Today is the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight, a campaign organised by the Fairtrade industry to raise awareness of the benefits and great reasons to buy its products. We thought we would celebrate Fairtrade by sharing some of our favourite Fair Trade fashion. First of all we just wanted to clear up a few points about Fairtrade/ Fair Trade fashion.
Fairtrade Fashion
Fairtrade fashion usually refers to clothing made from Fairtrade cotton that has been certified by the Fairtrade Foundation. By buying Fairtrade cotton, you are helping cotton farmers to escape the poverty trap and to build a sustainable livelihood. You can find out more on the Fairtrade Foundation website.
Just in case you were in any doubt as to how amazing Fairtrade fashion can look, check out the video above which shows behind the scenes footage of a Fairtrade cotton fashion shoot by Trevor Leighton at London’s City Hall, marking the fifth anniversary of Fairtrade cotton. The shoot included models Lisa Butcher, Mica Paris, Louise Cole and many more. Here’s a behind the scenes video of the photo shoot.
Fair Trade Fashion
Fair Trade Fashion refers to a while range of clothing that has been manufactured / traded under Fair trade conditions also sometimes referred to as Fairly Traded clothing. Fair Trade fashion is about paying workers a fair price but is also a completely different business model to the one the most businesses work on. It is not just about making profit but preventing poverty and promoting sustainability. The great thing about Fair Trade fashion is that it looks amazing as well. It often utilises artisan skills and creates work with time consuming tasks with huge attention to detail that can result in beautiful hand made clothes.
People Tree Betty Dress
People Tree Dana Beaded Earrings
People Tree Rosebud Lace Cardigan
People tree are one of the pioneers of Fair Trade Fashion and their collections use both certified Fairtrade cotton as well as complying to Fair Trade principles. In their SS13 collection look out for cardigans, handknitted in Nepal, intricately hand made beaded jewellery and striking hand block printed cotton dresses.
Pachacuti make beautiful handcrafted hats with the aim of improving the lives of producers and communities in the Andes.
Komodo Dandelion Shirt
Komodo put a great emphasis on creating great fashion as well as being as ethical as they can in the process. For SS13, we are loving their floral print pieces made from beautiful sustainable fabrics.
Mirabelle make beautiful ethical and fair trade jewellery inspired by South East Asia. For SS13, we particularly love the agate pendants.
Don’t forget to check out plenty more amazing Fair Trade Fashion in our Fair Trade category and look out for some great discounts throughout Fairtrade Fortnight.
