Showing posts with label Fair Trade fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fair Trade fashion. Show all posts

Friday, 10 August 2007

Be a shining example of ethical chic with Onagono fashion

onagono.jpgEthical fashion brand Onagono is introducing a new collection called Shining, designed by Tomomi Kojo Robertson, which will be unleashed in September. This simple, high quality and incredibly stylish jersey wear collection reveres the planet, having been constructed from 100% organic fair trade cotton and featuring nature inspired printed artworks by Phoebe Eason, Rohan Daniel, Rupert Smyth and Richard Ardagh. Garments from this new collection will not break the bank with t-shirts starting from £23 a piece.

onagono2.jpgOnagono was born out of Tomomi’s desire to fight against the unfair cotton trade, by providing an ethical alternative. Recognising that her background in mainstream fashion and interest in creative cultures and the environment were at odds, Tomomi developed an ethical label that makes the most of organic (certified by SKAL) fair trade cotton. Onagono will be showcasing a full Spring/Summer 2008 women’s wear collection at the September Pret-a-Porter exhibition in Paris.

Stockists of Onagono have included Topshop, Behave and Family Tree in London, Beams and Ma in Japan, The Rise and Fall in New York and 90sqm in Amsterdam. For more information check out the
Onagono website which will have an online store up and running shortly.

Thursday, 5 July 2007

Ethical brand lowdown: Adili

What do they do?

Adili is an online ethical store selling a range of Fair Trade, fairly traded, recycled, organic and other ethical womenswear, menswear, accessories, footwear, babies and children's clothing, household items, skincare and gifts, produced by a range of ethical labels.

What are they about?

Adili is the Swahili word for 'ethical and just,' which is what Adili stand for, believing that fashionable clothing can be made without causing unnecessary harm to people or the planet. Adili showcases the pioneering brands who have demonstrated that trade can be conducted in a fairer manner, without exploiting people along the supply chain. With this in mind, Adili has created a framework for each brand to be evaluated against, before they can be adopted as a supplier. Each supplier must demonstrate against a set criteria how they are ensuring the ethical and just nature of their production processes.

Who is behind Adili?

Adam Smith is the CEO of Adili, with 14 years experience in the retail sector. He has undertaken various roles throughout his career, including Director of Operations for sit-up Ltd and eCommerce Development Director at Dixons. Adam has experience of setting up supply chains from the Far East and Indian sub-continent and a personal empathy with the values of Adili.com.

Quentin Griffiths is the Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of ASOS. His background is in marketing.


Christopher Powles in a Non-Executive Director, who combines his experience of financing small unquoted companies with a long standing interest in the environment and developing world. Christopher was born in Africa and has been involved in conservation and ethical projects for a number of years.

Claire Lissaman is a consultant on ethical and fair trade, having formerly been the UK director for RUGMARK, a certification, labelling and development initiative working to end exploited child labour in South Asia's rug industry.

What criteria do Adili use to ensure that items are ethical?

Adili has a set definition of fair trade, which includes, "a trading partnership based on trasparency, dialogue and respect that seeks greater equity in international trade," amongst other things. Some brands carry a certification label such as those issued by IFAT (International Fair Trade Association) and the Fairtrade Foundation. Adili uses the word fairly traded to denote brands that are working within their set definition, but do not yet have formal certification.

Adili recognises organic certifiers who are members of The International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM), including: The Soil Association, Skal, IMO and AGRECO. Adili uses the term organic to denote products that are crafted from organic fibres but are not currently certified.

Adili also sells locally sourced products (which supports local businesses, promotes traditional skills and helps to combat carbon emissions from shipping clothes all other the world) and sells products that use alternative and recycled fibres (which prevents wastage, as millions of textiles are binned each year and avoids the reliance on cotton, a crop which accounts for billions of dollars worth of pesticide use every year and consumes vast amounts of precious water).

For further information on Adili's ethical framework, check out Adili.com.

Hot picks?

I thought you'd never ask, the Ciel Sophia Dress, for £185, made from certified organic cotton, the fairly traded Kuyichi Harpoon Print Top, for £40, made from 50% cotton and 50% polyester, the fairly traded Kuyichi White Denim Jeans, for £78, the Fifi Bijoux Ardent Pendant, for £205, made from ethically mined gold and gemstones, without the use of cyanide, arsenic or mercury and all the Spiezia beauty products, because I think Spiezia are fantastic!


Wednesday, 4 July 2007

More summer sales: People Tree

Yesterday, ethical brand People Tree launched a summer sale, offering up to 75% off of a whole range of items. People Tree is a pioneer in the ethical and Fair Trade fashion arena. They have a Fair Trade policy, to pay producers a fair price and aid some of the world's poorest communites and an eco-policy, to promote natural and organic cotton farming, avoid damaging chemicals, protect water and forest supplies and use natural and biodegradable substances where possible. People Tree is a registered member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), which stipulates ten standards that Fair Trade organisations are required to follow and the brand works with 50 Fair Trade groups in 15 developing countries, helping the world's most marginalised communities use Fair Trade to avoid the poverty trap. Their designs are stocked in over 30 Fair Trade and independent shops around the United Kingdom, in Topshop's flagship store in Oxford Street, London, as well as being distributed to a range of other countries.
Here are a few of my favourite bargains!

1) Delia Summer Dress, cut from £38 to £19 - 100% organic Fair Trade cotton.
2) Greek Tunic Top, cut from £28 to £21 - 100% organic Fair Trade cotton.
3) Emma Embroidered Blouse, cut from £36 to £9 - 100% Fair Trade cotton.
4) Amazon Leaf-Print Skirt, cut from £45 to £36 - 100% organic Fair Trade cotton.
5) Three-Quarter-Length-Trousers, cut from £45 to £22.50 - Fair Trade cotton.

6) Jute Safari Bag, cut from £18 to £13.50 - Fair Trade.