by Michael Smith
Ethical women's (and it was not just women's) clothing and fashion accessories at Pure London Show have been seen here for the first time this year in early February.
Though not as yet a large collection of ethical clothing and fashion accessories, what was on show was a great quality and some of it extremely interesting. Kashmere and other wools were in evidence, as well as organic and ethically produced cotton clothes.
In the accessories range a number of the shoe companies stood out in my view and also the company that makes curtains, handbags, wallets and even baseball caps from cork. In fact a lot, lot more that what I have just listed.
The question, obviously, is as to whether the buyers of the hight street stores, boutiques, and others are ready to buy into the ethical bit. We can but hope that they will for there is lots of nice stuff there, and, obviously, there is much more than what was showing at Pure London.
Some part of me believes that it may still be some time before the High Street will completely by into the ethical and green issue and especially brands. However, if it is what the consumer demands then, I am sure that they will. They just have to.
But, if the seminars by the Ethical Fashion Forum were anything to go by then the message may already be getting across for they were extremely busy and packed out to some extent. A good thins that, methinks, and it would point to a definite hunger out there amongst buyers and traders to learn more about ethical, as that is, it would appear, what the consumer demands.
A good range of ethically produced and sourced products were to be seen at especially the Ethical Pure accessories and also some interesting ranges at the Ethical Pure clothing section.
I would hope though that that soon more ethical and green designers, labels and brands will be represented at Pure London in the future, and not so so distant one either.
Some of the prices also – especially of some of the items I saw – were also not exorbitant; far from it in fact. This is very good to see as regards to ethical fashion, etc. Normally we find, do we not, that as soon as the label “ethical” or “eco” or “green” is attached the price rises about fourfold.
I am going to stick my neck out here with a sort of prediction and that is that I believe that people will, despite the recession and depression, for I firmly believe we are headed for the latter if we have not already arrived there, instead of taking holidays abroad and easting out that much, buy nice ethical clothes in the same way as I believe that people will make use of the their gardens more instead of holidaying abroad.
I shall try to obtain some samples from some of the companies that I saw and I shall bring the reviews in this here journal as and when.
Hopefully one should be forthcoming for sure and that is some great and green shoes that were shown, which are made of mostly recycled materials.
One sample came our way directly and that is an Envirosax and I shall be reviewing this here in due course.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank all the staff in the press office for their help and attention given freely and generously.
© M Smith (Veshengro), February 2009
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Ethical at Pure London
