The Future for Ethical Fashion and Ethical Fashion Brands?

[Chelsea]

Where do we feel ethical fashion is going, can we see it growing and prevailing into the future and becoming more sucessful?


Also, do you think that ethical fashion is in a niche market and only accessible to one group of consumer? and How can ethical fashion become more mainstream and will this be beneficial for it and for the brands?

[kg82]

I think that ethical fashion is slowly growing. I do not think it will grow more until the consumer shows more of a demand for it. For me, I think that for ethical fashion to be more mainstream I think it needs to become slightly more fashion forward and alot more accessible.
It worrys me that if ethical fashion does become mainstream it will end up the same way as conventional fashion, fast turn over and pressure on the garment workers who have to meet tight deadlines. Just a thought....

[Naomi Chappell]

Ethical fashion is finally on the fashion map, it’s no longer big news that ethics & aesthetics are now walking hand in hand. There has long been a misconception that to be green women must wear sandals & long skirts & throw in the towel when it comes to elegance, be it casual or business like. There is so much choice in the world of mainstream fashion; we need to show that if we all choose to buy ethically, the choice is still there, opening up the market for everyone. By bringing together ethical collections and presenting them in the same way as mainstream fashion they will become more widely accessible. First and foremost we all have to genuinely love what we are buying; women who have not considered the ethical route as yet must be inspired. If they love the product first and it’s ethical, that’s a bonus, maybe they will think more about the content and the versatility of the garment next time they go shopping. If a piece can be worn in many ways, not only does it add effortless chic to our wardrobes, it cuts down on the cost per wear. It will last longer and hopefully, in turn, that will cut down on the disposable fashion, which is currently filling our landfill sites.

In an increasingly ethically aware fashionscape, lack of time and energy contributes to the lethargy in finding the right piece with the ethics that are right for each consumer - and the specialist knowledge needed to search out the baggy & shapeless from the sassy, organic & casually chic can be lacking. Take a look at www.mygreenlipstick.com, an ethical fashion site with style credentials & eco endorsements in equal measures. It champions trans-seasonal pieces and combines edgy & classic effortless chic, gorgeous clothes & modern elegance, bringing together a collection that already attracts an A list following: Kate Moss, Keira Knightley, Sharon Stone, Gwen Stefani, Cheryl Cole, Demi Moore, Paris Hilton, Rhianna, & Sienna Miller to name a few.

If we offer the consumer variety and style AND ethics the future is surely bright.

[Chelsea]

Thanks for your messages guys, really helpful and really good to hear your thoughts and opinions!

[Anna]

Where is ethical fashion going? I think it will go wherever new designers chose to take it. Certainly up until recently it has been dominated by the shapeless and sandalled, but this is changing. As more and more people ask questions about the environmental and social effects of their chosen style, more and more designers are trying to integrate sustainability practices into their designing from the outset. I think one of the key issues in this area is a more informed understanding of materials, where they come from, how to select and combine the most sustainable - and how to weigh up and prioritise the multitude of factors that make up "sustainability" : water and land use of fibres orginating from plant crops,how these can be intercropped; how colours and patterns can be added to cloth, the possibility of using naturally coloured fibres such as species of pre-columbian cotton that can still be found in isolated corners of Andean countries; the life-cycle of garments and where they end-up. I really think a holistic approach that attempts to consider all the elements that together impact on our clothes throughout their lifespan is essential. Its a bit of a shameless plug I know, but I am involved in organising Cotton On, a conference all about the cotton industry in Bristol on May 9th. These sort of issues are exactly what we want to get our teeth into. Tamsin Lejeune of EFF and Abigail Petit of Gossypium will be leading the Sustainable Design workshop, and for those interested in the holistic view, other workshops will cover, Fairtrade, Organic and supply chains. We're really keen to get new designers there, afterall they're the future - with better understanding they can ensure that ethical fashion has both a mainstream and uncompromised future.

[Eleanor Cawte]

The emphasis in ethical fashion has shifted over the last 3 or 4 years since I first started shopping for fair trade/organic clothes.

In the past, the emphasis was on ethical/ecofriendly/organic goods which happened to be clothes - often a bit hippieish and "knit your own tofu".
Now, the emphasis on fashion is much stronger - fashionable clothes, which happen to be made more ethically.

My fear as a consumer is that the pendulum is swinging too far towards high fashion looks, and high fashion prices.
The mid-price range has suffered in mainstream fashion (with the polarisation between the Primark/Tesco and designer label ends of the market), and I hope the same doesn't happen in ethical fashion.

I hope to see more ethical "classics" on sale - clothes you can wear to a normal office job as an alternative to the suits made from nasty synthetic fabrics sold in mainstream high street stores, as well as glamourous party dresses and the traditional organic yoga leggings and hippie skirts.

I see organic wool as ripe for development - most ethical fashion seems to be cotton, silk or hemp. For British winters something warmer would be good! Couldn't an increased demand for organic wool help support British farming industry - local sourcing being another element of sustainability?

[Mehul]

no its not going it depends up on us that we have to make it as our customs.

[Peyton Chris]

Market research shows that consumers expect manufacturers and brands to assume environmental responsibility, so if we use vegan brands then it must be helpful for our environment.  So the current fashion trend includes vegan clothing, vegan beauty products, vegan food etc, also it is followed by the celebrities so it can be promoted worldwide.

I refer Addresschic that also gives you details about the vegan fashion brands, if ethical fashion includes the vegan brands then it must be help to raise the ethical fashion brands.