• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The Ethical Fashion Show

Written by Sevencam
Thursday, 23 October 2008 00:00

The best of Britain’s up and coming ethical designers came together on Friday 17th October to unveil their Spring/Summer 09 collections in a series of runway catwalk shows, as part of the Islington Contemporary Arts and Design Fair.

The designs revealed a wide range of talent, from women’s streetwear (Miksa) and soft jersey dresses (FeeGee) to tailored separates (House of Tammam); from funky prints (Ria Roberts) to couture (Elena Garcia Eco-Couture); ably supported by underwear designer LuvaHuva and recycled textile label Sew Last Season.

The designers are all part of the group “Conscious Designers Collective” (CDC), which aims to support small, independent designers who want to make an ethical and environmental difference in the way they work.

At the moment, the major ethical and environmental organisations are limited in the help they can offer small companies: annual fees are high, some require a minimum yearly turnover, and auditing processes are expensive and complicated.

That doesn’t mean that young and independent designers don’t have the same desire to produce garments in a responsible way, but it does make it much more difficult to keep track of the processes used and to source reliable, trustworthy suppliers.

As designers together however, the CDC can use their combined influence to challenge working practices in factories, share reliable suppliers and manufacturers, and help promote the importance of sustainability, fair trade and environmental practices among other small companies.

Friday’s fashion show had a fantastic response from guests and industry and the designers hope to repeat its success by exhibiting their next collections in January next year – watch this space!