Ethical &

Sustainable
Fashion
Cultural Studies

Asim Ahmad /Access

Fashion Business /Group A
Ethical fashion is the hot topic of the moment. It is a booming industry, popping up all over the
British high street. It claims to offer us a choice; a choice of choosing a garment which is produced in
good working conditions with no abuse of resources. Or stay with the more main stream option,
which could be the work of sweatshops in Bangladesh. What do we really know about these products
and there sourcing? Why has this become such an important issue in this current day after decades of
going unnoticed? These and more questions will no doubt be in consumers’ minds who are
considering paying the higher price point, we can look to answering them by looking at what ethical
fashion really involves, and why now, more than ever we need to take a stand.

Below is the definition of fair-trade, from the official fair trade website. Although developed earlier,
the fair trade movement reached the UK in 1992, with the labelling being used on some products from
1994.

“Fair trade Fair Trade isn't just about paying a decent price for a product to ensure the people involved
in the making earn a fair wage. It's a global initiative and social movement, consisting of development
organizations, campaign groups and businesses, all working to end exploitation and overcome poverty
through trade. The initiative includes both the farmers who grow raw commodities and the artisan
producers who create finished products; providing long-term contracts and incomes and a support
network for developing businesses.” [fairtrade.org.uk]

One of the key areas we can look to see the true devastation of badly resourced fashion is in the Asian
country of Uzbekistan. The 2nd largest importer of cotton to the world, it is now in a dyer state.
Children as young as 7 are taken out of school every autumn to work with adults, including doctors
and teachers, to pick cotton. They are often made to pick cotton with their bare hands. This cotton is
sold by the government with 2/3rds of the money generated kept by the government and workers only
paid if they produce enough cotton from a daily quota set for them.

According to the Ethical Fashion Forum, “Water and chemical used to grow cotton cause
environmental catastrophe. 4000 tonnes of fish annually no longer available since eradication of Aral
Sea. Contaminated with salt and pesticide residues, wind storms spread this toxic dust spreading
alarmingly high rates of turbucolosis and cancer.” The mentioned Aral Sea has been depleted to just
15% of its former size, which was once the 4th largest Sea in the world. Cotton is one of the world’s
thirstiest plants, requiring up to 2000 litres of water in order to make just one t-shirt. Water is
mismanaged, 60% of water is lost through evaporation and leakages and never reaches crops.

It is clear to see why changes need to be made. This industry has developed to help workers in these
conditions, and help us help them. As people become more aware of the issues the world faces, they
can challenge what has been the ‘norm’ been for so long. Katherine Hamnett, a designer from the 80’s
has always challenged main stream fashion and focused her designs on more sustainable resources.
The designer has an essay available to view entitled “Clean Up or Die” in which it states “Across the
developing world at least a thousand free trade zones have been created. Known as Export Processing
Zones (EPZ´s) and employing over 27 million workers, they are industrial areas, where, typically
factory owners pay no tax, the minimum wage is suspended and safety is neglected.” Tax dodging
allows corporations to find loop holes and emerge with higher profits, with no one to answer to.

“The key social challenges are to protect workers, provide secure employment, pay living wages, and
respect workers' rights to freedom association. These challenges lie mainly in the cut-make-trim
processing stage, where labour is employed most intensively.” (Fletcher 2008:47) As Fletcher clearly
states, these are basic human rights we expect in the western world. No person would ever expect to
work so many hours a day on so little money, with inadequate working conditions and child labour.

Currently one of the main problems facing ethical fashion is the cost to buy it. More expensive than
other conventional products, and sometimes limited in choice for the consumer, with insipid garments
until now. As the industry grows, it will have to support and adapt this.

Fast fashion, cheap, speedily released fashion contributes to 1.5 million tonnes of clothing waste
every year. Prices so low mean it quite likely somewhere along the production line has been short
changed, as has the environment. One of the reasons the UK government launched Sustainable
Clothing Action Plan in 2009. Not so much as law as a pledge from high street retailers to have a
larger choice of fair trade and organic clothing and promote the use of washing at lower temperatures.
So far Nike, Tesco and Marks and Spencer have signed up.

Why Now?

The booming industry means more designs, colours, cuts and fabrics. You don’t have to compromise
on fashion to have a social conscience. Consumers have become aware of the issues across the globe
and can use their money to make a difference. By buying sustainable clothing, large corporations will
have to sit up and can’t ignore the fact they are losing money. With so much emphasis on a healthy
lifestyle and what we put in our bodies, it was inevitable soon people would question what we wear
and where it comes from, and increasing their social contribution.

American Apparel, People Tree, Veja, Patagonia: brands that promise ethical working conditions, fair
trade or the use of organic materials are becoming more prevalent, nibbling in the market share of
retail giants whose clothes are made by workers in the developing markets.(Tungate 2008:234)

Another point which contributes to the success of ethical fashion is celebrity endorsements. Bono and
his wife in 2005 set up their own fashion label, Edun. With clothes sourced from India, South
America and Africa from local fair trade factories. Stella McCartney, the daughter of ‘Beatle’ Paul
McCartney has never used animal by products such as leather in her collections and chooses to work
with ethical fabrics as much as possible. Celebrity culture sells magazines and the media has an
obsession, so these celebrities no doubt play a part.

Older consumers were thought to be a more realistic target group for ethical brands. These ranged
from women of a certain age who had discovered yoga and organic beauty products, to ecologically-
aware middle class families. (Tungate 2008:235) Ethical products still have a lot of work to go, as
Tungate mentions research indicates older people and middle class families are willing to spend the
money on the products where as younger people and lower incomes may be aware of issues, but are
helpless to do much about it with restricted budgets. With the industry growing and procedures in the
production line to get prices down as much as possible, it is inevitable the industry will grow and
develop in incorporate itself much more than it already has into main stream high street fashion.

It remains to be seen whether these changes will help a family in India be able to buy food for a
family with the rising costs of food, but change is a slow pain staking process. These people are the
real victims of fashion.
Bibliography
Ethicalfashionforum.com

Fletcher.K (2008) Sustainable fashion and textiles: design journeys Gutenberg Press

KatherineHamnett.com

Sustainable Clothing Action Plan defra.gov.uk/environment/business/products/

roadmaps/clothing/action-plan.htm

Tungate.M (2008) Fashion Brands: branding style from Armani to Zara Kogan Page Ltd.