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Slow Fashion by Safia Minney

By July 2, 2016 Ethical

I’m going to say something for the 1000th time when it comes to ethical and sustainable fashion; it’s really important to educate yourself.

Slow Fashion by Safia Minney Book Review


SLOW FASHION by Safia Minney


You might be aware of some of the issues surrounding the fashion industry these days, but how much do you really know about what’s being done to make changes? How many real life stories have you listened to? How do you know what to do as a consumer?

These are all questions you should be able to answer easily, but for a lot of people, it’s hard to answer them without saying, “I don’t know” or perhaps, “I don’t know enough to give you an answer”. So yes, I may have said it several times by now, but it really is important. We all need to learn more, so that we’re open and aware about what needs to change… a big emphasis on need, because it really does need to.

So, as a way to educate yourself, I’m going to introduce you to a book that I’ve just finished reading – “Slow Fashion” by founder and CEO of People Tree, Safia Minney. “Slow Fashion” is a book which explores the work which is being done to make the fashion industry more ethical and sustainable, as well inspiring entrepreneurs, creatives and consumers, to think differently and start to make change, no matter how big or small.

Safia has been running People Tree, a leading ethical and sustainable fashion brand for the past 25 years, working alongside designers like Zandra Rhodes to create exciting and ethical collections which not only help the people making them, but the environment and the earth.

Slow Fashion by Safia Minney Book Review

Slow Fashion by Safia Minney Book Review

One of the main themes throughout the book is something that I wanted to share with you, and is something that emphasises my point about educating yourself; small steps lead to bigger things. One of the best ways to explain this is through a quote (from the book) by actress and model, Lily Cole…

“Whenever I am given a choice, I try to make the right one.”

When you learn about some of the issues in the industry, you can be taken aback. For me personally, it was like something clicked and suddenly I had this whole new mind-set (thanks to the wonderful movie which is, The True Cost)… but there are cons to that happening. I ended up putting pressure on myself and started to rush things and try and reevaluate everything I knew before. Although now I see this as a pro, I basically stopped shopping altogether. I felt guilty whenever I wore clothes I knew were unethical, and I tried to change too much of what I could all at one time.

The reason I’m explaining this, is because Lily’s quote uses one specific word; try.

When we learn about all of these issues, for most of us, it’s hard to suddenly change everything. It’s hard to step out of what we can afford or what we are able to do immediately. But it is possible to do in the long run (though of course, the faster the better, as I said; things need to change) and that’s something we mustn’t forget.

Slow Fashion by Safia Minney Book Review

Slow Fashion by Safia Minney Book Review

It’s reassuring to read that even people who are making changes, aren’t always perfect. Sometimes it’s impossible. Not everyone has the freedom and privilege to purchase specifically ethical clothing due to the fact that it’s usually higher in price than normal run of the mill, high-street fashion (don’t forget though, second-hand and vintage clothing is an option). But being aware that there is a choice, is very valuable.

Walking into a shop and asking yourself whether you need an item, or whether you could find a better, more high quality option that will be more sustainable, is so important. And to loop it all back; being aware, means educating yourself, which is why I’m recommending this book.

At the same time as learning more about the issues and effects of fast-fashion and mass consumption, you can discover new brands and labels to shop from, some of which include: Goodsociety, Miss Green, Braintree, Armed Angels, MADE, LeJu, Joanna Cave and Quazi Design.

Slow Fashion by Safia Minney Book Review


Stitched Up: The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion by Tansy E. Hoskins


You can also discover other books including the one photographed in this post, “Stitched Up: The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion”. I’m only into Chapter 2 and it’s already highly insightful. It not only looks into fast-fashion (both on the high-street and on the catwalk), but it also covers topics like racism and body image. It’s a one of a kind book to add to your reading list! (I’ll be sure to review it when I’m finished).

Also through this book, I’ve discovered the film, “Udita” by Rainbow Collective. It’s an extraordinary and raw insight into the lives of the female factory workers in Bangladesh, most of whom were affected by the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013. One of the most touching moments in the film for me, is when one of the workers is explaining their desires and wishes for the future…

I wish people would buy clothes with a conscience. My desire is that what’s happening now will never be repeated. That people who are buying clothes abroad stop and think about how much they buy for it and how much is the true cost for us here.”

If the workers themselves are saying they wish we could shop with a conscience, then surely that’s enough for us all to implement change, no matter how big or small? The majority of us have a choice. We all have the ability to learn about our choices. Learning is all part of the process, and really, at the most, it can take an hour out of your day to do so.

When you next sit down to binge watch your favourite Netflix show, why not click onto The True Cost (which is on Netflix anyway) or go onto Amazon and order yourself a book, instead? Small steps lead to bigger things, and we can all make them if we try.


What are you going to do to learn more? Have you read Slow Fashion already? Let me know in the comments!

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Pen to Paper Interview with… Ben Alun-Jones of UNMADE

By June 8, 2016 Pen to Paper

‘Pen to Paper’ is a new feature on TDP, which involves an informal handwritten form of interview between myself and creatives –  from fashion designers, photographers, journalists, artists and musicians, to people who generally inspire me from day-to-day. 


bio pic

Founded by Royal College of Art graduates Ben Alun-Jones, Hal Watts and Kirsty Emery, UNMADE collaborates with creatives across a range of disciplines to bring together the best of art, fashion and design, which you then define.
In just a few clicks disrupt your pattern, shift lines and clash colours to create a made-to-order piece of knitwear that’s uniquely you. They hold no stock and nothing is produced until you submit your order. You can find them in features including The New York Times, DAZED, BoF, The Guardian and more.

 WEBSITE // TWITTER // FACEBOOK // INSTAGRAM


Ben Alun-Jones UNMADE Interview


~ READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT ~


When I discovered UNMADE through Susie Bubble’s blog (Style Bubble), I knew instantly that this was the kind of brand I’d like to know more about. Mixing technology with ethical and sustainable fashion is basically a dream for me and that’s exactly what they’re combining. I had the chance to send over some questions to Ben Alun-Jones who is one of their founders to ask some more about how their brand works and what they’re doing to make their mark in not only the sustainable area of fashion, but the industry as a whole.

The brand brings together innovative technology which lets consumers manipulate and change the designs of their knitwear to exactly how they want them, with the original designs coming straight from the minds of designers and artists including Christopher Raeburn, Malika Favre and Nicolas Sassoon. They have no stock which reduces waste and makes the whole experience even more unique.


We saw an industrial knitting machine for the first time. 💡 This was the lightbulb moment. We could make a unique garment from a digital file in a matter of a few hours. Now to make that dream a reality… (The software didn’t exist yet).

How and when did the concept for UNMADE come about?

Ben Alun-Jones UNMADE Interview

Ben Alun-Jones UNMADE Interview

Ben Alun-Jones UNMADE Interview


Simply put, no. Short term financial benefits trump longer term ethical and sustainable benefits. We’re trying to make a viable alternative to current industrial production (That happens to be more ethical and sustainable). We want people to choose it because its better, not because its more sustainable.

Do you think enough is being done to combat the issues around ethical and sustainable fashion?

What Ben said about making their brand a better alternative rather than a ‘more sustainable’ one was quite interesting to me. That’s the aim, isn’t it really? To be able to go to a brand with the knowledge that they’re focusing on ethical and sustainable issues, but actually shop from them because their designs and products are what draw you in.

Ben Alun-Jones UNMADE Interview


We are a completely different approach to working with brands, customers and manufacturing. We need the acceptance of all these people. (This is hard).

Technology is a big, if not the most important part of how UNMADE runs - what's the biggest challenge you face with weaving tech into fashion?

We’ve had to build all the tools to make unique production work on an industrial scale. Now we’re taking it to the wider industry to create a more creative, more sustainable and more responsive approach to the industrial production. Watch this space…

What's your next aim? What direction do you see the brand going in?

As an aspiring designer who wants to focus on sustainability as I grow and learn, UNMADE is a huge inspiration to me. The concept may be niche, but it’s not hard to imagine it growing even bigger and having a wider reach. I’m excited to see what’s coming next, especially when we’ve been left with a ‘Watch this space…


(IMAGES COURTESY OF UNMADE)


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NEW TDP Ethical Directory for Fashion Brands

By August 9, 2015 Ethical

So, whilst I’ve been having a bit of a blogging low, I’ve actually been working behind the scenes on something that I think you guys are going to like! I’ve been asked a few times what ethical brands I recommend since I’ve started talking more ethical fashion, so I thought why not create a list of all of them?

Ethical Directory For Fashion Brands - ASOS Africa, People Tree, Reformation

Ethical Directory For Fashion Brands - ASOS Africa, VILA, VERO MODA

~ TDP’S ETHICAL DIRECTORY ~

Dah-dah! I’ve created an Ethical Directory. A list of brands that I’ve discovered that are all giving back in someway or another, whether that be ethically, sustainably, or both! Some of them I’ve known for a while now, and some of them I’ve only just discovered since working on the list, but either way, I’m sure you’ll enjoy having a browse.

I’ve devised the directory into 7 categories, and they all have handy links so you can get to each of them easily. Have a click on these if you want to go straight to it…


Favourites // Fashion // Accessories & Footwear // High End £££ // Basics // Second-hand // Miscellaneous


Ethical Directory For Fashion Brands - EMG, O MY BAG, Reformation

So far, I have 3 brands/designers per category, which I know doesn’t seem like much, but I thought it would be a good, organised, base to start from. There are 3 images displayed which point to each brand’s website, as well as 3 drop down toggles which have basic information and another, easy, clickable link. Price ranges/dates maybe rough, but I’ve tried to be as clear as possible! 

Some of the brands maybe 100% ethical and sustainable already, and some brands may be on their way, but hopefully this gives you an idea of what is actually out there and makes you start to think before you buy! I really hope to expand the directory and hopefully, you can help too!

Ethical Directory For Fashion Brands - ASOS Africa, Oxfam, People Tree

~ GET INVOLVED ~

If you want to get involved with my new ethical directory, then click on the banner above (or this link). Follow the link to a tweet, and add in your brand name/Twitter handle. I’ll have a peep through the hashtag, #EthicalTDP, and if I find any brands or designers that pick my fancy, I may just add them to my directory. How does that sound?

So, what do you think of my new ethical directory for fashion brands? I really hope you like the idea and that you get involved with making it grow! Don’t forget to comment any ethical brands too; I’d love to know of some more…


Are you a brand who wants to be listed in my Ethical Directory? Head over to my advertising page to learn more. I’m currently offering a small, limited amount of features.


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Ethical And Sustainable Fashion

By February 9, 2014 Ethical

I really wanted to do a post on eco-friendly and ethical fashion, and here it is! I wanted to find out a bit more about not only what it is all about, but also some great brands which sell and produce ethical and sustainable fashion products. It’s taken me quite a while to get this done so I hope it is worth it! Thank you to the brands for answering my questions too!

VOZ ethical and sustainable fashion retailers and brands ethical fashion VOZ This brand specialize in hand-made garments that feature premium quality natural and ecological fibres, hand dyed and woven to celebrate ancient traditions. On their site they state: ‘VOZ give’s their artisans a means of sustaining their culture, by offering them economic and artistic protection for their proprietary indigenous craft forms. Our artisans receive name credit and earn royalties for their designs featured in our collection.‘ I love how Voz offer gorgeous collections, but also do good at the same time. I like how they stick to ancient traditions and really work on each piece, taking in every detail. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the answers in time to publish but check out VOZ anyway!

Reet ethical and sustainable fashion retailers and brands ethical fashion Reet ethical and sustainable fashion retailers and brands ethical fashion Reet Aus – This brand is an ‘up cycler’. They collect donated clothing, and get it turned it something completely new. Each garment in the collection I have featured, on average saves 4500 liters / 78% of water creates 2273 g / 86% less CO2 emission per each new garment, which I think is incredible. I love their SS14 collection, and the fact that they are saving that much energy and water is really good to see.

When and why did you start to realise that Ethical fashion was the way to go forward?  Reet has been working with fashion and clothing for many years. Seeing the industry from the inside, the fast fashion, the endless new clothes that come in and out of stores, has been alarming that it is not really the way it should be. Just imagine the amount of waste and pollution it creates.

What is the process in up cycling clothes and making them Ethical & Sustainable? The process of upcycling is using left-overs in making new products. In this case, textile and clothing waste for new garments without changing the material. This method avoids producing new virgin materials and also helps to alleviate the waste problem in the producing countries.

Ovna Ovich ethical and sustainable fashion retailers and brands ethical fashion Ovna Ovich This is probably my favourite brand in a ‘fashion’ sense, because all the pieces are so simple, and versatile, yet they all are ethical and sustainable from the fibres and the fastenings. Is it weird that I can tell which bloggers would wear what from these pieces? The white dress would be perfect for Liv, the blue one for Carrie, possibly maybe the two piece for Natasha, and the pale blue dress for Katia! Weird I know…

When and why did Ovna Ovich start to realise that Ethical fashion was the way to go forward? It has been a life long journey of decisions and upbringing to get to this realisation. The ‘eureka’ moment happened when I was working on my final project at university and wondered what would happen if I concentrated on producing work that was a solution rather then just pointing the finger at something negative.

What do you do differently to other Ethical designers? OVNA OVICH is clothing for both male and female genders. These lines are blurred where we create clothing for men which can also be worn by women. OVNA OVICH work with fabrics that eco friendly and luxurious. Our pieces can be worn to special occasions as well as the everyday.

New Look ethical and sustainable fashion retailers and brands ethical fashion New Look – You may not know it, but New Look Retailers are an ethical and sustainable brand. They try to create quality jobs for people they work for as well as care for the environment as they produce our clothes. Most of us will own a New Look item in our wardrobe and they are all really good quality for the price, so what exactly goes into making them, and how are New Look trying to change the way things are done? I got my questions answered by their Ethical Trade & Environment Manager, Subathra Vaidhiyanathan… (Images thanks to New Look)

What do you do differently to other Ethical brands? One of the things I really like about working with New Look is that there’s a big focus on building long term relationships with our suppliers. This is important because it means we get to know our partners and we understand the challenges our factories face. This means we can talk about how to resolve them and then work together to help factories overcome any challenges they face. All our suppliers sign up to our Ethical Aims before we buy from them and we have members of our field teams visiting factories daily to check conditions. We also recycle a lot more than others and last year we recycled 71% of all waste from our UK stores we hope to do more in 2014.

What are your next big goals with your Ethical system? What do you want to achieve next with it? We have set ourselves some challenging ethical targets this year and our ethical team are working hard to meet them! Last year we worked on over 70 ethical trade projects, this year we have over 100!

Do you think we will ever see most high street brands being Ethical & Sustainable? I feel that awareness of ethical trade and sustainability among consumers, brands and suppliers is the highest it has ever been. People care about where clothes come from and that they are made in a ethical and sustainable way, which is great. Many high street retailers have ethical teams now and I really hope this trend continues!

It’s been really interesting creating this blog post on ethical and sustainable fashion for you guys and I hope you like it! Thanks once again to the brands who answered my questions!

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