Ethical Fashion Brands

Ethical Fashion Brands

Vivienne Westwood

One part of the 'Fashioned from Nature' exhibition was dedicated to economic impact of fashion. Above are some garments which were made to provoke change and gain support to help reduce environmental impacts. In the exhibition was a video featuring Vivienne Westwood who spoke about her views on climate change. Westwood talked about how she tries to help inform  people on the impacts and how she herself does things to reduce the impact she has on the environment. She says: "The most effective thing that I do in reducing my carbon footprint is: buy less, choose well, make it last." I think this could be an effective yet simple and easy method to contribute slightly and is an idea which everyone could use. However, there are limitations to this idea. For example, some people don't have the money to buy perfectly tailored, impeccably stitch clothing that can last years. High street shops are where most people buy clothes; these clothes can last a long time but probably only up to 3 years if they are worn regularly. I also think that one of the largest demographics is the younger generation who are obsessed with following trends and making sure they fit in, therefore are buying clothes whenever trends change which can be daily. 

Diana Scherer

Diana Scherer is a German visual artist and designer who works in Amsterdam. She studied fine art at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, before creating he own brand involving photography, material research, plant root weaving and sculpture. Scherer trains the roots of plants to grown intricate structures and a three dimensional textile. One of her designs, ‘Rootbound #2’ is currently exhibited at the V & A Museum in the Fashioned from Nature exhibition. To create each piece, she must consider art, craft and science as well as collaborate with biologists, engineers and designers.

Pulp It

Pulp It is a clothing company which consist of Swedish and British designers who innovated wearable ‘paper’. They have “been looking at sustainability in materials and [the] design aspect for over 20 years”. This very affordable fabric has an extremely short life span which was intentionally created to allow it to be recycled and industrially composted. It is made from unbleached wood pulp combined with other bio-based materials. Natural dyes, laser surfacing and efficient ultrasonic construction is used to finish off the non-woven material. There is also a level of customisation with each garment through the colour, pattern and shape.

Fashion Revolution

Fashion Revolution is made up of designers, academics, writers, business leaders, brands, retailers, marketers, producers, makers, workers and fashion enthusiast from all over the world. Fashion Revolutions believes “in a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measures.”  Their aim is to make sure clothes are produced in a “safe, clean and fair way” by working cohesively with ordinary people and organisations. The global movement works by connecting with everyone from farming to consumers to try to improve on all the impacts on the environment and world by the production of clothing. Each year, they review and rank the 150 biggest global fashion brands according to “how much information they disclose about their suppliers, supply chain policies and practices, and social and environmental impact.” In 2018, the average score was 21%, however there has been an average of 5% increase since 2017 for 98 of these brands.