SO COOL, AND SO ETHICAL

Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, have launched their own socially conscious fashion label

Not long ago, ethical fashion had an image problem. No one wanted to wear baggy-bottomed Thai fisherman’s trousers or an ecru smock top. Unflattering and unappealing, eco-fashion was best left to eco-warriors.

But there has been a definite swing over the past year. Ethical consumerism – from buying products made from recycled or renewable sources to supporting companies that adhere to fair trade principles – is on the rise. It is now cool to care.

So cool in fact, that the latest edition of Vogue has devoted 10 pages to ethical clothing. And London Fashion Week, which starts next week, will include an exhibition space dedicated to 13 ethical labels.

But it’s the celebrities behind the movement who are really making a difference. They’ve made ethical consumerism sexy. One is Bono. Last year, along with his wife, Ali Hewson, and designer Rogan Gregory, he launched Edun, a socially conscious fashion label.

Its clothes are made in locally run factories in Africa, South America and India and the company promotes trade rather than aid. The range is brilliantly designed: this autumn there are beautiful Art Nouveau printed silk dresses, elegant tie-neck chiffon blouses, urban skinny jeans and denim trench coats.

This year Bono also launched Project Red, a collaboration between Armani, Amex, Converse, Motorola and Gap. Each brand markets covetable and ecologically sound products under the Red banner; profits are donated to a fund fighting Aids, malaria and TB in Africa.

Project RED’s unofficial face is Scarlett Johansson, who appears in October’s issue of Vogue wearing Armani’s designs for the charity. The actress told the magazine: “We don’t have to live in a teepee and wear a hemp skirt to be conscious about what’s going on. Maybe somebody thinks, ‘It’s cool that she’s wearing the Red T-shirt, I’ll hop over to Gap and pick one up’.”

Gap, which launched the T-shirts in the spring ( parkas, hoodies and jeans will follow) isn’t the only store turning out fashionable and ethically produced clothes. Last week saw the launch of Adili, a website devoted to the top 25 ethical fashion labels, including Ciel, Patagonia, HUG and People Tree, which has a concession in Topshop, Oxford Circus.

People Tree has given the movement a boost with Trudie Styler as its new face. It has designed T-shirts in conjunction with Action Aid; 10 per cent of profits will go to help raise Fair Trade awareness in Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Small, independent fashion labels have also furrowed the green path. Brighton-based Enamore sells everything from pretty hand-made kimono tops to delicate hemp knickers ( far more appealing than they sound).

Chic shoes can be found at ethical boutiques such as Terra Plana, which designs shoes with recycled materials. And rather than squeezing into jeans made from cotton cultivated with pesticides, consumers can now choose brands such as Loomstate, whose eco-friendly designer jeans are sold at Harvey Nichols and Urban Outfitters.

Larger companies are catching on. Timberland, which sells eco-friendly footwear made with vegetable tanned leather and recycled rubber soles, is launching a reforestation project – it will plant one tree for each pair of boots sold.

And Marks & Spencer, which recently commissioned a survey that found that 78 per cent of shoppers wanted to know more about the way products were made, has just launched its own Fair Trade line.

Tesco, meanwhile, is to sell a range of organic clothing designed by Katherine Hamnett, a long-time crusader for ethical fashion.

Of course, it can be argued that eco-fashion is an oxymoron. How can eco-friendliness fit with so ephemeral an industry? The most significant progress should perhaps come from consumers: buying less, and more ethically, could be the most ecologically sound way to shop.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Author: Clare Coulson

CELEBRITIES SET UP ETHICAL SHOP

We’ve seen Kate Moss knock off her own designer wardrobe for Topshop, had M, Madonna’s money-saving ranges for H&M, and “Lily [Allen] Loves” a bargain at New Look. But cheap-as-chips celebrity collaborations are looking old hat compared with a new wave of tie-ups that have more than just self-promotion and the retailer’s bottom line in mind.

Natalie Portman, the star of films such as Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and the Star Wars prequels, is going one step further by designing her own vegan-friendly shoes for a New York boutique. The collection, for the Manhattan shoe emporium T Casan, goes on sale next month although keen shoppers can place pre-orders from 15 January. The vegetarian actor’s designs will sell for about $200 (100), making them a cheaper alternative to Stella McCartney’s leather-eschewing shoes which sell for at least 295.

So far eco-minded celebrity alliances have been few and far between, but retail experts predict that Portman’s shoes are the future of high street fashion for 2008. Leona Lewis, the X Factor winner turned pop diva and a fellow vegetarian, last week said she would “love” to create her own range of affordable non-leather bags and shoes.

Meanwhile, Debenhams has allied itself with Sir Steve Redgrave, the Olympic oarsman, who has put his name to a clothing range made with Fairtrade cotton that will go on sale for Fairtrade fortnight next month. And Katharine Hamnett, the fashion designer, is searching for a new high street partner after axing her nascent alliance with Tesco for her range of T-shirts made from organic cotton. Even Pamela Anderson, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has done her bit with a cruelty-free clothing line.

Richard Hyman, who runs Verdict Consulting, a retail consultancy, said shops ploughing the well-trodden celebrity endorsement route would not be enough of a draw for saturated shoppers. “This year shops will have to find the right endorsement that is sympathetic to their marketplace,” he said, adding that tapping into the consumers’ blossoming ethical consciousness with targeted tie-ups was one option retailers would choose. “Retailing today needs to be about offering a genuine point of difference,” he added.

Lauretta Roberts, editor of the trade fashion magazine Drapers, said eco-fashion was the “number one cause at the moment”, predicting more collaborations. “I don’t think we’ve had Lily Loves Organic Cotton. Not yet, anyway.” But she cautioned: “Whoever does it, both in terms of the celebrity and the fashion brand, would have to think very carefully. It would need to be a credible pairing on both sides, as you’re just asking for people to scrutinise your behaviour and business practices if you style yourself as an eco-warrior.”

Anya Hindmarch, the luxury handbag designer, knows this only too well. Despite being for an ethical cause, her limited-edition “I’m not a plastic bag” cloth bag, sold by Sainsbury’s, hit the headlines for the wrong reasons after it emerged it was made in China using cheap labour even though the supermarket said the factory pays double the minimum wage.

And although McCartney makes vegetarian-friendly shoes and clothes, Ethical Consumer magazine, which advises consumers where to shop on ethical grounds, points out that the designer’s eponymous label is owned by PPR, the luxury fashion giant behind several other lines that use furs such as fox, badger and mink.

Portman’s shoes will be made without animal ingredients: leather, fur and feathers are all off-limits. T Casan has said it will donate 5 per cent of the range’s profits to charity.

Natalie Portman

The most glamorous of the new wave of ethical fashion champions, the actress has designed a collection of red-carpet-ready shoes that are fit for vegetarians such as herself. Now all she needs is an Oscar nomination

Sir Steve Redgrave

An unlikely eco-fashion warrior, perhaps, but the multiple Olympic gold medallist rower clearly has principles to protect. A range of Fairtrade cotton clothing bearing his name goes into Debenhams stores next month

Katharine Hamnett

The organic cotton pioneer may have terminated her contract with Tesco to produce environmentally friendly T-shirts, but her sentiment remains. Expect to see more of the same from the designer soon

Anya Hindmarch

The handbag designer sought to do her bit for the planet with a highly covetable reusable carrier bag. How many of the limited edition run ever made contact with the weekly shop, however, is another matter altogether

Pamela Anderson

The ex-‘Baywatch’ star, an ardent vegetarian, has turned fashion designer with a range of “cruelty-free” clothing, which debuted in 2004. A percentage of the profits went to Peta, the anti-fur animal charity

 

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