Ethical clothing lines are all the fashion

FASHION and ethics are two concepts that have never quite matched. The use of mink to make warm coats and cows to make nice shoes has always caused conflict.

More importantly, the use of child labour to make hoodies and other popular clothing has given the industry a bad name over the years.

But for the past few days in London Fashion Week, ethical attire has shaken off its rumpy image of tie-dye T-shirts and hemp fabrics, as ‘Couture with a Conscience’.

In the fashion week exhibition tent on the grounds of the British Natural History Museum, a special space has been dedicated entirely to eco-sustainable high fashion, including ready-to-wear collections and accessories for next summer and spring.

Called Estethica, the space showcases designers who have upheld one or more of the following principles: Fairtrade, organic fabrics or recycled material.

Among the designers on display in Estethica were Beyond Skin, an exclusive footwear label that uses old material gathered from various sources. The more casual footwear range, Terra Plana, has managed to make high heel shoes out of old tyres.

Another designer there, Katherine E Hamnett, said her clothes use a supply from a pesticide-free source with chlorine-free chemicals. She also abides by high labour standards and uses transport by sea where possible.

But far from resembling hippy clothes, her line includes 1950s-style dresses and tailored Mac suits.

Fashion Week itself opened with a catwalk show by Nior, a successful Danish design label that supports African cotton workers and uses only organically grown fibres.

“A lot of people think it is just a trend that will pass, but I don’t think it’s going to die out,” said Melanie Salmon, director of the Ethical Fashion Forum which helps designers to source ethical fabric.