, we're learning that we can build health by surrounding ourselves with and consuming healthy things.

Consumers are growing weary of the quantity without quality mentality. Most designers with an ethical bent to their art, work in small batches, producing high quality goods with exceptional fabrics. Consumers are, in growing numbers, appreciating the right to vote with their dollars; and are exercising it to support expansion of the sustainable textile industry, small farmers and farm co-operatives. We're all looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact, increase our social contribution, ease our consciences, hold on to some creature comforts, and continue celebrating art in all its forms.

Ethical Fashion

An Ethical Clothing Company Story

It may sound like a talkative monkey, but Gossypium is something even stranger- a clothing company that puts farmers first.

Their name comes from the Latin for cotton, and expresses their unexpected belief that the way clothes are made is as important as how they look. All their clothes are made from 100% organic Indian cotton woven on handlooms to prevent wasting energy and the build up of cloth mountains and without the use of any GM seeds.

The cotton they use is grown by farmers supported by the Agrocel farmers centre. Based in Gujerat, Agrocel helps farmers grow their crops completely organically with technical advice, support and regular visits. The 60 farmers are paid a fair, above market price for their produce, and have a long-term sustainable relationship with the company.

Abigail Garner, a director of the company, set up the first clothing collection for Traidcraft and knew how important it was to treat not just the farmers well, but the earth too. Instead of chemical colours, Gossypium uses vegetable dyes, a time-consuming but high quality alternative. No waxes or chemical treatments are used to spin the cotton.

The clothes are stitched in India and Gossypium is working towards total transparency and independent monitoring. Thomas Petit, a company director explains that in the meantime they visit the factories themselves, We try and use the same factories as fair trade organisations use. Where this isnt possible we visit the factories ourselves?. They have also set up an education fund linked to the garments, each item stitched means more money to buy books for local schools.

Gossypium has its own fashion and print designer who adds a fresh edge to the ethical and environmentally conscious company. Their yoga collection is particularly popular because wearers know they are helping others while they reach their higher plane! The collection is already stocked in 30 shops throughout the UK. Its growing fast and is very popular, says Tom.

Their childrens clothes are perfect for sensitive babies and their sensitive parents who prefer not to wrap their offspring in chemicals, and the hardwearing material withstands the games of the most robust kids. For adults the emphasis is on simplicity and comfort, but never at the expense of fit or style. We especially like their slash neck tops and strappy vests.

Gossypium is bent on not just altering the fashion industry but turning it on its head to give power to the producers. Because of this, all profits are shared between Agrocel and the design/sales part of the company. The aim is to get as many farmers into Agrocel as possible, giving them the freedom to work without endangering themselves with pesticides and to be paid fairly for their work. The unique combination of ethics and style will ensure pretty soon everyone will be talking about Gossypium.

Davinos Greeno

Giant Step for Ethical Fashion

Trends

Food companies have been at the fore of responding to consumer demand for more ethical and environmental information on the products they buy, but now clothing firms are following suit.

Outdoor-apparel company Patagonia's website (www.patagonia.com) lets customers track the impact of its wares by giving details of the distance its garments travel, their carbon footprint and the energy used during production.

Timberland (www.timberlandonline. co.uk, pictured) grades its products on climate impact, chemicals used and resource consumption on its labelling.


And Danish high-fashion brand Noir (www.noir-illuminati2.com) is set to reveal the provenance of its fabrics on its labels, as well as an ethical "certification" that details how the product was made.

Thanks to thefuturelaboratory.com

by MIRIAM RAYMAN

Business, Ethics, And The Law

The primary objective of a business is to make money. Why would an individual or group of people start a business if he did not want to make money? An argument that is generated by some is: "Should profits be the only function of a business?"

The desire for businesses to make money can sometimes lead to what is considered unethical business practices. Keep in mind the words unethical and unlawful are two separate terms with two separate meanings. One side of the argument states that ethics should not play a part in business as long as the business abides by the law of the land then they should not concern themselves with ethical behavior, but they should act in the best interest of the organization. The other side of the argument states that for an economy to function in a capitalist fashion that businesses must act in an ethical fashion regardless if their actions are legal under law.

Milton Friedman contends that the sole responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Robert Almeder maintains that if capitalism is to survive, it must act in a socially responsible ways that go beyond profit making. The views of these two individuals go to the heart of the argument. This author believes that after reading their material that the views of both are exaggerated. I do believe that a business's responsibilities do go beyond what is legal. A business has a responsibility not only to the owners or stockholders, but also to the consumer who trust the business is acting not only in a legal manner but a safe and ethical manner as well. If a business goes out of its way to act in an unethical fashion then the business has broken their trust with the consumer. Once a business loses the trust of their consumers then profits will plummet. Seeing that profits are the primary function of a business then it is in the businesses best interest to maintain a trusting relationship with the consumers and continue to act in safe and ethical manner.

Keeping in mind that it is not the purpose of a business to propose or to dictate legislature nor ethical behavior to the individual, a business should not be held accountable for what a small population of consumers consider unethical. If the practice of the business is out in the open and hazards of their products are readily published and do not present the possibility of death involuntarily to the consumer then legislature should not dictate ethical behavior to business nor individuals for that matter.

Joseph Brochin

what is ethical fashion

We’ve talked a bit about the fashion industry in previous posts, and about the high cost of our cheap clothes. What we haven’t explored is where you can get ethical clothes from. That’s mainly because I didn’t know at the time, and I’ve been on a bit of a hunt.

Firstly though, what is ethical fashion?

I’d say there are two areas to look at - the people, and the environment. Or, if you prefer, fairtrade standards and organic standards.

Fartrade standards

Fairtrade standards are about the workers - both those who sew the clothes, and those who produce the raw materials. There are 30 million cotton farmers worldwide, in 90 different countries. Much of the crop comes from developing countries. Fairtrade cotton ensures that the growers are paid a living wage, and that women and children are not exploited in the harvesting of cotton.

It’s also about the people who make the clothes. Do they get a fair wage? What are their working conditions? What kinds of hours do they have to work? Do they get holidays and time off? Can they form unions to represent their views to their employers? Sweatshops are normal, but that does not make them right. Look up clean up fashion to find out more about this.

Organic standards

Secondly, ethical fashion respects the earth. Growing cotton is a polluting business. Cotton accounts for 3% of all cultivated land, but uses 20% of all chemical pesticides. Eight times more chemicals are used on cotton than on an average food crop. This pollutes rivers and soils, and it also has serious effects on the people working in the fields. A large percentage of the 20,000 deaths attributed every year to pesticides, are in the cotton fields of the developing world. A lot of these pesticides are unnecessary - cotton can be protected from pests with chilli, soap, or garlic. Further chemicals are used in processing and dyeing the cotton. One company estimates that 8000 different chemicals are used in producing a t-shirt.

Ideally then, ethical fashion is clothing that has been made with fairtrade organic cotton, in sweatshop-free conditions.

So where can you find those kinds of clothes? Well, they’re not as easy to find as they should be, but it is a growth market and it’s slowly making its way onto the high street. Here are some brands I’ve found - apologies for the menswear bias. Please add any more you know in the comments.

Marks and Spencer - M+S are leading the way in fairtrade cotton. They don’t use it in everything, so ask if you’re not sure. I believe they plan to use it in their entire range within five years.

Howies - this is a great little outdoor-wear company based in Wales, doing unpretentious high quality clothing with a sense of humour.

American Apparel - made in LA and setting a standard for the US clothing industry. They have a store in London, just across the way from Howies’ on Carnaby Street.

People Tree - a pioneering company making their clothes in co-ops in the developing world. I have a hand-sewn shirt from them and it feels unique and special.

Seasalt - a Cornish company making colourful organic clothing. I found them on holiday over the summer.

THTC - The Hemp Trading Company. There are lots of good reasons why hemp is a great sustainable crop - it grows so fast it doesn’t give weeds a chance, it needs almost no pesticides, and can be grown on marginal land. THTC specialise in music industry t-shirts and sweatshirts.

Kuyichi - streetwise organic denim, named after the Peruvian God of the rainbow, in case you were wondering.

Patagonia - outdoor and hiking company with a genuine passion for the environment.

Timberland - a bigger company taking responsibility, in a lumberjack kind of way.

Gossypium - a good range of environmentally sound and people-friendly clothing.

Ascension - fairtrade organic jeans, trousers and t-shirts for men and women.

Equop - vote for your favourite t-shirt designs.

Little green radicals - ethical babywear

That ought to do you for starters. There are loads more little companies doing interesting things on a smaller scale. Check out Inhabitat’s fashion category for some more quirky suggestions, including belts from recycled fire hoses, and handbags with solar panels, and some sensible things too. The Guardian’s ethical clothing galleries are great too, particularly for women’s wear and more fashionable stuff, and for accessories and shoes too.

What is Ethical Fashion

Forget Hippy — Ethical Fashion is Hip

Retailer interest in apparel brands that guarantee workers' rights and are environmentally friendly has reached such a peak that manufacturers now worry whether they can keep up with demand.

Until recently relegated to the fringes of the fashion world, ethical brands are fast becoming more mainstream. Widespread media coverage of the movement — plus platforms at events like Paris's Prêt-à-Porter trade show and London Fashion Week — have raised the profile of ethical fashion, so designers are becoming less concerned about how to find distribution than how to manage big orders.

"I don't know how we'll do the quantities," said Peruvian-born designer Judith Condor-Vidal, whose clothing and accessories made by 26 fair-trade cooperatives in South America and Asia will feature in PPR-owned La Redoute's winter 2007 catalogue.

"In the same way as people want to know where their chicken is from, they want to know where their clothes come from."
Averyl Oates, Harvey Nichols

As well as La Redoute, the ethical fashion movement has succeeded in capturing the attention of a broad spectrum of retailers, including high-end specialty chains.

"We've been watching this movement, looking at eco-type brands which have a strong fashion statement first," said Barbara Atkin, fashion director at Canada's Holt Renfrew, which has picked up Danish socially conscious brand Noir for spring.

"We're of the opinion that you can be fashionable and care about the world," added Averyl Oates, buying director at Harvey Nichols. The British retailer is hunting for other brands to stock alongside Noir, which it has carried for two seasons, and Edun, which it picked up this year. Edun is the socially conscious clothing brand created by Ali Hewson, Bono and designer Rogan Gregory.

"Provenance is key for consumers," Oates said. "We're finding that like the food market, in the same way as people want to know where their chicken is from, they want to know where their clothes come from."

Sales of ethically sourced clothing, which includes organic cotton, fair-trade clothes and recycled items, grew 30 percent in the U.K. to 43 million pounds, or $81 million at current exchange, in 2004, according to the Co-operative Bank's Ethical Consumerism report. Meanwhile, ethically motivated secondhand clothing purchases increased 42 percent to 383 million pounds, or $718 million.

While more recent statistics are not yet available, this year's Ethical Fashion Show, which took place in Paris from Oct. 13 to 16, suggests that growth isn't likely to slow anytime soon. More than 4,000 visitors, including scores of international media, attended the four-day event, a 54 percent jump over 2005. Featuring 60 brands from five continents, the third edition of the trade fair demonstrated how much the ethical category has diversified over the last year. Literally combining grassroots and high-end, designers ranged from newcomers like Yagan, a Chilean jewelry brand made from woven grass reeds, to better-known names such as Edun.

In addition to carrying ethical brands, major retailers are recruiting designers to make collections exclusively for them. La Redoute, for example, has carried its own fair-trade collection for two seasons and this year awarded two designers at the Ethical Fashion Show the opportunity to develop items for its winter 2007-2008 catalogue. Items by the winners, Brazilian brand Tudo Bom and Judith Condor-Vidal, will be available to La Redoute's 13 million subscribers next June. While Condor-Vidal had initial concerns about how she'll manage the orders, the designer, who is a member of the International Fairtrade Association and the U.K.'s Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF), is also an economist.

"It's an amazing opportunity. If big companies buy it, there is a much bigger impact," she said. "If I can help more people, well, that's my role."

Condor-Vidal has begun another partnership with hot U.K. retailer Topshop. The chain will take a collection of Bolivian waistcoats shunned by other retailers that have been redesigned by fashion students to create a line of handbags for spring-summer.

And Topshop announced at the Ethical Fashion Show that the winning designs of a Design4Life Ghana competition it supported are to be retailed at the chain. The competition was run by EFF in collaboration with the nongovernmental organization Tabeisa. The two winners' batik dresses, produced by Women in Progress, a Ghana-based fair-trade cooperative, will be available this spring.

"EFF on this occasion brought Topshop buyers to the table initially as judges," explained Elizabeth Laskar, director of global communications and events at EFF. "Through dialogue, this led to an even more positive outcome."

The backing of the fast-fashion retailer has lent kudos to the term "ethical" and given new confidence to aspiring designers hoping to tap into demand for fashion-forward yet ethical clothing and accessories.

"Brands need to tell a compelling story," said Holt Renfrew's Atkin. "But consumers have to love it and be drawn it to first. Then when they find out that by buying [a brand] they are making a difference, they feel great."

Those were the motivations behind Numanu Label of Love, a collection created using fair-trade and organic silk, cotton and wool, which will open a freestanding boutique in Paris's lively Marais neighborhood next month.

Founded by Anglo-French couple Olivia Lalonde and Emmanuel Walliser, the brand is designed "to attract people who are maybe less informed about fair trade who just like the clothes," according to Lalonde.

Consumers then find out that by buying a silk top, they have helped support marginalized communities in India and Cambodia. Lalonde's former career as a children's rights campaigner and Walliser's as an international banker makes for a formidable business objective: "To create as big a commercial base for Numanu as possible in order to maintain sustainable incomes for the largest number of people," Lalonde explained. The brand, which won the Ethical Fashion Show 2006 award, donated two-thirds of its prize money to its cooperatives.

Likewise Les Racines du Ciel (The Roots of the Sky, in English), a year-old brand, takes its name from a 1956 novel by Romain Gary about the environment. The moniker is meant to highlight its commitment to environmental issues. Yet the quality and softness of the recycled kimonos, silk and organic cotton tops, in soft pinks and grays, are designed to draw a fashion-conscious customer who might be surprised to learn the items are naturally dyed with sweet potatoes and mud.

Nathalie Goyette, the brand's development manager, first saw the natural dyeing techniques when on a trip to China years ago. She kept some material, and a chance meeting with a Chinese student in France connected her to a supplier who helped create the environmentally sound collection. Demand has since boomed. "I started out ordering 50 meters of fabric, and now it's more than 1,000," she said.

Similarly, the founders of six-month-old brand Fées de Bengale (Fairies of Bengal in English) place fashion and ethics on a level footing. Their feminine collection of organic silk and cotton tops targets concept stores and ethically focused boutiques, yet the brand's name conjures up images of the women who hand-sew the collection in India.

"It's a mutual exchange. We wanted to make the most of the women's savoir faire," said Elodie Le Derf, the brand's stylist who previously worked at Vanessa Bruno, explaining the couturiers give them feedback and ideas for designs.

Art. 23, founded by the French Fair Trade Co. in September, is also aiming for a chic yet caring image. The trendy collection of minimalist shirtdresses and tuxedo-inspired shirts was designed by Adam Love, who has worked with Karl Lagerfeld and Antik Batik, yet its name pays homage to its social commitments, providing a decent living for the disadvantaged women who make it in India. Referring to Article 23, the universal declaration of human rights, "immediately prompts consumers to think of the respect of human rights," said Art. 23 commercial director Marie Mamgioglou.

As ethical brands multiply both in number and in style, not to mention marketing savvy, so do calls for greater transparency across the entire supply chain. Participants at this year's Ethical Fashion Show had to answer a nine-page questionnaire covering environmental issues and workers' rights, as well as social and business objectives. Each brand's ethical claims were then identified for buyers, either fair trade, traditional skills, recycling, organic or social projects.

Show organizer Isabelle Quéhé said deciding on a definition of what is in fact ethical is problematic. For Quéhé, pure silk ready-to-wear pieces and evening gowns from designer Torgo based on traditional Mongolian costumes epitomize what is ethical.

"It's about promoting the traditions in less-wealthy southern countries, where the older generation is dying — and that savoir faire with them," she said.

Equally, designers using recycled materials, such as Bilum, which makes funky bags from advertising posters and seat belts, fit her definition. And for the first time the show featured a Canadian designer who employs recycled fur. Quéhé's reasoning: "If it wasn't reused, it would be thrown away in land-fill sites. It's less polluting to recycle it."

The more the ethical clothing category continues to grow, the less it seems another passing fad.

"[Ethics] are part and parcel of modern life," said Harvey Nichols' Oates, pointing to the popularity of Al Gore's documentary on the environment, "An Inconvenient Truth," as evidence of growing sensibilities. "We are not saying that fashion is going to change the world," said Quéhé, "but these amazing stories are just many more drops in the ocean.

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Ethical, Organic, Sustainable

Ethical, organic, sustainable – you’ve heard these terms but what do they really mean?

Bamboo – the panda’s favourite food can be used instead of cotton to make clothes. Bamboo grass grows fast without chemicals, so provides a ready supply of material.

But the process of turning bamboo into yarn and cloth can involve chemicals and may use a lot of water – some factories are better than others. To make sure the bamboo has been sourced environmentally, it’s a good idea to ask where the raw bamboo comes from and how it’s processed.

Cotton – needs lots of water and fertiliser to grow. Traditionally, farmers use chemical fertiliser and pesticides to grow cotton. The chemicals can damage farmers’ health and pollute the water supply. Growing cotton can spoil the soil quality, leaving it open to erosion, which leads to areas of land around the globe becoming unusable. Organic cotton is better for the environment because the farmers don’t use chemical pesticides.

Ethical fashion – fashion that has been made, worn and passed on in a way that looks after people, animals and the environment.

Fairtrade – the Fairtrade Mark is an independent, consumer label administered by the UK's Fairtrade Foundation and its international partners. If produce carries the Fairtrade Mark, it means the producer’s been inspected, certified and operates to international environmental and social standards. In return, the producer is guaranteed a fair price for their produce. The price includes extra money to invest in community projects such as schools.

Fair trade – the fair trade movement is about making sure producers in developing countries get paid a fair price for their goods. It’s also about improving working conditions for those who produce them. But the words 'fair trade' are not an official brand and have no certification behind them.

Fast fashion – clothing made quickly and sold cheaply in bulk. It means we can afford a new outfit each week but the clothes may not last long and soon end up in the bin.

Hemp – from the cannabis family, hemp can be used instead of cotton to make clothes. Hemp grows easily without heavy use of chemicals and is not as harsh on the soil as cotton. It needs less water than cotton to grow but it does take more energy to process and can involve chemicals. As it’s anti-bacterial, you don’t need to wash hemp clothes as often as cotton ones – better for the environment.

Labour rights – the rights of people who work in the clothing industry from raw material to finished garment. In developing countries, people often don’t get fair wages and have fewer rights. They may be in short-term contracts so may not get sick pay or holiday pay. Many people find themselves working under conditions that may be harmful to their health. One way of safeguarding workers' rights is through a union, but these are often officially or unofficially banned.

Landfill – aka the dump or tip. When you chuck out clothes, they take up valuable space in landfill and chemicals from them can leach into surrounding soil.

Organic – clothes made from materials grown without chemicals or similar.

Pesticide – a chemical that kills the insects and diseases that damage plants. Pesticides are harmful to the farmers growing the cotton - they can cause illness and even death among cotton farmers if they’re exposed to them every day. Pesticides also affect local eco-systems, killing certain plants and animals and causing an imbalance.

Recycled – old clothes or scraps of materials that are turned into new items. Many ethical designers create new clothes from recycled ones or use industry remnants and off-cuts. Hand-me-downs and second hand/charity shop clothes all count as recycled too.

Refashioned/Restyled – wearing an old garment in a new way, perhaps by customising it. This keeps it in circulation and out of landfill.

Sustainable – producing clothes in a way that’s less damaging to the environment. For example, cotton farmers can reduce the amount of pesticides they use, by using natural methods of controlling the insects that damage their crops. Sustainability also includes a social aspect. For example, small co-operatives can employ people from local communities, helping to prevent migration to cities to find work.

Swishing/Swapping/Shwopping – parties or websites where people exchange clothes they no longer wear.

Vintage – fashionable second-hand clothing from yesteryear, be it a 1960s dress or 1970s chunky platform shoes. Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightly, Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna are all fans.