Not so long ago, a good day’s shopping was represented by unbridled credit card abuse and armfuls of carrier bags, preferably glossy paper ones with smart rope handles.
That was last just year, wasn’t it? Oh, how times have changed. In 2009 consumers have become the new eco-warriors and the latest must-have accessory is a social conscience. Saying you’re off on an eco-holiday scores more cool points than taking a carbon-belching flight to the Caribbean for a fortnight. And celebrities aren’t just endorsing ethical products, they are fronting high-profile campaigns on issues that matter, whether it’s saving the planet, stopping child labour. Sometimes, they even ‘go Bono’ and help awareness for eradicating Third World debt and disease.
Together, they are making big business sit up and take notice.
Conscience consumers
According to a recent survey by American Express, 33 per cent of us now regard ourselves as conscience consumers. Buying the right thing is the latest way to do the right thing. And it’s fashionable to be seen doing it.
It’s no wonder the rag trade is feeling this pressure to go green. Women’s clothes are now 40 per cent cheaper than they were a decade ago and we now buy twice as many. And as profit margins are squeezed ever tighter, campaigners are keen to point out that the price of cheap clothes is being paid by those at the bottom of the supply chain.
That bargain dress doesn’t look quite so pretty once we start to wonder whether the cotton was picked by a child in Uzbekistan then stitched together by someone working enforced overtime for less than a living wage in a sweatshop Asia.
The clothing industry is also one of the worst offenders in terms of environmental damage.
According to the UN, enough cotton for one jeans requires 10,850 litres of water and an unhealthy dose of some of the world’s most hazardous pesticides and carcinogenic chemicals.
Growing cotton accounts for 24 per cent of global insecticide use and is believed to account for one million cases of poisoning and as many as 20,000 deaths a year. And for what? In Britain alone, 500,000 tons of unwanted clothing end up in landfill sites each year.
Not surprisingly, as awareness increases, so does the demand for organic and fair trade fashion. And where once ethical clothing was deeply untrendy in terms of cut, fabric and style, some brands have now become respectable enough that even people who don’t care about the environment but do care about fashion - want to get their hands on them.
It doesn’t hurt that stylish A-listers such as Jade Jagger, Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Campbell have all been seen wearing the latest ethical labels - Ciel and People Tree are favourites. Meanwhile Bono’s wife Ali Hewson has launched Edun, the socially conscious designer clothing line now stocked by Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Harrods.
Ethical E-co Chic
Online, where the movement has always been active, websites like Adili.com are catering to the eco-chic crowd in every way possible. As the movement grows, even more ethically centered vendors add to the available product line. Fairtrade goods, organic beauty products, ethical jewelry, women’s fashion, men’s fashion, kids, gifts, house & home are represented. The fashion, nightwear and home collections are attractive, prestigious and contemporary. Websites like Adili.com are living proof that you can unite great eco credentials and great style. And, that making things with concern for the environment doesn’t need to make them expensive.
With the current state of the economic climate and the environment, when the chance arises to help both at once, we should all jump on it. We say, long live the Eco-chic movement.
SOURCE: Adili.com
