Guilt Free Shopping – A Guide to Ethical Fashion

The ethical status of a product has recently become a key concern of consumers. Now ethical fashion championed by designer Katherine Hamnett and ethical label People tree is gathering momentum 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 developing countries. By buying clothing made of organic cotton you can help minimise 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 conscious 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 up to date, 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 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.