People Tree Spring collection

I have been waiting patiently for the Spring collections to come out, so I was really excited to find out People Tree's Spring collection is out today.

Here is a selection of my favourites:



I am in love with that polka dot shirt!

Happy Valentines Day

And of course what should I discuss today but underwear?

I just discovered these eco corsets. Beautiful stuff there.

Some other ethical underwear picks:

Pants to Poverty

Eco Boudoir

Greenknickers (website currently down - try googling them for other suppliers)

Enamore for totally impractical but gorgeous underthings

By Nature which actually carries underwire bras, currently a little elusive on the ethical fashion scene. I would like to see them expand their size range though.

Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is one of the biggest buzzwords of ethical fashion today. It has become very mainstream with shops like Marks and Spencer, Primark and even Tesco stocking organic cotton ranges. But what exactly is organic cotton and why is it important to wear it?

Organic cotton is produced without the aid of pesticides and from plants that are not genetically modified. It is also processed without the use of harmful chemicals. According to Wikipedia conventional cotton production uses more agrochemicals per unit than any other crop and accounts for over 16% of the world's pesticides. Now all that cotton has to be tended, picked, sorted and processed which requires a lot of manual labour and people coming into contact with the chemicals. This has resulted in chronic health problems in cotton farming communities.

The pesticides and insecticides are also very expensive for farmers to buy and many farmers get into a spiral of debt trying to pay for them.

Conventional cotton farming also produces more carbon from the machinery used and transportation of chemicals, and uses more water.

Personally I can't walk past organic cotton simply because of how soft it feels!

Note that not all organic cotton products are produced under fair trade conditions so this is something you should also check when you are buying things. I still don't quite get how you can buy an organic cotton tshirt from a high street shop for £3 - after the shop markup and transportation costs, how much goes to the person who sewed the t-shirt or grew the cotton?

If you want more information check out the PAN UK website which has everything you could possibly want to know about organic cotton!

There are many many options for buying organic cotton t-shirts, here are just some:

• Edun
  
• Katherine Hamnet's iconic slogan range
• I Dress Myself's arty limited edition tees
• Red Robot
• Customise a tee with your own slogan at Milky Moo Moo
• Oh so stylish at Organic Stereo
• Liv for lovely plain but feminine tops in various styles
• Some very cool statement tees at Feral International
• Gossypium have great sportswear basics including yoga pants
• Great basic ts and vests at Rapanui
• Seasalt
• And of course People Tree for a wide range of basic and fashion tops

Of course there is way more out there than just t-shirts... stay tuned, friends!

Winter Sales

The winter sales are in full swing. With sales coming at the end of the season it's doubly important to buy clothes that will work well for seasons to come. This means quality materials and construction and classic styling. The temptations of the high street are many but there are ethical sale options too. Here are my picks of the winter sales:


This smock coat from People Tree. I've had my eye on this ever since it came out. It's a mid-season weight so can take you into Spring.







This organic merino top by Karen Cole, available at Adili.com for £38 down from £76.











This velvet tea dress from Ciel, also avaible at Adili.com. It's absolutely stunning and down from £210 to a far more affordable £52.50.











Trench coat from fin, available at fashion-conscience.com, £85. I searched so hard for an ethical trench coat last year, and here it was all the time!

Welcome

Hello and welcome to Fashionkind. I decided to start this blog because I am interested in ethical fashion and spend a lot of time trying to source guilt-free clothing for myself. I think there is a lack of resources out there so I thought I would write about my finds in case anyone else is interested.

I think everyone's take on "ethical" is different and what's ok by me may not be ok by you, for me it includes fair trade clothing, organic clothing, secondhand and vintage clothing, DIY and refashioned clothing, the list goes on! As consumers it's important to realise that we do have options. At a time where everyone is tightening their belts it's important to let clothing manufacturers know there is still a demand for ethically produced clothing and indeed I believe it is even more important to shop wisely and invest in clothing that is good for the planet, good for the people who produced it, and that you will enjoy for many years to come.