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As inevitable as the changing seasons, London Fashion Week is in town again.
This year the Estethica collective of designers, set up by the British Fashion Council to showcase ‘ethical' design, has 37 designers in its exhibition, marking a rapid rise from only 13 at its inception just over four years ago.
With celebrities falling over themselves to endorse ethical brands, eco labels flying off the shelves of supermarkets, and news that even the Deputy Prime Minister's wife is backing a new ‘ethically aware' fashion brand, it's crystal clear that ethical fashion is no longer the sole preserve of the hessian sack brigade. It's cool.
What does the rise and rise of the eco label mean for mainstream ethical trade? How far is the movement helping to promote respect for workers' rights? What can eco labels learn from high street retailers about how to put ethics into practice? And what can we all learn from them - aside from getting the lowdown on whether harem pants will still be hot next Spring?
I asked Clare Lissaman: a rare breed of ethical trade consultant who is as comfortable advising tiny eco labels as she is global fashion giants.
First things first, how would you define ‘ethical fashion'?
Good question! Unlike mainstream ethical trade, carried out by big retailers across their whole supply chains, 'ethical fashion' or 'eco fashion' is really about small companies that define themselves by their values. It also differs from mainstream ethical trade - which focuses solely on workers' rights - in that it represents a very broad church of interests - in fact it probably means something different to every designer you'd ask at the Estethica exhibition. Some are incredibly passionate about protecting the environment, while others want to help preserve artisanal production and overcome poverty through trade. Others still may prioritise animal rights, and may not have thought much about workers' rights.
One of the challenges that the big fashion chains face in implementing ethical trade is the fact that they often don't have direct contact with the manufacturers who make their clothes. Would you say it is easier for small brands to ‘do' ethical trade?
Well you might argue that, in the sense that many will only have a few suppliers, so they'll have a direct relationship with them. That means they should be able to build up good, positive relationships based on trust - essential for making progress in tackling workers' issues.
The downside of smallness though is that manufacturers don't like small production runs and an ethical label may have had to beg them to even supply them in the first place - which may limit the leverage they have to influence changes to workers' conditions.
But then this also means that suppliers can usually dictate the terms of trade, including the lead times, payment terms and so on, so there'll be no issues around purchasing practices hindering suppliers' ability to adhere to labour standards.
What can mainstream brands learn from eco-labels?
I think there are three key things:
Innovation. One big difference between eco-fashion and mainstream ethical trade is that the people involved in it tend to be the designers and buyers and so on. Creativity and innovation is in their DNA. Just take a look at the Estethica brands or the Ethical Fashion Forum's Innovation competition winners to see in what exciting ways they are looking at the linkages between sustainability and fashion. In contrast, the people involved in mainstream ethical trade tend to be, well, ethical trade types, who may well have a much better grasp of the complexities and challenges of ethical sourcing, but perhaps not as used to thinking outside the box.
Having said that there are some good examples out there of ethical trade staff working with buyers to develop innovative solutions to managing the negative impacts of purchasing practices, and with the ETI purchasing practices group encouraging closer collaboration with buyers, hopefully this is changing.
Fearlessness. Eco labels are not afraid to speak up about their values. Of course, for many of them that's because ethics are as much at the heart of the brand as style, but it would be nice to see more high street retailers being more open and passionate about the work they do.
Connecting customers with producers. A lot of the eco labels are very good at telling stories. For example, the fair trade fashion brand People Tree is very good at getting its customers to connect with the people who are making its garments, and reminding them that they are helping to tackle poverty in this way.
So what can eco-labels learn from mainstream ethical trade?
Again, I can think of three key things they could learn.
Process. One thing that concerns me about some small ethical companies is that they can be a bit naive about their ethical credentials. I remember asking someone how she knew her garments were ‘ethical' and she replied that she visited her supplier regularly and had a trusting relationship with them. Although that will help, there's often not a lot of knowledge about how to assess with regard to core labour standards and almost no talk about the importance of trade unions and the need to involve them.
Eco labels can learn a lot from the big retailers about how to translate their values into effective systems, with transparent policies and procedures and targets that they can measure progress against.
Expertise on international labour standards. ETI members have developed a wealth of knowledge about how to apply international labour standards in their supply chains. A lot of the knowledge that's been developed, ranging from how to carry out an audit, to building trust with suppliers, to responding to child labour and promoting trade union rights, is just as relevant for smaller companies as it is for the big boys.
How to do business. Eco labels are often started by young fashion designers with no or limited experience of business. They can learn a lot from the high street about how to trade - things like what to put on cardboard boxes, how warehousing and distribution works, how to package things properly and so on.
What's really exciting is that we're seeing more and more collaborations between eco labels and high street retailers, so hopefully we'll see lots more really interesting innovations that can be scaled up to benefit more workers in supply chains.
Clare Lissaman is a consultant on ethical and fair trade. She has a particular focus on the impact of trade on poverty which leads her to work on labour standards in global supply chains and helping disadvantaged producers to access mainstream markets with both businesses and NGOs. She is also on the board of the Ethical Fashion Forum's Ethical Fashion Consultancy.