Ethical Fashion Companies

 Nowadays, it's impossible to travel anywhere without noticing the words "Ethical" and "Company Xyz" within the same sentence.

As a consumer, we've a basic understanding of "Ethical". we all know that purchasing such a product is meant to alleviate a number of our guilt, by doing a touch little bit of good, but what does it actually mean? First, let's check out the definition:

Ethical - adj

1. of or concerning the philosophical study of ethics;
2. conforming to accepted standards of social or professional behaviour;
3. adhering to moral and moral principles;
4. I'm pretty sure this is often reserved for a get few, who clearly have a way deeper understanding of the word than I do.
5. this is often the foremost widely utilized in the business and professional world, mostly pertaining to a code of ethics and fiduciary duties. curiously enough , this also means most publicly owned companies have a primary duty to their share holders, not their customers. that's the "accepted" standard.
6. So this is often the one: Adhering to moral and moral principles. Already you'll see the can of worms opening, as this is often a highly subjective definition. Who's moral principles are we talking about exactly?

Well, consistent with Google, these are the highest categories:

1. Recycled

Recycled, or "Upcycled" as some marketing guru decided to call it, is certainly top of the list. Recycling has been around for an extended time, but only within the previous couple of years has it become prominent within the world of fashion. this is often definitely an excellent business model, because it embodies the phrase "One man's junk is another man's treasure".

It is the cornerstone of brands like Elvis & Kresse - making handbags & accessories out of decommissioned fire hoses-, Japan-based Seal -turning old tires into handbags and shoes- and Amoosi -transforming unwanted fabric into contemporary clothing.

This definitely has merit, as landfills are filling rather fast in our all-consuming, disposable-minded society - goodbye because the recycling process doesn't do more harm than good.

Recycling also fuels creativity and brings us amazing designers who think outside the box (or should that be outside the recycled bin?), producing beautiful garments from the foremost unlikely left-overs.

2. Organic

Organics rank pretty high also , within the world of ethical fashion. In essence, the materials used were grown without the utilization of pesticides or chemical fertilisers, supporting the soil and therefore the environment. Fiber processing and finishing also are chemical free. This includes a spread of natural fibers, like cotton, hemp, linen & wool.

The Environmental Protection Agency considers seven of the highest 15 pesticides used on cotton within the us as "possible," "likely," "probable," or "known" human carcinogens (acephate, dichloropropene, diuron, fluometuron, pendimethalin, tribufos, and trifluralin). Many crop fields worldwide are still aerial sprayed, causing damage to the environment and creating enormous health hazards for nearby inhabitants.

The benefits of organic are obvious and are well documented within the fair-trade movement: Better soil, better crops, better farming practices and better health for the farmers (and animals, within the case of wool).

Some cool companies within the organic category: Intuitive Organics & Rapanui, which both also abide by fair trade principles.

Where companies begin to loose credibility and begin sounding like used car salesmen, is once they make statements like this:

"It stands to reason, that if you would like your babies to steer an organic lifestyle, you'll want them to wear organic clothes.

A baby's skin is five times thinner than that of an adult, making it far easier for dangerous and harmful toxins to enter their bodies. Organic baby clothing is freed from toxic residue, making them - and you - easier with what they're wearing."

Seriously?! How did my parents ever manage, I wonder…

3. Bamboo
   Bamboo is filled with promise. it is the new miracle fiber of the century and it appears in almost every search. The claims are endless: anti-bacterial, breathable, green, environmentally friendly, silky soft, renewable materials, etc.

Dig a touch further and you realize that bamboo is anything but green:

Most commercially available bamboo fiber is chemically processed. It involves the utilization of bleach, harsh caustic chemicals and a huge amount of water.

There is also a significant problem with the renewable claims, as vast amounts of forests are decimated to form room for this fast-growing, lucrative crop, causing devastating environmental impact on local wildlife and severe erosion .

Don't take my word for it: to find out more about bamboo, read this great article Bamboo sprouting green myths.

The only exception to the above, is responsibly farmed and mechanically processed bamboo fiber. But because it's a way more time-consuming and dear process, it's unfortunately not widely available.

4. Ethical treatment of individuals

This refers to the treatment of the workers: Providing fair wages, ensuring safe working conditions, reasonable working hours and enabling the formation of a cooperative or worker's union.

This should be, in my opinion, top of the list, but it is not .

We sleep in a society where pet abuse may be a punishable crime and yet we will comfortably buy cheap garments, knowing (or at the very least, suspecting) that citizenry are suffering a terrible fate within the production chain.

Why? i assume because it's happening distant and it's convenient? in fact , this phenomenon isn't exclusive to the style world, it applies to most consumable goods and is strikingly captured during this photo documentary on child labour in Bangladesh.

But not most are comfortable with the established order and great efforts are being made to teach consumers. Perhaps one among the best-known names during this category is, a corporation dedicated to creating long-term changes on an outsized scale, or Cred, getting to deliver economic justice to as many of us as possible involved within the production of their jewelry.

There are many smaller, but equally committed companies like Aura Que -producing leather and knit accessories in Kathmandu- and Lalesso - focussing on summer fashion in Cape Town .

5. 100% made in -insert your country-

This is supported products being locally sourced and made , therefore supporting local communities, requiring less transportation and reducing the carbon footprint.

Although theoretically, this add up , I find this category to be the foremost confusing. While searching the list of companies who boast "100% made within the U.K." as their ethical credentials, i'm somewhat confused:

Why are they selling organic cotton and bamboo products? Last time I checked, the U.K. doesn't produce either, so what makes these companies so special? Employing local labour? Well surely the bulk of companies , no matter their credentials, can claim that.

This is definitely a slippery slope and that i think that if a corporation goes to form ethical claims supported locally sourced, then surely that applies to the whole chain, otherwise it just comes across as misguided nationalism and doesn't do an excellent deal to scale back the carbon footprint.

Here are a few of companies who abides by this principle, along their entire supply chain and are well worth checking out: Ardalanish - producing fabric and clothing from native breed wool- and Green Shoes -Handmade shoes and accessories.

6. Vegan

Vegan fashion is clothing and accessories made up of cruelty-free sources. No animal products were utilized in the making of the clothes and no animal was harmed within the process.

Although personally, i do not have a problem with animal products, as long because the animals are raised in cruelty-free conditions, I can certainly appreciate why this category is gaining popularity within the fashion world, after seeing a number of the completely inhumane conditions that animals are put through (for direct consumption or by-production).

Another point here, is that it are often really hard, both as a designer and a consumer, to trace the source of the materials.

There are some big names that get tons of press in Vegan fashion, like Vaute Couture and Matt & Nat's. Many other companies offer Vegan as an option in their line of products.

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