Issue 160

Ethical Clobber

19th November 2007

By now most of us are pretty familiar with fairtrade and organic foods and how we can do our bit for the environment when we do the weekly supermarket shop; however the image that organic and fair-trade clothing is something reserved for pot smoking hippies is only just rapidly fading.

In the past year there has been a mini-revolution on the high street with many popular stores carrying ethical ranges. It can be confusing working out what each store is offering, as not all organic brands are fair-trade and vice versa. Basically it's the same principle used for food items applied to clothing. 'Organic cotton' has been produced without the use of pesticides and 'fair-trade' means that the producer has been paid a fair price for their product.

What you are most likely to find on the high street are ranges of organic cotton in shops like New Look or Dorothy Perkins.

It is mostly just t-shirts, although New Look do some organic jeans (but they were hidden in with the normal jeans last time I went in there) and are only available in a standard length. Fairtrade wise Marks and Spencer's range of plain t-shirts are probably the best, they also offer a range of recycled fleeces (made out of used plastic bottles), shockingly I felt myself turning into my mother and musing that they would be perfect for those cold winter nights.

If you're not into high street brands then it is worth making a trip to Gringos in Swansea, situated in-between Wilkinson's and Oxford Street, there you should be able to get clothing that is that bit more unique. All of their clothing is organic and fair-trade and they don't just do clothes - they have scarves, bags and a variety of rugs and gift type ornaments perfect for Christmas presents.

It is worth keeping your eyes peeled at seasonal Christmas markets or European markets as well and anything that has been produced locally, the fewer air-miles an item has travelled the better.

The internet is defiantly leading the way in terms of fair-trade and organic clothing, with a wide choice of fabrics and natural dyes. Try looking at companies such as People Tree (who do have an agreement with Topshop - but it's a bit hit and miss in Swansea), Natural Collection, American Apparel and Ascension clothing.

The problem here is not being able to try before you buy and delivery costs put the price up, but ultimately if you want to restock your wardrobe with green items then this is one of the easiest ways to do it.

At the end of the day it is not about us all throwing away everything in our wardrobes or refusing to buy things that are not ethically produced but being aware of the alternatives and using them where possible.

Look at labels as often as you can - if it is produced in the UK or EU then it will have fewer air/petrol miles (and will be sweatshop free). Finally, just one cotton t-shirts that I have actually feel nicer against my skin, proving that organic clothing isn't just for hippies!

Kirsty Weakley