Ethical and Sustainable Fashion for 2012

I am having an absolutely wonderful time in Shanghai- it's such an experience and incredible opportunity! Of course I have also found the time to take lots of photos so I'll have plenty to blog about when I return. Today I have a guest post from the wonderful Ceri for you. As well as having her own very lovely blog Ceri is passionate about ethical clothing and has recently set up a community called Ethical Fashion Bloggers. I absolutely love the piece she's written for us so here it is:


Ethical and Sustainable Fashion for 2012

During 2011, I have been noticing a growing number of ethical fashion brands and retailers emerging, even many of the mainstream online and high street retailers including ASOS and H & M are getting in on the act with eco friendly and ethical collections. The great thing about ethical fashion at the moment is that many of these brands are as stylish and affordable as they are sustainable. I have high hopes that 2012 will be the year that ethical and sustainable fashion goes main stream. If you want to become more ethical with your in 2012, there is certainly no need to to compromise on looking good, there is so much to choose from.

Annie Greenabelle

The great thing about these exciting new labels is that they are doing their own thing and the creativity comes from the very fact that they are ethical and sustainable. Recycling is big news with end of roll, surplus , second hand and vintage fabrics all providing interesting, beautiful and high quality material that is used in innovative ways. These fabrics also create more limited collections with unique often with unique one off pieces which provide a more individual look than mass produced fashion. Amongst my favourite ethical labels using recycled fabrics are Annie Greenabelle (www.anniegreenabelle.com), Junkie Styling (www.junkiestyling.com), Goodone (www.goodone.co.uk) , Antiform (www.antiformonline.co.uk), Urban Renewal (at Urban Outfitters)(http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk/collections/vintage-uo-renewal/icat/wrenewal/) and Tara Starlet (www.tarastarlet.com).

Monsoon

There are also some great Fairtrade labels that are utilising the traditional handicrafts from different parts of the world to create beautiful and unique clothing whilst allowing them to benefit from the profits of the enterprise. People Tree (www.peopletree.co.uk) and Monsoon (www.monsoon.co.uk) are just a few that have beautiful and on trend styles which include hand printing, beading, hand knitting and embroidery.

Nancy Dee

Sustainable fabrics are becoming easier to find with a number of brands using organic cotton, bamboo, linen, hemp, Rayon and Tencel (made from tree cellulose!) and even soya to make comfortable, wearable clothes. These fabrics are a far cry from many of our perceptions of sustainable fabrics which in the past have been perceived as almost sack like . Bamboo jersey is a great fabric as it is extremely soft and drapes beautifully. Nancy Dee (www.nancydee.co.uk) have some fantastic dresses made from it.

Patagonia

Finally, in terms of sustainability in fashion, there has been plenty of talk recently about 'buying less'. Many people are starting to question the sense of fast fashion both environmentally and economically and looking for alternatives which include buying classic styles to last, swapping, borrowing, hiring, upcycling old clothes, vintage and charity shopping and making do and mending. Even the high end designers seem to be conforming less to trends, instead creating their own signature style which will never go out of fashion.

Patagonia, one of the ethical fashion pioneers, has also made us think and begun to change ideas on marketing and sustainable fashion with their 'don't buy this jacket' campaign. Their sustainable approach has also in the past included encouraging customers to check out ebay for preloved clothes and resoling shoes, not marketing tactics that many would associate with a successful fashion company, but if they can do it why not others?

Hopefully there will be yet more exciting developments in ethical and sustainable fashion for 2012.

What are your thoughts on ethical and sustainable fashion for 2012? Will you be making it your New Years Resolution to shop more ethically?

Happy New Year!

Ceri Heathcote writes for Ethical Fashion Blog, Ethical Fashion Forum and Oxfam Fashion. She has also recently set up the Ethical Fashion Bloggers community for like minded bloggers who love fashion but want to minimise the negative impact of their clothing.