| Buy a pair of jeans, and the chances are they'll have | | | | you. It's just that the companies are ahead of the |
| travelled further across the globe in their short life than | | | | certification bodies. |
| you. | | | | However, as a consumer you can easily identify some |
| The clothing and apparel industry is a complex one. It is | | | | key practices and attributes that an fair trade fashion |
| now common for a piece of clothing - let's take that | | | | company should pursue if it is genuinely working in an |
| pair of jeans, for example - to be made up of | | | | ethical way. |
| components from five or more countries, often | | | | Firstly, the very fact that enterprises are working with |
| thousands of miles away, before they end up in our | | | | value-added goods, like jeans or necklaces, is positive. |
| high street store where you buy them. | | | | Although the trade in coffee is fantastic, coffee is just |
| Fair trade fashion aims to create clothing and | | | | a raw material, the real value of which is gained when |
| accessories that take into account their impact on the | | | | you use those beans to make a cappuccino. When |
| producers who make the goods at all the different | | | | you buy a fair trade coffee in London or New York or |
| stages of its production. Ethical fashion companies are | | | | Paris, the farmer obviously benefits, but the great |
| not engaged in a 'race to the bottom' in pursuit of the | | | | majority of the price you pay goes to the coffee |
| very cheapest products at the expense of producers' | | | | company, not the farmer in coffee farmer in Ethiopia |
| livelihoods and their environment. Ultimately, this is an | | | | or Colombia. The value-added element, which is a posh |
| international trading system built on equitable relations | | | | way of explaining how some beans and hot water |
| and fair dealings. | | | | and milk can be sold for £2.50 or $4, goes into |
| So far, so good. But how do you define the notion of | | | | the pockets of European or US companies. |
| 'fair'? | | | | With fair trade fashion, producers are essentially |
| Although there is no universally accepted benchmark | | | | exporting finished products, for which there is a higher |
| for what a fair price is, it is generally accepted that | | | | added-value, rather than just raw materials. Continuing |
| producers earning a fair wage are able to live | | | | with the example of the pair of jeans, the producers |
| relatively comfortable lives within the context of their | | | | are exporting a finished pair with pockets, a zipper and |
| local area. This means enough money for housing, a | | | | button, not just reams of denim in a roll. So they are |
| generous amount of food, health care, education for | | | | benefiting by earning more money and gaining more |
| children, and some disposable income. | | | | skills. This is a huge benefit to producers in developing |
| Commodities such as coffee, tea and fruits offer a | | | | countries. |
| very simple economic model. They are traded in | | | | In addition, in the world of fair trade fashion, companies |
| commodity markets daily, resulting in a global market | | | | tend to work with eco-friendly products such as |
| price. Importers can simply pay a premium above that | | | | organic cotton, organic wool, recycled fabrics and |
| market price and they are following the rules set down | | | | natural dyes. This has huge environmental benefits. |
| by the major certification schemes. | | | | Ethics in fashion is growing, and with more and more |
| Manufactured, of 'finished', goods like clothing or | | | | top designers becoming involved in the movement, and |
| jewellery or accessories are much more complicated | | | | sustainability growing in importance, this is an issue that |
| because components often come from literally dozens | | | | isn't going to disappear. The certification bodies are |
| of sources. Also, wages, labour laws, and factory | | | | likely to catch up with the leading companies to |
| conditions are much more difficult to monitor compared | | | | introduce some kind of labelling system. And when the |
| to commodity prices. So for example, it becomes very | | | | storm clouds of the global economy start to move |
| difficult to define what constitutes an ethically-sourced | | | | away, this movement will still be there. |
| pair of jeans. | | | | Because the bottom line is that the |
| That's why fair trade fashion items are not all certified | | | | low-cost-at-any-cost global economy just isn't |
| and stamped yet. It's not that they are trying to con | | | | sustainable. |