Fashion in its origin has been designed to segregate and exclude those who do not conform to certain dress codes which reflect not only society’s subcultures, but reinforce elitism and wealth. Why should eco – fashion be any different?

Above yellow YSL polo shirt and sweater from Trais and Suedette dress and football socks from Traid. Traid stands for Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development. "TRAID is a charity committed to protecting the environment and reducing world poverty by recycling and through the collection and sale of reclaimed clothing to help prevent waste." Click here to view TRAID's range

With the climate in crisis many consumers are supporting eco friendly fashions. Design houses continue to cash in on the global crisis as eco-fashion has become the exclusive black dress. Fashion forward capitals have been promoting product under the guise of global warming awareness. This past year several campaigns promoting eco-ensembles were in full swing, “Fashion Is In My Nature” trade show in Paris, “Is Green the New Black?” campaign in London and the green-themed Fashion Week in Brazil. Perhaps a more honest slogan could be “Let’s save the world one purchase at a time.” In an economy driven by consumerism, ethical purchases in the United Kingdom are now worth £24.7 billion per annum and growing every day.

Dorothy Perkins has teamed up with the Woodland Trust to create a limited edition range of clothing. So far they have raised enough money to plant 30,000 trees in the UK. Dorothy Perkins is aiming to extend this to 70,000, and has added new lines to acheive their target. Above two printed Tee’s Priced at £12.00 and £15.00 if you were to purchase one of these, 5 pounds of the profits would go to planting a tree. Click here to view the collection.

In reality eco fashion is pricey and not affordable to most as the use of organic farming methods free of toxins and the exclusive use of natural fibres [as opposed to synthetics] drastically increase not only the quality, but the price of each product. All three factors are appealing to the modern day consumer. A better quality not only desirably warrants a higher price, but a larger appeal to the masses who are in constant competition to out dress, out spend and out do every other fashionista. Not only would I be saving the world, but I would look good doing it with the guidance of designers like Stella McCartney who have created shoes and handbags from non-leather fabrics and use cruelty-free feathers and leather alternatives.

Louis Vuitton has a factory that uses geothermal energy which recycles rain and waste water, but what most articles don’t emphasise is the effect of unnecessary continued waist by the very same ethical design houses. Louis Vuitton is a great example of the contradictions of ethical purchases. A self supporting, energy efficient factory is great in theory, but how many of these factories exist? Many fail to comment on the use of cardboard carrier bags with unnecessary leather embellishments and handles for the purposes of pure aesthetic pleasure. Consumers are bombarded with decadence and luxury to increase feelings of well being for a product they have already purchased. Ethical clothing is about anything, but ethics. It is driven by indulgence, luxury and competition. If the environment happens to benefit, I suppose that’s great too.

Many would argue that ethical clothing, regardless of the driving force, is a step in the moral direction as less pesticides result in a healthier planet and consumer. It also has the ability to curb unfair labour conditions, and increase the awareness of unfair treatment of labourers.