By Constance Harris
Sunday Apr 26 2009

The issue of ethically and environmentally produced fashion is a similar one to that of the Victorians' feelings regarding children being sent up chimneys to clean them.

PEOPLE knew in their hearts that it was wrong -- but at the same time, they needed their chimneys cleaned and they didn't particularly bother challenging the practice (in which, often, orphaned children were used and abused, burnt and died as a result of the work).

We want our clothes. But are we willing to make the small effort to ensure they are "clean" of human, as well as environmental, suffering?

Children are born deformed as a result of pesticides and chemicals used in crop and manufacturing processes, and the careless pollution of their land and water, either directly or indirectly poisoning them. Adults die young from hazardous working conditions. Seas and rivers are drained for cotton production, causing irrecoverable natural and social disaster. Torture and abuse are widespread. If you want to see pictorial evidence of what I am talking about go to www.ejfoundation.org.

We want clothes. Ideally, we don't want anyone to suffer in producing them. But what can we do to change the circumstances of their production?

I believe we need to change our sense of entitlement around our fashion fix and put a bit of effort into asking -- is the label we are purchasing "good" or "bad".

The students of Sallynoggin Senior College's Fashion Industry Practice course wanted to produce a high-fashion show to exhibit the skills they had learnt and they wanted to do it using ethical fashion.

Initially, they found the task difficult. There are only a few specifically Fair Trade and/or organic clothing ranges available in this country -- Unicorn Designs and Orla Bass, knitwear designers Lisa Shawgi and Heather Finn, some organic cotton ranges by Timberland, G-Star, Wrangler, Penneys, a tailored suit made from recycled bottles in Debenhams.

In the process of researching every single shop in Dundrum Town Centre the students uncovered some interesting facts. That Gant has a good social responsibility charter. That Hugo Boss are involved in an animal rights initiative with regards to the production of Merino wool. That Manoush (stocked in Eden, Dundalk and Seagreen, Co Dublin) support animal rights and give percentages of their profits to charity organisations. That re-cycling and selling a lot of vintage clothing makes Urban Outfitters a "cleaner" shop to be visiting. That H&M has a large organic offer across women's and children's and an excellent track record on social and environmental practice.

"It does take a bit of effort in that you have to go on-line to research a company," Deirdre Fitzgerald, knitwear designer and Sallynoggin course co-ordinator told me. "But the information is easily found. It only takes a few minutes to read and it can answer your questions and ease your mind about a label. Many companies are trying to do good things. It just isn't something that they tend to know how to promote."

All the outfits on our pages today are from that show. As you can see, there is more choice out there than one supposes and every little helps. Even the designer boutiques are reflecting our desire to shop consciously.

Anastasia in Ranelagh, Alila in Drury Street, D2, Frizzante in Rathgar, D6 and the Kilkenny shops nationwide actively seek labels that are produced within the EU or have good sustainable, or charitable, track records.

Seagreen in Monkstown, was the only boutique in Ireland to buy hip, high-end ethical label, Noir, and it virtually sold out within the first two weeks of being in stock. So ethical fashion can be good fashion and good for business. Peter Ingwerson, founder and designer of Noir, and award-winning ethical fashion designer Izzy Lane will both be giving a talk next Tuesday at Cafe Conference, the industry and educators day organised by Fashion Evolution, the ethical and sustainable fashion event that was so informative and positive last year and at which speakers from Edun, Marks & Spencer, H&M, Fair Trade Ireland, and Katherine Hamnett, all gave their time and knowledge so generously.

Apart from the one "industry day", this year, Fashion Evolution is focusing on public workshops and initiatives because they found ordinary people are really keen to do the right thing

Crafternoon Tea is a day of fashion workshops combined with tea, music and art. There is an evening with Patricia Roberts, the highly-respected knitwear designer of the Eighties, who will talk about her passion for reviving knitwear in a mass production era. There is the Irish premiere of China Blue; secretly shot in a Chinese clothing factory, it shows the behind-the-scenes realities of the fashion industry.

Saturday, May 2 is National Swap Day. The aim is to clear out your wardrobe and organise your own event with family and friends. It's recycling at its most effective and speaking from experience -- it's great fun. Tips as to how to organise yours can be found on www.fashionevolution.info.

If you are a buyer and want to support young Irish designers, some of whom are ethical labels, pop into Fashion Breakthrough, the new trade show in The Loft Market, 2nd Floor, Powerscourt Town House, Dublin 2, from April 28-30. For more information contact Lisa Shawgi on 086-856-7269, or info@ fashionbreakthrough@com. Designers exhibiting are recent Kerry Fashion Awards finalist, Claire O'Connor, as well as Lisa Shawgi and Heather Finn.

There is also a Pop-Up Boutique on the ground floor of Film Base, Temple Bar, from April 25 to May 1 (closed Sunday) and a fashion show on Tuesday, April 28 at D-Light Studios. Tickets cost €15, €12 concessions, from www. fashionbreakthrough.com or www.tickets.ie

Orla Bass is a young Irish designer who has first-hand experience of the hazardous nature of the chemicals used in the clothing industry. She became very ill, largely as a result of the fabrics she had to work with and their chemical composition. This drove her to produce cleaner fashion and educate others. Her label is entirely organic and produced in Ireland.

On Wednesday, May 20, Orla has organised the Sukí Designer Fashion Tea Party, a tea, cakes (donated by Dublin Cup Cakes) and young-designer fashion show in the Westbury Hotel. Tickets are €20 at the door and all proceeds are going to Crumlin's Children's Hospital. Xposé will be there to cover the event.

And finally, I'd just like to say "kudos" to Dublin City Enterprise Board and especially, Eibhlin Curley. They have been brilliantly supportive of the Irish fashion industry providing expertise and training as well as moral and some financial support to events such as Motorola Dublin Fashion Week, Fashion Evolution and Fashion Breakthrough.

For information and tickets for Fashion Evolution, see www.fashionevolution.info.

- Constance Harris

Download our iPhone App Now