Ethics Of The Fashion Industry

Politics and fashion have never been a trendy mix. Not from a commercial point of view. Designers and brands with strong messages about global welfare more often than not reach a status not considered appealing to the masses. In an industry consumed with profits, horizontal distribution channels, and mass marketing, an ethically sustainable clothing range is perhaps not the easiest route to embark on when setting up a new label.

Unless your name is Katharine Hamnett, of course. As famous as she is for her clothes which encapsulated the 80s like no other designer, she is as well known for her political activism which she has brought on to the catwalk to have us rethink the ethics of the fashion industry. It is grim to think the majority of global textile companies bear no issues with damaging the planet and causing suffering to millions of people by harbouring appalling working conditions to clothe and adorn those of us able to afford the frocks in our industrialised economy.

With estimates suggesting 20,000 people die each year through pesticide poisoning in cotton agriculture and an industry that continually causes irreparable damage to our environment by using harmful chemicals that poison soils and water supplies it's about time somebody's voice for concern is heard. Anyone who knows anything about fabrics will tell you that organic cotton is identical to conventional cotton. The only difference being that it is produced without people being harmed or even killed. Ethical manufacturing doesn't mean boring and lumpy beige clothes designed for the peace-loving vegetarian and sandal-loving brigade. They can be beautiful and modern, and covetable and affordable.

So take Hamnett's new clothing line, called Katharine E Hamnett (the E is for her middle name Eleanor). It is to be manufactured using organic cotton, sustainable fibres and will be produced without forced labour; paying living wages to all workers. Perhaps this doesn't sound to be particularly ambitious or difficult to achieve, but the reality is that it defies all the rules of a current fashion industry.

By cutting out many of the middlemen and restructuring the way the brand is to be distributed, the cost of the garment can be kept competitive. With initial costings of a jean retailing at GBP90, consumers will have the power of buying an item of clothing that acknowledges a responsibility to our planet, our fellow human beings and also ourselves. There is nothing wrong with globalization, and to achieve success one has to think 'bigger'. But consumers undermine their spending power as their voice being the most prevailing of all. Knowing that the fashion industry can incorporate ethical practices on all levels, consumers should reconsider what they are buying into. We can play a small part in global welfare by wielding this very power. Quite simply, if you don't like it, don't buy it.