The thoughtful wardrobe | Trading For Development & Local Wisdom

Sometimes I day dream about setting up my own ethical fashion line, but having been involved with Trading For Development over the past year, a small ethical knitwear and jewellery brand based in Oxford, I have come to realise that doing so is no mean feat. I’ve been helping with the creation and launch of Trading For Development’s new website, Facebook and Pinterest pages, and have been hearing first hand how hard it is to coordinate a team of producers from all over the world on your own, even – and especially – when you have big orders from high street brands like Toast and Topshop. No wonder most fashion lines choose the easy route and prefer not to look too deeply into their supply chains. The middle man may make companies less ethical, but he sure does make things easier.

Based in Oxford, Trading for Development is a business that supplies ethically-minded designers with over 40 contacts to World Fair Trade Organisation certified producers around the world. The company also produces naturally dyed fibres, educates young designers about ethical fashion, and has its own line of knitwear and jewellery, too. Some of Trading For Development’s collections have been sold in the Topshop flagship store in Oxford Circus, London, and this Winter the cosy knitted slipper socks were sold in Toast.

The company motto is that the traditional skills of talented textiles workers around the world are worth protecting, and that having a different attitude to trade can have an incredibly positive effect on small communities, the environment, and our society at large. It may be in the fledgling stages, but Trading For Development’s founder Judith Condor Vidal is a force to be reckoned with, and she is bound to see that it goes far; her company won the 2006-2007 La Redoute Ethical Award, and Judith helped found the Ethical Fashion Forum in London as well as helping to make Oxford a Fairtrade city in 2004.

As Judith herself says, “Fair Trade isn’t perfect. We’re walking a new path, and this is a consumer revolution.” We have to try new ways of doing business, and constantly be working to improve them.

Another perspective on ethical fashion is offered by the creators of Local Wisdom, from the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion. These guys are busy investigating what they call ‘the craft of use’, working on the principle that because around 30% of our wardrobes are unused, perhaps we need to learn enjoy fashion in alternative ways. Instead of focusing on the thrill of purchase, they would like to embed a mentality of caring for our clothes, buying vintage and second hand, and recycling old clothes, into our culture’s consciousness. This fashion research project is ongoing, and runs various workshops around the world to collect information about how you think about your wardrobe. To find out more, or to get info about how to be a part of the project, check out their website here.

For regular ethical fashion news and inspiration, ‘like’ Trading For Development on Facebook, or follow them on Pinterest.

Start 2013 on the right foot: Sophie’s ethical fashion round up

It’s only one month in, but boy oh boy does 2013 look like it’s going to be a great year for sustainable fashion.

Not only has H&M been working hard on their eco credentials with a range of organic cotton (they are one of the biggest buyers of organic cottons in the industry, in fact), they are also set to launch a new range of recycled clothing with Vanessa Paradis as the muse of the collection. To mark the launch, H&M will encourage shoppers to bring in a maximum of two bags of old clothes to hand in for recycling instore, in exchange for an H&M voucher. As any of you who have read Lucy Siegle’s fantastic book, ‘To Die For’, this is a massive step in the right direction. A retail giant reusing fabric and reducing the amount of clothes that end up in landfill? Well, Tesco did it in a collaboration with Orsola de Castro a few years ago, but actively promoting recycling and engaging customers in the activity is a new and incredibly refreshing take on the issue.

I recently made a free account with the new sustainable fashion website, Modavanti, who prove that you don’t have to look (or smell) slightly quirky to belong to the world of ethical fashion anymore. This is the place to come to discover top new stylish eco-brands.

My favourite ethical fashion find recently has to be the lovely brand, Sseko Designs, who make beautiful sandals that you can tie any way you want – you can even buy different ribbons for the sandals, so that you have several different pairs of shoes in one. The principle behind them is something like the one behind TOM’S:

“Sseko \say-ko\ Designs was created to help some of the brightest, most committed young women in Uganda continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Sseko Designs is a not-just-for-profit enterprise that recognizes the power of business and responsible consumerism to support sustainable economic development, which in turn affects a country’s educational, justice, and health care systems. The goal of Sseko Designs is two-fold: provide university tuition for these promising young women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Uganda.”

(Except I think they’re way prettier than TOM’S. But shhh, don’t tell anyone!) I am also rather in love with their beautiful leather tote bags, and have put one on my wishlist for this year.

Oh, and according to the good people at Hidden Costs, it turns out that American Apparel are a lot more ethical than I thought they were – very good to know.

Finally, a little gem to leave you with – Measure Up have created a useful resource to compare the ethical rating of different high street companies, to help you make better consumer decisions, faster. Check it out!

Looking for a sustainable Christmas present this year? Pledge to Sew It Forward

Buying presents for people who say they don’t want a present isn’t easy is it? Nor is it easy to buy presents for ethical fashion fans. If those people also happen to be super stylish, that adds another element of difficulty. You want to get them something good, not something that will lie unworn at the back of their wardrobe, and of course it has to be sustainable. Well, for such people, I think I have found the answer.

It’s called Sew It Forward. The idea is, you pledge to teach the recipient of your gift how to sew (or darn or knit or any other technique that will prolong the life of your clothes) and they in turn promise to pass on a skill. That way useful sewing skills are shared and everyone’s wardrobe’s are improved, meaning less clothes thrown away just because they’re missing a button or have a little tear on the seem, and more clothes are rediscovered because they’ve been given a new lease of life.

The Sew It Forward scheme was launched last Thursday night in the workshop of designer Henrietta Ludgate, alongside the unveiling of The Good Wardrobe, an online hub where users can swap sustainable fashion advice.  Guests were encouraged to take along an item of clothing that was in need of some TLC and experts were on hand with needles and thread. I was wearing mine – the lining of my coat has been coming apart in several places and I was going to take it home to my Mum, but with the help of sewing genius Juliette I found that repairing it wasn’t that difficult, it was just a case of pinning it and stitching it with doubled up thread.

If you’ve already got the skills, why not offer to go round to a friends and together you can tackle some repairs, or get them started on knitting a scarf? If you haven’t got the skills, why not ask a friend who does to teach you or look up a sewing class, then you can start sewing it forward yourself. Compile a simple sewing kit gift of thread, needles and pins to leave with them. The event last week made me remember how relaxing sewing is, because it’s so calm but requires concentration so you can zone out everything else. Plus it’s now really satisfying every time I put my coat on and I don’t accidentally put my hand through the lining. I highly recommend giving it a go.

Visit The Good Wardrobe website and complete your pledge to Sew It Forward.

How I learned to embrace the make do and mend philosophy

Maybe I’ve been a bit slow up the uptake, but it’s not until this year that I’ve really discovered the value of making do and mending. Here I’ve compiled my top three tips for not just how to save money, but how to save beloved items of clothing from getting the toss.

Originating in the title of a wartime Government pamphlet, the ‘make do and mend‘ philosophy has been around for more than 70 years, but it saw a resurrgence in recent years, blamed, as with every retail trend or ubiquitous slogan, on the recession (see also: Keep Calm and Carry On). In 2009, John Lewis produced a modern day MDAM booklet compiling household tips, while website www.make-do-and-mend.org gives lots of advice on how to make your clothes last longer.

1. Dye faded jeans

I practically live in my three pairs of black skinny jeans, but with a combined age well over 10 years, they were starting to look pretty faded, especially on the seams, with white streaks on them from washing powder residue. Rather than shell out on several new pairs, which is what I was about to do, I bought a packet of Dylon Velvet Black Machine Wash Fabric Dye and was amazed with the result. All you do is pour the powder dye into the drum of your washing machine, add 500g salt (so cheap if you get one of those big white tubs of table salt from the supermarket), then wash twice at 40°c, once for the dye, once to rinse it out of the machine. They turned out pleasingly pitch black, and I’ve just bought 2 more packs of dye to get to work on my other pairs.

Saving: 3 packs of dye at £5.94 each versus 3 pairs of jeans at minimum £30 each = £72.18

Left: a pair of faded black jeans. Right: the same pair after dyeing.

2. Take worn out shoes to the cobblers

OK so this wasn’t actually me doing the mending, but by taking my favourite pair of brown boots to the cobblers I saved a packet. Because they’re such useful boots, especially in winter, the heels had worn down all the way to the wood and I thought they might be beyond repair. I had seen a sign in my dry cleaners promising resoling for £25 a pair, but when I took my boots in it turned out they could be reheeled for just £8. I was worried the repair might be really obvious but it was so well done that they looked like new again. If only I had remembered to take a ‘before’ shot of these – trust me, they were seriously worn out.

Saving: An £8 repair versus a new pair of leather brown lace up boots = £50 at least

3. Make unwanted clothes wanted again with alterations

I had a gorgeous sequin-covered vintage dress that I bought a year ago that I had only worn once, mainly because I didn’t like the high neckline. I took it to my local dry cleaners in Vauxhall, where they also do alterations, and for less than a fiver it looked like there’d never been a collar (I took it at the same time as a jacket for dry-cleaning and it cost £7.50 in total). I wore it to my friend’s party last week and got lots of compliments, so I’ll definitely be wearing it more often from now on. A word of warning though: when I took the same dress to a tailor in Pimlico last year to get it taken in, they charged my £40. That is not a typo, the alteration cost more than the dress. So just make sure you know how much they intend to charge before you hand over your garments.

Saving: this one’s a bit harder to quantify, but a £5 alteration versus getting a new dress from, say, H&M, let’s call it £20

Before:

After:

Bespoke designs | The wonderful world of Tephi

I have always loved the idea of dressing the way that people did before the days of fast, disposable fashion; carefully choosing styles, colours, and cuts that suit you and getting a few key items of clothing hand made. Treasuring those clothes and mending them and passing them down through the generations.

It was only relatively recently that people shopped and dressed this way, after all. Not only was it better for the environment (less wasteful because people valued their clothes more and things were made to last), better for the economy and people (fewer sweatshops, greater emphasis placed on quality and skills, and appreciation for fine craftsmanship), and maybe even better for our wallets in the longterm (spending more, less frequently). You only need to read Lucy Siegle’s book To Die For to get a thirst for ethical fashion, and she makes a brilliant argument for a better way of doing things.

The wonderful London-based label, Tephi, still does things this way, and it’s wonderfully refreshing to encounter some good quality, beautiful slow fashion in the heart of our fashion forward capital. Her pieces are the perfect combination of pretty, modern, and yet classic; something about these dresses is timeless. (I suppose they call that Beauty.) You can make an appointment to go to her studio near Gloucester Road, get measured up, choose a style that you like, and can even ask her to combine different elements of several dresses that you like for something truly bespoke. Or you can buy her line ‘off the rail’ – either way, this is not your average shopping experience. Prices range from £290 – £590, somewhere between high street and designer. Totally worth it for a dress that’s made just for you, no?

The Tephi studio/shopping experience

I went to pick up my wedding dress (yes, she also makes wedding dresses) yesterday, and on that note, I’ll be saying goodbye to you for a few weeks – I’m off to get married! I’ll be back and posting again in November. Have fun, kids!

Downton dressing: Gracia Woman

I have to say, I never thought I’d have a craving to wear tweed, but Gracia Woman’s ‘Cliveden’ jacket has given me one. There’s something timelessly British about it. Perhaps all this Royal Wedding/Jubilee/Olympics stuff is finally getting to me. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m marrying an American – something about looking pointedly British is suddenly very appealing. Another tweed trigger is bound to be those stylish Downton Abbey ladies. Let’s all put on our riding jackets and go hunting, what what?

Just as a side note (you all know how obsessed with ethical fashion I am by now), Gracia Woman happens to be ‘eco-luxe’. They were recently awarded the Positive Luxury Blue Butterfly trust mark, and design all their pieces to last using Scottish Glen Mills tweed and fine Italian wool, keeping important European skills from dying out.

Raquel Gracia of Gracia Woman says: “Having a Blue Butterfly trust mark helps communicate the values of Gracia Woman – that fashion can be luxurious, beautiful and ethical.”

In other exciting Downton related news, if you enjoyed Vogue‘s Downton Abbey fashion shoot earlier this year you’ll be glad to hear that Vintage Seekers, the British website dedicated to original 20^th century design and collectibles, are going to be adding to their couture dress collection with a selection of 1920′s original beaded pieces. Just in time for the film release of our favourite 1920′s trend setting classic, The Great Gatsby, too. Have you seen the trailer yet? It’s spine tinglingly cool.

My favourite new brand: a-thread

As every Style & Then Some girl knows the right shade of nail varnish is the perfect way to finish off an outfit. But is it just me or does the smell sometimes make you wonder what’s in it and whether it’s doing your nails any damage?  That’s why I was very excited to discover a brand that makes eco-friendly nail varnish in all sorts of pretty colours.

Scotch Naturals sold by a-thread is the first non-toxic, eco nail varnish that I’ve ever heard of. I didn’t know that such a wonderful thing existed. This range doesn’t contain the nasty things like toluene, dibutyl phithalate, formaldehyde, acetone or heavy metals, and has the added bonus of being vegan, cruelty-free, hypoallergenic, biodegradable, paraben and gluten free. That’s quite an impressive CV.

It gets better; a-thread do a line of clothes and accessories, too. The LA based company, whose motto is: “shop and effect” (which means you can look good, while doing good), donates 5% of every sale to the charity of your choice. Not that you would need any incentive to open your purse other than the clothes themselves, which are oh so chic and on trend. Have a browse of their lovely chiffon shirts and dresses. You will leave feeling summery and inspired. I’ve really got into this whole shopping online thing, recently. I blame Pinterest. (Plus, I just love getting parcels in the post.)

My eco-wishlist | Linda Mai Phung and People Tree

I’ve raved about Linda Mai Phung before – she won the Paris Ethical Fashion show award last September. Well guess what kids, she launched her e-shop the other week, so now her beautifully tailored ethical bright silks can be yours. Oh, but the prices are in euros, so you might need a currency converter. ‘Like’ her Facebook page to stay up-to-date with news, prizes, and special offers. She does smart, elegant, fun work and evening wear better than anyone else on the high street.

KATJA racer back silk tank top, 85 euros, LEA pleated linen shorts, 95 euros

EMILIE pleated flare linen skirt, 85 euros

In other ethical fashion news, People Tree have just launched a gorgeous limited edition cherry blossom necklace. Retailing at £15, for every necklace sold they donate £5 to fundraising efforts for communities in Japan affected by the tsunami.

The Good Fashion Show at London Fashion Week

‘Change is just an outfit away’ – the tagline of one of the most exciting shows at London Fashion Week last week.

Good friend of Style & Then Some from the Tweetups, Olivia Pinnock, was involved in organising the launch of TellusFashion‘s ethical boutique on the Saturday of London Fashion Week at Goodenough College near Russell Square last week, which teamed up with the aptly named Good Fashion Show. Lasting almost two hours in total, this show was unique in that the catwalk was broken up into four sections, with exciting performances from Soul singer Omar, an amazing contortionist, and a traditional Indian dancer, amongst others. A piece by performance artist Lisa Simpson, in which she altered the hem of a dress with her sewing machine while it was still being worn by another woman, served as a visual reminder of the purpose of the evening: to reconnect us with the people who make our clothes, to see clothes as adaptable and reusable and to fulfil their creative potential, making the fashion industry less wasteful and more sustainable.

The catwalk part of the show was a mixed bag, but all the more interesting for its eclectic mix of high fashion, pretty dresses, and revolutionary tees with slogans such as ‘Unfuck the world’ and ‘Who made your pants?’ There was a gorgeous on-trend green silk pleated and striped dress which I loved, and also statement pieces like the dress made out of bubble wrap that challenged you to think about materials and waste. A beautiful dress made out of feathers reminded me of the ballet inspired theme at Marchesa at the recent New York Fashion Week – Black Swan influences sticking around?

TellusFashion is making ethical shopping that little bit more accessible. Have a browse of their ethical boutique to see who’s who in the industry. One of my favourite ethical offerings has to be the one shoulder ruffle ‘Cindy’ dress from American eco designers, Annie and Jade.

Many thanks to the lovely Katherine O’Brien, who was Style & Then Some’s photographer for the event.

Stella McCartney’s pre-London Fashion Week anti-leather campaign

(Image by loop_oh)

Everyone has their ‘angle’ in life, their list of priorities and areas of interest, and this applies just as strongly in the world of ethical fashion as anywhere else. Some people think the environment is the most important issue, others animal welfare, others social justice and human rights. They are all connected, of course (changes in the environment can cause massive flooding and water shortages which ruin livelihoods in the poorest areas of the world, for example), but emphasis can differ dramatically from person to person.

Take Stella McCartney. I’ve always had a vague respect for her animal rights obsession and stance on fur and leather, in as much as I think it’s good to think about where things come from and to take a moral stand and try to make a difference in the fashion industry. As a meat eating social justice/human rights emphasiser, however, I’ve just never got that excited about her. I suppose I’ve always been a bit suspicious of the fact that I’ve not heard anything from her or her brand about why sweatshops are awful, and how humans should be allowed the dignity of working in clean, safe conditions and paid a wage that they can reasonably be expected to live on. (This is not to say that she doesn’t engage with these issues at all – I got in touch with her London press office earlier today to ask what their stance on these issues is, but haven’t heard back yet. I’ll keep you posted with what I find out.) No, I don’t want animals to be kept in appalling conditions before being killed for their fur or skin, but – call me heartless if you will – I do think the human issue has more urgency.

Having said that, however, Stella’s latest campaign with PETA has made me take this whole animal rights thing more seriously. Launched ahead of London Fashion Week, the campaign is promoting an anti-leather video that aims to make people think before buying leather (Stella’s own brand offer stylish alternatives). Not for the faint-hearted, it shows how many cows are skinned while still conscious. Something I find appalling is that a lot of leather comes from India, where cows are traditionally seen as sacred animals. Our demand has made a culture act against it’s own belief system. Twisted?

So Stella is right, this is an important issue. The ideal fur and leather situation I would envisage is probably quite different from that of a vegan. I think wearing vintage fur and leather is fine, that leather sourced humanely and responsibly is fine, and that where it is a genuine by-product of the food industry it is good – better to use all of the animal, and not waste any part of it. Makki‘s handbags, for example, are made from recycled eel skin, a massive by-product in Korea where they eat a lot of eels. Danaqa‘s handbags are made from the skins of goats and cows kept by communities in Ethiopia, meaning that the animals live good lives cared for by families, and they are bred to be eaten anyway.

You will not see me throwing paint on anyone’s clothes at London Fashion Week (I can hear your collective sigh of relief), but I do hope I can find other ways to help the fashion industry to become more responsible in all areas of the production of the beautiful things we love so much.

London’s best ethical shops and boutiques: Style And Then Some’s third guest post for the Telegraph

In Bloom, Portobello: French eco chic

I find it really hard to get my head around the fact that some people don’t like fair trade, kind of like how some people don’t think that we should try to stop global warming, or that sexism and racism don’t exist (or don’t matter). When I wrote my guest post for the Telegraph London blog (following in the footsteps of Katie and the other Sophie), I just assumed that everyone would be on more or less the same page as me – interested in finding out about places where they could shop that are both stylish and beautiful as well as helping, you know, make the world a better place.

The comments are pretty funny – apparently one reader thinks that Free Market Capitalism is the solution to extreme poverty. Yes, really. In this day and age, too, when even the most hardened Capitalists are scratching their heads and having to admit that maybe something, somewhere along the line, went wrong with this supposedly just and infallible system. Survival of the fittest and all that. That might be all very well, but we don’t start with a level playing field in the first place, do we? I work part time at the Ethical Fashion Forum, and a little bit of research into supply chains (hell, just watch Blood Diamond) and it’s clear that the so-called Free Market doesn’t regulate itself. Millions of people are being exploited, and fair trade is trying to address this issue.

But being ‘ethical’ isn’t just about social justice, although that’s a large part of it. It’s also about spending a bit more, and buying a bit less, which is better for the environment because we all have too much stuff and it’s turning into landfill. We all need to be a bit more thoughtful not just about where we shop, but also how we shop.

Read the full article here: London’s best ethical shops and boutiques

Ethical Fashion Reading List – To Die For by Lucy Siegle

Open your wardrobe and take a look inside – how many of those items have you taken care of or even worn? Do you know any of the stories behind how they were made, where and who by? How many could be turned into a whole new piece of clothing? If your answers are none, none and all of them then you need this book.

The fashion industry – designers, magazines, blogs – has been telling us for years to shun cheap, throwaway clothes in favour of investment pieces. And we have sighed and moaned that not all of us can afford a designer price range. What Lucy Siegle does in her new book is to make the case that you get what you pay for and we, as fashion consumers, have the chance to put our money where our soul (or wardrobe) is.

Siegle, who writes about ethical and sustainable fashion, zips through 300 pages throwing in shocking statistics, a bit of history, global comparisons and a lot of fabrics. I loved the finale too – she doesn’t just provide us with a ‘how not to buy’ but also how to achieve style self-sufficiency. Making your own clothes, renting clothes from “libraries”, clothes swapping, knitting with natural yarns and recycling garments a la East London’s Junky Styling.

With Esthetica growing from strength to strength at every LFW, the day can’t be far off when, as Siegle suggests, we’ll be scanning items with our smartphones and getting up to date information on the factory conditions, workers’ wages and Corporate Social Responsibility agreements of each big fashion brand, right there on the shop floor.

I am a Class A example of grabbing cheap throwaway basics and wearing my favourite pieces too much – thus ruining them. Look at your wardrobe and think how much time and energy it would take you to make all of those items. I’m exhausted just going through my cardigan collection.