Green is slowly becoming the new black as brands are become increasingly aware of their environmental impact and ethical responsibility throughout production. Here Mattie Lacey-Davidson has rounded up those who are leading the way...
Almasanta
“To us fashion is passion - passion for design and quality. However, we saw that there was a lack of transparency on social and economic responsibility in the industry.”
A selection of sustainable brands from all over the world, carefully chosen by their “trendsetters”. Almasanta prioritises top quality processes picking brands which combine classic craftsmanship with natural fabrics creating a long lasting product, reducing the negative environmental and social impact.
They focus on sustainability, as well as being fair trade, socially integrated and organic.
Contrado
“Everything is made on demand, in-house so you know who is making for you. Because we make on demand so there is no waste, we use just what we need.”
Contrado does everything locally in London, creating a low transport footprint. This includes all departments from customer service team to developers, analysts and web designers, product designers, printers and technicians.
They source a large amount of our fabrics from UK mills, ensuring strong relationships and continuity of product lines. They always ask about where fabrics have come from, demanding safe working practises and fair wages and all inks are water based, non-toxic and disposed of via a local waste management company.
Phannatiq
An east London based brand that specialises in making clothes “for people who don’t do shiny.”
Phannatiq is the brainchild of designer Anna Skodbo. They use organic and unbleached bamboo, silk and cotton form the basis of the collection with the elegant addition of panels and trims from leather and their textiles are produced using only natural plant dyes, therefore eliminating the majority of chemical waste from the textile manufacturing process.
Flock
Flock was born when co-owner Annie Colley was on maternity leave from her corporate job. During this time, when awareness of her wellbeing was high, she came to truly value quality clothing made of natural fibres. Merino wool, in particular, became a favourite due to its superior ability to regulate body temperature and its super-soft feel.
Annie says “I spent many hours searching for the perfect merino sweater but found nothing with the style and elegance that I wanted. This inspired me to create my own range. I wanted to capture a sense of elegance & luxury but with the honesty and simplicity of natural fibres. “
On launch, Flock was awarded the Butterfly Mark, powered by Positive Luxury, in recognition of being a responsible brand that minimizes their environmental footprint while maximizing social good.
Monks on Vacation
The unusually named brand produces small limited edition runs from a factory in North London with majority of fabrics knitted in a factory in Leicester.
“This enables us to have an invaluable relationship with our producers, us access to factories and workers and a close eye on how our product is manufactured,” says creative director Anneli Nowroz, who established the brand on her return to the UK after spending a decade living and working in Asia.
Drawing on her business experience and inspired by her grandparents, who worked in the textile industry in Leicester, Anneli has developed MOV into a brand that incorporates attention to detail and artisan values with a modern twist on the UK’s design heritage.
Taylor & Hart
They specialise in custom design engagement rings and recently embraced complete transparency about on the origin of the diamonds they use.
“Ethical sourcing continues to be an important topic and it has naturally taken control over the fashion industry. We realise how important it is for customers to feel confident that their ring was sourced from countries and businesses that have ethical policies and business practices, so here we share how we do things at Taylor & Hart.”
Enchanted Rebels
A UK based ethical womenswear brand launched in 2016 by mother and daughter.
Creative director Lianne Bell says: “We are kind to humans, animals and the environment when we make our clothes. All of our garments are manufactured in a Fairwear registered factory using 100% organic cotton. That means there's no pesticides, no child labour, no slave labour, and no exploitation.
Lianne studied Fashion Marketing at London Met and focused on the environmental impact of the fast fashion industry in my final year. She runs Enchanted Rebels from Taiwan, while her mother Linda heads up the customer service side of things from the UK.
“In April we were very proud to co-curate the first ever Fashion Revolution event here in Taipei which brought together lots of exciting ethical brands from Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. This which of course really exciting for us as we want to help fuel the catalyst for change within the industry.
“I've also recently started volunteering with the Fashion Circle which is part of Annie Lennox's NGO, The Circle. The Circle aims to bring women together to help one another and the fashion circle recently produced a living wage report in conjunction with the Lawyers circle to highlight the disproportionate wages received by garment workers within the fashion industry.”
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