H&M - Greening up their Act

Recently I came across an H&M advert in the paper – an eye catching yellow dress for only £14.99...and made from recycled polyester! How very eco-friendly their current sustainable style range is and there is something for both girls and guys! Keeping up with being green, their Spring Conscious Collection will actually be very white in colour.

When we think of eco-friendly materials, I for one automatically think organic cotton. H&M have been using organic cotton for a while and their aim is to increase the amount they use by 50% every year till 2013. They’re even committed to supporting cotton farmers to make the transition of using more environmentally friendly and sustainable methods of producing cotton, rather than to use fertilizers which are harmful to the environment and to health. But it’s great to see that they are using unconventional materials like recycled polyester made from PET bottles. Who would have thought you could get a dress from a plastic bottle!

Looks like H&M have made a u-turn since last year after a string of bad publicity for unethical practises. First of all they were in the news for cutting up unsold merchandise, next they were exposed for organic cotton fraud and, just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, a Bangladeshi factory that was supplying H&M caught fire killing 21 workers due to poor fire safety equipment.

Despite all of this, H&M seem to be making an effort to respect and help protect the environment. Though, I do wonder how they keep the costs of their clothing so affordable...let’s hope they’ve learnt their lesson and that I don’t have to blog about their labour practises in the future.

Image Credit: Tnarik on Flickr at Creative Commons

Organic cotton? What’s the point?

When I’m looking for ethical clothes online, I tend to find a lot of shops selling organic cotton. But why is organic cotton more ethical?

I found that non-organic cotton uses a quarter of the world’s pesticides while organic cotton only uses 16%. Pesticides contain toxins that contaminate air and water, putting the farmers who have to use them at high risk of falling ill or dying. That’s not all...

• The largest producer of cotton is India, and according to the Environmental Justice Foundation in Andhra Pradesh, India, over 100,000 children have been documented working for 13 hours a day on cotton farms for not much more than peanuts.

• 7 of the top 15 pesticides are more than likely to contain carcinogens, which are known to cause cancer.

• Have you noticed that sometimes a non organic cotton wearer’s skin can get irritated and cause eczema? One of the reasons is because the chemicals in the garment are reacting or chaffing against the skin. People with sensitive skin have to be especially careful. So if you have found your skin getting drier and itchy, the finger of blame could be pointed to your t-shirt.

So why IS organic better than non-organic cotton? Non-organic cotton is bad for our skin, our environment, our health and the health of the people involved in the process.

So then, why do we use it? The answer to this is simple and the same answer we give for everything else, it is cheaper and faster to grow. Clothes are now in higher demand than in the last few years, but we forget that cotton does not grow as fast as we consume the clothes.

Should we continue the way we have been going, or do you think slowing down fashion and letting nature catch up with our thirst for more is worth it?

Perhaps this will help answer the question...

Frankie says Relax

Do you remember the “Frankie says relax” t-shirt? Well Katherine Hamnett was the brains behind it.

Her politically charged slogan based t-shirts have been high in demand ever since she introduced them in the 80’s.

When she discovered that conventional cotton agriculture was responsible for 10,000 deaths per annum from accidental pesticide poisoning, she decided to try and change the fashion industry from within. She launched the “Clean up or Die” collection which incorporated organic cotton into all her designs.

Katherine has lobbied hard for changes in the manufacturing process for all clothes to be ethical, but has struggled to bring about change. She too believes that the change needs to be demanded by the people who have the buying power. So her clothes carry messages that will hopefully trigger something that will make consumers change their ways.

“Shocked by what she saw in Africa, Katherine decided she had to be the demand for organic cotton and drive the demand, thereby helping farmer’s trade their way out of poverty”- Katharine Hamnett

As consumers we are always in control of what we are buying and it’s important to not forget that. It’s only when the public shows they care about the environment, will brands integrate the ethical philosophy into their products.

Do you think a political slogan on a t-shirt can influence change?

Image Credit- Fighting With Spoons on Flickr at Creative Commons 

Confused about what to do?... I am!

Spot the difference

Left: Finisterre Hoodie £90, Right: Topman Hoodie £20

As I started my day today at work, I did the usual: checking emails, reading the news and answering the phone. In between all that, I thought I would take a 5 minute break and see if there were any ethical online shops selling men’s blazers. Well, half an hour later I didn’t find a blazer but I saw this hoodie on Finisterre.

Finisterre were founded in 2002, the UK-based company has always tried to produce high quality athletic gear with the least amount of ecological impact. So they’re an ethical brand. This hoodie retails for £90. Here’s the shocking part. I have seen a similar one in Topman for £20!

They are almost similar in look, except the £90 hoodie on the left has been made with Finisterre’s philosophy of trying to make sustainable clothes to help preserve the world we live in. It is made from organic cotton / merino wool fabric.

And the Topman hoodie on the right is made from 50% polyester and 50% cotton. Polyester is a plastic, and manufacturing polyester burns large amounts of hydrocarbons and a significant amount of CO2 is released into the atmosphere. This is creating the greenhouse effect, and in turn spurs climate change on.

So there’s a dilemma, do I buy the cheaper one or the one, that will not have as much of a negative impact on the environment and is of better quality?

Which would you choose?

Emma Watson launches new line of clothes.

"I think young people like me are becoming increasingly aware of the humanitarian issues surrounding fast fashion and want to make good choices but there aren't many options out there."
- Emma Watson

Emma Watson aka Hermione from the Harry Potter films has designed a clothing line for People Tree with everything made in India, Bangladesh and Nepal by hand from 100% organic and Fairtrade-certified cotton. About time we were given an alternative to toxin ridden cotton garments.

Organic cotton is grown from non-genetically modified plants and doesn’t use fertilisers or pesticides. Regular cotton can pollute water and poison animals as it is grown with fertilisers and pesticides. Animals fed with food containing cotton seed oil can be poisoned.

The Fairtrade labels all around the coffee counter remind us to choose our coffee carefully but when were in a clothes store we don’t have anything pointing us in the right direction. With recent articles and TV specials we have all become more aware of where our clothes are coming from but we don’t know where to find alternatives. So it’s a positive step to see someone as high profile and fashionable as Emma Watson encouraging us to shop more cautiously.

Emma Watson will be showcasing her new collection for People Tree at the Fairwear 2010 fashion show, at Bristol Cathedral on Thursday, 25th of February.

Image Credit- David Shankbone on Wikimedia Commons at Creative Commons