i use recycled fabric and trims from antique markets, that i hand pick could be curtains a men’s shirt or rement fabric, i then create unique one off garments with these unusual fabrics that are wearable and affordable.
i belive using recycled fabrics is a good alternative for ethical fashion as it does not create a demand and there is always a large supply of these especially as the new disposable fashion trend has hit.

I agree consumers must be tempted to say the least, but being aware and choosing carefully i.e something you will not throw away next week is also important in being ethical.

samantha waine
Dirty Pretty

When I first started out – at the business plan stage – I tried to source fabrics which were actually made in the UK. I called at least 30 different factories in the Midlands to no avail. The only fabric I could find was various types of Scottish tweed (though not all the wool used was even British) and some upholstery fabrics. Although some hemp is being grown within the UK, it is shipped overseas for processing and then shipped back again to be sold.

The only sustainable, organic and truly cultural product coming out of the UK is wool, an example of which is Ardalanish Organic Tweed or Garthenor Organic Wool, both approved by the Soil Assoc.

We’re currently in a credit crunch, several people in my green network have had a miserable April and May 2008.

Green fashion is making consumers go cross eyed. On one side they have £3 Primark blouses and somewhere, in the haze, is a few journalists chirping about the greatness of green fashion, where a blouse costs considerably more in the eyes of the average consumer and perhaps only the most affluent can afford.

Shauna Chapman
Founder, Quail

Car running on water. BMW Hydrogen 7 series
or
Jay Leno talks about BMW Hydrogen 7 series