Finally the BBC has made a programme that can help is in the credit crunch AND is great for the environment. When Ethical and Green wrote about Sex and the City we signposted you to a site recommending swapping your frocks. Now it seems that the BBC are encouraging us to do the same.
Twiggy’s Frock Exchange encourages you to get together with your friends and swap the clothes that you might not want anymore. This is great for the environment but unfortunately it has taken a financial crisis to make people think it’s a good idea.
A great part of the show is that there are experts on hand to give advice on how to re-style old clothes. There are also experts giving general fashion advice.
Instead of filing landfills with clothes you can now pass them onto your friends. This also means that you can get a new outfit for free. Everyone wins! If you want to host your own frock exchange party click here.
The down side of this is that people are cutting back and not buying as many new clothes. We have written before about how the credit crunch is affecting the ethical fashion industry. This is largely because ethical fashion is more often than not slightly more expensive than the high street. Many owners of ethical fashion companies have noticed a slump in sales that are not picking up.
Even though we are in a credit crunch we still need clothes so if you are going shopping check out ethical fashion brands as well. You will be pleasantly surprised! Over the coming weeks we’ll be looking at some ethical fashion companies and deciding who are the best.
For now check out: www.quailbymail.co.uk based in Devon (UK)
Quail By Mail said,
October 9, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Quail here! Yes, it has been a dire 6 months for the budding ethical fashion market. Since my label puts as many ticks in ethical and green and British boxes as I can, I can’t afford to sell items as cheap as the high street. So when Quail is having a sale, basically it means, I’m breaking even. It costs money to manufacture and post items to customers. Marketing is done on a shoestring!
I enjoyed watching Twiggy’s programme. It highlighted British innovation and ingenuity in the fashion industry. This country used to have a much larger fashion industry and traditional manufacturing skill base. I’m a fan of British design and British manufacture!
Amma said,
October 17, 2008 @ 8:53 am
I was impressed with the program, and I am glad that it is teaching people that there is more to life than just shopping… there is swapping instead!
Albeit, people are being led by their wallets – I am glad that in a back handed way that this is supporting the environment. Also, I hope that this will lead people to invest in quality items – I would rather spend the money that I have on a well manufactured, and structured garment that is timeless; than jump on every trend bandwagon going. Whilst, there is a market for shops such as Primark. The addage by it cheap, but it twice springs to mind… and not only will it affect our wallets in the long term, it is helping to destroy the earth.