Garden of Edun: Organic-Cotton
Organic cotton man's V-neck T-shirt, €28, Edun Live. All other garments and accessories, model's own
More photos:Monday November 09 2009
To those of you who are cynical about the whole ‘buy organic and Fairtrade’ thing, I recommend you look up wwwejfoundationorg — read its investigative documents such as The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton, The Children Behind Our Cotton, and Still in the Fields to see how important it is to buy clothes that are both ethically and environmentally clean.
We can make a huge difference in other people’s lives through the choices we make. We can influence global practices, and we already are. Organic-cotton prices are falling: this is because production has increased due to demand. But still, the fashion industry and companies are not getting the message about clean trade, or that consumers care about the workers who make the garments. Irish ethical and sustainable fashion organisation re-dress has a list of ‘clean’ shops and labels on www.re-dress.ie/retail.
Designers, retailers and manufacturers can download EJF’s document Somebody Knows: How to Bring Traceability to Your Cotton Supply Chain. For designers and manufacturers who are interested in ‘clean’ clothes production, the Ethical Fashion Forum is running a two-day market and seminars in London, on November 20 and 21; see www.ethicalfashionforum.com.
All three websites contain suggestions as to things we can do on a more pro-active level to get the industry to change. If, as a consumer, you want to put the pressure on, look up www.ethicaltrade.org/getinvolved/ be-an-ethical-pest for great practical advice. War on Want, see www.lovefashionhatesweatshops.org is another great website.
On our images today are photographs by Emily Quinn of clothes made in Uganda by Ali Hewson and Bono’s companies, Edun and Edun Live. There, Edun’s visionary Grow to Sew plan has come to fruition, with organic cotton being grown, processed and manufactured all in one country, thereby cutting the carbon footprint and the environmental impact of the clothes. And the workers have better work, wages and health care than is usual there. The young couple pictured do not work for Edun, but they are typical of Ugandans: young, trying to make a life in harsh, often primitive post-war conditions.
Basically, Edun Live produces plain cotton T-shirts in about 12 colours, which everyone from football clubs to high-street retailers can buy and then print up the way they want. Genius. The planet and her people can’t afford cynical, self-conscious observers. Every little bit of effort to be a cleaner consumer helps: that’s “Why bother?”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY EMILY QUINN
STYLING BYHAZEL PFEIFER
FASHION EDITED BY CONSTANCE HARRIS
