Eco Friendly Fashion
Like most women I have a wardrobe full of mass produced high street clothing, but more recently I have been thinking about the impact my shopping has had on the environment and where my clothes have come from. Where can I buy more ethically and environmentally friendly clothing and at a reasonable price?
Obviously one of the most ethical, environmental and financially friendly ways to shop is second hand, but that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. If the thought of buying second hand gives you the ick factor don’t worry. There are plenty of other ways to buy ‘friendly’ clothing.
First let’s look towards the High Street. Swansea is brimming with great fashionable stores, but you may have noticed very few advertise ‘eco clothing’. That’s because very few high street stores worry how their clothing is made, as long as it’s made cheaply. This has been very shaming for the stores that have been caught out in the past few years, whether by using child labour, poor working conditions or pitifully low pay for workers. One of the stores named-and-shamed last year was H&M, a store renowned for its fashionable and affordable clothing.
So this year H&M will be buying its way back into our good books by launching its first eco friendly clothing line, Conscious Clothing. This beautiful line consists of garments made from hemp, bamboo and soybean fabrics and the entire range is in shades of white (almost a symbolic move on their behalf). There are collections for men, women and kids and items range from floaty day dresses and lacy tops to structured blazers and tailored trousers. Plus all the manufacturing factories are ethically friendly too, so you can feel good about wearing the items. In keeping with H&M’s affordability policy all the items are purse friendly, coming in under £35 – fantastic for eco friendly clothing.
But these items are still going to be mass produced on a huge scale, so if you are after something a little more unique look no further than Mumbles’ very own Sac59. The independently run store now stocks two of the best up-and-coming eco friendly clothing lines, Braintree and KuSan.
Braintree is a completely eco friendly clothing line that produces simple ‘basic’ items out of hemp, bamboo and soybean fabrics, all from fair trade factories in China. The fabrics are super soft and very durable and the styles are modest and classic. Almost all items can be picked up for under £50 so are very affordable. My personal favourite is the oh-so versatile Multi Skirt, which can be worn in many different ways and comes in a range of colours and patterns. It’s like buying 4 skirts-in-one, so for £43 it’s a bargain.
KuSan are the ethical knitwear specialists that will cover all your accessory needs. It’s not just woolly hats, scarves and gloves either. They do a vast range of knitted and felted bags too, which are colourful and fun, yet versatile, durable and large enough for the most determined bag lady. All their items are hand-knitted in Nepal where their staff are well paid, fed and rested. They even off-set their own carbon footprint by pledging money to the Carbon Footprint Fund to help set up sustainable energy sites around the world. Prices range from £10-£40.
Whether you choose H&M’s Conscious Collection, or Sac59’s Braintree and KuSan you know you are getting eco friendly and fair trade clothing.
If you have any fashion related dilemmas or simply need a little help, write to me at The Bay
Chantelle Cross-Jones
