Shopping for Clothes

Sustainable clothing needn't cost the earth

There is no way to avoid buying clothes altogether, but there are ways to minimise the environmental impact of your choices. Thankfully, things have moved on since the days when tie-dye t-shirts and sandals were the only option for the ethical shopper.

The simplest and most effective way is to invest in good quality clothes that last longer, and in timeless designs rather than whatever is 'in' this season. It might mean spending a little more right now, but just might save you money in the long run.

Avoid synthetic fibres and man-made materials - these by-products of the petrochemical industry rely on the unsustainable supply of cheap oil. Buy clothes made from natural fibres instead, such as wool or cotton and buy Fairtrade.

A cheaper alternative is to buy clothes second-hand - there are bargains to be had in St Helier's many charity shops and most parishes have regular jumble sales. Buying second-hand not only saves you money, it can also help to support charities such as Oxfam that promote Fairtrade. If you do choose to buy second-hand goods you will certainly not be alone - 72 per cent of people in the UK bought second-hand at least once during 2004 (Co-op bank, 2005).

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Fairtrade Clothing

Although falling prices on the high street are good news for the consumer, cheap clothes can only mean one thing - cheap labour. Most garments in Jersey's stores will have been made in factories in developing countries under 'sweatshop' conditions. These factories exploit vulnerable women and young people, many of whom work very long hours for pitiful wages.

So-called 'designer' clothes and sportswear are often made in the same factories that produce cheaper versions for the supermarkets and the high street. Sometimes the only difference between them is the label itself.

The only guaranteed way to avoid clothes made in sweatshops is to buy Fairtrade products, made in factories where workers are guaranteed a fair wage and decent working conditions. There are no Fairtrade clothing retailers in Jersey, although Jacks in Beresford Street does stock howies.

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We can all make a difference by supporting those manufacturers who protect their workers' rights and offer them a decent wage. If you are not sure about the ethical credentials of your favourite labels, you can check many of them out right now online. Most manufacturers' websites now feature their worker and environmental policies and opportunities for customer feedback.

Here are a few questions the Guardian newspaper's Leo Hickman suggests you might like to ask:

  • How does your company guarantee that the rights of the workers making your clothes are respected?
  • Do you have a list of all the factories that make your products around the world?
  • Does it include the wages and working conditions in each factory, and if so, can I see it?
  • Do you have a code of conduct that protects human rights, forbids child labour and guarantees safe conditions in all the factories that make the clothes you sell? Can I see a copy?
  • Is there independent monitoring to ensure that everybody lives up to the code?
  • What do you do when you discover violations?

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When is ' 100 per cent' not 100 per cent?

Cotton would seem the obvious choice for sutainable clothing as it is a natural, sustainable product. The cotton industry represents a substantial threat to the environment, however, because of the amount of chemicals used in its production. The Ecologist magazine claims that 150g of pesticides are needed to grow the cotton for just one t-shirt.

Online retailer howies reckon that most '100 per cent' cotton t-shirts are actually only 73 per cent cotton, with the rest made up of chemicals added during the growing process.

A substantial proportion of the world's cotton comes from the USA, where production relies on vast quantities of chemicals. Organic cotton farmers farming much more sustainably elsewhere are unable to compete on price with the heavily subsidised Americans.

Buying Fairtrade, organic cotton helps to address this imbalance. It's kinder to the environment, gives smaller cotton farmers in developing countries a fairer chance and guarantees that what you're putting next to your skin really is '100% cotton'.

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